The Trial of Jesus

Luke Kirkendall

Luke • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

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Court Trials

One of the most fascinating stories is a story that involves a court trial.

We are drawn to these stories.

To Kill A Mockinbird is one of the most read court drama stories there is.

John Grisham has built an empire on court drama.

Our culture at times has been swept up in court drama.

In the 90’s we were glued to the television screen watching real life court cases unfold before our eyes.

1992 gave us the end of the Rodney King trial.

In the fall of 1995 we had the conclusion of the OJ Simpson trial.

Those of you who were alive at the time might remember where you were when those verdicts were given.

Today, we find ourselves again in the courtroom.

This is one of the greatest court cases to have ever taken place.

Perhaps one of the most corrupt cases as well.

It is the trial of an innocent man.

Those presiding over the trial knew the man on the stand was innocent.

And yet, the innocent man was condemned.

We are returning to the Gospel of Luke.

We will be in .

Let’s read .

Read :1-25.

This trial begins with an Accusation.

Jesus has been arrested.

Early in the morning He was brought before the Sanhedrin.

The Sanhedrin was the governing body of the Jews within Jerusalem.

They’d been on the prowl looking for a way to condemn Jesus.

He’d done miracles throughout the land.

He had taught.

But what set them over the edge was Who He was and is.

Who is He?

He is the Christ.

He is the Messiah.

He is the God-Man.

He is the second member of the Trinity.

He is divine.

Back in , He boldly had said, “I and the Father are one.”

Those present picked up stones.

They were going to kill him right then.

And they made it clear.

They weren’t going to kill Him because of His miracles.

They were going to kill Him because of Who He was.

In , Jesus’ friend Lazarus is dead.

Jesus arrives at the tomb with His friend 4 days dead.

He goes to the grave, and commands that Lazarus come out.

Life enters the body, and Lazarus comes out, still in his grave clothes.

The ruling Jews became even more terrified.

It set them over the edge.

People begin believing in Jesus.

He’s doing things only God can do.

Only God can create life.

And people are starting to connect the dots.

At this, the ruling Jews become even more aggressive in looking for a way to kill Jesus.

The Jews want to put Jesus to death.

But there’s a problem, they aren’t allowed to kill people.

The Romans are in charge.

If the Jews attack Jesus and kill Him, they become murderers themselves.

So they don’t have the authority to kill Jesus.

They have to come up with a reason for the Roman government to condemn Jesus.

If they go to Pilate and say, “Jesus said, ‘I and the Father are one.’”, Pilate wouldn’t care.

That’s a religious excuse.

There are plenty of false gods and religions within Rome, that’s not illegal.

It’s not against the law for Jesus to say that.

So they have to come up with a better reason.

Something that makes Jesus seem like an enemy of the government.

In verse 2 they tell Pilate, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying he himself is Christ, a king.”

There - that’s an accusation.

It’s a three-fold accusation.

He’s misleading the nation.

He’s stirring up the people.

He’s trying to incite a riot.

He’s trying to destroy the glorious peace they have in Jerusalem.

Which they don’t really have by the way.

Pilate already has his feet to the fire, because of past violence within the city.

They said that he is forbidding tribute to Caesar.

In other words, they are saying that Jesus said, “Don’t pay your taxes.”

That is a flat out lie.

He never said that.

Earlier in Luke, people came to Jesus asking if they should pay taxes.

In , Jesus said, “… render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Pay your taxes.

And their third accusation, was the biggest.

It goes beyond saying they were stirring up the crowds.

They said He was the Christ, a king.

There’s only one king in the land, and that is Caesar.

If Jesus is going around saying He’s the king, this would be treason.

In , Jesus said, “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 Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”

Basically, He’s not that kind of king.

We know that one day Christ will return, and He will rule, but now is not the time.

On this trip to earth His mission was to save people from their sins.

And in order to complete this mission, He must be handed over to the Jews.

By the way, had Jesus wanted to overthrow the Romans, He could have.

says that the nations are a drop in the bucket before God.

In fact, Jesus is not subservient to the nations; they are subservient to Him!

says He created them.

famously says that all rulers are actually servants, or ministers of God.

But during the incarnation, Jesus wasn’t coming to put the nations under His thumb.

Rather, in His humanity, He was obedient to them.

These are the accusations:

He promoted violence.

He told people not to pay their taxes.

He was trying to overthrow the Romans and start His own kingdom.

After hearing the accusation, there is an Investigation.

In a good mystery story, there is an investigation.

The clues are gathered.

Then based on the clues a decision is made.

According to Jewish law, there needs to be two witnesses.

says, “Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three shall a charge be established.”

To condemn Jesus, there need to be at least 2 witnesses that can verify that He is guilty.

Here is where Luke’s Gospel gives us a huge twist in the Trial of Jesus.

Remember when OJ Simpson was told to put on the glove they found at the murder scene.

It had shrunk because of the dried blood.

The prosecution wanted to make a statement.

Have OJ put on his glove.

Show that it fits.

And that will cement in the jury’s mind that it’s his glove, therefore, he’s the murderer.

You probably remember what happened.

The glove had shrunk because of the dried blood.

OJ tried, very poorly, to put the glove on his hand, and it never quite made it over his palm.

Johnny Cochran famously said, “If the glove don’t fit, you must acquit.”

That was a stunning moment.

In Jesus’ trial, the witnesses, the star people in the investigation are not people you would think of.

The people coming to his defense are not his disciples.

They are Pontius Pilate and Herod.

Not really who you’d want on your defense.

History doesn’t remember them fondly or well.

And now they are the star witnesses in Jesus’ trial.

Pilate and Herod are not friends of each other.

In fact, they are enemies.

We don’t know what prompted the animosity between them.

But we know that they didn’t like each other.

Herod was given authority to rule in Galilee.

Back in , we learn that some Galileans were in Jerusalem, and Pilate had them slaughtered.

Pilate, had basically started a war with Herod when that happened.

And now, they are going to be our star witnesses in this investigation.

The Jews come to Pilate and make their accusation against Jesus.

They say He’s promoting violence, rebellion, and trying to start His own Kingdom.

Here Jesus stands.

Jesus was arrested the night before.

He’s had a rough night.

They’d hit him, then say, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?”

He’s been arrested by the Jews, and now stands as a beaten man in front of Pilate.

Not exactly a threatening image that they say He is.

Pilate questions Jesus, “Are you the King of the Jews?”

Jesus, doesn’t say much.

“You have said so.”

But you can see, if He’s a king … he’s not doing so hot.

There’s no army backing Him up.

There’s no way this man is doing what they claim.

Pilate, the first witness, says, “I find no guilt in this man.”

Pilate learns that Jesus is from Galilee, and Herod happens to be in town.

So he sends Jesus over to Herod.

Herod is a man who likes to party.

He’s an adulterous man.

Often a violent man.

He was the one who had John the Baptist beheaded, and received his head on a plate.

He doesn’t see Jesus as a threat, but he sees Jesus as entertainment.

He’s hoping that Jesus will do some kind of miracle.

He’s heard the rumors, now he wants to see Jesus in action.

But Jesus did nothing.

Jesus said nothing.

He didn’t present himself as a threat.

Herod has Jesus cruelly treated, and then as a final ironic statement, has him Him dressed up as a king, and sent back to Pilate.

Pilate relays Herod’s verdict to the Jewish rulers, saying that neither of them find anything in Jesus deserving of death.

Just because both Herod and Pilate declare Jesus’ innocence, it doesn’t mean they are above reproach in their approach to Jesus; this doesn’t make them the good guys in this story.

It doesn’t mean they are innocent in their approach to Jesus.

Their acknowledgment of His innocence still showed a hatred of who Jesus really is.

says, “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed ...”

There are 2 things to remember in our own approach of Jesus through Pilate and Herod’s investigation.

First, Pilate had no real authority over Jesus.

Pilate thought Jesus’s life was in his hands.

He thought he had all the power.

And to the casual onlooker, it might appear as if Pilate is the one in charge.

John’s gospel records a bit more detail of Pilate’s investigation.

Jesus told Pilate in , “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. ...”

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Pilate didn’t really have power.

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His power was on loan from God above.

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Everything that is happening to Jesus at this time is part of a pre-made plan of God.

In Peter’s big sermon on Pentecost, he said, “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.”

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Later in , the disciples prayed, “for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.”

So remember who has real authority.

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Remember who is sovereign.

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Because there will be times in this world, when it seems as if all is falling apart.

It will seem as if the Devil has won.

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It will seem as if evil has won the day.

, speaks of an especially wicked time, when the antiChrist is allowed to attack Christians and even conquer them!

Remember who truly is sovereign.

Always maintain hope in your sovereign Lord and King, Jesus Christ.

Don’t let your expectations of life affect your view of God.

Often our expectations are not God’s plan.

says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.”

Their acknowledgment of His innocence still showed a hatred of who Jesus really is.

says, “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed ...”

The disciples were never expecting Jesus to go to the Cross.

But that was God’s plan.

The second important reminder is you don’t get to invent your own view of Jesus.

Herod saw Jesus as an entertainer.

He was nothing more than someone who put on a good show.

Do a miracle here, raise the dead there.

Herod’s view of Jesus was that of a magician.

That’s not how this works.

But that’s how many approach Jesus.

They don’t begin with His Word, or the way He has revealed Himself in the Bible.

Instead, when faced with a difficult doctrine or truth, they begin with these words:

“The way I think of Jesus ...”

The moment you say that, you know what you’ve done?

You’ve just created an idol.

You’ve created an idol named Jesus, who’s not the actual Jesus.

That’s what the Israelites did in the wilderness when they created the golden calves.

They calves were their way of imagining the God who saved them out of Egypt.

We don’t get to invent our own view of Jesus.

He is who He is.

Make sure that your thoughts of Jesus, match up to how the Bible describes Him.

In our trial, we then have a Compromise

Pilate makes the statement that he finds nothing wrong with Jesus, and he knows that he will get some flak for it.

The Jewish leaders have already made it clear that they are looking for a death.

They want Jesus dead.

This puts Pilate in a hard position.

Jesus is innocent.

But the Jews want Him dead.

So Pilate comes up with a plan, he comes up with a compromise.

Verse 16, “I will therefore punish and release him.”

He repeats himself later on in verse 22, “I will therefore punish and release him.”

He’s pushing for a compromise.

He’s hoping the Jews will be satisfied with this request.

There will be violence done against an innocent man.

Even the language is humiliating against Jesus.

He says he will punish Jesus.

But what has Jesus actually done?

Pilate has already said he finds no guilt in Jesus.

He’s going to be punished for something He hasn’t done.

That word for punish, could be rephrased, he will “teach Jesus a lesson.”

It means to correct.

He will correct and punish Jesus, and Jesus will learn not to speak out against them anymore.

But sadly there can be no compromise.

The Jews don’t like what they hear.

They cry out “Crucify, crucify him!”

There will be no compromise.

And in a sense this is true.

You can’t Mickey Mouse around with Jesus.

You’ve got to come to a conclusion about Him.

The conclusion has to be true.

It can’t be about what makes the most people happy or not.

Pilate was trying to make a decision that would make the most people happy.

Beat Jesus - the Jews would be happy.

Spare his life - those who are fans of Jesus, and justice will be happy.

That can’t be your goal when we are talking about Jesus.

He’s either who He claims to be or He’s not.

Let me cut to the chase here.

There are a lot of Christians, who treat Jesus the way Pilate did.

They are trying to make a compromise with the world.

They are religious … but just enough to not really offend any body.

They don’t want to be labeled a religious nut.

But that doesn’t work.

says, “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

We will never be able to make this kind of compromise with the world.

says, “For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. ...”

To the world, biblical Christianity is repulsive.

Paul says it’s the fragrance of death.

You ever smelled a dead body?

You ever driven by an old road kill with your windows down?

It’s terrible.

And that’s how the world responds to biblical truth.

Whether it’sGod’s values:

Roles of men and women.

The origin of life.

Life in the womb.

Work, if you want to eat you must work.

Or whether it’s the Gospel itself.

God is completely sovereign

Man has sinned.

Man deserves Hell.

And it takes Jesus to die for us.

You will never reach a compromise with the world.

You’ve got to treat Jesus like your life depends upon it.

Because it does.

The Great Commission tells us that we are to make disciples, and to teach and observe all that Jesus has commanded us.

Remember, you follow Jesus.

He’s Lord.

You don’t get to serve two masters.

Trying to make the world happy and God happy.

There is one God.

And one day, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord.

There will be no compromise.

After the accusations, the investigations, the compromise, there is finally a Verdict.

The Jews reject Pilate’s compromise of beating Jesus.

They don’t want to teach Him a lesson and release Him.

They want blood.

They say, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas.”

Here’s where this gets real interesting.

Remember how this whole thing started?

Do you remember what the original accusation was?

Back in verse 2, they said that Jesus was misleading the nation, forbidding taxes, and starting a war against Caesar.

Which none of was true.

They were basically making an appeal to public safety.

“Make our streets safe.”

“Get Jesus off our streets and we will have peace again.”

Now what are they asking for?

They are asking for Barabbas to be released and put back on the streets.

Barabbas -

He’s all of those things that they accused Jesus of.

He’s a proven violent man.

He’s a man proven to start riots.

He’s a proven murderer.

He’s already been sentenced for those crimes.

The famous cross that Jesus would be hung on, was probably made for Barabbas.

He’s not someone that you want on your streets.

He’s not someone you want living next door to you.

And he’s who the Jews want.

The cries got intense.

The shouting got louder.

And finally, Pilate was pressured into giving into the bloodlust of the Jews.

He released the man who was thrown into prison for insurrection and murder.

And he handed over the man who had done none of those things to be killed for those things.

This becomes the grossest and most perverse of all courtroom dramas.

The innocent man is condemned in the place of the condemned criminal.

We don’t know what ends up happening to Barabbas.

But we can say that Jesus was crucified in his place.

Jesus died for the violent lawbreaker.

If you’ve ever heard us use the word for penal substitutionary atonement and wondered what does it look like, well here it is.

Barabbas was released in Jesus’ place.

Jesus took the legal punishment in Barabbas’ place, as a substitute, so he could go free.

As offensive as this story is … it’s also your story.

The 17th century produced one of the worlds most famous artists, Rembrandt.

I have no idea what his first name is, we call him Rembrandt.

One of his paintings was called Raising of the Cross.

It’s now on display in Munich.

Here’s a picture of it for you.

In this picture we see Christ crucified.

Nails driven through his arms and legs.

Naked and exposed as he takes his last breath.

He is put to death at the hands of evil men.

There is something interesting in this picture.

There’s this man raising the Cross.

If we zoom in on it, we see he’s out of place.

It’s not out of place that there is someone raising the Cross.

But the man himself is out of place.

There he is dressed in the garb of the 17th century.

Complete with a painters beret.

Rembrandt inserted himself into this picture.

As if to say, he was the one that put Jesus on the Cross.

Rembrandt became a participant with the Cross of Christ.

Not only as an observer.

But as an active participant.

says, “But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.”

Like Rembrandt, we are participants in the Cross.

It’s not just Barabbas who Jesus died for.

Like Barabbas, we are participants in the death of Christ.

He died for our sins.

says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

He was the innocent man, condemned in our place.

He never sinned.

He was perfectly obedient.

He was like a lamb to the slaughter.

In order for us to understand the Cross, we must understand our role in it.

I was talking with someone the other day, and I said we love to talk about God.

We have our theology.

We have our doctrine.

We talk about God.

We talk about the Cross.

But we need to do more than that.

We need to know God.

In order to know God, we need to know what He has done.

We need to know the Cross.

Do you know what He has done for you?

Like Rembrandt, put yourself in the picture.

Let’s make it personal.

It was your Hell He received.

It was your sin He died for.

It was your punishment He received.

From far back, we look at the trial of Jesus and are appalled because He was an innocent man who was wrongly killed.

But the closer we look, we learn of our own participation.

Yet He knew exactly what He was doing.

says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

And He did this for us.

We know a lot about God.

But sometimes we don’t know Him enough.

The Psalm says, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!”

Isn’t He good.

It’s good to know that.

Pray

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