Our Rescue Accomplished According to the Plan

Kongsvinger Lutheran Church

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Welcome to the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church. Kungsvinger is a beacon for the gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of northwestern

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Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone.

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And now, here's a message from Pastor Chris Roseberg. Our first gospel reading is taken from the

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Gospel of John, chapter 18, verse 1, through chapter 19, verse 16.

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When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples across the Kidron Valley where there was a garden, which

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He and His disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place, for Judas often met there with his disciples.

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So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the

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Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons, when Jesus, knowing all that would happen to Him, came forward and said to them,

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Whom do you seek? They answered Him, Jesus of Nazareth. And He said to them,

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I am. Judas, who betrayed Him, was standing with them. And when Jesus said to them,

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I am, they drew back and they fell to the ground. So He asked them again,

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Whom do you seek? They said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I told you that I am.

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So if you seek Me, let these men go. This was to fulfill the word that He had spoken.

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Of those whom you gave Me, I have lost, not one. Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear.

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The servant's name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, Put your sword into its sheath.

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Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given Me? So the band of the soldiers and their captain and the officers of the

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Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him. First they led Him to Annas, for he was the father -in -law of Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year.

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It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people.

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Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest.

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But Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door and brought

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Peter in. The servant girl at the door said to Peter, You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?

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He said, I am not. Now the servants and the officers had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves.

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Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself. The high priest then questioned

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Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. Jesus answered him, I have spoken openly to the world.

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I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret.

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Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them. They know what

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I said. When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying,

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Is that how you answer the high priest? Jesus answered him, If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong.

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But if what I said is right, why do you strike me? And it's then sent him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest.

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Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself, so they said to him, You also are not one of his disciples, are you?

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He denied it and said, I am not. One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear

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Peter had cut off, asked him, Did I not see you in the garden with him? Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed.

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Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning.

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They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the

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Passover. So Pilate went outside to them and said, What accusation do you bring against this man?

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They answered him, Well, if this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.

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Pilate said to them, Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law. The Jews said to him,

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It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death. This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die.

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So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, Are you the king of the

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Jews? Jesus answered, Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?

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Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me.

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What have you done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting that I might not be delivered over to the

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Jews. But my kingdom is not of the world. Then Pilate said to him, So you are a king. Jesus answered,

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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.

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Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice. Pilate said to him, What is truth?

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And after he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, I find no guilt in him.

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But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the king of the

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Jews? They cried out again, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.

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Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in purple in a purple robe.

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They came up to him saying, Hail, king of the Jews, and struck him with their hands.

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Pilate went out again and said to him, See, I am bringing out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.

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So Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them,

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Behold the man. When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, Crucify him!

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Crucify him! Pilate said to them, Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.

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The Jews answered him, We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the son of God.

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When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. He entered the headquarters again and said to Jesus, Where are you from?

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But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to him, You will not speak to me?

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Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you? And Jesus said to him,

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You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given to you from above. Therefore, he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.

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And from then on, Pilate sought to release him. But the Jews cried out, If you release this man, you are not

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Caesar's friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar. So when Pilate heard these words, he brought

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Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called the Stone Pavement and in Aramaic, Gabbatha.

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Now it was the day of preparation of the Passover, and it was about the sixth hour. He said to the

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Jews, Behold your king! They cried out, Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!

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Pilate said to them, Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered,

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We have no king but Caesar. So he delivered them over to him to be crucified.

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So they took Jesus, and he went out bearing his own cross to the place called the

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Place of the Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with two others, one on either side,

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Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read,

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Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek.

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So the chief priests and the Jews said to Pilate, Do not write the king of the Jews, but rather that this man said,

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I am the king of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written. When the soldiers had crucified

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Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts. One part for each soldier, also his tunic.

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But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. So they said to one another,

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Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be. This was to fulfill the scripture which says,

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They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. So the soldiers did these things.

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But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

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When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother,

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Woman, behold your son. Then he said to his disciple, Behold your mother.

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And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. And after this,

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Jesus knowing that all was now finished, said to fulfill the scripture,

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I thirst. And a jar full of sour wine stood there. So they put a sponge full of sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.

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And when Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, It is finished.

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And he bowed his head and he gave up his spirit. Since it was the day of preparation so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the

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Sabbath, for the Sabbath was a high day, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away.

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So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him.

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But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear.

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And at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness.

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His testimony is true and he knows that he's telling the truth that you also may believe.

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For these things took place that the scriptures might be fulfilled. Not one of his bones will be broken.

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And again, another scripture says they will look on him whom they have pierced. And after these things,

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Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked

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Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body.

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Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about 75 pounds in weight.

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So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the

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Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden. And in the garden, a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.

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So because of the Jewish day of the preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid

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Jesus there. This is the gospel of the Lord. In the name of Jesus.

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So we know how the world works, at least how wars work. When war breaks out, one country bears arms against another country.

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And then the shooting starts, and the bombs fall, and the bodies are destroyed, and people die.

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And then the winning country, who has more resources and soldiers left, they win.

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The way you win is by killing. The way you lose is by dying. It's like what Patton said all those years ago.

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You don't win a war by dying for your country. You win a war by causing the other fellow to die for his country.

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But brothers and sisters, we have a profound mystery here. A profound mystery, and that is that the greatest war of all time was won by dying.

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And it was imperative that that would happen. I've got to tell you this. Our sin, our rebellion against God, and each of us is complicit in this rebellion.

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We were born dead in trespasses and sins under the dominion of the devil. And we are all belligerents against God because of our sin.

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If you're not clear on this, again, consult the Ten Commandments. And note that you have not kept either table of the law perfectly.

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Each and every one of us is guilty of idolatry. Each and every one of us is guilty of not holding

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God's words sacred and gladly hearing and learning it. We have all transgressed and dishonored our parents.

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We have all murdered within our own hearts, committed adultery, stolen, lied, coveted.

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We have wrought disaster. There's no way to fix what we have broken.

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All of the king's horses and all of the king's men could not put this world back together again.

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It is shattered beyond repair because of our sin. And so what has

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God decided to do? We've sided with the devil. And this is where the story gets amazing.

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And that is that God, in his great love, his kindness, and his mercy, has done the unthinkable.

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He has had pity on us and has sent his only

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Son, begotten of the Father before all worlds, to come and die for our sins.

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That's the whole purpose of Christ being born of the Virgin Mary and coming into this world.

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Son of God and Son of Man. And so as we take a look again at the amazing account of Christ's victory, because that's what it was, it was victory, let us consider this angle on our text tonight.

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And that is this, that Jesus knew full well what he was doing and everything was going according to plan.

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And he planned it down to the smallest detail. And in thinking about that, let us not discount the fact that he truly suffered and agonized for our sins.

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He called out from the cross, we learn from another text, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

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He, bleeding and dying in our place, was forsaken by God so that we would be accepted.

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So that we can be forgiven and have reconciliation. But in the midst of all of this, in the midst of the suffering, let us not lose sight of the fact that what he did, he knew exactly what he was doing.

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Think of it this way, all of the good stories, and there's really good stories out there, but they're tougher to find nowadays.

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But all of the good stories always have a really awful, terrible, evil villain. And the terrible, evil villain always does something really evil, because that's what evil villains do.

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Either taking captive a woman, a wife, a child, or threatening to destroy this, that, or the other thing.

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But always the hero, always the hero in seeing evil in action comes up with a plan.

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A plan and then executes on it. And the best heroes are the ones who suffer the greatest.

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Suffer the greatest in freeing other people from evil. And all of those stories, in some very weird way, echo back all the way to tonight, to our gospel from today.

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Let's open up in Isaiah though, and we'll start there. Isaiah chapter 53,

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I won't reread the entire text. But I would consider, I would have you consider what

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Isaiah has written here, starting at verse 4. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.

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Yet we esteemed him stricken and smitten by God and afflicted. And you're thinking, well this was written by Isaiah.

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How do you know that this is about Jesus? Well, I'm glad you asked. The reason that we know this is about Jesus is because in the book of Acts, we hear that Philip was talking to the

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Ethiopian eunuch. And in the Ethiopian eunuch, as he was leaving Israel and heading back to Candace, the queen of the

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Ethiopians, he was reading this exact passage. And he asked the question, who is this about?

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And Philip informed him that this text is about none other than Jesus Christ. Surely he has borne our griefs.

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He's carried our sorrows. We esteemed him stricken and smitten by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions.

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He was crushed for our iniquities. You see, the chastisement that brought us peace, peace with God, was upon him.

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And by his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep, we've gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way.

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And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. It's important to note that Isaiah here is teaching this amazing doctrine that Scripture reveals.

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The doctrine of the great exchange. That God has placed on Christ the sin of the world so that we can be accounted righteous.

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And we'll hear it in the text here in a minute. And that happens because the great exchange goes both ways.

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Our sin is laid on him. His sinless righteousness is given to us when we are brought to faith in Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.

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And so God sees us clothed in the righteousness of Christ. But at this moment, as Christ is on the cross, and this is why he cries out,

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My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? You see, all of our iniquity was on him.

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Every one of our sins. He was oppressed, he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth.

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And like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that shears is silent. So he opened not his mouth.

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By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people.

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And they made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death. And it's at this point that you begin to see

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Isaiah writing centuries, six centuries before Christ ever was conceived in the womb of the virgin.

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Sees to the Holy Spirit's inspiration, across time, and sees that the one who would suffer in this way, who

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God would crush, that he would be laid in the grave of a rich man, Joseph of Arimathea.

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Christ had planned it all the way down to the minute details. It's wonderful when you think about it.

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Everything went according to plan. Although he had done no violence, there was no deceit in his mouth.

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Yet, and listen to these words, it was the will of the Lord to crush him.

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And you sit there and you say, why? Because there was no other way.

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There is either this way, or there is no way. There is no plan B. God cannot wink at sin.

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He's not a senile grandfather with spoiled brat grandchildren.

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That's not it. That's not his nature. So, within the counsel of the

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Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, it was the will of the

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Father that the Son should come to earth, and that he would be crushed.

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And God himself is the one who put Jesus to grief. When a soul makes an offering for sin, that's what he was doing on the cross.

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But, he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days, and the will of the

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Lord shall prosper in his hand. And you already see in Isaiah hints of the resurrection.

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And out of the anguish of his soul, Christ's soul, he shall see and be satisfied.

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Last year I made the point that there is Jesus suffering, languishing on the cross, bleeding, dying, and yet at the very end of it, you'll hear the words again in the

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Gospel of John, he cries out to Telistai, it is finished. And it's as if he looks at that hard day's work that Friday afternoon, and says, yeah,

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I'm satisfied, it's good. And by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many, listen to these words, to be accounted as righteous.

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And that's it. The cross has made it so that we can be accounted as righteous, because if you try to attain heaven based on your own righteousness, you will not make it.

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None of us will be able to stand before God in our self -righteousness, and to hear

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God say, well done. Instead, each and every one of us has to be forgiven. And to be accounted righteous is to be covered in the righteousness of Christ, given as a gift by grace through faith.

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And the text says, he shall bear their iniquities. Now with this idea that Christ is in charge, that everything is going according to plan, consider then what

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John writes in his Gospel. We'll look at highlights from both chapters 18 and 19 if you would like to flip there.

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We will pick up at verse 3 of chapter 18. Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the

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Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. I would like to tell you this, that if you were an unarmed civilian and a group of soldiers, armed, came to arrest you, you would be the last person in charge.

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You wouldn't be in charge at all. They would be. But as you listen to this text, pay attention to who is really running the show.

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It's quite amazing. So they procured a band of soldiers. Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him.

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Verse 4 is so important. Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen. He came forward and said to them,

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Whom do you seek? And they answered him, Jesus of Nazareth.

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Now I know in the ESV it says, I am he. The Greek does not say that.

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The Greek says, ego, a me. I, I am.

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This is the divine name that God gave for himself to Moses at the burning bush.

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The voice of God is now speaking out. Whom do you seek? They said, Jesus of Nazareth.

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He said, I am. Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with him.

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And when Jesus said to them, I am, they drew back and they fell to the ground.

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I think he said it with just a little too much gusto. Just a little bit too much gusto.

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And you're beginning to see, this is like Aslan accidentally letting out a little roar.

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It has repercussions. So Jesus dials it back a little bit, if you would.

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So Judas, so they drew back, fell to the ground. So he asked them again, whom do you seek?

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And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I told you, I am. So if you seek me, let these men go.

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When was the last time somebody's being arrested was ever in charge to make any kind of demands?

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Notice who's in charge. It's amazing. Let these men go. This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken.

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Of those whom you gave me, I have lost not one. You see, Jesus is God and his word doesn't return to him void.

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And his words always come to pass and they were fulfilled right there. So then

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Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it, struck the high priest's servant, cut off his right ear.

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The servant's name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, put your sword into its sheath.

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And listen to these next words. Shall I not drink the cup?

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Now listen to this. That the Father has given to me. It was the will of the

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Lord to crush him. This was the cup that the Father had given him. Jesus is going to drink it.

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Drink it to the dregs. The full fury of the wrath of God so that you and I can be forgiven.

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So the story then goes on. We'll fast forward just a little bit. Where Jesus is on trial.

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Peter denies him. The rooster crows. But listen to these words while Jesus is being questioned and interrogated.

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Verse 19. The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.

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Jesus answered him, I've spoken openly to the world. I've always taught in synagogues and in the temple where all the

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Jews come together. I've said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard me what

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I said to them. They know what I said. Consider the circumstances.

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This is a kangaroo court in the middle of the night. Courts don't meet at night. Only evil courts do.

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And there's one thing that they have in mind they're going to do Jesus in. And you're going to note, Jesus fully aware of what is going to happen is making no effort, zero effort whatsoever to save his skin.

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Instead, he's actually kind of just being non -compliant.

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Not going along, but he's making no effort to save himself. And so when he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck

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Jesus with his hand saying, is that how you answer the high priest? No apology from Jesus.

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He did nothing wrong. And remember, he's the one really running the show here. If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong.

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But if what I said is right, why do you strike me? Fast forward then to verse 28.

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They send Jesus to Pilate. And this is where the story gets really interesting. I want you to consider this.

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We know from history that Pilate was a very violent and horrible dictator there in Israel at this time.

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He was not known for his mercy. He was known for his ruthlessness. And this whole scenario, the way it runs down, really causes

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Pilate to come unglued. Really. Because he's going to find out very quickly, he's not running the show here.

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Jesus is. So they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters.

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It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters so that they would not be defiled but could eat the

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Passover. Every time I read that sentence, I think what absolute insanity this is.

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But this is the insanity of sin. I want you to consider this. They literally have taken

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Jesus after finding him guilty in a kangaroo court that met in the middle of the night. They're taking

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Jesus to Pilate and rather than go in and bring him in, they stop at the door and they shoo

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Jesus in. And here's the reason. Because if they had entered into Pilate's house, they thought that they would be considered unclean and they wouldn't be able to eat the

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Passover. I would argue that finding the Son of God guilty of sin makes them as unclean as you could possibly get.

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And all of this in the name of God. The God that they claimed to worship was standing right in front of them.

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They just found him guilty of something he was not guilty of. And they had the audacity to think that they were still clean.

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That's how backwards, upside down, inside out, and discombobulated sin gets you.

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It gets you so messed up and so screwed up in your thinking that you are sinning like there's no tomorrow and you think you are doing a good work and that God's going to pat you on the head and say, good boy, at the end of it.

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And this is what Christ came to save us from. To redeem us so that we can actually begin to think right.

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You see, the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. So, Pilate went outside to them and said, what accusation do you bring against this man?

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Straightforward question, right? In our country, when you have charges against you, they have to actually lucidly communicate what those charges are.

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If they are charging you with larceny, you are charged with larceny. If you are charged with bank robbery, it's bank robbery.

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They name the charges. Listen to this. They answered him, well, if this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.

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That was vague. So Pilate said to them, take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.

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The Jews said to him, it's not lawful for us to put anyone to death. Now the stakes get raised.

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This was to fulfill the word, listen, that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die.

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Even these very acts, Jesus had planned down to the minute details, who's running this show.

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So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, and watch how this exchange works.

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He's going to ask him a question. Jesus is going to answer with a question. Pilate is supposed to be running the interrogation and Jesus has just flipped the tables.

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We'll see this. So he tries answering with another question. It's fascinating what happens and watch who comes out at the top of this interrogation.

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So Pilate enters his headquarters. He called Jesus and he said, are you the

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King of the Jews? Straightforward question. Jesus answers with a question.

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Do you say this of your own accord or did others say it to you about me? Now, if this were me and I was on trial and knew that I was facing crucifixion, not just death, but crucifixion for a crime

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I hadn't committed and the Jews were out of earshot, I would say, help me.

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I'm going to die. They're trying to make you my murderer. I've done nothing wrong. I plead for my life.

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You and I would do, all of us would do that. Notice Jesus isn't behaving that way at all.

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Do you say this of your own accord or did others say that to you about me? Pilate answered, am

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I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests had delivered you over to me. What have you done?

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Question, question, question. Jesus answered, my kingdom is not of this world.

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If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this world.

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Wow, Jesus just said he's a king and he has an army. And if he wanted, his army would literally spring into battle and nobody would be able to survive.

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That's what he's talking about. Who's really in charge here? So Pilate said, whoa, whoa, you're a king?

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Jesus answered, well, you say that I'm a king and for this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth.

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Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice. And Pilate, by what he says next, makes it very clear he doesn't hear

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Jesus' voice. What is truth? Truth is standing right in front of him.

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Because Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the

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Father except through him. So after he had said this, he went back outside to the

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Jews and told them, I find no guilt in him. But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the

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Passover. So do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews? They cried out, no, not this man, but Barabbas.

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Now Barabbas was a robber. Always important little bit of detail. The name

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Barabbas literally means son of the Father. Consider the irony here.

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But think then also about the Day of Atonement, how there's a scapegoat and another one that's sent off into the wilderness.

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That typology comes into play perfectly here then. Barabbas, the son of the Father, is the one who is sent off into the wilderness.

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Very interesting stuff going on here. Next chapter. So Pilate took

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Jesus and flogged him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and arrayed him in a purple robe.

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And this was all Jesus is doing. Jesus chose this day to receive his crown.

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This day to be honored as king. This is his coronation.

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His first day on the throne is on the cross. So the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, put him on purple.

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They came out and said to him, Hail, King of the Druze! And then struck him with their hands.

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Pilate went out again to them and said, See, I'm bringing him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.

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Now consider this, he had already been flogged. This is so intense of a punishment that many people die just by flogging.

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And if you've seen the movie The Passion of the Christ, it is so horrifying to watch each and every beat that he receives.

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It literally takes your breath away to see it. But Jesus is already flogged.

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He's already bleeding. He is already in agony. He is already suffering for our sins.

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So Pilate said, I'm bringing him out to you. I find no guilt in him. So Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe.

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Pilate said to them, Behold the man. And when the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out,

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Crucify him! Crucify him! Pilate said to them, Take him yourselves and crucify him.

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I find no guilt in him. And the Jews answered him, We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the

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Son of God. Oh no, he did not. He is God of God, light of light, very

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God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the

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Father by whom all things were made. He is God in human flesh.

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This charge against him is false. He is the I Am. When Pilate heard this statement, listen to this, he was even more afraid.

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He's beginning to put the pieces together. The dots are connecting and he's terrified. He knows he's not in control here.

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But the thing is that he also realizes the Jews really aren't in control either.

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So he entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, Where are you from? Where did you come from?

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Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate said to him, You're not going to speak to me?

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Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you? Watch the answer.

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You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given to you from above. There's nothing normal about this.

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Jesus confidently and in agony and bleeding and is a mess, still speaking the truth.

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Pilate had been given that authority by God at just the right time so that he can exercise that authority so that Christ could suffer for our sins.

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But then Jesus says this to Pilate, Therefore, he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.

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In other words, Jesus just said that Pilate had sinned and so had those who had put him on trial.

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From then on, Pilate sought to release Jesus, but the Jews cried out, If you release this man, you're not Caesar's friend.

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Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar. Jesus didn't make himself king now, did he?

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So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at the place called the

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Stone Pavement in Aramaic, Gabbatha. That was the day of preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour, and he said to the

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Jews, Behold your king! They cried out, Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!

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Pilate said to them, Shall I crucify your king? And there's nothing in what

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Pilate is saying that makes it sound like what he is saying is a mockery or that he is saying it an irony.

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He, at this point, is actually thinking this man is their king. We have no king but Caesar, they said.

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Oy! How do they say it in Hebrew? Oy vey! You liars!

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You hate Caesar with every fiber of your being and now you're feigning loyalty to him to crucify your true king.

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So Pilate delivered him over to them to be crucified. We'll fast forward a little bit.

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Verse 25. So Jesus is nailed to the cross. In order to breathe, he has to pull himself up against the nails in his wrists to draw a breath.

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That means his open wounds in his back from his flogging are literally scraping against the splinters in the beam of the cross.

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He is marred beyond semblance, Isaiah said. If you would look at him, you would not even recognize him.

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And yet in the midst of all of that suffering because of my sins, the ones

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I am most ashamed of and the ones I do not have enough proper shame for, in the midst of all of that suffering, he has enough sense because he had planned this all the way down to the minutest details.

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Listen to this. Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister,

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Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. And you can only imagine what kind of state they were in.

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When Jesus saw his mother and his disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother,

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Woman, behold your son. And then he said to his disciple, Behold your mother.

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And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own home. He even had enough sense to pay attention to even the minutest detail of making sure that his mother was taken care of.

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She had already been widowed and now her firstborn son was no longer.

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Verse 28. After this, Jesus knowing that all was now finished, finished, he knew exactly where the finish line was.

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He knew that he had accomplished it. He said, I thirst.

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A jar full of sour wine stood there. They put a sponge full of sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.

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And when Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, Tetelestai, it is finished.

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And then pay attention to the words. He bowed his head and he gave up his spirit.

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He chose the very moment of his own death. This all went perfectly according to plan.

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This was the great rescue. And brothers and sisters, consider this then.

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When we were deceived, and I say we because our first parents were deceived in the Garden of Eden, they were deceived to eat the fruit of the tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

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And it is because of that tree and that sin that we have been plunged into sin and death and misery.

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And now Christ, on the tree of death itself, he dies so that the cross then becomes the new tree of life.

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You see, after Adam and Eve sinned, God, the Trinity, had this discussion.

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You can read it in the book of Genesis, where they said, if he were to eat of the tree of life after they had sinned, and then they have this sentence that kind of tapers off.

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There's like no conclusion to it, even in the Hebrew. It's as if this unthinkable thought, oh good night, could you imagine what would happen if Adam and Eve ate of the tree of life after sinning, spending an eternity in this miserable state.

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And so God had to guard the way to the tree of life, cast them out of the Garden, sent them away.

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But now the cross is the tree of life.

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If you look at it rightly, that instrument of death becomes the means for our eternal life.

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And it's Christ who is the fruit of that tree. It's amazing and it's wonderful if you think about it.

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And so this Good Friday, as we consider the horrifying details of what it took to save sinful humanity, sinners like you and like me, let us cautiously be hopeful.

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Because it is both awful and it is wonderful all at the same time. And we see in the midst of all of this our true hero, our true love, in this sense that God is love.

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He has spared no expense. He's gotten into the fight. He has come to save us.

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And He goes straight to the cross. And by dying, He wins the war.

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I don't understand that kind of love. God demonstrates

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His love for us. And that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for our sins.

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Thank You, Lord Jesus, that in Your mercy and Your pity that You have loved us and died for us.

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We see so clearly from Your Word that this is exactly what You planned with the

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Father and the Holy Spirit. And that You submitted Yourself to the Father's will so that pitiable, sinful creatures like me and like the world could be saved.

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We ask, Lord Jesus, in Your mercy that this Gospel would continue to go forth to reach all nations so that men and women may be brought to the knowledge of their sin and the comfort that comes from the

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Gospel, the good news that You have bled and died for them in this way. May we ever cherish this great gift.

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And until that day when we can see You face to face and touch the scars in Your hands and feet and worship at Your feet, continue to preserve us in the one true faith, a life everlasting.

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Amen. 1 -59 -50 470th

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