Sermons
March 19, 2023

Jesus on Trial

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Listen as we study, Luke 23:1-12. Jesus stands on trial before Pilate and Herod. Learn about sin and the nature of salvation.

Message Transcript

What do you think it would take for Donald Trump and Joe Biden to become friends? Like real, genuine friends. I don't know what it would be. I don't know what it would take for them to become friends. But if they did become friends, you would know something significant has happened. Something consequential has happened. And I was thinking about this question because of Luke 23, verse 12, which says That very day Herod and Pilate became friends. Previously they had been enemies. Herod and Pilate were bitter political enemies. They were appointed by Rome to rule over different parts of Israel. And they hated each other. They hated each other with a passion. But something happened here in Luke chapter 23 that made them become friends. Now why did they become friends? What happened that prompted them to put aside their differences and become friends? Well, they became friends because they were united in their rebellion against Jesus. They were united in their rebellion against the God of glory. And what we're going to see in Luke, chapter 23 is the Jewish world and the Gentile world uniting together around one goal, speaking with one voice, saying crucify him, crucify him, crucify him. The sinless, spotless, righteous son of God will be condemned to die. And we're going to be walking with Jesus on his way to the cross.

And then from the cross we're going to go with Jesus into the tomb and from the tomb to his resurrection. And then from the resurrection to his ascension. And our goal over these next seven weeks is to gain a deeper understanding of the gospel. We are saved by the gospel of grace, Paul says. I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for it's the power of God. For everyone who believes, for the Jew, then for the Gentile, we are saved by the gospel of grace. We are sanctified by the gospel of grace. We are transformed by the gospel of grace. We are empowered by the gospel of grace to live the Christian life. And the deeper we dive into the gospel, the more we will love and worship God at the core of our being and the more we love and worship God, the more we will find life and the more we will live to His glory. Now, there are two scenes in the story I want to look at and remember. We're going to be going slowly through the this chapter, chapter 23, so we can understand what Jesus went through. But there are two scenes we're going to look at this morning. And the first is Jesus before Pilate, the second is Jesus before Herod. So let's start with Jesus, before Pilate. Now, there are five key events that have already happened.

By the time we get to Luke chapter 23, verse one. And these five events will help us get a running start into chapter 23. So here we go. Number one, Judas has already betrayed Jesus. He's already been betrayed in the garden. Number two, the disciples have already scattered. Number three, Peter has denied the Lord three times. Number four, Jesus has been arrested and beaten. And number five, Jesus has gone through three trials before the Jews. By the time it's all done, Jesus will go through six trials. He will be tried three times before the Jews and three times before the Gentiles. And Luke Chapter 22 tells us about the third trial that Jesus had before the Jews where Jesus stood on trial before the Sanhedrin. Now here's a picture of what this might have been like for Jesus standing before the Sanhedrin, the Sanhedrin. They were the spiritual leaders of the day, the religious leaders of the day, and they were also the supreme high judges of the day. So they had all kinds of power, all kinds of influence. They were in charge. This is the highest court within Israel. Now. They were under the Romans at this time. But within the nation of Israel, among the Jewish people, this was the most respected court and it was made up of 71 men. 35 men sat on one side, 35 men sat on the other side.

And in the middle was the high priest, Caiaphas. So Jesus would have stood before 71 men standing right in front of the high priest. And in verse 71, we're told that the Sanhedrin reached a verdict and condemns Jesus to die. They reached a verdict that Jesus must die. They tear their robes and say He must die. Now why do they condemn Jesus to death? Why did they why did they condemn Jesus to death? Well, they did not condemn Jesus because of anything he did. He lived a flawless life, a righteous life. He lived a purpose or a perfect life in every way. So they couldn't condemn him because of anything he did. They condemned him because of who he claimed to be. He claimed to be the Son of God. He claimed to be the Messiah. And that was unacceptable. They said, no way, you're a blasphemer and therefore you must die. They tear their robes and they say you must die. And that brings us to Luke 23, verse one. Then their whole assembly rose up and brought him before Pilate. Can you imagine this scene? Can you imagine this scene? 71 angry members of the Sanhedrin standing up along with the Temple police and the temple guards. So well over 100 angry men with murder erupting in their hearts, oozing out of every pore of their being, saying Jesus must die. They stand up and this angry mob brings Jesus to Pilate.

Now, why do they go to pilot? Why didn't they just kill him? Why didn't they stone him like they stoned Stephen? Why did they take him to Pilate? Well, Rome ruled over Israel and they did not allow the Jews to put people to death. Only Roman rulers could practice capital punishment. So they are looking the Sanhedrin. They are looking for pilot to do their dirty work and they demand that Pilate puts Jesus to death. Now, along the way, you see the thought process of the religious elite. There's a little detail in John 18, verse 28 that says this Then they led Jesus, then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning. They did not enter the headquarters themselves. So they don't actually go into pilot. They stay away from pilot. They don't go in. They don't they don't go into his quarters and talk with them and plead with them. They say, Pilot, you have to come out now. Why didn't they go in to pilot's headquarters? Well, it says otherwise they would be defiled and unable to eat the Passover. So you see the thought process in their minds. What's happening? Pilate was a Gentile, and if the Jews were in the presence of a gentile, they would become defiled or they would become unclean before God and therefore they would be unable to celebrate The Passover.

And the Passover was the highest celebration of the year. And so they have this conflict of interest. So here's their plan. Here's their plan. Kill Jesus the right way so they can worship God the right way. So in the process of killing Jesus, they don't want to defile themselves before God. They want to they want to be sure that they can actually worship God the right way. So they got to kill Jesus the right way. And this plan demonstrates the blinding impact religion can have on the soul if Jesus is not at the center of our worship. Here's a principle we cannot miss that if Jesus is not at the center of our worship, even our religious devotion will lead us into sin. If he is not the center of our of our worship, even our religious devotion can lead us, will lead us into sin. There is nothing inherently good about religion. There is no refuge in religion. There is no deliverance in religion. There is no safety in religion. Religion without Jesus is just another expression of our sinful hearts. It's just another act of rebellion against God. See the sinful heart. It can produce all kinds of things. The sinful heart produces liars. It produces murderers. The sinful heart produces drug dealers. It produces sexual immorality, it produces prostitutes, and it produces priests and pastors and religiously dedicated people. That same sinful heart, that vile, murderous heart can express itself in religion.

And it often does. Now, how can I say that? You might be thinking, How can you say that there's nothing inherently good about religion? Well, look at Luke 22, 66. It says at daybreak all the elders of the people assembled. So who's here? All the elders of the people assembled. Including the leading priests and the teachers of the religious law. The people who knew the scriptures better than anyone in Israel. The people who memorized the Torah. The people who dedicated their lives to upholding the law of God were the same people that condemned Jesus to die. They were acting like devils. Hiding behind the word of God. It is this group of people that took Jesus to Pilate and demanded his death. It is this group of people that began to accuse Jesus in verse two. It says, They began to accuse him. We found this man misleading our nation, opposing payment of taxes to Caesar, and saying that he himself is the messiah, a king. So there are three basic accusations that they're making before Pilate. First, Jesus is misleading our nation. They're saying that he's lying, which this is obviously not true. Jesus. He never lied. He never told a lie. He spoke the truth. He is the truth. So he could not lie or mislead anyone. He was leading people into the truth which led to their freedom. The second accusation is that Jesus is opposing payment of taxes to Caesar.

This is what they're saying. They're saying Jesus is out there saying, Don't pay your taxes, don't pay your taxes, don't pay your taxes. Now, to be honest, part of me wishes Jesus told us not to pay our taxes. Amen. I mean, it's that time of the year. Wouldn't it be great if he was like, Yeah, stick it to the man, Don't pay your taxes? But he doesn't say that. He says, Render to Caesar what is Caesar's. Pay your taxes. So this is another lie. The third accusation is that Jesus is claiming to be king. He's claiming to be king. And this is a this is true, but it is twisted. The Jewish people had no problem with anyone with someone claiming to be the Messiah as long as they are the Messiah. So what they're really saying is Jesus claims to be the Messiah and we don't think He is therefore kill him. We think he's the he says that he's the Messiah. We don't think he is the Messiah. So you need to kill him. And this is the accusation that Pilate picks up on verse three. So Pilate asked him, Are you the king of the Jews? In the Greek I was studying this this week in the Greek. The emphasis in the question is on the you. So what that means is that you could translate it this way saying.

You.

Are you the king of the Jews? Think about how Jesus must have appeared before Pilate. How Jesus would have been standing there. Pilot had the force of the Roman Empire behind him, the force of the Roman army behind him, behind him. And here's Jesus standing in front of Pilate. Where is Jesus's army? Where are his soldiers? They have all scattered. He has no army, no soldiers. He is all alone. Where does Jesus live? Where's this house? He has no home. The son of man has no place to lay his head. Where is his money? War cost a lot of money. Where's his money? He has no money. He's all alone. No soldiers. He doesn't even have a home. And he has no money. And Pilate is looking at Jesus saying, You. You're the king of the Jews. Verse three. You say. So Pilot then told the chief priests and the crowds. I find no grounds for charging this man. Pilot looks at the situation and he says, Jesus is no threat to Rome. He's no threat to anybody. This is all hogwash. But pilot is in a pickle. He is in a pickle. You have to think about pilot's options. So option one pilot could release Jesus. He knows that Jesus is innocent. His conscience is telling him Jesus is innocent. He knows he's innocent. So the right thing to do would be to release Jesus. But pilot is not intent on doing what is right. He's a pragmatist.

He just wants to survive this encounter with Jesus and come out on the other side. That's what He wants to do. It is a dangerous option for Pilot to let Jesus go. Why? Because pilot. Pilot was not really king. He served underneath Caesar. And Caesar says to pilot. Pilot, You have one job, one job. Keep the city from rioting. Keep the city from rioting. Keep the peace. And so pilot knows if I go against these leaders, the Sanhedrin, they're going to cause a riot and get him into a lot of trouble. Option to kill Jesus. He could grant their request and kill Jesus, but he knows that he's innocent. He knows that he's innocent. So the idea of condemning an innocent man doesn't sit well with anyone. And he also knows that earlier in the week. Tens of thousands of people were crying out that Jesus is the Christ. He is the king. He came riding in on a donkey. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. He is the king of the Jews. So he knows that there are many people who professed love and loyalty to Jesus. So if He kills Jesus, there's going to be a riot. So let him go. There's a riot. Kill him. There's going to be a riot. So he's thinking about his options in in a third option arises, and that is to send Jesus to Herod, push the problem someplace else.

Verse five. But he kept but they kept insisting he stirs up the people teaching throughout all Judea from Galilee, where he started even to here. When Pilate heard this, he asked if the man, if Jesus was a Galilean. He says, Wait a second, he started in Galilee. Is he a Galilean? Verse seven, finding that he was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem during those days. Everyone came to Jerusalem for the Passover. It was a huge celebration, but Herod ruled up in the north. So here's a quick little map here to envision this up the pink up in the north at the top of the screen, Galilee, into the east in Perea. That's where Herod ruled. Pilate ruled Judea. But everyone came. Everyone came to Jerusalem for the Passover. So he says, wait a second, if he's from Galilee, then he's under Herod and Herod is in town. So Jesus, go. Go to Herod. He's trying to just wash his hands, get rid of Jesus, go to Herod. Which leads to scene number two, which is Jesus before Herod, Jesus before Herod. Verse eight, Herod was very glad to see Jesus. This is a strange detail in the story. It is a strange detail in the story. Why would Herod be very glad to see Jesus? Pilate can't get rid of Jesus quick enough. He's like, Get rid of this guy. Herod is like, Yes, give him to me.

I want to. I want to see Jesus. He is very glad to see Jesus. And this is strange because Herod was a vicious man. Historians detail how Herod was a vile man with a twisted sex life. He was. He was a vicious murderer. He cut John the Baptist's head off. Now, have you ever cut someone's head off before? I hope not. Do you know anyone who's cut someone's head off? You don't. Do you know anyone who knows someone who's cut someone's head off? Probably not. But think about that for a moment. This dude was like, cut his head off and he didn't kill one person. He killed thousands of people. We don't even know people who are this vicious. We don't know people who know people who are this vicious. He killed thousands of people. At a whim. So he is brutal and he has a twisted sex life. And he hears Jesus is coming and he says, I want to see him. Now, why does he want to see him? For a long time. He had wanted to see him because he had heard about him and was hoping to see some miracle performed by him. So Herod wants to be entertained by Jesus. What's happening in Herod's heart? Does he have a desire for repentance? No. Does he have a desire to follow Christ? No. So what's going on? He wants to be entertained. He is willing to see Jesus. He's even excited to see Jesus because he wants to be entertained.

Brothers and sisters. This is why trying to entertain people into the Kingdom of God is a losing effort. Offering Jesus to the world as if Jesus is some sort of genie who can grant you your wishes. Come to Christ and He will give you everything you want. This is this is a losing effort. If you want an edge in your business, do you want. You want an edge in your business, come to Christ. Do you want an edge in your family? Come to Christ. Do you want an edge in athletics or in your health? Come to Christ. This is a losing effort. This is false Advertisement. We ought not to offer Jesus to the world as the one who will gratify all of their dreams and desires. This is not why people ought to come to faith in Christ. Now, how does Jesus respond to Herod Herod? He sees Jesus as an opportunity for entertainment. And if there was someone on the planet who could put on a really good show, Jesus would be at the top of the list. He could do real magic, real, real miracles. He could do whatever he wanted to do. He could pull rabbits out of everything. I mean, he could. He could wow any crowd if he wanted to. But how does Jesus respond when he comes before Herod? Do you see Christ there? Before Herod? Can you envision that?

Jesus.

Has already been betrayed. He's been abandoned by everyone. He's been denied, arrested. Beaten, falsely accused. He's been up all night. This is his fifth trial before evil men. Jesus is bloody exhausted and the pain is just beginning. And now he stands before Herod. A vile, vicious man. The man who cut John the Baptist's head off. Who was his cousin? Now, what does Jesus do? Verse nine. Herod. He asked Jesus question after question, but Jesus refused to answer. He doesn't say anything. So Herod just keeps bombarding Jesus with questions and Jesus is standing there. Verse ten. Meanwhile, the leading priests and the teachers of religious law stood there shouting their accusations. They are screaming their accusations against Jesus. They're saying He deserves to die. Herod, kill him, Herod, kill him, Herod, kill him. And Jesus doesn't say a word. Not a word. Verse 11. Then Herod, with his soldiers, treated him with contempt. So Herod says, Jesus, if you are not going to entertain us, you will become the joke. You become the joke. Treated him with contempt, mocked him, dressed him in bright clothing and sent him back to Pilate. That very day, Herod and Pilate became friends. Previously, they had been enemies. So why were they united here? Were they united in some noble cause? Certainly not.

They were united in their rebellion against Christ. Both Herod and Pilate knew Jesus was innocent and they did not do the right thing. They were united in their rebellion against Christ. Now, what do we do with this? With this information? We could keep going and working our way, all working our way to the cross, but that will be for future weeks. So what do we do with this information? With this information? Well, two points of application. Number one, you need to see the love and sovereignty of God. I hope that truth, these truths are clear to you. I hope you see the love and the sovereignty of God. One stunning detail in the story is that Jesus doesn't say a word to Herod and barely says a word. Barely says anything to pilot. But why doesn't he say anything? Could you imagine being on trial for your life? Could you imagine standing in that situation before a judge who has the power to execute you? Could you imagine the most influential people in society screaming at you, screaming the reasons why you must die? You know, Pilate and Herod were both judges. Pilate and Herod had both.

Both of them had condemned many people to die. They would have they would have had trials with many innocent people and many guilty people. Could you imagine being innocent and on trial for your life? What would you do? What I would do If I'm standing for the judge and I'm innocent, I would plead my case. I would say, judge, wrong guy, I'm innocent. Look at me. Where's the polygraph? Where's the polygraph? I'm innocent. Don't do this. Don't do this. Or if you were guilty, what would you do standing on trial? What would you do? You'd lie. You would lie or deny it or minimize it, or maybe you would confess it and beg for mercy. But Jesus does none of that. Jesus is silent. He's a cool cat under pressure. He's not begging for his life. He's not responding to the accusations that were made about him. And this is perplexing to Pilate and John, chapter 18, you see that Pilate finally looks at Jesus and says, Why don't you answer me? Don't you know I have the power to kill you or set you free? Why don't you talk to me? They are perplexed. They had never seen anything like it.

So why is Jesus silent? Answer.

It's because Jesus is going to the cross on purpose.

He is exactly where.

He wanted to be. The cross is not an accident. It is a miscarriage of justice. But it is not an accident. Jesus is in charge of every detail. Everything that we're reading about. He's in charge of every detail. John 1018 says this No one can take my life from me. Did you hear this? No. Jesus says no one can take my life from me. The Sanhedrin can't. Herod can't. Pilate can't. The guards can't. The crowds can't. Satan can't. All the forces of darkness, all the demons in the world cannot take Jesus's life.

So why is he doing this? If no one if he is God in the.

Flesh and he says No one can take my life, then why is he going down the road to the cross? Answer.

I sacrifice it.

Voluntarily.

For. I have the authority to lay.

It down when I want to. And I also and also to take it up again for this is what my father has commanded. Jesus says, No one is taking my life. I am giving my life. I am laying it down on my own accord. John 1227, says Now my soul is deeply troubled.

My soul is deeply troubled.

Jesus is thinking about what is ahead of him. He's thinking about the cross. And he says, I am deeply troubled. The cross is the greatest horror the world has ever known. No one in history has ever suffered what Jesus suffered. Millions have been whipped. Millions have been beaten. Millions have been falsely accused, and millions have been crucified. But no one has ever carried the weight of the sin of the world on their shoulders.

No one has ever stood righteous before God.

And died in the place for sinners. That has never happened. This is the first time. It is the greatest weight, the greatest burden, the greatest suffering the world has ever known. And so Jesus was rightly troubled by the cross. This is why he's praying in the garden. Father, take this cup from me. Verse 27. John 1227 Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, Father, save me from this hour? But this is the very reason I came, he says. Why would I pray? Save me from this hour if this is the reason I came, this is my mission, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And so Jesus doesn't say anything to Herod and barely says anything to Pilate because he's going to the cross.

He is resolute. He is set on obeying his father.

He is in control. There's an image that has been stuck in my head for a really long time. I hope it gets stuck in your head. And here's the image if you want to put it up here. What you have is you have an elephant that's tied up with rope and then you have a mouse on the other end. And I think about this image because I think who's in charge in this situation? That that elephant is not going to go anywhere. He does not want to go. That mouse is not in charge. It from one perspective, you think, Oh, yeah, you know, the mouse has them all tied up. But that elephant is in charge. And I think about this with the Lord Jesus. Did you know that they bound Jesus? They tied him up and He was led by ropes and chains everywhere he went.

And they're taking him. And I just think about the Lord. He went with them.

And the whole time they think they're in charge. They think they're calling the shots. Pilot looks at him. He says, Don't you know.

I have the power to kill you? And finally Jesus breaks his silence.

He goes, You have no power. I just set the record straight. No power.

He's in charge. So what we are.

Watching in Luke 23, what we're looking at is a sovereign savior, the creator of the universe, voluntarily giving up his life. Now, why does he do that?

Why does he lay down his life?

Answer for us.

This is the price of our redemption.

We are watching the.

Greatest demonstration of love the world has ever known. Verse. John 410.

Love consists in this. Not that we love God.

Love consists in this. Not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his son to be the atoning sacrifice.

For our sins.

This is love on display. How do you know God loves you? Do you ever wrestle with that question? I bet you do. How do you know God loves you? This is the answer. That God loved the world in this way, that he offered his.

One and only son to die on the cross for.

Our sins. One scholar said.

It was not nails.

That held Jesus to that wretched cross. It was his unqualified resolution out of a love for his father to do his father's will. And it was his love for sinners like me. So why does Jesus go to the cross? He goes to the cross for sinners like me.

For sinners.

Like us.

This week I was thinking about the question, What if Jesus never went to the cross? Have you ever thought about that before? What if there was no cross in the plan of God? What would that mean? Well, first it would mean that in this life, we could never know.

God.

We would just be in darkness. We would be trapped in our own sin. And then we would die and we would go to hell. That would be our situation in life. I was on vacation last week in Florida, and we just happened to get a good week when we were there. It was 85 degrees and sunny every day. And then we came back and we flew back and our flight was supposed to get back in the afternoon. And then it kept getting pushed back and pushed back and pushed back because of the storm that was here. And so we didn't arrive in Des Moines until 3:15 a.m. and it just happened to be Daylight Savings Time. Why do we have daylight savings? Again, I can't remember, but a different conversation. But we didn't get home until 4 a.m.. And so once we got home, I was bringing we had to bring our stuff inside. And so I just had to go outside not very many times, but I had to go grab a couple of things before I could go to bed. And there's six inches of snow. And every time I went outside, the wind was just blowing on me. And there's six inches of snow and it's freezing in March. And I thought, Lord.

This is pretty close.

To hell, isn't it? And the Lord said, Yes, he I'm just joking.

No audible word from God.

Just we have the word of God. But, but I thought, this is awful. And it was maybe like one minute of pain, maybe two minutes of pain.

But did you. Did you know that hell is endless suffering? It is endless suffering. There's no rest. There is no light. There is no goodness.

No friendships, no family.

And it goes on forever.

Ever.

And that's what we deserve.

That's what you deserve.

That's what I deserve for my rebellion.

What have I earned? That is what I have earned. That is what you have earned.

But the good news is that Jesus came.

He didn't leave us in our sin. He lived. He was born. He lived. He died. And he rose again.

And now he offers the world eternal life. He offers you forgiveness of sins. He offers us a.

New life to be born again, to be.

Reconciled to God.

And he accomplished our salvation, our redemption. Our forgiveness. Where?

At the cross where he bled and died. John Stott says God could quite justly have abandoned us to our fate. He could have left us alone to reap the fruit of.

Our wrongdoing.

And to perish in our sins. It was what we deserved. Do you believe that? Did you know your whole life will.

Change when you believe that?

It was what we deserved. Just understanding. This is what I. What I deserve. Is separation from God to die in my sins. It is what we deserved. But he did not. He did not leave us because he loved us.

He came.

He came after us in Christ.

He pursued us even.

To the desolate anguish.

Of the cross, where he bore our sins, guilt, judgment and death. It takes a hard and stony heart to remain unmoved by love like that.

So why should you come to Christ? Why should you come to Christ? Is it because Jesus is cool? Do you remember those t shirts? Jesus is my.

Homeboy. Do you remember those t shirts? We should burn them if you find one. Burn one. Is it because he's cool? Is it because he gives you an edge in life?

An edge in your business. Is that why? No. No. Why should you come to Christ for the same reason you wear a.

Parachute when you jump out of an airplane.

No parachute, no life.

If you want to live, you put on that parachute. And if you want to have life, you come to Christ. If you want forgiveness, you come to Christ. If you want eternal life, you come to Christ. This is why you must give your life to Christ. And if you're here this morning and you're not a Christian, welcome. We're very happy that you're here. And if you've been coming for a while and you're not you're not a Christian, maybe you think you are, but maybe you're thinking maybe, maybe I'm not. I don't know. You need to give your life to Christ. You need to understand that your salvation was accomplished.

By Christ at the cross and put your trust in him. Believe that he lived and died and rose again on your behalf.

And commit your life to him and he'll save you.

Application point number two.

We're going to have to pick up next week.

All out of time. So let's go ahead and close in prayer.

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