Pastor: If you would remain standing and now turn to a copy of the scriptures. We are in the Gospel of Luke. We are in chapter 22 beginning in verse 63 reading to the end of this chapter, Luke, chapter 22 beginning in verse 63 before we read, let's go to the Lord in prayer. Lord, it is our prayer that you would speak And Lord, we thank you that you are not silent, but that you are speaking to us through your power of your Word. Lord, let your Holy Spirit go before us and open up our hearts, our eyes and our ears that we might hear and and believe, Lord, bless your people as we come to your word in Jesus's name. Amen, people of God, hear God's word for you this morning from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 22 beginning in verse 63 now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. They also blindfolded him and kept asking him prophesy, who is it that struck you? And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him. When the day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes, and they led him away to their counsel, and they said, if you are the Christ, tell us. But he said to them, if I tell you, you will not believe, and if I ask you, you will not answer. But from now on, the Son of man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God. So they all said, Are you the son of God? Then? And he said to them, you say that I am? Then they said, What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from His own lips. He who has ears, let him hear the Word of God. Please be seated. If you remember the last time we were in Luke, we were considering the apostle Peter.
Pastor: He had been slowly distancing himself from Jesus, maybe not intentionally, but you remember Jesus had told him to pray, watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. Peter didn't pray. Rather, he slept and also distancing himself and his presumption. Now I'm never going to leave you Jesus and His presumption and his prayerlessness leads Peter to deny Jesus without any hesitation and comprehensively.
Pastor: And he does it not only once, but three times. And it's shocking. Maybe it's surprising us that someone like Peter would do that, but it's not surprising to Jesus. In fact, Jesus had told us that this would happen.
Pastor: Jesus told Peter this was going to happen. But Jesus also told Peter that I'm praying for you, Peter, I have prayed for you that you would not be sifted like wheat, but when you turn, strengthen the brothers, and if you come now to our account, then you have been reading Luke so far, and you didn't know the ending, I bet you would think it's all over at this point. You know, it's not going so well anymore. Uh, Jesus has had a good run, but all good things have to come to an end. You know, he's really has tried his best. He has tried his best to get people to listen to him, but he's finished, isn't he? The apostles are sleeping when they ought to be praying. He has been betrayed by Judas, one of the 12, and now even Peter has denied him.
Pastor: I think the purpose, though, however, of what Luke is telling us here in our short passage is that Jesus actually has not lost control at all. In fact, Jesus is sovereign over even this situation, he's in control of everything. Why? Because he is God. He is the Son of man. He is the Son of God. And I think that's the message of this passage that we should all be walking away with, that Jesus is, in fact, not only control of this situation, is in control of every situation, of our lives, of others lives, because he is the God man. He is the Messiah.
Pastor: He is the Savior of sinners, and we can be encouraged by that.
Pastor: Now, while Peter was in the courtyard, remember from last sermon, Peter was in the courtyard, and he is denied.
Pastor: Dying Jesus comprehensively, passionately without any hesitation, three times while Peter is in the courtyard, something else is also happening at that location. Verse 63 tells us now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. They also blindfolded him and kept asking him prophesy. Who is it that struck you? And they said many other things against him, blaspheming Him. Jesus is not only imprisoned unjustly, but now we see he's being mocked.
Pastor: He's being beat, he's blindfolded and being blasphemed. This should show us, in many ways, the deep, dark corruption of fallen human nature, of our nature, not only what's happening in the lives of these men doing this to Jesus, but also a picture of our own hearts. Have any of you experienced, and I know you have on the playground when you're growing up, and a child begins to be picked on in the playground by a group of others, and maybe you were the one that was getting picked on, or maybe you're in the crowd picking on one of these kids during recess, and often that child is being picked on for no reason whatsoever, except that that person is maybe perceived as being not in the in crowd, maybe being perceived as weak, maybe being perceived as different, or maybe just because they are new.
Pastor: And ladies, a group of girls, will come around another girl and just constantly cast insults at one person to that person is broken and in tears, and boys, maybe not casting insults as much, but taking up dodge balls or other balls and hurling them or pushing and shoving. And this happens often in the playground.
Pastor: And for some reason, children think that it is quite funny and entertaining to break another human being down. But I think one of the lessons I have learned as I've gotten a little older is that most people are actually still like children, just like a but with adult bodies, and that's what we have here in our text, actually full grown men acting like those children on the playground. They perceived Jesus as weak, powerless, detestable. Why?
Pastor: Because Isaiah tells us he has no outward majesty about him, and they felt more at liberty to torture him, because you don't pick on people who can beat you up. That's at least one thing you learn in the playground. You don't pick on the people that you know are just going to turn around and just pummel you into the ground. You leave them alone, but they perceive Jesus as being weak, and what's he going to do? He's powerless.
Pastor: Look at this guy. He's nothing.
Pastor: So we now have the freedom to pick on him and torture him because he's going to he what he's has no power, no ability whatsoever. They have also heard that Jesus is a prophet of God, and he is and they decide to pray the play a cruel game.
Pastor: Let's tie him up and blindfold him and have him prophesy. Guys, don't you want to hear a prophecy? Don't Hey, this guy says he's a prophet. Don't you want to hear him prophesy? Let's do it. So that's what that's happening here. They take the Son of God, the One sinless man, they blindfold him, and they beat him and they they mock Him, saying, who hits you, who hits you, blow after blow after blow, when he opened not his mouth.
Pastor: Now, does Jesus know who hit him? Absolutely, he does. Jesus knows, in fact, everything about these men. Jesus knows these men better than they know themselves. Jesus knows their every thought. Jesus knows everything that these men have ever done or ever will do. Jesus knows all Jesus is in control of this situation. In fact, Jesus told us just a little bit before that this exact thing was going to happen. You can look at Luke chapter 18, verse 32 and Jesus says, See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished, for he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. Well, if Jesus is in control of it, why doesn't he stop it? Because he's fulfilling the prophecy. He's fulfilling the Old Testament. He's fulfilling. Salvation on your behalf, he's fulfilling Isaiah, 50 verse six, for example. He says, I gave my back to those who strike me and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard. I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. You and I, being spit upon or struck. Might have a tendency to turn or get away, but not Jesus. He willingly subjects himself to this for your salvation and mine. Jesus is willing and calm submission, even here in this situation, to abuse and insults and injury shows the depth of his love for sinners. Romans five eight for God shows His love for us, and that why we were still sinners.
Pastor: Christ died for us, because if you just put yourself in Jesus's situation, and let's say you, too know all things and have all power. What would you do in this situation? You know what I would do. I know what I would do. I'm calling down all of those legions of angels at this very moment, and I'm going to have all those men ripped apart, every single man, they're going to be turned to dust. That's what I would do if I was Jesus.
Pastor: I'm going to bring judgment down right then and there, and I'm not going to let those men touch me one more time. But Jesus doesn't do that. He could have done that. He's willingly drinking the cup of judgment and wrath for you, what Jesus is going through is what you and I deserve. But he is willingly drinking the cup that the father put in front of him. Remember that the cup of curse, the cup of curse, and he is willingly drinking it to the very drags for your sake.
Pastor: I think often in these texts, it's easy for us to just read them and walk away thinking, poor Jesus. Oh, we just have pity for Jesus, but that is forgetting who Jesus is and what he is doing. He has chosen to do this. Jesus has all power and all authority, and he is willingly subjecting himself to this, to wash away your sins, to save you, to cleanse you, to redeem you, to save a people for Himself. And so a response to this passage shouldn't be, oh, dear Jesus. Pity Jesus. Poor Jesus. We should say, hallelujah. What a Savior who would subject himself to this for us. I wouldn't do it, but Jesus did it. Luke, here is actually, if you see here in this, in those short verses there, he's kind of hinting and helping us to remember who Jesus is at this time, he says, And they blasphemed him. You can't blaspheme my name. Uh, my name rightly deserves to be trampled upon and dragged through the mud, but not Jesus. See, you can only blaspheme God and God's name. You can only take God's name in vain, and so even Luke, and using that phrase and they blasphemed him, is pointing us to the true identity of Jesus as the living God. But not only Luke reminds us of that. Jesus says it himself next in verse 66 when the day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes, and they led him away to their council, and they said, if you are the Christ, tell us. But he said to them, if I tell you, you will not believe and if I ask, you will not answer. Now I want you to notice what's happened here in our text. The day has come.
Pastor: We've been in Luke now over two years, and we have the life of Christ, his birth, his ministry, and then we've entered the week, his final week. But now we're in the last day. This is the day that Christ will be crucified, the day has come. It's not only referring to daylight, which is true, but this is the day of His crucifixion. And we're told the elders of Jerusalem, the chief priests and the scribes, have all gathered together and they are putting Jesus on trial now, when they are. Arrested Jesus back in the Garden of Gethsemane. Do you remember what they charged Jesus with? Do you remember they came into the garden and they arrested Jesus, and what did they charge him with? The reason you don't remember is because they didn't charge him with anything. There was no charge there. They don't have a charge against him, but they have a judgment already.
Pastor: And if you have your Bibles open, you can look at Luke, chapter 22 verse two, and you see there's no charge, but you already see the judgment has been made. And so at what we're and I'll read Luke chapter 22 verse two, says, and the chief priests and the scribes, the same people here in our text, they were seeking how to put him to death, for they feared. The people see the judgments already been pronounced. So they're they're on trial, they already know the judgment. And so what they're trying to figure out is, how can we get some kind of proper justification to get to the sentence that we've already determined for Jesus. That's what's happening. This is not a trial in any way, manner or form, that is seeking truth.
Pastor: They're seeking to put him to death, and they're willing to do whatever it takes to let that be the outcome. In fact, in Matthew's account. In Matthew chapter 26 verse 59 it says, now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death.
Pastor: They're trying to get people to come in and lie about Jesus. We want this to be as much of a kangaroo court. Things seem to be going our way. Our goal is the death of Jesus, and whatever it takes, that's what we're going to do. And as we'll see in the next passage, as we when we spill into chapter 23 they, they think, they seem to think, I think our best avenue to get Jesus to be put to death, if we focus on that kingly aspect, that of the Messiah that Christ has claimed to be. And so they say here, if you're the Christ, tell us, if You're the Messiah, tell us. And they want Jesus at this point to say, Yes, I am the Messiah. Because they they believe, if you remember, many people believed at that time that the Messiah would be this kingly person that would come to overthrow Rome, you know, make Israel great again. That's a lot of people thought about the Messiah. And so they're not really interested in the promises of God, in the Messiah.
Pastor: They're not really in the interested in the salvation that God would provide through the Messiah. They simply want Jesus to make Jesus. Would you please just hear before everyone make some type of kingly claim, so then we can condemn you and tell Rome, because Rome has the power to put people to death. Rome hasn't allowed us to have power to put people to death. They don't let us do that, but Rome does. And if we can go to Rome and tell them, Hey, there's this guy, and he's claiming to be clean, Oh, he's so dangerous.
Pastor: He's really He's a rebellion and everything, and you got to put him to death. That's what they're wanting Jesus to do. And so Jesus says, First, if I tell you, you will not believe he recognizes what's going on.
Pastor: Again, they're not looking for truth. They're not saying, you know, Jesus, I'm really wrestling, and I don't know, should I believe in you? No, that is not at all what they are doing. They just want to put them to death. And Jesus says, If I tell you, you won't believe, if I give you a direct answer, you will not believe. I think this is very telling. I think even in our day, that the problem of belief is not through the scriptures. The problem of belief is not even in a not so good sermon, or even in your testimony as witnesses to family and friends. The problem of belief is here in the heart.
Pastor: God's word is powerful, it is sufficient and it is good. The problem of belief comes in Darkened Heart and hearts. God's word is clear. Christ is clear.
Pastor: The problem is our hearts. Jesus even said in Luke chapter 16, if they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced that someone even rises from the dead. You know, often people think that, you know, if, if God just wrote in the sky or showed someone or maybe rising from the dead, yeah, maybe I would believe in God, and Jesus says, Nope, that is not the problem. Even if someone rises from the dead, even if Jesus, even in the courtroom, starts bringing dead people back to life, they will still try to put him to death.
Pastor: They do. Jesus has performed miracle after miracle after miracle confirming every single word that he has said, and they will not and they do not believe he says, Even if I fully reveal Myself, you won't believe me.
Pastor: You do not believe because you are not among my sheep, as Jesus says in John chapter 10, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. Now Jesus then goes on to say, if I ask you, you will not answer.
Pastor: And then you might think, Well, what? What's what's Jesus going to ask? So what's Jesus going to ask that they won't even answer back and and I think maybe the question that Jesus might ask that they won't even respond back to is, do you believe that I am the Christ, or maybe even as as Jesus put the Peter, who do you say that I am? And that's the whole point of this book.
Pastor: That's the whole point, not only of Luke, but of this entire scripture, is, who is the Lord Jesus Christ? Who do you believe that he is? Do you believe that He is the Son of God? Do you believe that he is the savior of sinners. Do you believe that He is the God man? Do you believe that there is no life out part outside of the Lord Jesus Christ? What will it take for you to believe? Because Luke has been laboring with you for so long now, trying to convince you to show you like his his friend, Theophilus, that you might believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. These are not judges in a trial seeking to receive a Messiah. They are children and children of the devil, as Jesus tells them, so Jesus says, Here how I'll answer you. In verse 69 he says, This is how I'll respond to your answers. But from now on, the Son of man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God. If you remember, the Son of Man is Jesus's favorite title to use for himself in the gospels, he uses it 81 times or more.
Pastor: It's not referring to an offspring of man, but you might remember, it's referring to a prophecy found in Daniel chapter seven. Excuse me, verses 13 and 14, and I'll read that, because this is what Jesus is referring to, when he uses this title, The Son of Man. And behold, when with the clouds of heaven, there came one like a Son of man. And he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.
Pastor: And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations and languages, should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. Daniel sees this prophecy, and he sees someone who appears in human form and human flesh, but is also coming with all the power and glory of God, and this son of man that is prophesied, he will come as an everlasting King and will put all of his enemies under His feet and all will worship him.
Pastor: So what's Jesus doing here in our text? He's giving them an answer. He's answering their question, not in the way that they want him to, but he is saying, I am the Christ. I am the Messiah. I'm the son of man.
Pastor: Jesus, though, is also warning them that unless they repent, their laughter will turn to weeping, because they too will stand before Jesus on trial, on judgment day. They think they are judging Jesus, but Jesus is saying, I'm the judge, I'm the judge, and you will stand before me. You think you stand over me in judgment, but I am over you, and I will judge with righteous judgment all those who do not believe me and my claims to be the Messiah of God. I'm humbled now, but one day I will be exalted as Daniel seven says, the exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ, He says, The Son of man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God. Now Jesus is also using another text here, you know, help us understand what he's saying. And this is the Psalm 110 text.
Pastor: Psalm 110 reference here about the right hand and the power of God. The Son of Man has the right hand of the power of God.
Pastor: In Psalm 110 it says the Lord, says to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. The Lord is at your right hand. He will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
Pastor: He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses. He will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. Judge.
Pastor: Judgment. He's declaring a warning, not only to them, but even now to you who do not believe that He is the eternal Son of God, that He is the Messiah, that He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
Pastor: This is judgment. You will be crushed. You will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ, and unless you repent, you too will likewise perish. But Jesus has come to save sinners, and he calls you to believe, to put your faith in Him, and you will not perish, but have eternal life. You know, our faith as Christians is not just looking simply to the cross. We look to the resurrection, that Jesus is risen. He's risen indeed, and he's reigning. Jesus is no longer the suffering servant.
Pastor: He's no longer on the cross.
Pastor: He's risen and reigning, and this is what he's telling them, I might look me Bell feeble, I might look frail, but I am the king, unless you believe you will perish. Jesus is mocked today, and you who claim Jesus Christ, you too are probably mocked for believing such a thing. But Jesus reminds us that He is coming. He is coming, and we will all stand before him.
Pastor: Psalm two reminds us, we must kiss the son, lest he be angry and you perish in the way. But blessed are all who take refuge in Him. Our only comfort from the Messiah is to be found in the Messiah. By faith, resting in Him, put your belief in him, call upon his name and you will be saved. The leaders know what Jesus is saying here, and they know their Old Testaments better than we know ourselves, sadly, including the book of Daniel.
Pastor: And so they repeat back to him, Are you saying you're the Son of God then? And they say that because they know what Jesus is claiming. That's why they're so angry at Jesus. They're not trying to put Jesus to death because Jesus healed people.
Pastor: They're not putting Jesus to death because he did all these neat miracles. They're putting Jesus to death because they hate God again, Psalm two. They want to burst their burst. God's bonds apart. They want to be free from God. We hate God. We want to rule ourselves. We want to build our own kingdoms, our own temples. We hate God, and that is man's natural disposition. Ever since the fall, we hate God, but God came to save us. Jesus says, you say that I am, and you say that I am was a use of a manner of speech that agreed with the statement without necessarily indicating total agreement. So what I think, what Jesus is saying there is, I am, but I might correct your understanding of it, because he knows they're trying to be manipulative of him. And then they said, What further testimony do we need? We have heard it from ourselves for heard it ourselves from His own lips. And so you see that they understand Jesus's claim to be the Messiah, to be the Christ, to be the Son of Man that is pictured back in Daniel seven.
Pastor: They understand it. And they said, What else we got it? We got it yes to death with him, Jesus makes this very clear affirmation, and we see the reaction. And let me just then end by asking you, who do you say that he is? Who is Jesus?
Pastor: What we have recorded here. This is not a legend. This is not a myth. This is a historical account recorded to us about what happened to Jesus in Jerusalem, and as he is, Lewis says, you either have. To believe that Jesus is a liar, a lunatic or Lord. Which is he to you? Will you put your faith in the Lord Jesus, Christ, or will you perish? Will you believe?
Pastor: Will you be blessed in Christ, or will you be cursed in your own sins? I want you to just to reflect this afternoon too, as you think about this text that Jesus is being betrayed for you.
Pastor: He's being humiliated for you.
Pastor: He's suffering for you. He's in bondage and in isolation and in judgment for you, that you the unrighteous, might be made righteous, because he who knew no sin became sin for you, so that you might have the righteousness of God, that you might be saved. And Jesus is subjecting himself through all of this so that you might be saved. Will you believe? Will you put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? Let's pray, Father. We thank you for our Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, if it was me, I would have quickly called judgment down. But Lord, in your long suffering and patience with sinners, you would send your son to die for us to subject himself to mockery and to beatings. Lord, I pray that you will help us to have heavenly eyes, to see Jesus Christ, not only in his humiliation, but now his exaltation, that even as we confess in the Apostles Creed, that that he is risen, and he is sitting at the right hand of God, the Father almighty, from where he shall come the judge the living and the dead. And today might be the day So Lord, I pray that you will help us to have sober minds and sober hearts, to call upon the name of the Lord and be and be saved, lest we perish. It's in Jesus's name we pray amen.