Matthew 26:57-68, "Bad Religion"

All right,. Matthew chapter 26 Verses 57 to 68. Hear the word of the Lord. Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas of the high priest where the scribes of the elders had gathered and Peter was following him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest and going inside He sat with the guards to see the end.

The Sham Trial Before Caiaphas

Now the chief priests in the whole council were Seeking false testimony against Jesus that that they might put him to death. But they found none. Though many false witnesses came forward at least two came forward and said this man said I am able to destroy the temple Of God and to rebuild it in three days.

And the high priest stood up and said have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you? But Jesus remained silent and the high priest said to him I adjure you by the Living God.

Tell us if you are the Christ the Son of God. Jesus said to him you have said so but I tell you from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven.

Then the high priest tore his robes and said he has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your judgment? They answered? He deserves death. Then they spit in his face and struck him and some slapped him saying Prophesy to us you Christ.

Who is it that struck you? May the Lord add his blessings to the reading of his Holy Word. Well, do you love religion? That's a tricky question here, isn't it?

Do you love religion?

You might feel a little uncomfortable saying no because you might think well, this is religion. Or maybe you've heard that. You're not supposed to love religion. Okay, you're you only want a relationship, but some people really do love their religion.

They love the sense of Assurity of security that it brings. They love the buildings and the pews the familiar hymns the same routine I made it. I met a lady around here who said that she loves going to her church building.

Even when there's not a service and just sitting there and sensing that God is in that place. Her church only meets every other week because they don't have enough people. Apparently. She's one of the few It wants to sit in that building that she loves her religion.

What about you?

Do you love religion? It's increasingly popular today say that I dislike organized religion that is because it's so much all about they say. Buildings and salaries and careers is just looking good. Just the appearance thinking God lives in some old Traditional building trying to hang on to some fantasy of the the good old days that religion.

I don't want. That's popular to say that kind of thing, but I like spirituality. They say spirituality is one of the buzzwords these days. Heard of a lot about spirituality. People want to be spiritual.

Some people dropping out of church every year becoming one of the world the nuns. That is people who when they ask what their religion is, right? None. But most of them aren't atheists either. Some people try to gather that there's more atheists and that's not.

That's not the case. There's not more atheists that many of them still believe in God. Some of them are just trying to pursue their own form of spirituality. They might read the Bible some at least parts of it pray kind of meditate.

Like some Christian music maybe especially if it's only positive and encouraging. Watch some favorite preachers on TV. Particularly if they're positive and encouraging I guess motivating but they've opted out of organized religion.

They don't go to church because they can't see how that helps their spirituality. Such people are usually individualist. It's just them and God and other people should develop their own relationship with their own God.

However, they conceive him or her it on the other hand. We have those who think that any form of religion is a good thing. I mean, we're so assailed day and night. They say, you know by bad values. By secularism and unbelief immorality and violence.

You know gangster rap and broken homes indulgence of all kinds of crude behavior that anything that teaches people especially the kids.

Well someone think of the kids.

Right and wrong someone teach anything that teaches them how to how to be good citizens. Tells them to straighten up and be responsible. That's a good thing. And so maybe in the Chinese context Buddhism is a good influence, isn't it?

As long as it helps people be good. Isn't it better than no religion? Well, so one of the most offensive things you can do today is to criticize Another religion that is seen as both bigoted like my religions the only good one that's bigoted and Self-defeating that as long as these other religions are opposing the same enemies that we are Secularism immorality that as long as they are helping people then they are our friend our Allies in this great war against the decline of morality.

There are a lot of conservative people today who are pro religion. Just not any just not pro any particular religion. President Eisenhower said it best our form of government has no sense unless it is founded in a deeply felt religious faith and I don't care what it is.

It's not truth or are really Jesus that matters it's just whatever works to get people to believe in being good. But what if religion doesn't help people be good. What if you can be steeped in religion from from a child?

Grow up and be a leader in it have it is your job in the religion business day in and day out and yet it It doesn't make you good. What if our idea our very idea be good is bad. That is what if we don't really know what it means.

To be good that being able to avoid saying The dirty words and drink the wrong drinks. Watch the wrong movies. Know how to dress right and sit up straight. What if that doesn't really get us close to?

Being good what if you can master all the manners and the routines and the verbiage the Christian ease and yet still be bad. Really bad. What if religion is? Bad for you. Here we see some bad religion and we see that in three parts first the trial.

Second the trap and finally the treatment. They have seized Jesus and now they put him on trial. It's not really a trial to find out the truth. That's what a trial is supposed to be to ascertain. What this person on trial whether he's done anything wrong or and find the appropriate punishment if he has that would be a real trial.

Here they've already decided what they want to do in verse 59. They're searching for any false witness. They could find to so they could put him to death. That's really the verdict. They've already come to with their minds.

They're looking for any trumped-up charge. They can find to do what they've already decided to do. They had already decided to kill him. And remember these are religious people. They have the command from God in Exodus chapter 30 of 23 verse 7 Keep far from a false charge and do not kill the innocent and righteous for I will not acquit the wicked.

They know to that there are customs.

There's traditions.

Basically regulations in their culture about how to conduct conduct a fair trial. Customs that really they're breaking right and left. For example, they're not supposed to hold a trial for a capital crime at night like this one is and not supposed to hold one during a festival like this one is a Trial is not to be held in a single sitting like this one is.

They are not supposed to be surprise witnesses for the prosecution like there are here. There's no law or precedent that claiming to be the Messiah is a crime in the first place and So on this is plainly an illegal and unscriptural Quote trial.

You'd think being religious. They'd be very concerned about that if you think that. You must think well of religion. Well, these men were it tells us in verse 57 the priests the scribes the elders all all the leaders of the Israel and are all led by the chief priest.

The Lord Jesus is brought before the highest ranking heads of the religious and social institutions. The priests are the office that God ordained. There's the priest from the Levites descended from Aaron.

They're schooled in the rituals of the temple of how to keep the religion functioning. The scribes are the Bible scholars. They preserve the Old Testament. They wrote it down. There would be intimately familiar with it including the verse we just read about keep far from a false charge.

They should know it inside and out even the verse is about condemning an innocent man and encouraging false testimony. The elders of the Were the men who had lived Respectably and religiously long enough to be looked up to as leaders of the people.

They were the good old boys. They were committed to the establishment to protecting Tradition and the way things had always been done. All of these together were the legitimate religious God-ordained leaders in Israel and together.

They plotted to murder Jesus. There is such a thing as bad religion and I don't just mean other religions. They teach false doctrines. I mean religion that holds to the truth at least in the in their minds on paper.

It preserves Orthodoxy Jesus said about the the Pharisees do what they say they they're teaching the teachings of Moses. But there is bad religion. It does all that teaches right doctrine, but it's still bad.

It's bad to the bone and and it's their true religion that has made them bad or I should say it's it's they're hearing the truth. Week after week. Hearing the Word of God read hearing about their sins their need for repentance.

But their continued refusal to bow to the truth to turn from their sins. And so the religion hardens their heart. To the truth the same Sun that melts wax hardens clay. They've heard it so much and ignored it so often they get where they can ignore it all the time.

And so it gets to where it doesn't bother them anymore that they're here. They're just flouting God's Word anymore. They become skilled at reading one thing in Scripture, but then making excuses spiritual sounding pious sounding excuses.

Maybe about how well we're serving the Lord. We're led by the Lord. We're blessed to do what we're doing. They probably had excuses for every one of the illegalities of the trial. They mentioned I Mentioned earlier they've used their knowledge of the Word of God not to submit to it but to evade it.

The heart of sin is. The refusal to submit to God the insistence that we'll do things my way. The average sinner just ignores God's Word and lives as he pleases. He'll have sex when and with whom he pleases eat or drink.

What he pleases and as much amounts as he pleases say and watch what he pleases love whom he pleases and hate whom he pleases. Well, that's the secular and a broken world that so many religious people are complaining about but so often religion does the same thing.

Only it dresses its sin up in religious garb makes Christiany sounding excuses for it. The religious will say that they are avoiding sin by not talking about sex in public or not drinking some drinks if they have alcohol in Them but then they drink other things to excess by not watching movies with bad language, but then they can't control their own craving for gossip or indulging in slander and Railing.

Maybe they like to rail against the liberals in Hollywood or against the homosexuals. But then they segregate the church keeping out black people and not lifting a finger for their justice because that's just the way things have always Been done.

Remember James about a year and a half ago Remember what James said was pure religion a good religion a sincere life of godliness before the Lord.

Pure religion.

He says shows itself in visiting orphans and widows and their affliction nursing home residents elderly parents.

Church members.

In their house bound not being worldly by thinking Worldly in this culture would mean like thinking that everything in the church of my relationship with God is all about my spirituality above all. The purely religious when they say yes James says above all when they say yes.

When they make a commitment they mean it. They keep their word even to their hurt. But the bad religious don't. The bad religious might be regular church attenders. But are just as unselfcontrolled as the drunk are.

They just show it in different ways. They're just unselfcontrolled about different things. They are just as selfish. That's why they don't care about the church or family members in their affliction. They are just as unfaithful as the world.

They're worldly.

That's why they don't keep their commitments their their yes doesn't mean anything. Means how what they feel now and they'll make an excuse for it. They'll say they're led by the Lord. They're blessed to do what they do.

But what makes it worse for them is that they use God's Word to make excuses for it. The average sinner, you know just gets gets drunk or sleeps around or does whatever you hear she wants to do and.

Maybe.

Maybe he feels a little bit guilty for it, or maybe just really doesn't care. But the religious actually think that they're silly legalisms. Please God while not at all aware that their self-indulgence Is as sinful as the drunkenness they denounce they feel good about doing bad if someone should come to them like Jesus here and Tell them that they are doing bad.

They'll hate that person to the death. The heart of sin is The refusal to submit to God to bow the knee to his judgments and religious people Do that all the time forbidding what God does not. Using their spirituality to justify their own self-seeking and indulging in what should be controlled refusing to control most of all their own wills to give up their own.

Self-crowning of themselves as God to indulge themselves and then wiping their mouths and saying they've done nothing wrong. The trial based on trumped-up charges. Desperately looking for something to kill the one who has shown that he has done nothing wrong.

The trial Shows us bad religion. The trial then leads to the trap. That's the second thing the best they can do. After some effort after a train of false witnesses notice here. There's no shortage of people willing to lie under oath in order to please the powers that be.

It's the way people are but but no two of them could agree. The best they can do is two guys who say that they heard Jesus say and something like in verse 61 I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.

Now unlike with the others Matthew doesn't call these two false witnesses because there's something true about they what they said. But still it's not quite enough. To hang Jesus with. Was he really threatening?

To destroy the temple. Did he really say I will destroy the temple or.

You.

Destroy this temple and I will raise it up in three days. So they've been racking their brains. They've already made up their minds. It's religious people who hate having their self-righteousness questioned.

They've already made up their minds that Jesus must die, but they can't find anything worth accusing him of. So finally Caiaphas the high priest the the highest religious official in the nation the descendant of Aaron.

Well, he tries a desperate ploy. The Lord Jesus had been mostly silent but to now Notice it says that he kept silent all these false witnesses coming in and out and he stays quiet. He's letting sinners show themselves as sinners letting them show that.

They've already made up their minds. Refusing to try to he's refusing to try to talk his way out of this. Caiaphas asked Jesus now to incriminate himself. This is the trap. Tell us if you are the Christ the Son of God.

Well, here's the trap. They haven't been able to come up with anything solid against him trying as hard as they can. So now if the Lord Jesus were to say no The bottom would fall out of this trial there was no possible charge against him.

He could say No, it possibly walk out a free man escape before the religious people had it had time to you know. Think of something new to charge him with try to trap him with but of course, he would not deny himself.

He would do as the father had Willed him to do. But his answer is not an overt. Yes, either. You see he's he's he's making them Reveal themselves. He says you have said so or it could be you know, that's your way of putting it.

It's certainly not a denial, but he is affirming just enough to give them Ammunition to let them show what they're made of to show their bad religion. Then Jesus references Daniel chapter 7 verse 13. That's what's behind this the vision of the Son of Man receiving an eternal kingdom.

That's your way of putting it Jesus says but my way he says that you will see the Son of Man Jesus his favorite term for himself and now he's showing what he means by that term the Son of Man it comes from Daniel Chapter 7 you'll see the Son of Man me Seated that is enthroned at God's right hand as your judge coming with the clouds of heaven.

All that paraphrasing Daniel chapter 7 verse 13. He is implying here whether they understood it or not that more than just being the anointed King from the line of David. He is the eternal King who received authority from God to rule and serve forever.

He's implying That he is God.

Himself.

How much of that calf has understood? It's not clear, but he understood enough To claim that the Lord Jesus had blasphemed. He just assumed he had been assuming that Jesus was not the anointed one that he was not the king sent from God.

He assumed that because of his bad religion, but bad religion exists. For the one who believes it You know get past all the all the piety that the church going the rituals the nice sounding phrases. It's Still all about me.

It's about making me feel comfortable making me feel good about myself about the praise or or the money or the feeling of self-worth of Meaning that I get out of this about the unmovable truth in the minds of those who have bad religion that the chief end of God is that he glorifies me and Helps me enjoy myself forever.

So if attending to giving to or working in or sacrificing for the church Doesn't make me feel good if I'm not quote blessed whatever term they want to use I'll stay at home and call myself a seeker of spirituality.

Sure. I don't get what I want out of this then. There's no covenant. No commitment. No body to which I'm supposed to be attached. They will keep me from looking for religious entertainment elsewhere everything.

For the bad religious is about me. So here are Caiaphas and the other religious leaders are face-to-face with a prophet and really more than a prophet who tells them that their Religion is not all about them.

So in their minds such a man cannot just cannot Be from God not the God they've given themselves to serve a bad religion will not let you believe That Jesus is Lord. Oh, he might let you say it But not really believe that he is Lord of all.

He's the center that you exist to glorify and enjoy him Forever so it never occurs to these religious people that Jesus may actually be the Christ the Son of the Living God the Son of Man to reign forever.

So they spring the trap and Jesus has enough to let himself be caught in it To let them condemn him and so condemn themselves. They pretentiously, you know rip their clothes making a show out of being offended by what they call blasphemy.

The reality is the whole Charade is a blasphemy. This so-called trial where their minds already made up before they could even find any trumped-up evidence. Even Caiaphas is trap as as if he was really asking, you know by the Living God.

That is blasphemy. But they are so steeped in their bad religion That they have to you know, feign shock. Oh They're their tender ears have been hurt. Oh, they so love the glory and and name of God. Yeah, sure.

They love their bad religion.

Do you see here?

Finally the utter bankruptcy. The complete Perversity. A bad religion, you know here they have God in the flesh before them the the God that they've. They've been claiming to be worshiping in that temple that they claim to cherish so much and yet they are erupting in unquenchable hate toward him.

It isn't really because they don't know who he was that they're just ignorant and mistaken and carried away by their hurt egos. That's only a small part of it. That's only a surface level. I think I believe on some level.

They did know who he was. At least they felt. They probably never admitted to themselves, but they felt on some level that he was from God. Understand that Caiaphas is trap of a question asking him if he was the son of God.

Wasn't really asking whether he was God himself, although he was but whether he was as in Psalm 2 the the adopted son of God the king of Israel and there's no reason why these Religious people should not have been able to at least entertain the idea that he might be the Messiah.

He was from the right family. He taught authoritatively. He did miracles. He kept the law. Why are they so set on destroying him? Because these religious people Did not want a Messiah or prophet who did not accept their religion who did not respect them.

The Hatred of God in Bad Religion

So finally there's the treatment. The trial was a sham. The trap was to get him to give them a reason to condemn him when they couldn't find a trumped-up charge. The treatment is when we see God in the hand of angry sinners.

We've already been told in verse 59 that they made up their minds to kill Jesus. So when Caiaphas after laying the trap, he he feigns horror. Tears his clothes like he's really shocked by what he calls blasphemy.

Then he calls for a verdict. He deserves death. They pretend like they just concluded that based on the evidence. Then finally they meet out their treatment. They treat him like they've wanted to from the start they treat him now like they felt about him from the beginning.

They spit in his face. They punch him. They slap him. They they jeer at him here like. Most likely they blindfolded him and mocking him by asking him to identify the one striking him. That's the treatment that religious people meet out to the Lord.

They professed all their lives. Having to show outward respect to the name.

That inwardly.

They've despised all along. Now finally they get to vent their hatred. They get to show how they really feel About this God. They are angry sinners with their hands.

Finally.

On God and We need to understand that these people here punching slapping mocking Jesus are not here as well. These are examples of the worst of the worst and aren't we glad we're not at all like that.

They are here as the leaders. They're the religious and we could very well be among them punching slapping mocking Jesus. It was because of us. He endured this treatment and those who think otherwise you think well, they've done.

Okay. You know, they're not the best. I'll admit that sure, but they're good enough. They've done well enough they're not so guilty as to damn to condemn to hell those who think that way Have a bad religion and without the power of the Holy Spirit to soften our hearts to turn us from the from the love of Self to love and embrace the truth.

We will naturally hate it as Violently as did these men. They are examples not of the worst of the worst that we should that we should feel glad. We're not like there are examples of us that we should feel ashamed.

That we would do the same Without the Holy Spirit remaking our heart. We would meet out the same treatment. We too would be angry sinners out to get our hands on a holy God. We mistreat him now. Perhaps in the board way We hear and we read his word or regard making money is more important their worship and the way that we believe about him.

What we want and ignore what he's revealed about himself and the way that there are some things about God. We just refuse to believe could be true. Just like these religious people couldn't believe that this this Jesus.

He just cannot be from God. This assumed they just would not Entertain. Otherwise, we punch and slap and spit on him when we make a God who exists for us to glorify us and help us Enjoy ourselves forever.

We abuse him and when we treat his body his church as a place for our entertainment. Or place for exalting our ego. We abuse him when we think he's a God Who will help us sin? We dish out the same treatment when we refuse to accept a Jesus who will rule over us.

Seated as king We'll take a servant. Yeah, we'll take that but a king him Will treat like this. Here we see God in the hands of angry sinners and those who have said the loudest that they love God. Who gave their lives to religion out of that?

Love hated him the most it wasn't that the religious are by nature worse human beings it was that their religion gave them opportunity after Opportunity to repent and believe and love God, but instead they harden themselves.

Becoming more and more hateful toward God so when they could finally get their hands on him this. These punches and slaps this phony trial and trumped-up charges, that's the treatment. They finally dished out on him.

These aren't worse human beings. This is the best we can do. We can only left to ourselves. Hate God we may say emphatically, you know a protest no way. It's not God. I hate I. I just hate organized religion.

I love God. I'm spiritual. But so often such people mean a God who above all Loves them who was committed to them, you know to making them rich or protecting them from the corona virus. Not a God who's committed first of all to his own glory.

But such a God is an idol of our own making. Just as much as if we had carved him out of stone. He's a creation of our bad religion. Some Christians are fond of saying that our faith is not a religion that religion is our attempt to get to God.

Christianity is God coming to get us.

That's true.

That's true. If we understand the gospel and don't turn it and the Bible and to just another bad religion what we have from God is Not just a better lifestyle or traditions. Tips on good morality on success in life that helps us have our best life now.

It's not just the way things have always been done for as long as we can remember. Which will make you more successful here and will help you make it to heaven later on. Sometimes we forget that we're not all about teaching kids to be good little boys and girls and not use certain words and eat their Vegetables and say please they can do all those things perhaps even advance in religion become great Bible scholars.

And then when the opportunity comes they'll be punching and slapping and spitting on the Lord Jesus, too. That's the best our religion can do. Make educated well-mannered people who will be angry sinners.

Beating and killing God if only they could get their hands on him. What we have here is God suffering this trial this trap this treatment because all of this is what our sins earned in Order for this Holy God to come to get us.

He had to deal with the guilt of our sins the fact that that at our best We treat Jesus like this. Our sinfulness here displayed had to be punished and it was punished here in the display itself. Jesus took every punch every slap the humiliation of every spit the mockery to pay for the guilt of Our sins.

Oh Sacred head now wounded with grief and shame weighed down now scornfully surrounded with thorns thine only crown. How art thou pale with anguish with sore abuse and scorn? How does that visage that appearance?

Languish which once Was bright as morn.