Jesus On Trial Luke 22 Vs 63 71

And ladies, don't forget the Christmas brunch. It'll be on at 10 o 'clock on Saturday the 7th of December. The ladies will gather and enjoy the blessings of fellowship and the upcoming Christmas season.

Let's pray. Dear Father, thank you so much for the administration of Faith Bible Church, the delight of being able to gather together and go to the functions, and especially, Lord, worship you and learn from your word.

We just pray you'd be with everyone here that's part of the putting forth the service that will glorify the Lord. In Jesus' name, amen.

Opening Hymns and Preparation for Communion

Well, good morning. Glad to see everybody here on this—it really felt like fall this morning, didn't it? With the cool temperature and the wind, and it's like, okay, it's coming. It's happening. Our first song this morning is very familiar, Amazing Grace, written by John Newton, and the lyrics really reflect his own transformation from his journey from being a slave trader to a committed Christian and abolitionist.

But he's got quite a testimony, and he wrote this song after a frightful journey on a ship across the ocean. And it's a great story for many reasons, if you want to read up on John Newton. So let's stand together.

We're going to sing Amazing Grace.

Let's say, but now it's blind, but—.

Our next song is stricken, smitten, and afflicted, and it's kind of a new song to us. We've sung it a couple times now, but it's a really wonderful hymn to prepare our hearts for having communion after a pastor's message.

But just meditate on these words.

Stricken, smitten, and afflicted, see him dying on the tree. Tis the Christ my rejected, yes, my soul, tis he, tis he. He's the long-expected prophet, David's son, yet David's Lord. By his Son God now has spoken, he's the true and faithful Word.

We have here the refuge of the lost, Christ the rock of our salvation, he is the name of which we boast. Lamb of God, sacrificed, none shall ever be confounded.

Psalm 110 and the Messiah at God's Right Hand

Today I'm going to be reading Psalm 110. Again, that's Psalm 110, and I'm reading New Kings James. The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of your strength out of Zion.

Rule in the midst of your enemies. Your people shall be volunteers in the day of your power. In the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning, you have the dew of your youth. The Lord has sworn and will not relent.

You are a priest forever, according to the order of the Melchizedek. The Lord is at your right hand. He shall execute kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge among the nations. He shall fill the places with dead bodies.

He shall execute the heads of many countries. He shall drink of the brook by the wayside. Therefore, he shall lift up the head. We thank the Lord for his word.

Let's stand together as we continue our worship and song. When I Serve A, the Wondrous Cross, and this is a hymn written by Isaac Watts, who did a lot of writing, and this is one of them.

Me to Luke chapter 22.

Luke chapter 22, verses 63 through 71. Luke chapter 22, verses 63 to 71. Now the men who held Jesus mocked him and beat him. And having blindfolded him, they struck him on the face and asked him, saying, Prophesy who is the one who struck you?

And many other things they blasphemously spoke against him. As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led him into their council, saying, If you are the Christ, tell us.

But he said to them, If I tell you, you will by no means believe. And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer me or let me go. Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God.

Then they all said, Are you then the Son of God? So he said to them, You rightly say that I am. And they said, What further testimony do we need? For we have heard it ourselves from his own mouth. This is the word of the Lord.

Christ on Trial and the Irony of the Judge Being Judged

Let us pray. Father, we come before you worshiping the crucified Messiah who died for our sin and rose from the dead. We confess that it is hard to trust you, especially during these times when our country seems to be falling apart.

But help us to look to Christ, who, being God and who had the authority to judge, yet was judged falsely for our sake so that he may redeem the world. Help us to trust him, knowing that he is coming back and his throne is taken.

There is no one else who can take that throne. Help us to trust the one who is seated on the throne. Help us to trust our King, in Jesus' name. This trial follows Peter's denial three times. And we see how the religious leaders and their soldiers treat the Messiah Christ.

And this is important because there is so much irony in the judge of the world being judged by wicked men. And the reason why I had Brendan read Psalm 110 as a whole is because in the context of Psalm 110, the Messiah, who is placed by the Lord Yahweh himself right next to him, has the authority to judge the wicked rulers.

In this text, we get the reversal. The wicked rulers judge the Messiah. Yet throughout the whole text, Jesus knows that despite, even through this wicked judgment, this sheer injustice of incriminating an innocent man of blasphemy, even through this and despite this, it will lead Christ right next to the Father's throne.

Despite what the wicked rulers are doing in this text, it only hastens Christ to his rightful throne from which he will rule the whole world and from which he will judge all the wicked. And that is the hope that we have this morning.

I don't know what the result of this election will be. And I don't know how California will vote. And I don't know how the rest of the nation will vote. And for some of us, if we place our hope in the elected officials, what's guaranteed is we will be disappointed.

Even if your man, even if your person gets elected, he or she, they cannot save this country. And the hope we have is the hope in the King. Despite him being tried unfairly, unjustly, and despite the death he was about to face, he was fully sovereign.

And even after his death, after his resurrection, after his ascension, he rules from above. And for Christians, it doesn't matter what happens in the long term on Tuesday or whenever the results are out.

For Christians, what matters is the King who's seated on the throne right now. And we're going to see this passage, how firm and calm Christ is, despite what he's going through. The main point of today's text is, although the world has violently rejected Jesus, it will one day have to stand before Christ's judgment throne.

Although the world has violently rejected Jesus, it will one day have to stand before Christ's judgment throne. First, the unbelieving world violently rejects Jesus. Verses 63 through 65. The unbelieving world violently rejects Jesus.

After Peter denied three times, Jesus now faces even more pain. Verse 63, now the men who held Jesus mocked him and beat him. The soldiers who are tasked to guiding Jesus start to harass him. And it starts with mockery.

And this is, of course, predicted in Luke chapter 18, verse 32, that he will be mocked by the Gentiles. And, of course, it will continue when he is before Pilate. And it also will not be the last time Jesus is verbally harassed.

And unsatisfied with just mockery, these soldiers begin to beat Jesus. They were not getting the response they wanted from Christ, who is firm and resolute in going to the cross. And this beating is actually a severe physical punishment.

And we saw this in the parable of the unfaithful servants. When the master comes back, those who disobeyed the master while he was gone will be severely beaten. The irony here is, of course, that the master has come to save the world, and he is being severely beaten by these wicked men.

Verse 64 gives us a glimpse of the mockery and brutal beating. These soldiers are aware Jesus is not just an ordinary man. They may have heard that Jesus is a special prophet. Of course, even as early as Luke 9, many people questioned whether Jesus is a prophet.

Even Herod's throne got the word on Christ, and he started questioning who he could be. And instead of honoring Christ as a man sent from God, these soldiers start beating him for fun. Rather than fearing what God has to say, they make it a game to play.

They strike his face and make him play the guessing game. And verse 65 tells us that they continued doing this, and many other things they blasphemously spoke against him. Blasphemy is when the person who is being blasphemed is divine.

Blasphemy is the reviling of God. When blasphemy is done on normal people, we call that reviling or slander. Slander is a misrepresentation of who that person is. Now, when you do that against God, it's officially blasphemy.

And the readers know, the author knows, and we know that these soldiers mockingly striking Christ and saying all sorts of lies against him. They were not just slandering, they were blaspheming against God.

With each brutal blow and snickering insult, they have misrepresented the holy God. They blasphemed against God. Recently, I read that apparently Bill Gates wants to use artificial intelligence to create a new religion to unite the world together.

It's a deranged and dangerous idea, and it seems like the world wants to usher in the rule of Antichrist. What today's text shows us that the world has not changed one bit since 2 ,000 years ago. The world longs for and desires anyone to rule over it other than the rightful King Jesus.

Consider this. When the true Christ, God incarnate, came into this world 2 ,000 years ago, the world united against him. Normally, the Pharisees and Sadducees don't get along, right? They have different beliefs, really, on what is Scripture and how Scripture must be taught.

Normally, Jews did not get along with Rome. After all, Rome was the one oppressing Israel. But when it comes to Christ, the religious leaders and the political leaders of Rome gather together against this one figure, and that is Jesus Christ.

And this morning, that has not changed one bit. Oftentimes, unbelievers challenge Christians, well, if God is real, well, if he comes down, I'll believe. You might have heard it. We can confidently say, no, you won't.

Because when he did come down, the unbelievers did not receive him one bit. They mocked him and beat him. And that is the natural way for sinners. Rebels do not welcome the rightful king. They're threatened by him.

Sinners do not embrace the holy God. They oppose him. Look what they did when King Jesus came in peace. He had no weapons. He was not violent. Yet they mocked him and beat him senselessly, even before the judgment was passed.

That's the world we live in now. And this world has always been against God's rightful king. And we will see this continue on when we get to Acts 5. The apostles are beaten too. And this is the trend, especially when you visit churches in regions like Africa or the Middle East.

You will meet brothers and sisters who have experienced physical and emotional violence for their allegiance to Jesus Christ. And this is the reality of our identity in Christ. If you belong to Christ, you will be rejected by the world.

If you follow Christ, the world will disown you. However, the opposite is true. If you follow Christ, you will never be separated from the love of God in Christ Jesus. If you follow Christ, you will never be abandoned by your Savior who endured such violence to save you.

And this morning, we need to consider, which king do we want to serve? Which judge do we want to stand before? Now, second, all those who condemn Christ will stand before his judgment seat. All those who condemn Christ will stand before his judgment seat.

Now, the scene changes from the soldiers' blasphemy against Jesus to the religious leaders' blasphemy against Jesus. As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led him into the council saying, if you are the Christ, tell us.

This is the beginning of the trial that will lead to Jesus' official trial before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. And it is believed that they questioned Jesus early in the morning so that they could get the story straight to deliver him to the official court, which is Pontius Pilate.

Remember, Jews under the Roman rule were not allowed to execute anyone except for certain specific and special circumstances. So the religious leaders hastened to deliver Jesus to Pilate because the next day would have been the Sabbath.

So any delay in delivering Jesus to Pilate would actually delay not only just a couple of hours, but for a couple of days because Jews don't work on the Sabbath. And Jesus would be spared for a couple of days, and that would not bode well for these criminals who arrested Jesus in the night when no one's really around and secretly conducted this investigation throughout the night.

They did not want to risk a popular uprising by keeping Jesus alive for a couple of days. They knew it was unpopular to arrest Jesus and to try him, so they rushed to kill him as soon as possible. That's why it's early morning.

The religious leaders have a simple demand. If you're the Christ, tell us. Of course, Christ is not Jesus' last name. It is his title. In Hebrew, it is the Messiah. So the Messiah and Christ, they can go interchangeably.

Christ is the Greek way of saying the Messiah. The Messiah means the anointed one. It means the one who is chosen by God, the chosen one of God. In the Hebrew context, the chosen one of God is the Davidic king, the king who is in the line of David, King David, to save his people.

This request questions Jesus' identity. If Jesus were to say yes, then he is truly authorized by God to rule over his people. And the question is, how does Jesus answer? If I tell you, you will by no means believe.

And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer me. There are two parts here. First, Jesus does not answer directly because the religious leaders do not have any intention of knowing the truth of the matter.

If Jesus truly is Christ, then the proper response, especially by these religious leaders, must be that of worship, respect, obedience. After all, they are the leaders of God's people. They are the ones who know the Old Testament like the back of their hand.

They're the ones who are teaching God's people of the coming Messiah who would rescue them. They know better. Yet Jesus knows that they will not believe him even if he answered them. And this links back all the way to chapter 20, when they asked Jesus, by what authority are you teaching and doing these miracles?

And Jesus asked with another question, what is your view of John's baptism? Basically, was John the Baptist a prophet or not? Was John the Baptist sent from God or not? And they refused to answer because they themselves did not respond to John the Baptist in faith.

They did not believe in God's prophet. Here, they will also not respond to an even greater figure, God's Messiah in faith. They have rejected Jesus from the start. They did not respond when Jesus asked about John the Baptist in chapter 20, and they will not respond now.

Jesus is in one sense saving his breath. He knows this is not a fair and just trial. He knows the verdict was established before this talk even started. And ironically, in more than one level. Although the Jewish leaders thought they have gamed the system, fixed the result, Jesus tells them they are not in charge.

Hereafter, the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God. This is an illusion. It alludes to Psalm 110, which was read this morning. Many translations says, the Lord said to my Lord, but because it can be confusing, I will actually say the proper name of the Lord, Yahweh.

Yahweh said to my Lord, the Messiah, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. The religious leaders may think they have authority over Jesus in this kangaroo court. Yet Jesus tells them their injustice will only hasten him to sit at the right hand of God.

A superior court, the highest court. In Psalm 110, King David writes a scene in which God, Yahweh, tells the messianic king, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. Jesus answers with the affirmative that he is the Messiah.

By alluding to this, he is saying, yes, I am the Christ. But you do not understand the implication of what you're doing. Because in Psalm 110, Jesus, the Messiah, will rule over all the wicked rulers.

Now, sitting at God's right hand signifies a place of honor and authority. We often confuse our English idiom, the right hand man, with the Hebrew idiom, the right hand side. Right hand man, we often think, it's just, you know, someone who works for you and someone who is trustworthy.

The right hand side actually signifies the place of honor and authority. And you can see that actually in how King Solomon treats his mother. When Bathsheba comes into the throne room, Solomon rushes to prepare a throne.

So that his mother does not have to stand before him. And you've guessed it, the throne's placed on his right side. And there's no way Solomon views Bathsheba anything less. It's the place of honor. It's the place of authority.

Whom does the king of Israel listen to? His mom. Now here, this is a throne that is much greater than what Solomon can provide. In God's throne room, if you're familiar with Daniel 7, there are 10 ,000 times 10 ,000 ministers, right?

Presumably angels. If you're good at math, that's 100 million. And these servants are all standing, ready to serve. Yet, for one person, God has a throne ready. And that is his son. That's the Messiah.

Sitting at God's right hand means he is not standing, waiting on anyone. Sitting at his right hand means his words reach God's ears first and foremost. Sitting at God's right hand means Jesus is the only mediator between God and man.

There is no one else who sits at the right hand of God except for Jesus Christ alone. Ironically, when this kangaroo court condemns Christ, they will be the ones sending him to the throne that is much higher than that of the Jewish council, or even that of Roman emperors.

In fact, these Jewish leaders will one day be standing before the one they condemned unjustly. Ironically, the council, although they think they're doing God's will, will not be sitting next to God. Ironically, they will not be anywhere near God.

And hearing his response, the leaders asked to confirm. Then they all said, are you then the son of God? The son of God is an important title. I think as conservative Christians, we're very hesitant to use the son of God language because we think, oh, we want to preserve his deity, right?

God the son. Amen. Yes, God the son, right? The eternal son who created the whole world. But the son of God is an important title for the Messiah. In the Old Testament, the phrase sons of God is actually used, and it's used for angels, and that's in Job.

Sons of God gathered around God. And it's also used for Davidic kings. They're called God's sons as well. And this is because in the ancient days, sons did what the fathers did, right? If you're a baker, then your son was a baker, right?

If you're a fisherman, your son was a fisherman. Sons related to the father functionally. The sons did what the fathers do or did. That's why Jesus is sometimes called the carpenter or the carpenter's son interchangeably.

His stepfather, Joseph, was a carpenter. Now, in Jesus' context, he is not just doing what God is doing at one level. He is actually sitting on the throne like God. He has the same authority as God when he is enthroned in heaven.

Jesus is more than just functionally God. He is ontologically God. He is God power excellence, right? He's not doing what God does only. He's sitting like God. That's why these Jewish council members are asking, are you calling yourself basically God?

And for them, of course, it would be blasphemy. For a person who is not God, in their view, to call himself God. Now, to this, Jesus answers, you say that I am. He affirms. In response, they condemn him right away.

And they said, what further testimony do we need? For we have heard it ourselves from his own mouth. Luke doesn't give us all the details of different witnesses they had. Matthew does. And Mark does, I believe.

But the point is, first, this shows that none of their testimonies against Jesus could have been validated. Jesus did not die a legitimate crime. He was not found guilty on the basis of false testimonies.

Second, they could not even condemn Jesus without his help. If Jesus had stayed silent, they would have nothing to bring against Jesus. They would have nothing to condemn Jesus with. Yet, the Father's will must be done to take on the sin of this world and face the wrath that we all deserve.

So, he spoke. And in their eyes, Jesus has condemned himself for calling himself the Son of God, who sits at the right hand of God. In their eyes, Jesus has committed blasphemy. Jesus has misrepresented God.

In reality, Jesus spoke the truth that they could not accept. And this is because in Judaism, both back and now, they consider God's transcendence very seriously. And we all must consider God's transcendence seriously.

Transcendence means God transcends. It means he's not like us, right? He's utterly other. He is holy. He is set apart, right? Those are all the concepts of God's transcendence. Now, this is important because we do not want to equate ourselves to God.

The pattern of human history is we make God in our own image. Because we forget God's transcendence or we just blatantly ignore that. And considering the Old Testament, most people could not have direct encounters with God and actually expect to live.

In fact, there were mediators everywhere in the Old Testament, right? Prophets, kings, and priests, oh my. A normal Israelite could not just willy-nilly approach God. They needed the whole sacrificial system, which only could be done by the priests.

And they couldn't enter the kingdom unless you were from the right family. And only one person one year could enter the very holiest room in the temple. And he himself had to be mediated through sacrifices.

In fact, by the first century, they didn't even say Yahweh out loud. Many Jews nowadays don't. Some even go far to say they don't even say the word Lord, which is Adonai, right? They don't even say Adonai.

But rather, they just say the name. They say the name. The idea of approaching God directly was unthinkable, especially without a special dispensation or purification. And here, Jesus says God has a throne waiting for him.

And to these rulers, that was unacceptable. And in one sense, these Jews wouldn't have been wrong if it applied to anyone else. Mormons believe that Joseph Smith will be sitting next to God on the judgment day.

That's blasphemous. The Catholics believe that Mary is another mediator. That's blasphemous. What do they have all in common? People have elevated these figures next to God without consulting God. Nowhere in scripture does God say to Joseph Smith, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.

But to Jesus, God personally exalts him. God specifically invites him. After all, he's the Messiah. Unlike Joseph Smith, Jesus does not exalt himself. Rather, he is exalted by God. Jesus does not place himself on that throne.

God does. The Heavenly Father invites the Son to the throne next to his. The Father lovingly and joyfully reserves the seat for the Son to take when he vanquishes sin and death on the cross and rises from the dead.

Ironically, the Jewish leaders think that Jesus has too high view of himself to place himself next to God. Yet they have the too low view of Jesus to not place him next to God. Ironically, these Jewish leaders think they have the authority to judge the divine judge himself, to whom the Father has given the authority to judge.

Yet they will one day stand before Christ, who is seated on the divine throne. And this morning, even 2 ,000 years later, we will see Christ blasphemed. People use his name in vain. They use his name as were a curse word.

They misrepresent him by calling him anything but the divine savior. He was just a good teacher. Or he was just a good guy. He was just a Middle Eastern man. The reality is whether you violently reject Jesus or passively reject Jesus, like the modern man, we will all stand before Christ's judgment throne.

And on that day, the position will be reversed. Because whether you violently reject Christ or passively reject Christ and judge him, you're passing the judgment on him. Right? To say he's just a good teacher, you're passing a judgment on who Christ is.

That is, different from whom he says he was. And all will have to answer to Jesus Christ. And it will no longer be Jesus who is on trial, but those who have rejected him. And they will have to answer to him.

The judge will not ask about how good you have been. He will not ask about how religious you have been. He wouldn't even ask about your church attendance. The main question will be how have you responded to Christ, who's seated on the right hand of God.

And our verdict will be decided on, it's totally dependent on how we answer that. This is not to say this is a Sunday school quiz. But here are some wrong answers. I am innocent because I gave generously to the poor.

I am innocent because I consistently served the church. I'm innocent because I did not murder anyone. I'm innocent because my parents were Christians. I'm innocent because I've been pretty good. None of these answers will fly.

The only way for Jesus, the judge, to justify you before his courtroom is your faith alone. In him alone. You must believe that Jesus took on your sin and suffered the wrath that you've earned and that he rose from the dead.

That's the gospel. That's the good news. If you believe that, then you are declared righteous now. Not based upon your righteousness, the good things you've done, but based upon the good things Christ has done and he places on you.

When God sees you from heaven, he does not see your filthy righteousness. He sees Christ's righteousness, and that can only be received through faith alone. Not faith and works, but faith alone. That you believe in Jesus and Jesus alone.

And if you trust Jesus, you do not have to fear the one who's seated at the right hand of God. You're declared righteous, not by your works, but by the work of Christ on the cross alone. He took your sin so that he could place his righteousness on you.

And if you have not yet done so, it is not too late to approach the throne of grace. You can tell Jesus that nothing you bring to the table is any good. And it is no good to make you right before God.

But that you only lean on his perfect accomplishment on the cross alone. And that's it. It's free. It's given by grace. It's a gift from God. And you can only receive that through faith. You can't make it up to God, let me just do this first, make my life straight, make it right again, and then I'll approach him.

You come before God as a sinner in need of grace. And it is a fitting message, considering the fact that we just had Reformation Day. In which Martin Luther thought the same thing. How can I be made righteous before God on my own good works?

They're filthy. In the end, salvation can only be received through faith alone and cannot be earned. And I would like to end with the last verse of Jesus paid it all. What a powerful song. Jesus didn't pay some, so that you do a Dutch pay.

He didn't even pay 99%, so you just contribute a little bit. He paid it all. And it's a fitting response before his throne. And when before the throne, I stand in him complete. Jesus died, my soul to save, my lips shall still repeat.

Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, he washed it white as snow. Let us all go to him, in need of his grace, to receive his mercy. Knowing that we stand in him complete because he is the finisher of our faith.

Justification by Faith Alone and Christ's Finished Work

Let us pray. Father, we are grateful that it is not anything we bring to the table that we are saved. It is not anything that we have done that we are declared righteous. Our righteousness is completely borrowed from Christ.

Our righteousness is completely from Christ alone. Help us to live in that identity. Help us to not try to earn being right with you. Help us to trust in Jesus alone, knowing that we will one day see this judge enthroned.

Help us to long for it. Help us to delight in it. Help us to hope in it. In Jesus' name.