Today's scripture is John 18 verses 28 through 38 Then they led Jesus from the house of chyphids to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters so that they would not be defiled But could eat at the Passover So pilot went outside to them and said what accusation do you bring against this man? They answered him if this man were not doing evil we would not have delivered him over to you Pilot said to them take him yourself and judge him by your own law The Jews said to him it is not lawful for us to put anyone to death This was to fill the for fill the words that Jesus has spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die So pilot entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him are you the king of the Jews? Jesus answered do you say this of your own accord or the other say it to you about me? Pilot answered am I a Jew your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me What have you done? Jesus answered my kingdom is not of this world if my kingdom were of this world my servants would have not been fighting Would have been fighting that I might not be delivered over to the Jews But my kingdom is not from this world then pilot said to him so you are a king Jesus answered you say that I am a king For this purpose I was born and for this purpose. I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice Pilot said to him What is true After he said this he went back outside to the Jews and told them I find no guilt in him made the Lord add a blessing to the reading and the hearing of his world There is no Doubt about us that we live in a very Meticious world. This is particularly true of American society We live in a society that loves to go to court See my lives every day every day is lived through The courtroom Every day someone is doing someone about some thing And it just seems like I know it's not true, but it just seems like that we are all ways waiting with our collective Bated breath to exhale at some verdict Much of the history of this country You you could think about it this way much of the history of the United States is defined by court cases and In court room dramas and famous trials the Salem witch trials Scopes monkey trial Miranda versus Arizona brown versus the Board of Education Roe The Wade These these and and many and many others have defined life in America as we know it and These trials and these cases become therefore life changing and society forming and perhaps that's why we enjoy it so much That's why we enjoy court room dramas whether they're real or fictional We love them in movies Like the killer mockingbird a few angry men. I mean a few good men 12 angry men my cousin Vinnie don't tell on yourself
A time to kill love when Jesus was arrested On the eve of his crucifixion He had to endure a Few court room dramas and these were more kangaroo court or more like night court Then it was actual courts of the law But not but nonetheless and nevertheless the Bible records for us as important and as impactful and as life-changing a court room drama as the world has ever seen When when Jesus was brought before pilot It was literally If I might bow from the words of John Grisham a time to crucify a time To crucify as we saw last week The chief priest and the Pharisees had arrested Jesus and had taken him to these kangaroo courts this kangaroo court that was in front of Annis Who was the former and highly respected High priest and then from Annis. They took him to Caiaphas his son-in-law who was the current high priest at the time When this court were a sham court They were illegal courts They made a mockery of Roman law. They made a mockery of Jewish law They made a mockery most of all of the law of God They snuck Jesus in the court They snuck Jesus in the court under the cover of darkness They brought him in Under the cover of darkness and they rushed the proceedings rushed the proceedings hoping to try him convict him and condemn him all in the span of one night Why why why the conniving and why in the darkness? Well the Bible reminds us doesn't John had already told us and John the chapter three and verse 19 That Jesus Christ as the light had come into the world and the people loved darkness rather than light Why because their works were evil and here we see it beloved Nothing nothing was more evil than the arrests and a torture of Jesus They mocked him They spat on him They beat him They humiliated him And as we saw last week in 18 verse 22 they slapped him and now the ultimate goal They wanted to put him to death But they wanted to put him to death in such a way as not to make a moderate out of him They wanted to put him to death in such a way That would undermine his popularity Because Jesus was popular and I knew he was popular and just to kill him Would actually undermine their ultimate goal And so the Bible tells us in Matthew chapter 26 and verses three through five Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priests Whose name was Caiaphas and they skewed to arrest Jesus Secretly and killing but the problem was They couldn't do it themselves So they had to conspire they had to bring the Romans and On the conspiracy Because that's what the death of Jesus Was beloved. That's what it was the death of Jesus was a conspiracy and Like most conspiracies it was planned and developed over a period of time Throughout that final year of Jesus public ministry It was a unique conspiracy because it was a collaboration of enemies
those who didn't like each other Didn't like Jesus even more the Pharisees and the Sadducees collaborating together Hereth and the chief priests collaborating together None of them none of these particularly liked each other
But they were willing to collaborate and conspire and Do even that thing Which they all despised the most And that is to collaborate with the Roman authorities the one who they felt Had its boot on their neck Every day of their lives they despised Jesus so much They they would conspire even with those they consider to be their oppressors Well, they needed Roman authority In Roman approval and therefore In came Pontius Pilate Pilate had to sign off on the final solution if they were going to get a public execution The Romans would have to do it Pilate would have to render the final judgment and conviction That's why I believe it in the Apostles Creed that's why in the Apostles Creed when we recite the Apostles Creed We say Jesus Christ suffered under Pontius Pilate We don't say he suffered on the Caiaphas. We don't say he suffered on the Antis On the Pharisees we say he suffered under Pontius Pilate why because Pilate would be the one Who would ultimately have the authority? To condemn Jesus to the cross He was it was his authority that they saw and thus Our text says After they had left the house Caiaphas They brought Jesus to the Roman palace the home of Pilate Because in their minds again, it was a time to crucify
Jesus was on trial And that's with any trial As we go through our texts we see a couple of things We see the accusations that are made We see the cross examination That is rendered And ultimately We see the verdict But we begin with the accusations The Jewish authorities had brought Jesus to Pilate and Notice what Pilate said As they brought Jesus to Pilate Pilate said in verse 29 of chapter 18 So Pilate went outside to them and said What accusations do you bring against this man? We're going to have a trial I'm going to need to know exactly what he is accused of Now notice how the Roman's authorities responded in verse 8 and verse 30 of chapter 18 They say to him essentially you know what the charges are Okay, let's stop wasting time We don't have a lot of time here Okay, you know what the charges are You know what we have discussed
But in case we must rehearse them What are they charging Jesus with beloved? Or the Bible tells us that they charged them with blasphemy John chapter 5 and verse 18 The Bible says this is why the Jews were seeking All the more to kill him because not only was he breaking the Sabbath but he was calling God his own father making himself equal with God That's why they sought to kill him That's a charge that bringing brought up against Jesus blasphemy That he is making himself out to be God But not only blasphemy they also accused him of subversion and insurrection Luke chapter 23 and verse 2 And they began to accuse him saying we found this man Jesus subverting our nation He opposes pain taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah a king claims himself to be Christ a king They charge him with blasphemy. They charge him with failing to pay taxes to Rome They charge him with claiming to be a king
subversion and insurrection Now pilot understood these charges He understood well The accusation they were level against Jesus But more than understanding the charges pilot also understood The Jewish authorities he understood the chief priests and he understood the Pharisees and he understood As the Bible says in Mark chapter 15 and verse 10 That these charges were more about jealousy than justice
He understood beloved that there was more envy in these proceedings than there was evidence
And pilot Was not buying it I think we could chalk up one for pilot there
Pilot wasn't buying it He knew what their motives were And so notice That he's not impressed with these Jewish authorities in verse 31 of chapter 18 Essentially he responds by saying You go do it yourself I ain't got time for this You go And do this Yourself Jewish authorities Wanted Jesus crucified not stoned
Now don't miss this beloved You see they could have gone and did it themselves
But if they had done it It would have been a stony As they had tried on other occasions But they didn't want Jesus stoned They want him crucified Why Because it says in Deuteronomy chapter 21 and verse 23 that cursed it is the one Who hangs upon a tree And they wanted Jesus cursed They wanted Jesus publicly disgraced They wanted him publicly shamed
And the only way to get that result What's for the Romans to do it?
I'd love it What they didn't understand is that that is the reason why Jesus came in the first place He came to become a curse
Jesus did not come to die any way He didn't come to be stoned He didn't come to drown He didn't come to get shot Jesus came to be crucified
Christ Didn't just promise he would die Christ promised how he would die John chapter 12 Verse 32 and 33 And I Jesus says when I am lifted up From the earth We'll draw all people to my self He said this the Bible says To show what kind of death he was going to die The crucifixion The crucifixion The cross Beloved the cross Was God's plan Way before it was the Pharisees
The plan What's for Christ to die the death of the curse
So that He might remove The curse So the Bible says in Galatians chapter 3 and verse 13 Christ redeemed us From the curse of the law By becoming a curse for us Where did he become the curse For it is written Curse it as everyone who is hanged on a tree
Jesus Took The curse of God's law So that we might live In the blessings of God's love and his grace And so beloved is important Is important that we don't miss this This understanding of the sovereignty of God in all these things God Didn't leave your redemption the chance God didn't leave your redemption and my redemption in the hands of the Pharisees
Even the plot to kill Jesus was in the plan of God to save you and me
And you see this even more so in the cross examination
One ends up happening Pilate acquiesce didn't he Pilate acquiesced And he agreed to the Pharisees and the chief priests demands He agreed to examine Jesus
What he didn't realize beloved Is that when he went back inside to examine Jesus What he was actually doing What they cross examination it was across examination Pilate thought He would examine Christ To determine if Christ should be sent to the cross But in reality beloved God had already determined That that is what would be
Pilate had Jesus in the box He had Jesus in the box He had Jesus on the witness stand And Pilate only had one crucial question He only had one question for him Like like Tom Cruise to Jack Nicholson Did you order to cold red like Kevin Spacey To Samuel Jackson Did those men deserve to die Mr. Haley
Pilate Looks at Jesus And says I only got one question
Are you the king of the Jews? Pilate didn't care about the blasphemy He wasn't concerned about the taxes
The only thing that he wanted to know
Was Jesus king of the Jews
Why? Because Pilate was only concerned about his own position And he just wanted to know Was Jesus a threat to him? Was Jesus a threat to Roman rule like they said Was he planning some insurrection Was his followers going to come and write it at the Capitol Did he have a kingdom that he was planning to come and overthrow his kingdom In Jesus Answered him Twice Twice By saying My kingdom Is not of this world My kingdom Is not of this world My kingdom was of this world Verse 36 my servants would have been fighting That I might not be delivered over to the Jews But again, that's my kingdom is not of this world It's important distinction to make, beloved Pilate had in mind a kingdom of horses and chariots and swords and soldiers
Jesus had in mind a kingdom of love and mercy and grace goodness Pilate had in mind a kingdom that takes men and women captive Jesus had in mind a kingdom that sets the captors free Pilate had in mind a kingdom that has ethnic boundaries and geographical and national borders Jesus kingdom has no racial or ethnic boundaries It knows no national geographical borders
Jesus Was reminding the world and reminding us again this morning That his kingdom is not a kingdom of physical force
Contrary to what some people like to bachelate Jesus didn't come to establish a christian nation He doesn't have christian nations There is no christian police force There's no christian air force There are no christian marines There is no christian justice league There are no christian super heroes
Bible says in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 20 I tell you this brothers flesh and blood Cannot inherit the kingdom of God
Nor does the perishable inherit The imperishable My kingdom Is not of this world Jesus said and when Pilate heard that He said aha aha So you are king Because only kings talk about kingdom aha So you are a king
a king Well I guess Jesus is implying that And yes Yes, beloved But Jesus is not just king of the Jews As Pilate now knows Jesus is king of kings As he now knows Jesus is king of everything His kingdom beloved It's not a kingdom this world has ever known It is a transcended kingdom His kingdom is a kingdom Every other kingdom believes itself to be But is it For his kingdom is a kingdom of righteousness A kingdom of justice A kingdom of peace His throne is not in palaces or temples But in the hearts and minds of men and women of faith His kingdom is not advanced With the sword or the shield It is not advanced with the ballad or the bullet His kingdom is a kingdom of sacrifice A kingdom of service A kingdom of grace And a kingdom of truth His kingdom stretches far and wide Whereas his kingdom His kingdom is wherever the truth of God is found There is a kingdom of God Wherever men and women bear witness to the truth of God's name His glory and his fame There is the kingdom of God Wherever the truth of the life and death And resurrection of Jesus Christ Is proclaimed There is the kingdom of God
Love has no limit His grace has no measure His power No boundaries known unto men And neither does this kingdom
Is he a king? You better believe he is
And his kingdom has no limit Like anybody Listening to Jesus I mean pilot is confounded You would have been true So don't look at him across Anybody listening to Jesus Confounds Because he knows their hearts He knows the motives He knows the intents Listening to Jesus Pilot was confounded But even more Than that He was tired His early in the morning Five o'clock in the morning Hadn't gotten much rest And he was tired He was tired of being manipulated By the Jewish authorities He was disgusted And exacerbated By this process
And he looked at Jesus one last time And walked away
And he said Truth What is truth You say one thing In the Jews say another And we Roman believed something else all together That was the question That was the question Of his exasperation This is the question When you can't see the five me answers isn't it What is the truth What is the truth in it all And pilot beloved standing there No doubt Thought the situation was hopeless And not realizing That his only hope was standing right in front of him He thought the situation was helpless Not realizing that his only help had been staring him in the face He thought the truth could not be known And yet it was the truth that had been speaking to him all that time
But this is the dilemma of the modern mind Isn't it This is the question on the mind of almost every young Adopt that I speak to These days What is truth In a world And a Twitterverse And Instagram Where everybody's opinion is right
What is truth In a world where everybody has an opinion Then beloved really truth is king But the question is what is truth But that's really not the question
The question really not is what is truth The question is who is truth This is the question that pilots should have been asking Not what is truth But who is truth Because the answer the Bible gives is Jesus Jesus is not what the truth Jesus is who the truth is He is who the truth is The truth is not what said seen in a fox The truth is not what says ESPN A sports illustrated The truth is not what said Joe Rogan And it will be Goldberg The truth is what God had revealed in Jesus Christ Here is the truth beloved The truth is that we all have sined And fallen short of the glory of God When they ask you what is truth You tell them that like chief We have all gone astray Each have turned to his own way That there is none righteous No not one That's the truth Here is the truth That there therefore now Is no other name A given among men Whereby men and women can be saved Except Jesus That's the truth
The truth is that Jesus is the way The truth and the life And no one No one goes to heaven Except they trust and believe in him That's the truth
The truth beloved The truth is what leads you confidently From this life Into the next
If the truth you are holding on to
Only helps you In this life
Then you are living a life most miserable
Ultimate truth It's what leads you confidently Not only through this life But into the next And who will do that Who will do that That's why truth is not a way Truth is a who Who leads you confidently From this life Into the next
Therefore the truth Is not just what Jesus said The truth Is what Jesus did
He came To bring his people Eternal life To lead them From this life Confidently Into the next
The truth is what God revealed in the verdict
The truth is what God ultimately revealed in the verdict
Now most of us of a certain age can remember Where you were And what you were doing When you heard the verdict From the old J Simpson trial Those of us Of a certain age No doubt You know exactly where you were And what you were doing The whole nation Was captivated Gathered around Our televisions And our radios Holding our collective breath Waiting To hear the words that ultimately came
Not guilty
If it don't fit
You must acquit You see that beloved in our text In that same way That crowd that had been Was gathering around the Roman palace It was early in the morning And the sun was beginning to come up It was dawning And the crowd was growing They had heard that Jesus was on trial And they were gathering Waiting Waiting Waiting on the pilot To come out And render his verdict The Bible says in verse 38 That pilot walked Back outside Face the crowd And declared I Find No Guilt In Him In other words It doesn't fit Not guilty Not Guilty I don't believe it What pilot said The only thing that pilot said Is what heaven already knew
The only thing that pilot said Was what the disciples already knew That Jesus was guiltless
And I believe this is the one thing This is the one thing That heaven and hell gonna agree upon It's one thing that angels And the devil will all confess
That Jesus Is guiltless Everyone knows that Everyone understands that Jesus is guiltless He had no fault The Bible tells us in first Peter chapter 1 and verse 19 Jesus is the sinless Spotless Lamb of God He had no guilt He had no fault He had no sin Jesus is the sinless Son of God He had no guilt And what pilot did When he came out of his palace Was declare What heaven already knew Jesus Christ was guiltless And beloved That's the point
Is the point
He was declaring Jesus unfit for the cross But it was his perfection That made him The only one fit for the cross Jesus was sent to the cross beloved Not because he was guilty But because we are This is indy for himself
He died for you and me He didn't die because he disobeyed his parents He died because you and I do He didn't die because he was lustful He died because you and I are He didn't die because he was unfaithful He died because you and I are
Because The sinless The sinless save you died My sinful soul Is counted free For God the just Is satisfied To look on him And pardon me Pilot came out there beloved And riddened the verdict The only verdict that really could make a difference That Jesus was sinless That he was guiltless
And yet it is not the verdict of pilot that made the difference Is the verdict of God This morning And here is the verdict of God this morning Thank Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 21 The God made him Christ Who knew no sin To be sin for us So that in Christ We might become The righteousness of God
He who knew no sin Became sin So that we might become The righteousness of God Bearing shame And scoffing ruin The song says in my place Condemned he stood Sealed my pardon with his blood Halleluja Halleluja What a savior What a savior The verdict This morning Is that I am set free Because Christ
With guiltless And he took my sin He took my guilt That I might be pardoned And now God Looks at me And says Not guilty If the blood of Christ fits
You must acquit
And he does beloved He does Let's pray