Sermon for Lord's Day May 28, 2023 Luke 23: 1-11 Jesus before Pilate and Herod

Luke's Gospel, chapter 23, yes,

Luke chapter 23, after saying chapter 22 for several months now, chapter 23,

Luke chapter 23, verses 1 through 11, thank you for standing to honor the reading of God's holy word.

This is the word of God, then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate, and they began to accuse him, saying, we found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is

Christ, a king. And Pilate asked him, are you the king of the

Jews? And he answered him, you have said so. Then Pilate said to the chief priests in the crowds,

I find no guilt in this man. But they were urgent, saying, he stirs up the people teaching throughout all

Judea from Galilee even to this place. When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a

Galilean, speaking of Jesus, and when he learned that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time.

When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him.

So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him, and Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him, then arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate.

Thus far is the reading of God's holy word. You may be seated this morning. We pray the

Lord would add his blessings to his word. The aim today is for you to see

Christ in the scriptures. In chapter 22, really chapter 22, through where we are, through the remainder of the text up until the resurrection, really has all taken place within just a matter of hours, literally hours.

The Lord institutes his supper. He confesses to the disciples that his body would be given and his blood would be shed for the remission of the sins of the world.

In matter of fact, he called it the new covenant in his blood. The old covenant that had been typified and set forth by the shedding of the blood of bulls and goats for a temporary covering of sin would soon, in just a matter of hours, be done away with because Jesus Christ, the

Lamb of God, would take away the sin of the world by propitiating on that cross for our sins, by taking upon him the wrath of Almighty God.

So he's betrayed with a kiss in the garden. The Sanhedrin and the temple guards have all come, taken

Jesus by night, wrongly tried him at night. Then, if you recall last week, they had another trial in the daytime as though that would make this a riot event, which it was not.

They did another farce trial for Jesus. Jesus stands before the council in verse 68 of chapter 22.

Jesus tells him, if I tell you that I'm the Christ, you will not believe me. And if I ask you, you will not answer.

But Jesus said, from now on, from this moment forward, the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.

And they asked him then, are you then the Son of God? And he said to them, you say that I am.

Then they said in disgust, what further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his lips.

And so here we are in chapter 23. Just to give you a brief summary statement of what we're going to be going through today.

Number one, Jesus is taken to Pilate by the Sanhedrin, by the court of the 70.

He is found guilty by the Jewish council of the Sanhedrin. Then he's taken to be tried in the court of the

Roman government, to a secular court to be tried. In the religious court, he was found guilty.

But what we're going to see in the text is in the secular court, he was found innocent.

But just because he was found innocent in the secular court, that does not mean that those who found him innocent were innocent of any blood, for they were guilty of the blood and of the body of Jesus Christ.

And last of all, what we see here and really what we'll get into next week, but I do want to mention this in verse 12, we'll see this next week, but Jesus unjust accusation brought reconciliation between King Herod and Pilate, the

Roman procurator, who had previously been at odds with one another. So keep that in mind as you read throughout the week.

Let's look at the text here, though. Number one, the scripture says the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate.

Remember, every word matters. What is being spoken of here, the whole company of them.

If you can imagine this, whether you can imagine it or not, this is what the word is meaning.

The whole company of them is speaking of the Jewish Sanhedrin, the court of the seventy.

And you can imagine once a crowd starts gathering or a crowd is gathered, more crowd starts to gather because you have onlookers, you have spectators, you have individuals who are curious about what is taking place.

But just for the sake of specificity, let's consider the 70 of the Sanhedrin. So the whole company, the whole 70 of the

Sanhedrin arose, brought Jesus to Pilate, the

Roman governor. And so the scripture says this, they arose together and when they arose together, they were, believe this or not, unified.

They were unified in a single purpose. And what was this single purpose?

It was to crucify the Lord, the Lord God Almighty.

And they brought him to Pilate. So here they go. Imagine if you can see this, here they go.

They begin to rattle off their list of accusations. They begin one by one making appeals to who?

To their political leader. They were looking to the political leaders of their day to take the burden off of them.

But friends, you must know this today. There is no brother, no sister, no mother, no father. There is no political leadership.

There is no place that will ever take the guilt of sin from you. There is one who has done that.

It is Jesus Christ, the Lord. But they were seeking to make appeals to the political leader of the day.

So what was this appeal? What was this accusation? According to the text, this is what the scripture says.

And verse two, and they began to accuse him. And this is what they said. We found this man misleading our nation.

Stop right there. I know that's not the end of a sentence, but let's look at this statement. Misleading our nation.

The word used here in the Greek for nation is the word ethnos. And it's simply a synonym for our people,

Israel. So they are complaining to the government, if you would have it, about how this man,

Jesus, was misleading their people. Misleading their group.

Now, this is very important here. It's very important that we understand a little bit of history. It's here that it would be beneficial for us to know the context of the relationship between Rome and Israel.

The Roman government and Israel, though they may constantly be at odds, there was always secret handshakes taking places.

There was always backdoor deals going on. They were holding hands behind the scenes the whole way.

So the ordinary people of the Jewish homeland, for the people of the ordinary Jewish homeland,

Rome was a dominant political factor. And although in Galilee, in Jerusalem, they may not see

Romans on a day -to -day basis, the imposition of Roman power was certainly there.

In the case of the client kingdom, which is speaking of Jerusalem, Judea, in the case of the client kingdom,

Judea, Herod's rule, and Herod's forces would have been the political entity. So I mention this for a very specific reason, because this is what we just read in the text.

The Sanhedrin took Jesus to Pilate, Pilate sends Jesus to Herod, and we'll find next week that Herod sends

Jesus back to Pilate. Pilate gives Jesus back over to the Jewish people, and he is crucified.

So going on, everyone knew that Rome was the power behind Herod's throne. Everyone knew that Rome was the source of both the wealth and also the source of some of the problems that occurred in the

Jewish state. So the political reality of the day was a dominant power,

Rome, overseeing life in Jerusalem, Judea, and all the surrounding countries on a day -to -day basis.

Now, Judaism, Judaism itself under Rome was conflicted. On the one hand, many understood that Rome was the fourth empire designated by God in the book of Daniel to rule over Judea.

And so messianic hopes were high to overthrow pagan Romans and bring in the kingdom.

On the other hand, because Antipater had helped Julius Caesar win in Egypt, Judaism had received legal status in the

Roman Empire. So the Romans allowed the Jews to practice, quote, unquote, their religion, right, for kickbacks and cooperation, so on and so forth.

This was the reality. Now, this tension did divide Jewish society, and I'm quoting here on this last portion,

I'm quoting from a web page entitled Israel, My Glory. This tension divided

Jewish society, those in power, the Herodian dynasty, those of Herod's kingship, the high priestly families, and the

Sadducees were not looking for a messiah since that would upset the present order and the

Romans who had placed them in power. This mindset explains what the chief priest said in, if you look over in John's gospel, chapter 19 and verse 15, we have no king but Caesar.

This is what the Jewish Sanhedrin, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the religious leaders of their day, they confessed, we have no king but Caesar.

So they denounced the lordship of God who had delivered them and their heritage out of Egypt's bondage of slavery, delivered them into the promised land, fulfilled every promise that he said he would give to them, they denied

God his glory. Moving forward, now, what happened here, the zealots, the other group, so you have the

Jews, the Sadducees and the Pharisees on one hand, and then you have a group of people called the zealots.

Now, the zealots sought to bring in God's kingdom through violent resistance, through a rebellion, through an overthrow.

By the way, if you read any Christian history, if you read Josephus' history, you'll find part of the destruction of Jerusalem itself was brought about because of the activity of the

Jewish zealots of their day. They were always going beyond where they should go, right?

So the Sadducees and the Pharisees were always playing a backhanded game of chess, the zealots were trying to take everything by force.

One group attempts to play the go -on -to -get -along game, and the other group insisted on using their own brand of justice to make things right.

These zealots, basically, if they would have had a theme song, I think they would have came in cranking the

Beastie Boys. You've got to fight for your right to party. Some of you scholars may be sitting out there, or if you're on Facebook, you're saying,

I'm not listening to that guy anymore. Everybody knows that they didn't have the Beastie Boys back then. It's sarcasm,

Sheldon. Just chill. But our song, as the church, our song as Christian men and women, might go something like this.

Our fight, we know that our fight is what? Not against flesh and blood. We know what

Christ said, my kingdom is not of this world, for if it were of flesh and blood, it would be of this world, but our song is confidence and trust in a sovereign

God. The song says this, O sovereign God, O matchless

King, the saints adore, and the angels sing, and fall before your throne of grace, to you belongs the highest praise, these sufferings, this passing tide, under your wings, we will abide, and every enemy shall flee, because while Jesus, you are my hope, and you are my victory, our victory is in Christ Jesus, the

Lord, and Christ Jesus, the Lord is King, he's ruling, he's reigning, and how is he full of Jesus Christ, in the kingdom of God, and his gospel.

Now, for some more biblical evidence, that what they were saying about Jesus is untrue before Pilate, because back to verse two, we found this man misleading our nation, and they had the audacity to say this, and we found him forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, stinking liars, and I say that with full emotion, because if you turn over to Matthew's gospel, chapter 17, verse 24 through 27, because the whole time of Jesus' ministry, they had their minions watching him, they had their minions listening for him, because the scripture says they look for every way possible, to get him, to trick him, and to kill him,

Matthew chapter 17 verse 24 through 27, this is the word of God, when they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two drachma tax went up to Peter, and said concerning to Peter, does your teacher concerning Christ not pay tax, and Peter said yes, and when he came into the house,

Jesus spoke to him first, saying, what do you think Simon, from whom do the kings of the earth take toll, or whom do they take tax, did they take it from their sons, or do they take it from others, and when he said from others,

Jesus said to him, the sons are free, however do not give offense to them, go to the sea, and cast the hook, and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel, take that, and give that to them, for me and for yourself, does it sound like Jesus refused to pay taxes to Caesar, no it did not, and by the way, a shekel is a day's wage,

I'm sorry, the drachma is a day's wage, a shekel is worth four drachma, so all they had to pay was two drachma, but Jesus sent them four drachma, as if to say get you some of that,

Luke chapter 20, Luke chapter 20, verse 20 through 26, this is the word of God, so they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority, and the jurisdiction of the governor, so they asked him, teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and you show no partiality, but you truly teach the way of God, is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar or not, now does that question sound shadowy or ambiguous in any way, they asked

Jesus a direct question, and so he perceived their craftiness, Jesus perceived their craftiness, and he said to them, show me a denarius, so they pulled out a denarius, and Jesus asked, whose likeness and inscription does it have, and they said,

Caesar's, he said to them, then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are

God's, and they were not able in the presence of the people to catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer, they became silent, two instances, there's more, but two instances there, we see from the scriptures that Jesus never said don't pay tribute or taxes to Caesar, they were to give

Caesar, in J .C. Ryle's commentary, he said this, they were to give to Caesar the things which were

Caesar's, they had just said that Caesar had some temporal authority over them, they recognized that, for they used the money that Caesar had coined, it was lawful tender between man and man, they probably had no objection about receiving gifts and payments using

Roman currency, so they should not pretend that all payments made to Caesar were unlawful, by their own admission,

Ryle says this, by their own admission, Caesar exercised some rule over them, let them obey that rule in temporal things, if they did not refuse to use

Caesar's money, let them not refuse to pay Caesar's temporal dues, going on, they were further to give

God the things which belong to God, they were, there were many dues which

God required at their hands, this group of individuals who professed to know the Word of God, they had the

Old Testament, they professed to know God, but if, and Ryle said this, they were, there were many dues which

God required at their hands which they might easily pay if they were inclined to do so, but they were not inclined to do so, why?

Because their heart had not been changed, their mind had not been renewed by the

Spirit of God, they could not, they could not say that Caesar made such payments, impossible, let them see to it that they gave to God his dues,

Ryle said, in spiritual things, as well as giving to Caesar his dues in temporal things, there was no need for a clash between the demands of the temporal, the temporal authority and their heavenly sovereign, in temporal things, let them obey the powers under whose authority they allowed themselves to be, and in spiritual things, let them do as their forefathers had done, and simply obey

God. And notice again what this term used in the text, they accused

Jesus, the term accused there, they accused Jesus of misleading him, now the

Greek word accused is only used 22 times in 23 verses in the

Greek New Testament, that's all that it's used, 8 of those times it's in reference to what the

Pharisees did to Jesus, 8 out of 22 times in 23 verses, this is the term that under the inspiration of the

Holy Spirit we have preserved in the text of God, we have this, notice also in the latter part of verse 2 what they say, they appealed to Caesar and then they get to the heart of their problem that they had with Jesus, which was this, that he said he is the

Christ, they had no problem with him, they had plenty of kings, but Jesus declared himself to be the

Christ of God, the promised Messiah to come. In Matthew chapter 16 verse 15 through 17,

Sir quoted this earlier today, he said to them concerning this, his Jesus talk with the

Apostles, who do men say that I am? Some say Elijah, some say Jeremiah, some say other of the prophets, but who do you say that I am?

And that's when Peter testified, makes the great confession of faith, you are the

Christ, the Son of the living God, blessed are you Simon, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my

Father which is in heaven has revealed this to you. In Matthew chapter 22 verse 41 through 46, this is the

Word of God, now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question saying, what do you think about the

Christ, whose son is he? They said to him, the son of David. He said to them, how is it then that David in the spirit calls him

Lord, saying the Lord, Yahweh said to my Lord, Adonai, how is he his son?

And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare ask him any more questions.

Luke chapter 2, Luke chapter 2 verse 10 through 14, this is the Word of God, the angel said to him, for fear not, for behold

I bring you, for unto you is born this day, where in the city of David, a

Savior, who is Christ the Lord, Messiah, the

Adonai, and this will be a sign for you, you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger, and suddenly as we have it,

I know it ain't Christmas, but every day's Christmas for us as Christians. And the scripture says suddenly they were praising

God and saying glory to God in the highest and on earth peace amongst those with whom he is pleased.

Luke chapter 2 a little bit further, verse 22 through 32, the Word of God says this, when the time came for their purification, when the time came for Jesus to be brought according to the law of Moses to the temple, they brought him, who brought him?

Mary Joseph. They brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord as it is written in the law of the

Lord, every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord. And they came to offer sacrifice to what is said in the law of the

Lord, a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons. Now here's the good part, now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was

Simeon, and this man was righteous, and this man was devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel.

And the Holy Spirit was upon him, and it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he saw the

Lord's Christ. He was given assurance of faith in that he would literally see the

Lord's Christ with his eyes. And the scripture says this, and he came in the

Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and he blessed

God. Now, I know the King James, the ESV, the

NASB 95, or the NSB 2020, whatever you may have, the latest standard

Bible probably don't say this, but I believe that Simeon probably let out a shout of victory right there.

I believe he probably said Hallelujah! Thank you Lord! Amen! Glory to God!

But he said, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace. You know what he's saying?

I can die now. I can die, no qualms, no quarrels, no problem.

I'm ready. Lord, let your servant now depart in peace according to your

Word. Notice what his confidence was based on, the Word of God. Not based upon his feeling of the day, not based on popular opinion, but it was based on the rock -solid, settled foundation of the

Word of the living God. For my eyes have seen your salvation, that you have prepared in the presence of all people a light for revelation to the

Gentiles and a glory for your people Israel. And then back to our text here, verse 3, notice what

Pilate asked the question himself, are you the king of the Jews? It says it, and Pilate asked him, are you the king of the

Jews? And he answered him, you have said so. He did not deny it.

You have said so. Verse 4, what does Pilate do in the text? Pilate gives his verdict. Very plain, very clear, very straightforward.

I find no guilt. I find this man to be innocent. Jesus wasn't a threat to the Roman kingdom.

Pilate didn't think Jesus was guilty. So how much more equity,

Matthew Poole said this, how much more justice and equity our Savior found from a heathen than from the

Jewish churchmen. Remember what we're going to look at next week?

Herod and Pilate, who were basically at odds with one another, became friends because they were unified over crucifying the

Lord. But Poole said, how much more justice and equity our Savior found from a heathen than from the

Jewish churchmen. The latter condemned him without any proof. After all the attempts at subordination and they seek to destroy him, whether they're right or whether they're wrong.

Pilate used all endeavors to deliver him and to set him at liberty. In verse 5, the

Sanhedrin became more vocal. Notice what verse 5 says, but they were more urgent. They thought to themselves, maybe if I can just speak a little louder.

Maybe if I just tear my breastplate a little bit more, show how much more holy

I am. How much more. Jesus said, the scripture says they were urgent, saying, he stirs up the people, teaching throughout all

Judea from Galilee even to this place. Pilate's not an idiot.

Pilate's a politician. You know that though they look like idiots and act like idiots, that they're not idiots.

Some of them. Some of them, it's amazing how they are where they are. I wonder how they tie their shoe in the morning.

But nevertheless, in general, politicians have intelligence. And so Pilate, what he does when the

Sanhedrin declares this, makes this statement, Pilate says, oh you know what, I'll get this out of my hands and we'll send him over to Jesus.

And that's what we see in verse 6 through 12. We see Pilate pawning Jesus off and even pawning off his own responsibility to make a decision concerning Jesus and who he is to a lower -level king, which does nothing, looking back on it, that shows his weakness.

You must make a choice. You must make the decision. Is Jesus Christ Lord or is he not?

Is Jesus Christ God or is he not? Confessing, the scripture says this, if you confess with your mouth the

Lord Jesus, you will be saved. By believing in your heart that God has done thee dead.

That's what the scripture says. Herod also was in Jerusalem. Why? How convenient that God so sovereignly orchestrated the circumstances here.

God sovereignly orchestrated the circumstances here so that Herod himself was in Jerusalem so they didn't have to go but across town apparently.

They sent Jesus to Herod, the Sanhedrin, they get up in their little gang, they get up in their little group, they take

Jesus over to Herod, leave Pilate's palace, and what the scripture says took place was that Herod, when he saw

Jesus, got excited because he had heard all about Jesus. He had heard about the many wonders and signs that Jesus had accomplished throughout

Judea and Galilee. He knew about all these things and sadly the scripture makes it clear that's all he was looking to see.

He just wanted to see a miracle. He just wanted to see something happen. He didn't care about who

Jesus was. But my friends, it still matters today.

Going on, the scripture says this, chapter 23 verse 8, when

Herod saw Jesus he was very glad for a long desire to see him because he had heard about him and he was hoping to see some sign done by him.

So Herod was there, why? Because of the Feast of Passover. Again, God sovereignly orchestrates this.

The Passover was a perpetual remembrance throughout the generations of the children of Israel of how the

Lord delivered them and how did the Lord deliver them? By the shedding of the blood of a lamb, by them putting that blood over the doorpost and on the windows of their door.

And when the death angel came through they were saved. And so what they had no idea was taking place was this, that the

Lamb of God that took away the sin was about to die.

No longer a temporary sacrifice that had to be repeated over and over and over. So we see how

Herod was there. When Herod saw Jesus he was glad. The Bible tells us why in verse 8,

I've just told you that they desired to see him so they might do some sign or wonder. And let me say this, to be honest,

I cannot say with absolute certainty that there wasn't some genuine curiosity in Herod.

When you hear of the mighty and wonderful works of God there is a genuine curiosity.

However, it is highly likely that Herod was just like everyone else and he was simply looking for the next best thrill.

My friend, you cannot come into Christianity just to see the next best thrill.

To get the next best feel. Because there's gonna be plenty of days for you as a

Christian where you do not even feel like getting out of bed. You want to hide your head in the sand.

You want to quit. You don't want to. But even when the feeling ain't there,

God still is. As it was then, so it is still today.

The masses are still looking for signs and wonders. So that they might be awed by the miraculous gifts when in reality men and women should be looking to the giver of gifts rather than to the gifts themselves.

For he, Jesus Christ, is the greatest gift that you will ever receive.

The greatest gift you will ever know is the gift of eternal life. To know that you, my brothers and sisters, have been passed from death unto life.

That you, in Christ, are on that finished work of Jesus Christ.

So if church, if we would be in awe. If we would be in awe. Let's be in awe.

Let's be in awe of Jesus Christ the Lord. Another of the songs says you are beautiful.

You are beautiful beyond description. Too marvelous for words. Too wonderful for comprehension.

Like nothing I've ever seen or heard. Who can grasp your infinite wisdom?

Who can fathom that you are beautiful beyond description.

In majesty, enthroned above. Closing verse 9 through 11,

Jesus performed no sign for Herod. And so what happened?

Herod mocked him. Herod made fun of him. Herod treated him despitefully and shamefully, mocking him.

Put a purple robe on him, as you'll see in another of the gospel accounts, and sent him back to Pilate.

Matthew Henry said this, the poorest beggar that asked a miracle for the relief of his necessity was never denied.

Those who were poor in spirit, Christ healed. And none of them who came brokenhearted with contrite spirit, none of them

Christ denied. But Henry said, but this proud prince that asked a miracle merely for the gratifying of his curiosity is denied.

He might have seen Christ and his wondrous works many times in Galilee, and he would not, and therefore it is justly said, now he would see them and shall not, even though he wants to.

Why? Because they are hidden from his eyes. Because he did not know the day of his visitation.

Herod thought that now he had Jesus in bonds, he might command a miracle of him.

But miracles must not be made to be cheap. Nor omnipotence,

Henry said, to be at the beck of the greatest potentate. Isn't it good to know today that you don't have to have a title, that you don't have to have a name, that you don't have to be anything, that you don't even have to have accomplished anything.

All you have to do is know that Jesus died for me, and you will be saved.

What a hideous and tragic picture, McLaren said in closing, what a hideous and tragic picture here we have in the ferocity of the hatred which turned the very fountains of justice and the guardians of a nation into lying plotters against innocents, and sent these

Jewish rulers, cringing before Pilate and Herod, pretending loyalty and acknowledging his authority.

It was nothing but deception. There's a difference between truth and lie.

There's a difference between true and false. There's a difference between right and wrong.

There's a difference between lost and saved. There's a difference between imbalanced weights and unbalanced weights and measured imbalanced weights and measures.

For him, God himself is holy, and you will be weighed in the balance of God's holiness, you and I both.

You must know this, and before you go into eternity, scales, you will be found wanting, because God's holiness outweighs it all.

But I want you to know that not only did Christ die, and I'm going to say this too, some of our more stoic brethren,

I'm going to say this, in the reformed world, are quick to say, Sunday morning is not an evangelistic campaign.

And they say that as though, and they take great pride in that, as though the gospel should never be offered or proclaimed in the

Sunday service. The gospel should be offered on Sunday morning, and the gospel should be offered on Monday morning.

It should be offered on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, on Thursday, and on Friday, on Saturday, and then on Sunday again.

Why is this the case? Why do we, or why are we so compelled to preach the gospel and proclaim the gospel every single week?

Because there are men, women, boys, and girls who still profess to be unsaved.

This is why we preach the gospel. Hallelujah, there will be a day when Jesus comes, calls the saints home, as Sir testified earlier as well, where we won't need to preach the gospel, we'll be in the presence of the gospel himself every day.

But until then, guess what's going to happen? Preach the gospel. Jesus died for your sin according to the scriptures.

He was buried, and according to the scriptures he rose again. According to the scriptures he is coming again.

Make ready. Be ready, for he comes in a day and an hour in which you know not, he which the

Son of Man comes, but you can be certain of this, he will come. There rose a lamb.

It was the third day since he died, and it was said he would arise. Then from the grave his plan came forth.

Oh, I have reason to rejoice. He chose the place, he chose the hour, that he would rise.

How? By his own power, a sacrifice three days ago, and now, praise

God, the lamb arose. And the third verse of this song says this,

I wasn't there when Jesus died, and I wasn't there to see him rise, but I was there when he saved my soul.

Hallelujah, for with him arose. If you're here for any regular, you know that you don't know a whole lot about me unless you're hanging out with me, because I don't say a whole lot about myself from the pulpit.

There's a lot that's pointless for you to know. I like ice cream. Everybody knows that. But I'm talking about the most personal thing that you should know today as I stand before you on Sunday, May the 28th of 2023, that there was a day in history when as a lost, punk, foul -mouthed, little heathen kid,

I went to a conference in Nashville, Tennessee, and the gospel was proclaimed. The invitation was given, and I couldn't get down to the going because I was way up on the balcony with a bunch of youth leaders that didn't know me, and probably wish they didn't know me now.

But God found me up there, and guess what he did? He regenerated my heart and my soul, and on that day

I got born again. I've been saved ever since. See, that's country.

Yeah, that's country, but that's the truth. I've been saved ever since, as old

Maise Jackson would say. And I hope to God, God gives you just a little bit more strength and just a little bit more wisdom that we as a body, as your elders,

Sir and Kenny, as the deacons, Chris and Bill and Greg, as we do our best congregation,

I pray the Lord gives us just a little bit longer so we can preach the gospel just a little bit more so that another one can get saved.

So when that one gets saved, they'll do what Jacob did, preach the gospel to us.

And so it goes. Stand with us, if you would, this morning. Yes, we'll do that here in just a minute.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Praise him, all creatures here below.

Praise him above ye heavenly hosts.