"They led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes *gathered together. Peter had followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the officers and warming himself at the fire. Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, and they were not finding any. For many were giving false testimony against Him, but their testimony was not consistent. Some stood up and began to give false testimony against Him, saying, "We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.’" Not even in this respect was their testimony consistent. The high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, "Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?" But He kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" And Jesus said, "I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." Tearing his clothes, the high priest *said, "What further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?" And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. Some began to spit at Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists, and to say to Him, "Prophesy!" And the officers received Him with slaps in the face."
Good Morning my beloved,
There
is an unrelenting assault on our sensibilities to abandon reason, by a corrupt culture that is in pursuit of individual pleasure; it's no longer enough
to tolerate deviant behavior, conduct once thought reprehensible has
been normalized to the point that normal behavior is now thought to be
deviant and criminal. Truth is now believed by many people to subjective, simply a matter of personal experience or preference. However, Scripture consistently teaches otherwise, Truth is objective, fixed and absolute, based on reality, independent of individual perspectives. It has become literally impossible to keep up with all the changes that are happening in the world today, much less understand most of them. One of the most telling examples of this absurdity, is the notion that one's individual gender can now be described in dozens of ways based on impulse, rather than the assignment of their sex at birth of male or female. While this bizarre atrocity may be acceptable to a corrupt society, it is unacceptable to God. Scripture speaks very clearly on the issue of sin, both the desire and the act, that should be enough for anybody who identifies themselves as Christian.
Jeremiah
6:15, "Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done?
They were not even ashamed at all; They did not even know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time that I
punish them,They shall be cast down," says the Lord."
The most stunning example of the gross corruption of a society overrun by sin and sexual perversion, is found in Genesis 19, when the men of the city of Sodom, both young and old, surrounded the house of Lot, demanding to have illicit homosexual sexual relations with the two angels. While many have attempted to argue that the sin of Sodom wasn’t gross sexual perversion in nature it was merely a lack of hospitality, Jude boldly confronts such nonsense, telling us it was God’s judgment against those who "indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh." This is a vivid illustration of what God thinks about rebellious sinners whose degrading passions were so consuming, so completely out of control, it drove them to insanity.
Paul tells us in Romans 1, because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. Because God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, He patiently restrains His judgment, while lovingly pleading with sinners to repent before He finally unleashes His wrath.Tragically, because so many churches have compromised with world, corrupting the Truth of God’s Word, to reclassify sin as normal and acceptable to God, that is not the message that many churches hear today. By the modern church failing to identify and confront sin as sin, it has effectively denied rebellious sinners their only means of salvation and deliverance of sin, ultimately damning them to Hell.
The result of suppressing the Truth about sin and sexual immorality, every imaginable form of sexual perversion is exploding in the world. Scripture is clear, those who practice and tolerate such detestable acts, encouraging sinners identify themselves by their particular sinful proclivities, claiming God's Word is no longer relevant to modern society, will not inherit the kingdom of God but will face His condemnation. Therefore, we can conclude that one’s perverse, immoral sexual desires is not merely a matter of what two consenting adults do for self-satisfaction and sexual gratification, it is an act of abandoning their natural function, an abomination worthy of God’s judgment! That's why I strongly believe the church cannot simply afford to compromise the Gospel message to keep from offending sinners who are immersed in sexual sin along with countless other sins, but lovingly and boldly speak the Truth about sin, calling sinners to repentance.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, thank You for Your Word that speaks the Truth so powerfully, with such clarity that we might have a better understanding how to live righteously and godly in the present age. Lord, by Your grace grant us the boldness to proclaim Your Word in Truth to a society dominated by sin, so that every hardened heart outside of the kingdom may be put to shame, supernaturally changed, compelled to repent, and embrace Christ as Lord and Savior to receive forgiveness and be freed from the bondage of sin that damns them to Hell. Father, those of us in Christ come to You today with grateful hearts, so full of praise and thanksgiving, knowing that no matter how bad this world is getting, Jesus is coming and His return is nearer than when we first believed. As the world continues to get worse and worse, looking like everything is falling apart, let Your Light shine through us to those who are lost in darkness.
We ask and pray this for Your glory, in Christ's Name.
Amen
Today's Message: Jesus On Trial
Open your Bibles with me, if you would, to Mark chapter 14. Mark 14:53-65. I trust that you will follow along with me as I read to set the text in our minds, as we listen to hear the voice of Lord and what He has to say to us today.
"They led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes *gathered together. Peter
had followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high
priest; and he was sitting with the officers and warming himself at the
fire. Now
the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain testimony
against Jesus to put Him to death, and they were not finding any. For many were giving false testimony against Him, but their testimony was not consistent. Some stood up and began to give false testimony against Him, saying, "We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.’" Not even in this respect was their testimony consistent. The high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, "Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?" But He kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" And Jesus said, "I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." Tearing his clothes, the high priest *said, "What further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?" And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. Some
began to spit at Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their
fists, and to say to Him, "Prophesy!" And the officers received Him with
slaps in the face."
Let's look at verse 53, "They led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes *gathered together." The religious leaders already have Him under arrest, without sufficient evidence, that He is guilty of a crime, now they’ve got to come up with some charge, in a mock court where all the principles of law are blatantly disregarded and justice is perverted, to find a reason to execute Him. John fills us in on the details in chapter 18 that after they "arrested Jesus they bound Him, and led Him to Annas first; for he was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year." Annas, now in his eighties, was forced to step down by the Romans, however, much like our presidents, high priest's kept their title for life. Between Annas and Caiaphas, were Annas five sons, but Annas is still the real power of the Sanhedrin, which was composed of around 70 men who were elders, 24 chief priests, 24 elders, 23 scribes plus the high priest, making the total 71. Because Annas was the mastermind behind the the scenes, the smart one who pulled the strings, it was up to him to come up with an indictment to find Him guilty in order to kill Him, in cold-blooded murder, using the judicial system as a disguise. That's the plan.
Ironically, the Jewish leaders have always prided themselves on their
sense of fairness, their sense of equity, and their sense of justice. However, Jewish Law stated no unjust act was permitted to proceed behind closed doors, everything must be open and exposed, to ensure that no one could
be framed without just trial taking place. No one could be convicted
unless they were proven to be guilty by two or three witnesses. If a witnesses falsely accused his brother of wrongdoing, he would
pay the very same penalty he sought to bring upon the one he
witnessed against. Everything about Jesus' trial was a complete sham, characterized by
irresponsible, unauthorized and illegal procedures, a mockery in violation of the whole Jewish judicial system, in order to obtain a desired
result, Jesus' execution. It’s important to keep in mind that Jesus actually had six different
trials: three religious and three civil, their decision had already been made even before He is tried, convicted and condemned to death by the Jewish court. And only the Roman authorities
had the authority to put someone to death, they could accept or reject their verdicts and to ultimately decide whether or not to carry out penalties.
While Jesus is before Annas, the Sanhedrin is gathering at the house of Caiaphas to plot their course in their mock trial and now we have Peter entering into the courtyard of the high priest. Verse 54, "Peter had followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the officers and warming himself at the fire." Peter, wanting to see what was going on, put himself in a very precarious position, meaning he’s prayerless, and it was the middle of night with several opportunities to either deny or defend Him as he previously said he would do, since the cock hasn't crowed three times yet. Morning was not the only time roosters crowed, the first crowing typically occurred around midnight, and the second crowing could be expected before daybreak. Mark is just giving us a glimpse of Peter, we'll come back to him in our next message.
John tells us Annas, the high priest then questioned Jesus about His disciples, and about His teaching. We know this religious trial is illegal, because there's no crime, not to mention the bribery of Judas was highly illegal. Annas is illegally interrogating Him, asking Jesus to incriminate Himself without bringing a single charge against Him, in order to find something for which He can be executed. No confession is admissible without evidence, Jesus answered him, "I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret. Why do you question Me? Question those who have heard what I spoke to them; they know what I said."
When He had said this, one of the officers standing nearby struck Jesus, saying, "Is that the way You answer the high priest?" Jesus answered him, "If I have spoken wrongly, testify of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?" Obviously, he didn't like his answer, so Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. By the way, the Sanhedrin was required to meet in the hall of judgment, at the temple complex, not at someone's house, furthermore, they could not initiate charges, they could only investigate them, they're continuing to amass even more illegalities, making it more obvious that Satan's earthly agents are running this show.
Verse 55, "Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, and they were not finding any." This tells you just how ridiculous this whole thing is, they couldn't find anyone who could give them an excuse to execute Him, there were no legitimate facts to contend with. But the Law clearly says you have to have two or three witnesses, the problem is the middle of the night is a bad time to try to drum up false witnesses who would lie.
Verse 56, "For many were giving false testimony against Him, but their testimony was not consistent." You can just imagine their frustration, this whole thing just keeps going from bad to worse, this is like trying to squeeze blood out of a rock, even the lying false witnesses that did show up couldn't give a viable testimony, and nothing they said was consistent. In other words, everybody came up with a different lie against Jesus and nothing was worthy of a death penalty to sell the Romans on execution, remember, it's the middle of the night, so they had no time for the witnesses to get their stories straight. I'd like you to notice something else illegal, no one was trying find any witnesses in defense of Jesus, but then again they weren't looking for justice, they only wanted to get rid of Jesus and they needed to accomplish it within a few hours.
Verses 57-58, "Some stood up and began to give false testimony against Him, saying, "We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.’"
Matthew gives us the first man's testimony, this man said, "I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days." They are both guilty of the very thing that Exodus 20:16 forbids, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." They completely twisted and misrepresented what Jesus said, He never said that He would destroy the temple made with hands, and in three days, He would build another one without using His hands." John 2:19-21, clearly tells us what Jesus actually said, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews then said, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?" But He was speaking of the temple of His body."
Verse 59, "Not even in this respect was their testimony consistent." Even though their testimonies aren't consistent, and the information isn't true, apparently it was enough to get Caiaphas' attention and for him to run with it, look at verse 60, "The high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, "Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?" Caiaphas is trying to get Jesus to say something regarding all the false accusations
that are being leveled against Him. Jesus didn’t need to defend Himself, He'd done nothing wrong and certainly was not obligated to respond to the fabricated charges that He was being falsely accused of. Jesus did tell His disciples that God was going to bring judgment on Jerusalem and the temple would be destroyed, which we know from history, the temple was destroyed in 70 A.D., but it would not be rebuilt in their life time, in fact, it still isn't today.
Verse 61, "But He kept silent and did not answer." The silence must have been deafening to Caiaphas, because "Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" A title of deity and of equality with God. Matthew includes Caiaphas said "I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God." This is Caiaphas trying to take charge, he's got to try to get something on Him and fast. Since Caiaphas demanded a Truthful response to a legitimate question under oath, which is interesting given the perpetrating lies against Him, Jesus gives him exactly what he asked for, the Truth, even though He knows the intention behind the question, a blasphemy charge.
Verse 62, "And Jesus said, "I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." Matthew adds, "You have said it yourself." I believe Caiaphas got more than he bargained for with this answer, as Jesus says "I AM," then making it perfectly clear that He is not just the Messiah, I am the Son of Man, I am the One who sits at
the right hand of the Father, I am the One who comes on the clouds, my
enemies will bow before me, I have everlasting dominion, all the peoples
of the nations will serve me, and my kingdom will never be destroyed!, referencing Daniel 7:13-14, "I kept looking in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming,
and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him.
"And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, that all the
peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion
is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed." And Psalm 110:1-2, "The Lord says to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet." The Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, "Rule in the midst of Your enemies." He's letting them know I may be in custody but I AM in control!
Verse 63, "Tearing his clothes, the high priest *said, "What further need do we have of witnesses?" Talk about a show of holy hypocrisy and righteous indignation, outraged that Jesus would dare make such a claim. He demanded the Truth and that is exactly what he got! The Truth is hardly blasphemy. Caiaphas and his self-righteous court of clowns are actually the one's committing blasphemy.
Verse 64, "You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?" And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death." Leviticus 24:16, "the one who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him." The whole procedure was illegal, it stands to reason even the voting and verdict would be illegal, Jesus had no access to a fair trial. Of course, they all answered unanimously, "He deserves death!," this is what they've wanted for sometime, all they needed was a reason, in their eyes Jesus Himself, provided them with more than enough evidence to condemn
Him to death, simply by telling the Truth. By the way, blasphemy is not a crime worthy of death to the Romans, so they need to invent something else before taking Him to Pilate, quite different from the charges they supposedly found Him guilty of, which they do without hesitation. They're willing to do whatever it takes to put Jesus to death. The sad irony is, they don't even realize they are the ones that are going to be judged, condemned to death, and cast into eternal Hell. But, now it's time for the humiliating treatment to begin, as if Jesus is unworthy to be regarded as human.
That brings us to verse 65, "Some began to spit at Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists, and to say to Him, "Prophesy!" And the officers received Him with slaps in the face." These are religious leaders spitting in the face of the Messiah, the Son of God, hitting Him with their fists? Matthew adds "and others slapped Him, and said, "Prophesy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?" Jesus said this would happen back in chapter 10 verse 34, "They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again." All their hatred and evil schemes against the Son of God, has finally come to fruition, in just a few hours, He would be on the cross, driven by the insatiable lust of lawless men for power and greed. All according to the divine plan of God, the Lamb of God would be sacrificed for the sins of all who know they are sinners, and believe on His name and the Gospel. If you don't know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, may I encourage you to do it today?
True salvation isn't a matter of how good or how religious you think you are, it’s a matter of repentance for sin and personal faith in Christ. Everyone else will be sentenced to eternal Hell, the same Hell as these self-righteous religious Christ-rejecters who are deceived by a false faith. Saving faith produces transformation, regeneration, and a new birth, a new nature, evidenced by a love for Truth, a longing to obey Christ, and a hatred of sin. What good is a false profession and living any way you want, only to end up in Hell? That's
why it is so important for us to examine ourselves according to what
Scripture actually says to see whether we’re truly in the faith. Faith with no evidence of repentance is unbelief, a false profession, only those who genuinely repent begin to produce good fruit, that's why John the Baptist said "Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance.....every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." That’s why Paul says, "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation." It’s not that difficult to understand, justify your claim to be a Christian and that you have repented of your sins and turned to God by the way you live your life.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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