Audio recording Mark 15:16-39 The Warrior God!

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Mark 15:15-39 The Warrior God!

Mark 15:15-39

Remember back in school when people had to pick teams for some playground sport? Remember the guy who no-one wanted, who was always picked last? Remember the fear that that guy would be you, and you’d be standing there all alone, unwanted, rejected? Maybe it was you and you know that feeling of rejection?

Now imagine that you’re God, that you made people – and they’ve all rejected you. Imagine how Jesus felt in the text we read two weeks ago when everyone rejected him, everyone abandoned him –even his closest friends.

The disciples ran away. The religious leaders rejected him, and condemned him to death for claiming to be who he is: the Son of God! And the Gentiles (non-Jews) sentenced him to death even though they knew he was innocent. Rejected by everyone.

Yet Jesus still goes to the cross in order to save those who reject him.

We pick up the story in Mark 15:16. Jesus has just been unfairly sentenced to death by Pilate, even though Pilate knew he was innocent. But this is what Jesus said would happen – remember he told his disciples three times that he would be arrested by the religious leaders, he would be put to death, and he would rise again. Jesus went out to meet those who came to arrest him. He did not run, did not hide, but went to meet them. Because that night he had been praying for strength to go to the cross. That is why he came. He came to show us what God is like. He came to tell us that we are sinners and need a Saviour. And he came to be that Saviour. He dies for his enemies, like you and me, to make us into his friends. Whatever the cost, he will pay it – and the cost for rescuing us is high, very high indeed. It starts with beatings and mockery:

1. Mocking the King

17 [The soldiers] dressed him in a purple robe, and they wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head. 18 Then they saluted him and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!” 19 And they struck him on the head with a reed stick, spit on him, and dropped to their knees in mock worship.

Why would the soldiers mock him so? Were they just cruel, bloodthirsty men? Is this how they treated all their prisoners? Well, maybe. We do know that Israel was not the best place to be sent. There were continual uprisings and rebellions, soldiers faced danger all the time. It wasn’t a posting people wanted. So maybe these soldiers were a bit rougher than the others.

But the mock worship goes deeper. Jesus’ claim to be the king made a mockery of their Emperor, Caesar. And their treatment of him is to put him back in his place. Notice in verse 16 how the entire regiment is called out (that’s around 600 men!). “Insult our Emperor would you? Raise yourself up would you? How dare you? King! Ha! Hail O King.” they shout as they push thorns into his head, and beat him and spit on him as they bow and laugh at him in mock worship.

Isn’t that ironic? There is great irony here. Jesus is the true King, and deserves all worship. It is the Emperor, Caesar, who is the false king, trying to claim worship and authority that is not his. It is he who should be mocked, should be brought low.

And it’s not just the Roman soldiers who mock Jesus. v29 The people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery. “Ha! Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. 30 Well then, save yourself and come down from the cross!” 31 The leading priests and teachers of religious law also mocked Jesus. “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself! 32 Let this Messiah, this King of Israel, come down from the cross so we can see it and believe him!” Even the men who were crucified with Jesus ridiculed him.

Those shouting insults and wagging their heads – they are the ones who deserve the punishment that Jesus is taking. They are the ones who have failed to keep their covenant (promise) with God. They have dealt falsely with their Saviour, they have betrayed their God, they have tried to overthrow the rightful King. As have we.

But in the right-way-up world of God’s love faithlessness is met with faithfulness, betrayal met with forgiveness, broken promises met with payment in blood, hatred met with love.

Everyone, laughing and hollering and pointing as Jesus is hammered naked onto the cross, beaten, bloodied, humiliated, exposed. The soldiers laughing as they beat him and pretend to worship him. 600 men spitting and hitting and making fun. Passersby mocking and jeering. Religious leaders, priests who represent the Almighty, gleefully slapping each others backs at their own cleverness, and laughing at this Jesus who hangs naked before them. “We showed him”, they would have been thinking.

Now it’s easy for us to see how wrong these people for mocking and abusing Jesus, especially because we know who he is- the God who created all people everywhere. But then point the finger back to ourselves, because we treat God the same way! How?

Maybe we ignore his words when we want to sin sexually – perhaps pornography in front of the computer, perhaps an adulterous affair, perhaps sexual intercourse with our girlfriend – but it’s ok because we “love” each other. Really? We mock the living God and his claim over our lives, and raise ourselves up as king in that situation. I will decide what is right for me. I want to sin sexually. I will do it.

Or maybe it’s not sex, but gossip, saying horrible things about other people, allowing bitterness to rise. Or perhaps its jealousy – thanklessness lies at the heart of jealousy. You’re not grateful to God for what he HAS given you, all you can see is what he hasn’t – and you mock him and spit on him with your attitude, saying “I can be a better God than you. I can make better decisions than you about my life and my needs.” See what word crops up: my, my, my. Who’s the King there? Instead of being filled with the glory of God, wanting to worship him and see his name exalted, we want to exalt ourselves. Ugh.

As we read in Romans 7:24 in the Wednesday night Bible studies “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Why? Because he has done the unthinkable, and swapped places with us. He has taken the punishment and shame that our sins deserve, and taken it upon himself. We mock the King, but he is responds by being…

2. The suffering servant King

How absurd that statement sounds! A King who serves? A King who suffers? How absurd! But isn’t that God? The Master of the absurd. The one who rescues his enemies at the cost of his own life. The one who meets hatred with love. The one who offers grace when judgement is owed. What God is this! His thoughts are indeed not our thoughts, his ways not our ways!

Can you imagine being beaten, humiliated, degraded like Jesus was? And for no reason! He is innocent. Pilate said so. The Jewish leaders found no evidence except that he is the Son of God! He is innocent. And he’s doing this by choice. Jesus, Jesus endures. He takes the mocking, in order to restore the broken relationship. It is his love which holds him there as people spit in his face and hit him and hurt him and make fun of him.
He is not powerless – no, at a word from him thousands of angels would appear and strike down those who mock him. At a word from him the sun would fall and the earth would swallow up those who dared to speak against the King of the Universe. Yet, he does nothing. As Isaiah 53:7 says “like a sheep before his shearers is silent, he does not open his mouth”. Praise God that he was silent and did not utter a word of vengeance!

To try to illustrate what Jesus did on this day on the cross, I’m going to tell you the true story of James Thomas. James was a British dancer on the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia. The Costa Concordia ran aground when the captain drove too close to land and hit a reef because he wasn't wearing his glasses and "had difficulty maneuvering large ships," two things we assumed would have been addressed at some point during the interview process. The captain then bravely abandoned ship, leaving 4000 passengers stranded. Up steps James Thomas. Passengers were stuck on the wrong level, unable to get to the life rafts. So Thomas stretched one arm down to the life rafts while holding onto the rail of the deck above, allowing dozens of people to climb onto his shoulders and then down his body to the rafts.

He allowed his body to be used as a human ladder, supporting all of the weight of the climbing passengers with one hand, as they crossed over him from danger to safety.

Jesus uses his own body to bridge the gap between Heaven and Hell, between judgement and mercy. And although James Thomas was heroic, he was not carrying the weight of the sins of the world as he did this, the passengers were not mocking him and shouting abuse at him while he rescued them, and he was not facing the forces of darkness, staring into the depths of Hell.

29 “Ha! Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. 30 Well then, save yourself and come down from the cross!”

30 save yourself and come down from the cross!”

Can you not hear the stench of Satan around that statement. save yourself and come down from the cross! What did Jesus say to Peter when Peter tried to divert Jesus away from the cross? “Get behind me Satan.” And here the people are calling out “Save yourself! Come down!” And the religious leaders “he can’t save himself! 32 Let this Messiah, this King of Israel, come down from the cross so we can see it and believe him!”
The last throw of the dice for Satan! For when Jesus goes into the darkness for us, when he breathes his last and gives up his life as the final, perfect sacrifice for our sins – then Satan’s power is broken, and he is defeated. He has no claim on people whose sins are covered! None! Desperately he cries out “Come down. Come down!”

But Jesus will not be deviated, he will not be tempted. Sinless he has been and sinless he remains. The Warrior God, fighting with his own body, with the deep perfect drops of his blood. You can almost imagine him looking into the spiritual realm, looking Satan right in the eye as his utters a loud cry and gives up his life.
Jesus is more Rambo than Rambo. This is the Warrior God who fights for his people.

My Dad’s favourite verse is Exodus 14:14 “Be still, and let the Lord fight for you.”
And here we see the ultimate, impossible, battle. Who of us could endure even a minute of this without falling – but Jesus is hard as nails, resolute, immovable, staring into the abyss, looking at Hell itself – and jumps in to the very depths of Hell, facing pain unimaginable, the torment of his own just anger at the sin he is carrying. Our sin. The sins of the world.
Here is our King, our Champion, our Saviour, fighting the forces of darkness with his body and his blood. Now that is love!

And I want to show you something so thrilling, so exciting – at the moment Jesus breathes his last, the very moment he dies to save each and every one of us, we have verse 39 When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

Isn’t that amazing? Here’s the man who nailed Jesus to the cross – and he’s the first one saved by his death. He is a Gentile, he is an enemy of the Jews, a soldier of the oppressors – and he’s the first one who declares the truth about Jesus. Not Peter, not John, not the priests, none of the crowd – but an enemy Roman soldier. There is no-one beyond the reach of Jesus, not even you. If he can save a man like that, a man who moments before was spitting at him and hitting him and mocking him and nailing his hands to the cross – well, he can save you.

So what does that mean for me?
Firstly we need to recognise that we are sinners, rebels against God. Some of us are very nice sinners, polite sinners, even “good” sinners. Some of us may be politely ignoring God, pretending the King does not exist – and that’s just as bad and just as rebellious as someone hurling insults at him, or beating a defenceless man for fun. We’re all in the same boat, all in the enemy camp. When soldiers attack an enemy position, they don’t differentiate between the nice enemy soldiers and the horrible enemy soldiers – all of them are the enemy. And so it is when we face God’s judgement. We are all in the enemy camp, rebels against the true King.

Secondly we need to fall to our knees and thank the Lord Jesus for being our Christ, Messiah, Rescuer. He has burst into the enemy camp “If you want to live, come with me”. Only he can rescue us from Hell, because only he has faced Hell and defeated it, only he has paid the price our sins deserve, only he has sacrificed his own life to save ours. It is a swap. We swapped out the true King for ourselves – Jesus swaps himself in our place, and gives us his perfect life. Sinless, free. A Christmas Gift.

This Christmas, will you accept that gift by bowing your knee to Jesus as King and Saviour?

"How can a loving God allow suffering" 1 Pet 1:3-9

For those who missed out!

Thank you!

Thank you to Notodden Kirke (folkekirken), Notodden Misjonskirke, and Betania Pinsemenighet.
Vi setter stor pris på dere!
Phil 1:³ I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, ⁴ always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. ⁶ And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 

Posters for Sunday service

Here's two posters designed by the brilliant Anna Garratt Nystad for your downloading-and-sticking-up pleasure!
One is in English, the other Norwegian.

Rock International Church - please try to be at Krona at 15:30 on Sunday to ensure everything is in order for the service! Thanks! :-)

Note that there will be Sunday School / Children's church. The children will be following a separate program and will not be told about the attack on St. James church.

Min personlig Utøya

 

Hei! Jeg heter Debby, og jeg vokste opp i Cape Town, Sør-Afrika. Cape Town ligger helt i spissen av det afrikanske kontinentet. Det er en by med dobbelt så mange innbyggere som i Norge og med stedets gode klima og dramatiske natur er Cape Town et populært turistmål.

Da jeg ble født i 1979 var Sør-Afrika ikke et demokrati. Samfunnet var organisert under et system kalt Apartheid, som førte en politikk for separat utvikling: rasene (folkegruppene) ble holdt fra hverandre. Hvite sørafrikanere fikk alle rettigheter mens ikke-hvite sør afrikanere, som var størstedelen av befolkningen, ble forferdelig undertrykt og misbrukt av regjeringen. De ble vurdert som ikke-mennesker og hadde ingen rettigheter. Men da jeg nådde tenåringsalderen var det store endringer på gang. Det var et økt press, både nasjonalt og internasjonalt, for regjeringen til å forandre kurs. Det var mange politiske anti-Apartheid grupper som startet opp, noe som medførte en ny stemning i Sør-Afrika. Det voldte stor usikkerhet, fordi de som ble undertrykt vokste stadig i tillit.

Jeg ble født inn i en kjærlig kristen familie. Begge foreldrene mine elsker Jesus og kort tid etter at de ble gift overtok de en liten kirke i en av forstedene i Cape Town, kalt St James. Denne kirken vokste til en menighet på mer enn 2000 medlemmer, fra mange forskjellige raser og bakgrunner.

St James kirke var som et hjem for meg. Jeg tilbrakte mange timer der som barn. Det er et stort “campus” (kirke område) og har alltid hatt mange aktiviteter for barn. Det var der jeg lekte og fikk venner. Jeg følte meg trygg der.

Det var et sted hvor jeg lærte fra Bibelen at Jesus er Konge over hele verden og har kontroll over alle ting. Min opplevelse av den kristne tro var bare positiv og trygg. Og dette inkluderte innenfor de velkjente veggene til St James kirken hvor jeg i timevis lekte og lærte og vokste.

Men i løpet av få minutter, ble min trygge og forutsigbare verden helt knust.

På en kald og regnfull vinternatt i juli 1993, få uker etter at jeg fylte 14 år dro jeg til kirken som vanlig. Det var en søndag kveld, og jeg satt sammen med alle vennene mine ganske langt bak og lyttet til en sang. Plutselig kom fire bevæpnede menn stormende inn og begynte å angripe menigheten. De startet å skyte med AK47 (maskingevær) og kaste håndgranater med spikerbokser festet på dem og banet seg vei oppover midtgangene.

Det var så uventet, så utrolig og utenkelig at når det begynte satt jeg bare der som fjetret og så på disse mennene. Var det et spill av noe slag? Et angrep var det siste jeg tenkte på - til venninna mi, som satt ved siden av meg, dro meg ned på gulvet, der jeg ble værende med resten av menigheten hvor vi prøvde å skjerme oss fra kuler og granatsplinter. Når den øredøvende støyen hadde lagt seg, løftet jeg forsiktig hodet opp og kikket rundt. Alt følte først veldig uvirkelig. Støyen fra håndgranatene hadde gjort at all lyd syntes langt borte og det var røyk i luften som gjorde alt disig. Det var et øyeblikks ro da jeg reiste meg opp. Men så begynte jeg å høre rop og skrik. Det var fullstendig kaos og forvirring, jeg så venner ligge dø i benkene der de satt, blod strømmet ned midtgangene, folk skrek som hadde fått kroppslemmer sprengt i lufta - og min lille verden begynte å gå i stykker.

Lekeplassen min så ut som en krigs sone. Alt jeg kunne tenke på var å komme meg ut, dra hjem - til det andre trygge stedet i mitt liv. Jeg måtte vekk, jeg var desperat etter å forlate og glemme og ikke vite at dette forferdelige hadde skjedd. Når jeg var hjemme trodde jeg at det hele ville være over. Men det var langt fra over.

Det var over 1000 mennesker på gudstjeneste der den kvelden. Mange av dem led og fortsatt lider på mange måter. Noen mistet sine kjære, noen fikk langvarige skader som daglig volder dem smerter, noen mistet kroppslemmer. Og for mange av oss har den psykologiske kampen vært svært reell. Jeg husker i ukene som fulgte ble jeg helt desperat etter å få tiden til å gå: da ville jeg ikke måtte kjempe for å sove, eller føle meg så deprimert, eller få et panikkanfall hver gang en dør ble slengt igjen. Men det som fulgte var nesten 5 års kamp med fobier, søvnløshet, depresjon og sosial tilbaketrekning.

Men det største problemet som møtte meg var min tro på Jesus. Hva skulle jeg skal gjøre med Jesus nå? Hvordan kunne jeg takle det som skjedde med meg i lys av hva jeg hadde lært og trodd om Jesus? Var han virkelig Gud og i kontroll av denne verden? Er han virkelig glad i meg? Er vi kristne bare fjols som bedrar oss selv?

Jeg oppdaget at Bibelen lærer oss at lidelser bør trekke oss nærmere Gud, ikke drive oss lenger unna. Å forlate troen på en allmektig Gud gjør lidelsens eksistens mer forvirrende, ikke mindre forvirrende. Den eneste grunnen til at jeg kan si at dette angrepet var galt er fordi det er en Gud som har gjort seg selv kjent. Hvis det ikke er noen endelig (ultimal) standard, ingenting utenfor vårt ”system” som forteller oss hva som er rett og galt - hvem er jeg da som kan si at dette var galt? Mennene som gjorde dette mente virkelig at de hadde rett. Vold er en vesentlig del av naturen. På hvilket grunnlag kunne jeg betegne dette som galt eller feil? Jeg kan ikke det uten en tro på Gud Skaperen som har satt standarden for godt og ondt. Ellers ville det bare vært deres syn på hva som er rett mot min oppfatning av hva som er rett. Nei, jeg måtte finne svaret med Gud, for jeg kunne ikke fornekte hans eksistens, og jeg kunne ikke bevise at han ikke var allmektig ut i fra denne hendelsen.

Men jeg var fortsatt plaget med "Er han en kjærlig Gud? Elsker han meg?“ Spesielt i tider med dyp depresjon der tanken på å få slutt på livet mitt var mer attraktivt for meg enn å leve.

Ved å lese Bibelen min –som er Guds tanker – har jeg oppdaget at Gud har gitt oss mange løfter. Men aldri har han lovet at vi ikke skulle lide her på jorden. Gud bedro meg ikke den kvelden fordi han har aldri noensinne lovet at denne type ting ikke ville skje. Faktisk, Bibelen sier det motsatte, at onde ting, vil skje. Men han lover å hjelpe oss når ting som dette skjer. Gud sier i Jesajas bok: Frykt ikke! Jeg har gjenløst deg. Når (ikke hvis) du går gjennom vann, er jeg med deg, og gjennom elver, skal de ikke overskylle deg. Når du går gjennom ild, skal du ikke svies, og luen skal ikke brenne deg.

Og det er akkurat hva jeg erfarte.

Hva jeg erfarte var at under hele denne mørke tiden var Jesus både trofast og veldig reell. Jeg oppdaget gjennom min erfaring at kristendommen dreier seg ikke om en idé eller en filosofi. Den handler om en person; Jesus. Og ikke bare hvilken som helst person, en som har gjennomgått mer enn noen av oss noen gang vil.

Korset er nå et romantisk symbol, men å bli korsfestet er en av de mest smertefulle fysiske opplevelser et menneske kan ha. Derfor brukte romerne den bare for de verste forbrytere - og ingen romersk borger kunne bli korsfestet for det var ansett for å være altfor barbarisk. Og på toppen av det hele måtte Jesus utholde, bokstavelig talt, helvete. Han ble pint på alle måter, fysisk, følelsesmessig og åndelig, for meg, for OSS, slik at vi kan være venner med Gud. Det var den eneste måten. DET er kjærlighet det!

Det var denne Jesus som jeg ba til gjennom hele denne tiden. Denne Jesus hjalp meg, noen ganger minutt for minutt. Denne Jesus var det jeg hørte fra i Bibelen. Jeg var trygg i denne personen Jesus, og jeg finner ingen større kjærlighet enn dette.

De fire mennene som angrep oss den kvelden var alle 17 år gamle. De jobbet for APLA, en bevæpnet ving av en politisk anti-Apartheid gruppe. APLA gjorde flere andre attakk det året og deres mål var å angripe sivile for å skape frykt i folk. St James kirken var et mykt mål. Vi lærte senere at deres oppgave var å drepe alle som var der den kvelden. Heldigvis var det en bevæpnet politi reservist i menigheten som skjøt tilbake og traff en av dem. Dette fikk dem til å forlate oppdraget sitt og rømme ut.

Disse mennene ble tatt kort tid etterpå og broren min fikk anledning til å snakke med dem mens de var i fengsel. Jeg tenkte ofte på hva jeg ville si om jeg konfronterte disse mennene.

Vel, broren min, som også er en pastor, satte seg ned foran dem og sa følgende: "Ifølge Gud er det ingen forskjell mellom dere og meg. Vi begge fortjener Guds dom." Han fortsatte med å forklare at vi alle er opprørere mot Gud, uansett hva vi gjør eller hvor vi bor, ingen av oss er gode nok for Gud. Det er fordi Gud ikke har et hierarki av synd. Han betrakter ikke mordere som verre enn de som lever gode liv,men er ikke perfekte. Han ser oss alle på samme måte, ingen av oss har nådd opp til Hans gode, fullkomne standard. Og hvis vi dør i denne ufullkomne tilstanden står vi alle overfor en evig dom.

”Men! " sa han: "Det finnes gode nyheter! Og det er at Gud har gitt en måte for oss å bli fullkomne i hans syn. Det er det Jesus gjorde på korset, det var en ’swap ’– en utveksling; hans fullkomne liv for våre ufullkomne liv. Jesus hadde ingen synd, allikevel ble Han dømt av Gud i stedet for oss slik at vi kan bli akseptert av Gud og slik at vi kan unnslippe hans dom. Det er derfor vi elsker Jesus så mye! ” Vår bønn er at disse mennene vil akseptere tilgivelse og denne Gud som tilbyr det.

Mark 14:53-15:15 Rejected!

Mark 14:53- 15:15

It’s night-time in an olive grove in early spring. The scent of budding flowers is in the air. There’s a full moon, its face shining brightly on the earth, creating strong contrasts of silver beams of lights and dark shadows under the branches of the trees.
And in the shadows we see twelve men huddling in fear. They are fugitives, on the run from the authorities – and they have just been betrayed.
They trusted Judas – he was their treasurer for goodness sake! And now he betrayed them.
They looked at their leader, Jesus, his face drawn with anxiety. They had never seen him like this. He brooded in silence.

Suddenly there was a shout – the soldiers had found them!

“RUN!” shouted Jesus. “Run for your lives”. The twelve men set off in different directions, fear etched on their faces. Jesus threw himself in a ditch, and began to crawl towards the safety of a nearby river.

But it was too late. There were too many soldiers. All too soon the men were rounded up, and their leader, Jesus, his face covered in dirt and leaves and debris, was hauled before the Captain of the Guard. He laughed as Jesus cowered before him, disbelief and fear etched on his face. An shameful end, for a failed prophet.

OR The Hollywood version!

As Jesus crawled away he heard the screams and cries of his friends, his followers, as they were tracked down by the soldiers, bound together, and taken away to judgement and punishment. A few tears escaped before his face grew hard with resolve. This time, he will teach his men to fight. This time, he will strike down the authorities. This time, he will not be skulking away, but be victorious.

He’ll be back!

If we had to guess or even write about what was going to happen, knowing 200 soldiers were coming to arrest 12 men, wouldn’t that be how we would picture it? If we were Jesus, isn’t that how we would react? Isn’t that what people think about Jesus – just another failed prophet, who accidentally got himself arrested and killed?

As we saw over the last two weeks, surprisingly, what actually happened is very, very different. This was no failed prophet, running from death. This is not the weak end to what could have been a lifetime of famous ministry. This is not a tragedy, but a victory!

This is the pinnacle of Jesus’ ministry. This is his crown jewel, the moment he has been working towards his whole life. This is when he will be revealed as the King above all Kings – as he destroys death and Satan, rescues humanity, and glorifies himself!

This is the high point of human history: the reason Jesus came was in order to die.
He came to be the Passover Lamb: sacrificed so that his blood would shield those who trust in Him from the Judgement to come.
He is the King, the one who is strong, the one who prays in deep anguish to avoid the cup of judgement - but faces it anyway. He drinks the cup, the cup which makes men stagger, down to the last poisonous drop.
We are weak, like the disciples, unable to pray, but instead to sleep, unable to stand with Jesus, but instead to be scattered: we are weak, and could not face the judgement to come. So Jesus, in his great love, faces it for us. That is propitiation. He absorbs the judgement, the wrath of God, and shields us from it, by his blood, by his broken body.

That is love.

Last week we saw that Jesus knows that we are weak. And still loves us. Our weakness, our failure is not something we have to try to hide from him. Christianity is not about pretending you’re better than you are!

Jesus is strong where we are weak.

Tonight we see again how Jesus is strong, whereas we are weak. He is the King, the rightful and true King – yet he is rejected by the Jews (represented by the leading priests and high council), rejected by his own dearest friends (represented by Peter), and rejected by the Gentiles (non-Jews, that’s us, represented by Pilate).

1. Rejected by the Jews v55-65

They took Jesus to the high priest’s home where the leading priests, the elders, and the teachers of religious law had gathered...55 the leading priests and the entire high council were trying to find evidence against Jesus, so they could put him to death. But they couldn’t find any.

The trial is a sham. It is irregular – meeting in the middle of the night instead of the day, and not in the Temple court but in the high priests house. And no evidence could be found! They’d already decided the verdict - back in chapter 11:18 they had decided that Jesus must die and were plotting to kill him. This was no fair hearing, but a loaded gun pointed at Jesus’ head.
How precious this must have been to the early Christians being persecuted in similar trials under Roman and Jewish persecution. Jesus went through this, so can I!

How precious this is to us when life seems unfair, when the decks are stacked against us, when we are wrongly accused – Jesus has been through this. He knows what it feels like. He endured. He is strong. Draw strength from him in your weakness.

56 Many false witnesses spoke against him, but they contradicted each other. 57 Finally, some men stood up and gave this false testimony: 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this Temple made with human hands, and in three days I will build another, made without human hands.’ ” 59 But even then they didn’t get their stories straight!

If this wasn’t so serious it would be like a comedy sketch! The bungling baddies, oafishly getting their stories wrong. The paid witnesses saying the opposite of each other! You can almost see little fight breaking out between them: “why’d you say that, you idiot, you were supposed to say….” You can almost imagine them getting cream pies out and hitting each other in the face with them. It is so utterly foolish.

Man vs. God.
Don’t we look like a bunch of clowns? Aren’t we utterly idiotic when we try to act like God, deciding for ourselves what’s right and wrong when we don’t understand anything about, well, anything! It’s like children trying to understand the goings-on in an adult world. Sometimes my kids try to make decisions, which to them seems good (like “Daddy stay home today, don’t go to work”) – but they have no idea of the wider world, the bigger consequences (like having food to eat and a house to live because Daddy goes to work instead of staying home and playing with the kids!).

So, even the high priest can now see that they’re getting nowhere. Even as a sham trial this is pretty thin. He’s probably beating his head against the wall in frustration – while Jesus stands there calm, resolute, quiet. Eventually in frustration he turns to Jesus v60 “Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?” 61 But Jesus was silent and made no reply. Then the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” I bet he couldn’t believe his luck when Jesus answered him: “I AM. And you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Blasphemy! BLASPHEMY!! You dishonour God! How dare you claim to be God! BLASPHEMY! Death!
But not once did they stop to consider maybe this is true. They did not listen to his words: I AM, the personal name of the God of Israel (Yahweh or Jehovah means I AM who I am – God said to Moses tell them I AM sent you). So Jesus says I AM. Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One? Yahweh, says Jesus. I am.
And just to make sure they understand, he then claims to be the human figure in Daniel 7 who is given all authority in heaven and earth by the Father (the “Ancient of Days” in the prophecy). He is the Messiah. He is God Almighty. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

But they miss it. Their sin blinds them to the truth, and drives them to murder their own king, their God.
We, too, are blinded by our sin. Without his grace we too would be shouting Crucify him! Blasphemer! Playing our religious games while murdering the Son of God.
Religion does not lead you to God, but away from God. Unless you know Jesus, religion is dangerous. Paul the Apostle was a very religious man, and loved God (or so he thought) – but that love expressed itself in murdering Christians until the day that Jesus met him and turned his life around.
Unless you know Jesus, religion is dangerous, poisonous, futile, and hellish.

65 Then some of them began to spit at him, and they blindfolded him and beat him with their fists. “Prophesy to us,” they jeered. And the guards slapped him as they took him away.

Why did Jesus suddenly openly proclaim his divinity (that he is God, the Son of God), the Son of Man in power, and that he is the Messiah? Up to now he has always refused to proclaim this publically, always told demons to be quiet, and those whom he has healed not to tell anyone. Why now?

Because now, chained, arrested, beaten, abandoned, there is no misunderstanding what type of Messiah he is. He is the suffering servant of Isaiah. He is the conquering King as well, but it is a spiritual conquest, not a political. Jesus can openly claim to be the Messiah because now no-one will want to force him to be the political king. He is arrested, weak, with no followers. Who’d want this fellow to be king?
Now there is no risk to his mission being compromised – he came to die, and he will achieve it. Now it is unstoppable, and so he can reveal himself because no-one will believe it. In fact, revealing who he is will achieve his goals!

64 You have all heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?” “Guilty!” they all cried. “He deserves to die!”

So the Jews, the very people of God, with the religion of God, the word of God, the rituals of God, the Law of God – reject God.

And even Jesus’ closest friends reject him.

2. Rejected by his own

54 Meanwhile, Peter followed him at a distance and went right into the high priest’s courtyard. There he sat with the guards, warming himself by the fire.

Peter was probably still determined to “die for Jesus”. He follows him right in to the courtyard. He had probably convinced himself that he could still do it, that this time he wouldn’t run away – despite the fact that, unlike Jesus, he had not prayed for strength, but fallen asleep. And despite the fact that Jesus had already told him that he would fall.

He did not believe Jesus. He thought he was fine by himself. How often is that us? Or our friends, or family members, or work colleagues?

We don’t want to hear the uncomfortable truths. We don’t want to hear that we are sinners who sin. That there is a God, and we are not him! That God is angry with us and will judge us and condemn us to hell if continue to rebel against him. That shame covers us. We have dishonoured our King. Lalalala we say with our hands over our ears, trying to block it out. The problem is, is that it is true. And reliable, true, truth. There is no escape.

Jesus said a few hours before: v30 “I tell you the truth, Peter—this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me.”

A servant girl questions him v67 “You were one of those with Jesus of Nazareth.” 68 But Peter denied it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” One.

V69 She began telling the others, “This man is definitely one of them!” 70 But Peter denied it again. Two.

“You must be one of them, because you are a Galilean.” 71 Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know this man you’re talking about!” Three.

And he broke down and wept.

There is no escape. We are weak. We reject Jesus in our own strength and condemn ourselves to hell.
Jesus’ closest friends deny Jesus. He is the rejected King.
Praise Him, that he knows our weakness, and is able to cover over our failure with his blood. Peter, after meeting with Jesus after his resurrection, became the head of the church, its premier evangelist and missionary. He knows our weakness, yet still love us.
Praise Him, that he is strong, face set like flint, going with determination towards his death as he enters the courtroom of Pilate to be rejected by the Gentiles, to pay the price of love so that he can forgive us.

3. Rejected by the Gentiles

Just in case we were thinking, well, I’m not Jewish, not religious, I wouldn’t have rejected Jesus. I’d have seen through their lies and seen the truth of Jesus. Well, here comes Pilate, our representative.

Because the Jews were under Roman occupation, they had no authority to put someone to death. So they needed Pilate to find Jesus guilty in order to sentence him to death. Unfortunately “blasphemy” was not punishable under Roman law – so they accuse Jesus of being the King, and therefore rebelling against the true ruler: the Emperor of Rome! Ironic, isn’t it. 2 Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “You have said it.”

Jesus makes no further defence, says no further words – to Pilate’s amazement – and in accordance with Scripture: “He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth”. (Is 53:7)

Just as in the first trial, where no witnesses could agree and the only charge that stuck was actually true, Jesus is declared innocent in this second trial. 10 (For he [Pilate] realized by now that the leading priests had arrested Jesus out of envy.)

But Pilate is a crowd-pleaser, amoral, with no fear of God. He was not a good man, forced into a bad situation. He was a bad judge who condemned a man he knew was innocent to a brutal and disgusting death. He rejected the King, he rejected God, he even rejected his own conscience. 15 So to pacify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.

Jesus, rejected by the chief priests and the Jewish nation, rejected by his closest friends, rejected by the whole world.

What about you?