1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:05,200 It's wonderful to be here together today and to worship 2 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:06,920 God. And as I look over the audience, 3 00:00:06,920 --> 00:00:10,520 we have a great crowd here, even though we have, as Terry 4 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:14,480 mentioned, so many of our members that are sick or hurt or 5 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:17,000 recovering or maybe at other places traveling. 6 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:20,040 But we have a great crowd because you're here today. 7 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:23,320 And I've looked forward to worshiping with you. 8 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:26,120 And I hope that what we have to discuss in our lesson will be 9 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:30,480 encouraging and helpful to you. We're continuing our series that 10 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:34,080 I started from the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was 11 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:38,560 arrested in the garden, and now we are where Jesus was taken 12 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:41,480 before pilot. And I'm just going to say that 13 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:44,960 this is actually a two-part lesson because there's so many 14 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:47,560 things that happened when Jesus was taken before pilot. 15 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:50,040 We cannot cover all of it in one sermon. 16 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:54,400 Usually when we talk about Jesus before Pilate, we talk about the 17 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:57,560 things that Pilate did that sent Jesus directly to the cross. 18 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:00,880 For example, when he was beaten and scourged and spit upon. 19 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:04,560 Then when he was taken and nailed to a Roman cross. 20 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:08,040 And we talk about those things when he went before Pilate, but 21 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:11,600 before that happened. These verses in John 18, verses 22 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:14,720 28 through 38 are very, very significant. 23 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:18,840 And often times we just read over them without going very 24 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:22,960 deep into them because we want to get to exactly the climax of 25 00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:25,360 and teach on the climax of what happened to Jesus. 26 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:30,440 Let me just say before I go any further, that John 18, verses 28 27 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:33,560 through 38 is very significant. And it's very significant for 28 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:40,040 three reasons and in three ways. Number one in Jewish history #2 29 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:44,840 by way of Roman history and #3 and most importantly by way of 30 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:48,960 prophetic history or the fulfillment of the prophecies 31 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:51,720 from Jesus Christ or about Jesus Christ himself. 32 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:54,560 So where are we right now in our narrative? 33 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:57,040 Jesus has been arrested in the garden. 34 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:00,120 He was taken in the middle of the night before Anis. 35 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:02,560 And that was really the arraignment part, you would say, 36 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:05,960 of the religious trial. Remember, the trial was twofold. 37 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:10,759 It was religious and it was also civil, meaning religious before 38 00:02:10,759 --> 00:02:15,960 Israel, civil before Rome. Jesus had been arrested. 39 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:19,440 He's taken to Anis and then also in the middle of the night, he's 40 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:22,280 taken before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin. 41 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:26,640 In the middle of the night, the very next morning, he's taken 42 00:02:26,640 --> 00:02:28,720 before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin. 43 00:02:28,920 --> 00:02:35,240 Once again, the mock trial. But the only way that they could 44 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:39,960 legally crucify Jesus or execute Jesus, which is all they wanted 45 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:44,680 to do, is he had to go to pilot. He had to go to Rome. 46 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:48,600 And the reason for that is during this period of Jewish 47 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:51,720 history, they were living under the oppressive thumb of Rome. 48 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:53,760 They were living under Rome's control. 49 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:57,000 I want to say this though, about the Jewish courts and what they 50 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:01,080 were actually allowed to do, living under the bondage of Rome 51 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:05,200 and under the laws of Rome. Rome actually gave Jews their 52 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:06,520 own laws and said, you know what? 53 00:03:06,640 --> 00:03:08,880 You can have your own laws, you can have your own courts. 54 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:13,640 And that's why it was legal to actually have the 71 member 55 00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:16,880 Sanhedrin, which would, I guess I don't know a better way to put 56 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:18,480 it. It was the highest court you can 57 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:21,600 imagine under Judaism. It would be considered like the 58 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:25,080 Supreme Court among the Jews. That was legal. 59 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:27,920 What else could they do? They could have their own laws, 60 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:31,520 they could even administer their own laws, and they could even 61 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:35,160 inflict punishments to some degree regarding the breaking of 62 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:39,440 those laws under religion or under Israel or under Judaism. 63 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:44,840 OK, But they were limited. They were limited when it came 64 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:49,480 to a capital case. They could not execute somebody 65 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:53,640 legally because as we know, the right of the sword belonged to 66 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:55,040 Rome. But what I want to notice this 67 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:57,120 morning is, why is that significant? 68 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:01,320 Why is it significant that the Jews had to go to pilot? 69 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:05,480 Nothing, by the way, in the Scriptures is by happenstance. 70 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:08,000 Nothing is a coincidence. I don't believe in that at all. 71 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:10,760 I like what Joe Heisler said one time. 72 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:12,000 He said, you know what coincidence is? 73 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:16,600 It's Providence Incognito. That's just free. 74 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:19,920 I'm going to tell you something. There's no coincidence in the 75 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:23,480 Scriptures. They went to pilot for a reason. 76 00:04:24,280 --> 00:04:26,600 They went to pilot. Not only legally did they have 77 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:31,480 to, but they went to Pilate because prophecy determined how 78 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:36,240 Jesus was going to die. Bible says that Jesus was to be 79 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:38,120 lifted up. Do you remember what they 80 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:39,960 accused Jesus after the religious trial? 81 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:42,400 What did they say? They said when they were so 82 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:45,080 angry and they tore their clothes and they were so mad, 83 00:04:45,280 --> 00:04:47,440 they said blasphemy. Why? 84 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:51,840 He said I am the Son of God. When Jesus said that that's all 85 00:04:51,840 --> 00:04:53,800 they could stand. They tore their clothes, they 86 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:56,160 were angry and they said blasphemy. 87 00:04:56,240 --> 00:05:00,280 OK, what does the Bible say in the Old Testament about somebody 88 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:03,720 that would blasphemy in Leviticus 24 and 16? 89 00:05:04,280 --> 00:05:07,720 Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to 90 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:10,400 death. All the congregation shall 91 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:14,400 certainly stone him, the stranger, as well as him who is 92 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:17,600 born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of 93 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:20,640 the Lord, he shall be put to death. 94 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:25,000 All right. Had Jesus been executed anytime 95 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:27,800 before Roman rule, you know what would have happened? 96 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:30,760 They would have taken Jesus. They would have in a mob 97 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:33,120 mentality, they would have stoned him to death. 98 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:36,640 And if that's the case, the Bible is not true. 99 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:42,000 The Bible is not accurate. Give you an example about 100 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:48,560 prophecy regarding this. When Moses came as the deliverer 101 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:52,840 to deliver the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage, 102 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:55,920 I got to Fast forward through the story. 103 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:59,880 Don't have time, but all of a sudden they come, and this is 104 00:05:59,880 --> 00:06:01,480 after the parting of the Red Sea. 105 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:05,520 They'd walk on dry ground, and they're appreciative that God 106 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:09,200 was in their corner, that God had their back, that God sent a 107 00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:11,120 deliverer. And that was Moses, who, by the 108 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:14,680 way, typified our deliverer, Jesus. 109 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:18,360 Moses brings them out and all of a sudden they're in the 110 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:22,200 wilderness. OK, what do the people do? 111 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:29,600 They forget, and they complain. At a great sermon last Sunday 112 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:33,560 from Wade about complaining, remember some of his points. 113 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:37,160 When you complain, you're not thinking about somebody else. 114 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:42,040 You're not thinking about God. You're thinking about you and 115 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:44,960 how many times do we do that? We have something good that 116 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:47,440 happens in our life. Maybe God blesses us or has 117 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:50,200 something good in our life, and then all of a sudden we forget. 118 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:52,960 It's kind of the old adage, what have you done for me lately? 119 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:56,320 That was the children of Israel. And you know what they murmured? 120 00:06:56,320 --> 00:06:57,600 They said, wait a minute, we got no food. 121 00:06:57,600 --> 00:06:59,280 We got no water. By the way, we're sick of this 122 00:06:59,280 --> 00:07:02,320 bread. Terrible. 123 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:11,360 You know what God does? Numbers 21 God send serpents to 124 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:14,920 bite the people. When the serpents bit the 125 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:17,000 people, the snakes, what happened to the people? 126 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:19,440 They died. Hold that thought because 127 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:22,400 there's a picture there. When the serpents bit the 128 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:25,720 people, the people died. Now God got their attention. 129 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:28,800 So the people come to Moses and they say, Moses, pray to God 130 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:30,640 that God will take away the snakes. 131 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:33,280 Does God take away the snakes? No. 132 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:35,680 What God says is this. God does this. 133 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:37,800 He said, Moses, what you're going to do is this. 134 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:41,520 I'm not taking them away, but when they bite the people, this 135 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:43,960 is what they're going to do. You take a pole and you put 136 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:46,720 brazen serpents on a pole. That's what you're going to do. 137 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:50,400 And when the people are bit, they're going to look up and 138 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:51,840 when they do, they're going to be healed. 139 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:54,880 It was a look of faith, believing Numbers 21. 140 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:59,160 This is what Moses did. Moses made a bronze serpent and 141 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:01,440 put it on a pole. And so it was. 142 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:04,280 If a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze 143 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:08,120 serpent, he lived. Do you know what the snakes 144 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:10,640 represented? Sin. 145 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:18,640 When the snakes bit the people, death by sin as a prophetic 146 00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:21,280 type. When the people, as an act of 147 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:27,040 faith, believing, would look up, they would be healed in that 148 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:28,960 beautiful. Because guess what? 149 00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:31,080 We ain't talking about snakes and we ain't talking about Poles 150 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:32,440 and we ain't talking about Moses. 151 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:39,320 We're talking about Jesus. God doesn't take away the 152 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:45,640 consequence of sin until what we look to the one that was lifted 153 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:50,480 on a pole. The Bible says that's 154 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:54,880 significant because in John 3 and 14, and as Moses lifted up 155 00:08:54,880 --> 00:09:00,800 the serpent in the wilderness, Even so must the Son of Man be 156 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:04,560 lifted up. That's why they went to Pilate. 157 00:09:05,680 --> 00:09:06,960 It was the law. That's true. 158 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:09,800 Yes, that's true. But they had to go to pilot. 159 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:12,520 Why? Because prophetically, Jesus had 160 00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:17,360 to be lifted up and a Jewish form of execution was stoning so 161 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:18,600 much more. I could say we got to keep 162 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:23,600 moving to legally execute Jesus. Rome had to do it. 163 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:26,240 So that's why they went to pilot. 164 00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:29,720 Notice what Jesus said. And if I am lifted up from the 165 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:34,480 earth, this is back in John 12/6 chapters before will draw all 166 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:37,440 peoples to myself. I've heard people say this. 167 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:41,120 What that means is practically in life, it means this. 168 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:47,720 If I lift up Jesus in my life, it will draw all people under 169 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:50,000 Jesus. And while that may be true, and 170 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:53,080 while that is a secondary example, that's not what the 171 00:09:53,080 --> 00:09:55,320 Lord was talking about. What the Lord was talking about 172 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:58,840 is writing the scriptures, this signifying what death he would 173 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:01,760 die, the form of death that He would die. 174 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:07,600 So interestingly, this is great. The sole right of execution was 175 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:08,920 given to Rome. Do you know when? 176 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:16,840 In about 8030. I'm just going to pause there. 177 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:24,560 Who's in control? When did Jesus start his earthly 178 00:10:24,560 --> 00:10:28,480 ministry on the earth? About 3 years before he was 179 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:30,320 crucified. And if you don't go by the 180 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:34,120 adjusted calendar where he was crucified in AD 30, which I 181 00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:36,120 believe it was AD 33, don't have time to go into it. 182 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:40,280 If you go by the traditional calendar, that means that he 183 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:46,560 started his earthly ministry in AD 30, the time that Rome was 184 00:10:46,560 --> 00:10:49,000 given the exclusive right of execution. 185 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:55,000 So for the three years, because he was crucified in AD 33, for 186 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:57,640 the three years that Jesus was on the face of the earth, it 187 00:10:57,640 --> 00:10:59,880 didn't make any difference. The Jews can get all the mad 188 00:10:59,880 --> 00:11:02,040 they wanted to. They can get their mad on all 189 00:11:02,040 --> 00:11:04,800 they wanted to. They couldn't legally execute 190 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:07,720 Jesus. Why? 191 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:12,800 Because the Bible prophetically stated he had to be lifted up. 192 00:11:14,720 --> 00:11:18,600 Man, that ain't an accident. Who's in control? 193 00:11:19,520 --> 00:11:22,320 God's in control. OK, So what dominates this whole 194 00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:25,480 scene? What dominates the whole scene 195 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:29,360 is the innocence of Jesus. Pilate begins by saying I don't 196 00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:31,320 know what the accusation is. You know what he ends up saying 197 00:11:31,520 --> 00:11:35,040 6 times? I find no fault in him. 198 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:39,920 Jesus was innocent. He doesn't want the blood of 199 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:41,920 Jesus of an innocent man on his hands. 200 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:44,320 Religious trial already happened. 201 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:47,040 It began at night as I mentioned in our introduction. 202 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:51,840 You know, that was the illegal. Remember we talked about that 203 00:11:51,840 --> 00:11:55,000 last time it was illegal. Why was it illegal? 204 00:11:55,880 --> 00:12:01,800 Because capital cases under old law and under Jewish law under 205 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:05,520 the Sanhedrin could not be discussed at night time. 206 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:07,480 It had to be discussed under light of day. 207 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:13,400 And remember, we remember last time we said, and the reason for 208 00:12:13,400 --> 00:12:16,560 it is this. If somebody is going to be on 209 00:12:16,560 --> 00:12:20,760 trial for their life, they didn't want to have a law where 210 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:23,600 you can very hurriedly go through it at night and decide 211 00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:24,880 if they should be executed or not. 212 00:12:24,880 --> 00:12:27,080 It had to be in the light of day when they would take their time 213 00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:29,880 and hear all the evidence. So they broke the law. 214 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:31,040 You know what they did the next morning? 215 00:12:31,240 --> 00:12:33,280 The next morning they came together with Caiaphas in the 216 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:37,360 Sanhedrin to try to make legal what last night was illegal. 217 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:43,880 OK, so it's now early in the morning, but they still got to 218 00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:47,360 go to Pilot. Why did they wait till the next 219 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:48,800 morning? It was early in the morning. 220 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:52,120 They couldn't do it before then because the Roman court opened 221 00:12:52,120 --> 00:12:55,080 at sunrise and it closed at sunset. 222 00:12:55,640 --> 00:12:58,640 So it wasn't like, well, they got Pilot up out of bed and 223 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:02,360 Pilots got no, it was his job by way of a Roman court. 224 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:05,360 It was his job and it opened at sunrise and it closed at sunset. 225 00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:08,640 So now they came to Pilot's Hall. 226 00:13:08,640 --> 00:13:11,360 The old, the old King James says, or the new King James 227 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:14,720 calls it his praetorium. Now we go to Matthew or John 228 00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:17,440 chapter 18 and verse 28. Notice please. 229 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:20,840 Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium, and 230 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:24,080 it was early morning. But they themselves did not go 231 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:27,360 to the praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they 232 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:38,240 might eat the Passover. Now a Jewish man could not go 233 00:13:38,240 --> 00:13:43,360 into the House of a Gentile under Jewish law, lest they be 234 00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:45,880 defiled. And if they wanted to eat the 235 00:13:45,880 --> 00:13:49,360 Passover, which was nigh when Jesus was going to be crucified, 236 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:54,400 they could not go into the House of a Gentile or they would be 237 00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:58,560 ceremonially unclean. Notice the difference between 238 00:13:58,560 --> 00:14:01,200 what happened under the old law and where we are under the law 239 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:02,680 of Christ. I like this so much better, 240 00:14:02,680 --> 00:14:04,520 don't you? Acts chapter 10. 241 00:14:04,680 --> 00:14:08,280 When Peter takes the gospel to the first Gentile converts in 242 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:12,280 the household of Cornelius, he references going back to this, 243 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:16,520 this idea of the old law. Then he said to them, you know 244 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:20,720 how it is unlawful for a Jewish man to keep company with or go 245 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:25,800 to one of another nation? But Peter says everything's 246 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:28,800 changed. God has shown me that I should 247 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:31,240 not call any man common or unclean. 248 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:35,160 That's under the law of Christ. This is under the law of Moses. 249 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:39,920 This is under the law of Christ. There's nothing common or 250 00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:42,400 unclean. EM Zur put it this way and 251 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:46,760 summing up what they were saying, the Jews imagined that 252 00:14:46,760 --> 00:14:49,880 it would defile them ceremonially, and I'm going to 253 00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:51,160 get to that word in just a minute. 254 00:14:51,160 --> 00:14:54,400 Ceremonially, what did it mean to be ceremonially unclean? 255 00:14:55,240 --> 00:14:58,560 The Jews imagined it would defile them ceremonially to come 256 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:01,440 in contact with such a place, which would be the House of a 257 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:05,360 Gentile, and that would render them unfit to partake of the 258 00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:07,600 Passover feast that was about due. 259 00:15:08,040 --> 00:15:11,880 The Law of Moses required the Jews to be ceremonially as well 260 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:16,400 as physically clean before they can participate in the feast. 261 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:23,200 OK, And that's why John said this in John Chapter 11 and 262 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:27,120 verse 55. And the Passover of the Jews was 263 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:30,280 near. Many went from the country up to 264 00:15:30,280 --> 00:15:32,760 Jerusalem before the Passover. What for? 265 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:37,560 To purify themselves. So it's very serious to be 266 00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:42,080 purified and not be ceremonially unclean before the Passover. 267 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:46,600 So let's talk about being ceremonially clean and unclean 268 00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:47,800 and what they had to do. Here we go. 269 00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:54,400 For a Jew to be ceremonially clean means to be ritually pure, 270 00:15:55,040 --> 00:15:58,960 free from defilement according to Jewish religious law, which 271 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:02,600 often involves performing a ritual washing called the 272 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:09,600 tebola, and in a mikvah, which was a ritual bath, to symbolize 273 00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:13,360 the removal of impurity and allowing them to participate 274 00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:16,840 fully in religious practices, particularly approaching the 275 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:22,080 temple or offering sacrifices, especially signifying a state of 276 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:24,240 spiritual readiness to worship God. 277 00:16:24,440 --> 00:16:30,560 Saying all of that, that's the reason they didn't want to be 278 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:33,240 ceremonially unclean before the Passover. 279 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:37,160 Why Leviticus said this? Leviticus 22, six and seven. 280 00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:40,920 The person who has touched any such thing shall be unclean 281 00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:44,440 until evening and shall not eat the holy offerings unless he 282 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:47,840 washes his body with water. And when the sun goes down, he 283 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:51,000 shall be clean, and afterward he may eat the holy offerings 284 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:58,720 because it is his food. OK, saying all that, do you see 285 00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:06,880 the unbelievable hypocrisy? Unbelievable hypocrisy. 286 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:12,760 They don't want to go into the House of a Gentile, so they be 287 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:16,000 defiled so they can eat the Passover. 288 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:22,920 All the while they're willing to execute and have crucified the 289 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:27,319 Messiah who's the fulfillment of the Passover, the ultimate 290 00:17:27,319 --> 00:17:32,400 Passover lamb. Wow, unbelievable hypocrisy. 291 00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:36,000 It's a classic example of straining out a gnat and 292 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:39,720 swallowing a camel like Jesus dealt with before. 293 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:42,680 Keep the Passover and kill the one who came to fulfill it. 294 00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:47,680 OK, verse 29. Pilate then went out to them and 295 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:50,440 said, what accusation do you bring against this man? 296 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:55,720 You know one thing about Pilate? Pilate knows Jesus is innocent. 297 00:17:56,080 --> 00:17:58,400 OK? Pilate is not naive. 298 00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:03,080 Pilate is has no problems when it comes to his own personal 299 00:18:03,080 --> 00:18:04,320 intellect. That's not the problem. 300 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:07,560 The problem with Pilot. Please get this, because it's 301 00:18:07,560 --> 00:18:09,960 going to be the same problem all the way through, even in the 302 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:13,640 next lesson. Pilot was a coward. 303 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:22,600 Pilot was a coward. I've said this so many times 304 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:26,320 that when the Jews were living, they were living under the 305 00:18:26,320 --> 00:18:28,480 oppressive thumb of Rome. And that's true. 306 00:18:29,200 --> 00:18:32,760 But look at the irony here while living under the oppressive 307 00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:34,000 thumb of Rome. Guess what? 308 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:39,120 The Jews have Pilot under their thumb right now and he's a 309 00:18:39,120 --> 00:18:41,520 coward. He doesn't want to lose his 310 00:18:41,640 --> 00:18:45,640 position. Noticing in John 19 as we Fast 311 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:49,760 forward John 19 and 12. From then on, Pilot sought to 312 00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:53,640 release him, but the Jews cried out saying if you let this man 313 00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:57,760 go, you are not Caesar's friend. Whoever makes himself a king 314 00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:01,400 speaks against Caesar. This is blackmail. 315 00:19:02,360 --> 00:19:05,520 You want to keep your job? They're saying do the right 316 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:09,480 thing, crucify Jesus. If you want to do the right 317 00:19:09,480 --> 00:19:11,400 thing, you know what the right thing would have been. 318 00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:14,560 The right thing would have been to let him go because Jesus was 319 00:19:14,560 --> 00:19:22,480 guilty of nothing, right? I thought about this when I was 320 00:19:22,480 --> 00:19:24,840 putting this lesson together, and I want to share it with you. 321 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:33,760 Just food for thought. Have you ever been in a job and 322 00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:38,600 you've been faced with an ethical dilemma and you've got a 323 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:42,440 choice to make? You got a choice. 324 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:47,040 Am I going to do the right thing or am I going to chicken out and 325 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:49,200 compromise because I want to keep my job? 326 00:19:51,360 --> 00:19:54,040 Or maybe you're in business with someone and you have a business 327 00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:57,240 transaction and the business transaction is a pretty good 328 00:19:57,240 --> 00:20:01,840 deal, so you're tempted to compromise what you know is 329 00:20:01,840 --> 00:20:07,040 right and ethical because you want your job or you want the 330 00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:12,920 business. I thought about what a good 331 00:20:12,920 --> 00:20:15,200 question for all of us to ask ourself. 332 00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:18,040 We say we're going to do the right thing, we're going to do 333 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:19,280 the right thing, we're going to do the right thing. 334 00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:21,040 My question is, is there a price you pay? 335 00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:25,200 Is there a price I pay? Hope not. 336 00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:28,280 Hope I wouldn't compromise. Hope I do the right thing. 337 00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:32,520 Here it was When they came to Pilot. 338 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:36,760 Pilot sought to release him. They said if you let this man's 339 00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:39,640 go, you're not Caesar's friend. We're going to tell on you, 340 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:44,360 Pilot, you're not doing good. Pilot going to tell on you. 341 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:46,920 You're not Caesar's friend. Oh, I'm going to lose my job. 342 00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:51,320 Shaken takes courage to do that. Which is right. 343 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:57,360 So this is what Pilot says. He says, what accusation do you 344 00:20:57,360 --> 00:21:00,120 bring against this man? And you know something about 345 00:21:00,120 --> 00:21:03,000 this? This is the first fair aspect to 346 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:05,520 the Lord's trial. Finally, somebody is going to 347 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:07,960 ask the question, what do you got against him? 348 00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:12,080 What's the accusation? What's he actually being accused 349 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:14,760 of? They don't want a trial though. 350 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:18,200 They want an execution Notice please. 351 00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:21,120 Their response? They answered and said to him, 352 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:25,240 if we were not an evil doer or if he were not an evil doer, we 353 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:27,280 would not have delivered him up to you. 354 00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:29,320 Did you get that? They don't answer the question. 355 00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:33,360 What they say is this, oh by the way, if he wasn't a bad guy, 356 00:21:33,360 --> 00:21:37,160 because we're wonderful citizens, we are wonderful 357 00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:41,240 citizens, upstanding, respected men, upstanding men in the 358 00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:44,160 community, upstanding men before God and all this, we are the 359 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:45,720 most religious people in the world. 360 00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:49,280 Do you really think if he was not guilty of something or 361 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:51,560 really a bad guy, do you think we would have brought him to 362 00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:54,240 you? That's how they answer the 363 00:21:54,240 --> 00:21:57,120 question, OK, But in reality, you know what? 364 00:21:57,360 --> 00:22:00,920 They don't answer the question. And I think there's really 2 365 00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:03,920 reasons. There's no accusation. 366 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:06,200 That's number one, proving that Jesus was perfect. 367 00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:10,000 They had nothing to say because Jesus was perfect. 368 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:11,440 But there's a secondary thing here. 369 00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:15,520 The point is, there's nothing by way of a charge that they could 370 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:19,600 come up with that would hold any weight at all in a Roman court. 371 00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:22,040 Nothing. What did they say about Jesus? 372 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:24,280 What did they have against him? We've already said that. 373 00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:27,440 Oh, he blasphemed me. He's guilty of blasphemy. 374 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:30,680 He is said he's the Son of God. You know, Rome thought about 375 00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:31,600 that. Who cares? 376 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:36,280 That's nothing to roam. So they don't answer. 377 00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:38,640 Don't you see the hand of God working through all this? 378 00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:40,760 They don't answer with an accusation. 379 00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:45,160 First and foremost, because Jesus was perfect and he was 380 00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:49,760 sinless and he had to be to be God's perfect sacrificial lamb 381 00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:54,280 for the sins of the world. Everything Jesus did, everything 382 00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:57,560 Jesus did, he was sinless in every way. 383 00:22:59,960 --> 00:23:02,440 I'm going to tell you something. People get this mistaken and 384 00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:05,160 it's not true that they are mistaken. 385 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:13,960 When Jesus was baptized in the river Jordan, some say while he 386 00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:17,760 was perfect or sinless up until his baptism. 387 00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:22,080 Then when John the Baptizer baptized Jesus, he baptized him 388 00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:25,600 so he can remain sinless the rest of his life. 389 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:31,440 That is not true. He was baptized because the 390 00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:34,520 Bible says to fulfill all righteousness. 391 00:23:34,520 --> 00:23:38,760 Let's not go beyond the Bible to fulfill all righteousness. 392 00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:41,680 Jesus said you must do this to fulfill all righteousness. 393 00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:46,800 When he told John the Baptizer to baptize him, Jesus didn't 394 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:48,600 need that to stay perfect. Why? 395 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:53,200 Jesus is perfect in every way. He's the Son of God. 396 00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:57,600 He is deity. So what do they do? 397 00:23:57,600 --> 00:24:00,160 They got nothing to say. They take refuge in their own 398 00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:03,000 character. Don't have a thing on Jesus. 399 00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:08,800 Perfect in every way. In every way. 400 00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:12,320 So not only does John show his perfection and it's made 401 00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:15,640 evident, but also his deity. Notice Mark's account now about 402 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:19,760 his deity. Now they were on the road going 403 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:23,720 up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them, and they were 404 00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:25,840 amazed and they followed and they were afraid. 405 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:30,480 Then he took the 12 aside and began to tell them the things 406 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:34,680 that would happen. How did Jesus know what would 407 00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:37,560 happen? Because Jesus was God too. 408 00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:43,240 He was all knowing in this too. Jesus knew everything that was 409 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:46,280 going to happen. Mark 10 is long before John 410 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:49,200 chapter 18. What did Jesus say in the very 411 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:50,680 next verse? Here's the prophecy. 412 00:24:50,880 --> 00:24:53,880 Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man 413 00:24:53,880 --> 00:24:55,880 will be betrayed by the chief priest. 414 00:24:56,040 --> 00:24:59,240 It happened and the scribes, it happened and they would condemn 415 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:02,520 him to death and deliver him to the Gentiles. 416 00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:07,000 Jesus said a long time before it happened that that's exactly 417 00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:10,600 what was going to happen. He would go to the Gentiles. 418 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:22,400 So in verse 31, then Pilate said to them, you take him and judge 419 00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:27,880 him according to your law. Therefore the Jews said to him, 420 00:25:28,840 --> 00:25:31,280 it is not lawful for us to put anyone to death. 421 00:25:34,080 --> 00:25:42,120 This is interesting to me. Pilate seems to be saying to 422 00:25:42,120 --> 00:25:48,800 them, I'm giving you temporary authorization legally to try 423 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:56,200 Jesus and execute him yourself. They said, Oh no, no, no, 424 00:25:56,200 --> 00:26:00,120 Pilate, it's not lawful for us to put anyone to death. 425 00:26:00,120 --> 00:26:05,520 It's against the law. OK, why didn't they just scoop 426 00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:08,800 up Jesus and take him and stone him to death? 427 00:26:10,440 --> 00:26:12,840 Can't you see this is the hand of God? 428 00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:16,360 Because if it was up to humans, notice they said it's not 429 00:26:16,360 --> 00:26:19,400 lawful. Pilate gave them legal right to 430 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:21,400 do it. He gave them authorization to do 431 00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:23,200 it. They said no, it's not lawful. 432 00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:24,960 We can't put anyone legally to death. 433 00:26:25,120 --> 00:26:28,800 Why didn't they scoop up Jesus? Because of the next verse that 434 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:31,880 they're saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spoke 435 00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:33,960 signifying by what death he would die. 436 00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:37,080 Amazing. Is Pilot in control? 437 00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:39,480 No. Are the Jews in control? 438 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:43,040 No. Is God in control? 439 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:53,920 Yes. I'm telling you, when you think 440 00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:57,320 about what God did for the sins of man and what Jesus did for 441 00:26:57,320 --> 00:27:00,800 the sins of man, and you realize he was no man's victim. 442 00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:03,160 He's the ultimate victor and he was totally in control. 443 00:27:03,360 --> 00:27:06,040 Doesn't it give you at least a semblance of a greater 444 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:07,640 appreciation for Jesus than that? 445 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:11,880 I don't know about you, but it makes me really want to serve 446 00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:12,960 Him even more. You know why? 447 00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:17,960 Because he wasn't a victim. They thought he was. 448 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:25,080 God was totally in control and so was Jesus. 449 00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:30,160 Remember what Jesus already said back in John 12 and 32. 450 00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:34,080 And if and I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all 451 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:36,680 peoples unto myself. In other words, the kind of 452 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:40,760 death had to be lifted up or the death on the cross. 453 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:48,560 God is totally in control. But also John exalts Jesus in 454 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:52,600 another way too, not just in perfection and not just in 455 00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:56,640 deity, but also as the supernatural king. 456 00:27:57,920 --> 00:28:03,200 Jesus is the supernatural king. Pilate says, what are you going 457 00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:05,720 to accuse him of? The Jews finally came up with 458 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:07,880 one and by the way, they thought, man, we really got him. 459 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:09,560 We finally got him. This is going to stick. 460 00:28:10,360 --> 00:28:17,320 Luke 23 and verse 2. They began to accuse him, saying 461 00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:22,320 we found this fellow perverting the nation and forbidding to pay 462 00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:26,000 taxes to Caesar. That's a lie, saying that he 463 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:30,560 himself is Christ, a king. What their accusation is that 464 00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:32,320 they thought would stick was this. 465 00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:35,920 They're trying to make Jesus look like an earthly or 466 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:38,920 political revolutionary that's going to come in and lead a 467 00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:42,680 rebellion, a revolution, and then crown himself as king. 468 00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:46,200 Notice this phrase here. How much this is a lie here, 469 00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:48,360 forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar. 470 00:28:48,680 --> 00:28:52,040 Do you remember Jesus makes his triumphal entry into Jerusalem 471 00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:54,560 on the back of a colt of a donkey on Sunday. 472 00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:56,680 On Monday, he cleanses the temple. 473 00:28:56,840 --> 00:29:00,560 In the last week of his life. He also, you remember, curses 474 00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:02,120 the fig tree. Remember what happened on 475 00:29:02,120 --> 00:29:06,880 Tuesday, the day of controversy or questions, And they come to 476 00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:09,600 question Jesus and they come and they thought they really got 477 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:12,320 him. And they says, tell us, is it 478 00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:18,680 lawful to pay taxes to Caesar? Jesus says, go get me a 479 00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:22,000 denarius, go get me a Roman coin. 480 00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:26,720 Somebody had to go and get one. I don't know how long it took. 481 00:29:26,720 --> 00:29:30,600 You can imagine Jesus standing there and they're waiting to see 482 00:29:30,600 --> 00:29:33,040 what Jesus is going to do. And finally they bring the coin 483 00:29:33,040 --> 00:29:35,000 to Jesus and Jesus turns it back on him. 484 00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:37,720 He says this, whose image is on that coin? 485 00:29:39,760 --> 00:29:45,160 And they said, well, Caesar and Jesus says, render unto Caesar 486 00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:51,040 that which is Caesar or Caesar's, and render unto God 487 00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:54,960 that which is God's. We do the same thing. 488 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:58,600 We pay our taxes. We render unto Caesar that which 489 00:29:58,600 --> 00:29:59,600 is Caesar's. But you know what? 490 00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:01,640 It doesn't infringe on our service to God. 491 00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:06,400 You can give up your taxes to Caesar, and you can also give to 492 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:10,440 God not only financially, but of yourself in every way. 493 00:30:10,840 --> 00:30:16,280 You can give to other people. You can do all that and still 494 00:30:16,280 --> 00:30:20,680 fulfill your obligation to government or Caesar or obey the 495 00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:24,320 laws of the land that we currently live under today. 496 00:30:25,320 --> 00:30:27,040 This is a lie. This is a farce. 497 00:30:27,040 --> 00:30:29,600 They said, oh, he's perverting the nation. 498 00:30:29,600 --> 00:30:33,360 He forbid to pay taxes. Caesar saying himself is Christ 499 00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:38,240 as a king. OK, what's interesting to me, 500 00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:47,480 and here's the hypocrisy of it all, they hated Jesus more than 501 00:30:47,480 --> 00:30:52,520 they hated Caesar, and they couldn't stand Caesar. 502 00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:57,240 And now they're going to use Caesar as a reason to crucify 503 00:30:57,240 --> 00:30:58,440 Jesus because they hate him more. 504 00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:04,000 Then Pilate enters the pretorium again, called Jesus and said to 505 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:07,160 him, are you the king of the Jews? 506 00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:10,120 And by the way, in our English translations, it looks like just 507 00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:13,360 a simple question. For example, if I said to Terry, 508 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:19,280 are you so and so and so and so? That's not what he was asking. 509 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:22,880 In the Greek it says this, this way. 510 00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:28,400 In the Greek it says you are you the king of the Jews? 511 00:31:29,760 --> 00:31:31,200 In other words, you got to be kidding me. 512 00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:34,280 You a king, You don't look like a king. 513 00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:42,200 You're meek, you're humble, your hands are bound, you're wearing 514 00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:45,960 the clothes of a peasant. You don't have an entourage. 515 00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:49,040 You're all by yourself. Remember what the Bible says 516 00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:53,040 about the disciples. Not only did Peter deny Jesus 517 00:31:54,600 --> 00:31:58,920 from our last lesson, but the Bible says also they all forsake 518 00:31:59,320 --> 00:32:03,160 forsook him and they all fled. No entourage. 519 00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:07,520 Here's Jesus humble attire and he says you, are you kidding me? 520 00:32:07,600 --> 00:32:09,880 Are you a king? Are you the really the king of 521 00:32:09,880 --> 00:32:11,120 the Jews? You only got a king to me. 522 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:17,960 Jesus has a dilemma if he says yes, I am a king. 523 00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:21,600 The only thing that Pilate knows about is an earthly king. 524 00:32:22,040 --> 00:32:24,720 So if Jesus says yes, I'm a king, then Pilate would say what 525 00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:28,960 they're accusing him is right. And Pilate would say he is going 526 00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:32,040 to be a political revolutionary. He's going to try to overthrow 527 00:32:32,040 --> 00:32:33,880 Rome and then be asserted as king. 528 00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:36,680 And that would be bad. That would prove their point. 529 00:32:37,640 --> 00:32:41,560 If he says no, I'm not a king, he would be denying his own 530 00:32:41,560 --> 00:32:43,520 kingship. And the Bible says that he is a 531 00:32:43,520 --> 00:32:46,600 king. He's King of kings and Lord of 532 00:32:46,600 --> 00:32:48,880 Lords. So what is he going to do? 533 00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:53,280 Here's Jesus again, brilliant Jesus qualifying the question in 534 00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:56,040 the next verse. Jesus answered him. 535 00:32:56,360 --> 00:32:59,920 Are you Speaking of yourself about this or did others tell 536 00:32:59,920 --> 00:33:05,480 you this concerning me? Then Pilate answered, am IA 2 537 00:33:06,480 --> 00:33:09,240 your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you to 538 00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:12,440 me. And then he says, what have you 539 00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:16,440 done? Remember, this is an illegal 540 00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:20,040 question. You're not allowed to ask 541 00:33:20,040 --> 00:33:24,800 somebody that because under the law a man could not be condemned 542 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:27,000 by the word of his own testimony. 543 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:29,000 By law. Pilate's scrambling. 544 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:32,040 He knows Jesus is innocent. He said, are you a king? 545 00:33:32,600 --> 00:33:33,880 He says, who told you I was a king? 546 00:33:33,880 --> 00:33:35,080 Where'd you get that information? 547 00:33:35,920 --> 00:33:38,200 Pilate says, am IA Jew, your own nation and chief priest 548 00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:39,880 delivered you to me. Then he says, what have you 549 00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:42,240 done? This was kind of like, I guess a 550 00:33:42,240 --> 00:33:45,400 Fifth Amendment deal. Couldn't incriminate yourself, 551 00:33:45,400 --> 00:33:48,200 right? Oh, the Lord's brilliant. 552 00:33:49,680 --> 00:33:53,560 So what Jesus does is this. He doesn't answer the question 553 00:33:53,560 --> 00:33:56,720 at all. He just speaks about His Kingdom 554 00:33:56,880 --> 00:34:00,840 and he says this. My Kingdom is not of this world. 555 00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:06,120 If my Kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight 556 00:34:06,480 --> 00:34:08,440 so that I should not be delivered to the Jews. 557 00:34:08,440 --> 00:34:12,520 But now my Kingdom is not from here. 558 00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:17,400 Remember in John 18 and 37, Pilate responds. 559 00:34:17,639 --> 00:34:19,639 He said to him, Are you then a king? 560 00:34:19,840 --> 00:34:23,639 Jesus said, You rightly say that I am a king for this 'cause I 561 00:34:23,639 --> 00:34:27,080 was born and for this cause I've come into the world that I 562 00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:29,880 should bear witness of the truth. 563 00:34:30,400 --> 00:34:34,440 Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. 564 00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:37,760 OK, we got to methodically go through this here. 565 00:34:39,560 --> 00:34:43,080 Jesus is the great proclaimer of truth. 566 00:34:48,159 --> 00:34:54,080 To know Jesus, then, is to know the truth. 567 00:34:57,200 --> 00:35:02,920 So I say this respectfully, and we'll talk about what it means 568 00:35:02,920 --> 00:35:05,080 to know Jesus, because it really matters. 569 00:35:07,040 --> 00:35:12,880 But if you don't know the truth, you don't know Jesus. 570 00:35:15,600 --> 00:35:17,960 The word no means to have a relationship with. 571 00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:24,000 If you don't intellectually know the truth, you don't have a 572 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:25,600 relationship with the with Jesus. 573 00:35:25,600 --> 00:35:28,480 You know why? Because Jesus is linked to 574 00:35:28,480 --> 00:35:30,840 truth. One man put it this way. 575 00:35:31,080 --> 00:35:38,080 Jesus is King and his scepter, meaning his rod or his staff, 576 00:35:38,760 --> 00:35:42,600 His rod or staff of authority and royalty is truth. 577 00:35:44,720 --> 00:35:48,280 That's the king that he is. You know what Pilate, how Pilate 578 00:35:48,280 --> 00:35:50,160 answers. It's amazing how Pilate answers 579 00:35:50,160 --> 00:35:52,880 this. Pilate said to him, well, what's 580 00:35:52,880 --> 00:35:54,920 truth? You know, he wasn't really 581 00:35:54,920 --> 00:35:57,440 trying to ask Jesus to preach a sermon and tell him about what's 582 00:35:57,440 --> 00:36:00,280 true or not. What he's saying is there's no 583 00:36:00,280 --> 00:36:02,040 such thing as truth. Doesn't that sound familiar? 584 00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:09,040 Pilate responds by saying what's truth? 585 00:36:09,080 --> 00:36:12,200 What's that? In other words, it doesn't 586 00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:14,640 really exist. Do you know anybody that's ever 587 00:36:14,640 --> 00:36:19,160 said that? I don't understand something and 588 00:36:19,160 --> 00:36:21,320 I'm going to be very polite and respectful, please. 589 00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:28,320 In our life, we have standards of truth in every aspect of our 590 00:36:28,320 --> 00:36:32,560 life. In school, there is a standard 591 00:36:32,560 --> 00:36:36,880 of truth and there are facts that we're quizzed on and, and 592 00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:40,640 tests on and all that. And if you answer the question 593 00:36:40,640 --> 00:36:42,640 wrong, you get it wrong. You answer enough wrong, you get 594 00:36:42,640 --> 00:36:49,040 an F, OK, Because why? We all recognize that 595 00:36:49,040 --> 00:36:51,320 academically there's a standard of truth. 596 00:36:53,640 --> 00:36:56,480 So we got to answer the question right based on the information 597 00:36:56,480 --> 00:37:00,400 of the standard, right? I remember when I took the 598 00:37:00,400 --> 00:37:02,360 contractor exam. You too and took the contractor 599 00:37:02,360 --> 00:37:03,720 exam. Remember there's a test. 600 00:37:03,720 --> 00:37:06,680 I remember the guys that didn't study and they flunked it. 601 00:37:07,200 --> 00:37:09,120 If you study the information, it's pretty easy. 602 00:37:10,120 --> 00:37:12,520 Trade and law. If you studied it, you know why. 603 00:37:12,640 --> 00:37:18,560 There was a standard of fact which is true and everybody gets 604 00:37:18,560 --> 00:37:24,080 it in every walk of life until it comes to religion. 605 00:37:25,560 --> 00:37:28,880 And then people want to say there really isn't a standard of 606 00:37:28,880 --> 00:37:32,160 truth. What's true for you is OK for 607 00:37:32,160 --> 00:37:35,040 you, and what's true for me is OK for me. 608 00:37:35,400 --> 00:37:37,880 And there's no standard and there's no room for 609 00:37:37,880 --> 00:37:41,440 authoritative doctrine from the Scriptures is just what you 610 00:37:41,440 --> 00:37:44,200 think is true is no good for you, and what I think is true is 611 00:37:44,200 --> 00:37:45,560 good for me. And I don't understand that 612 00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:48,360 because you know what? Religiously we're talking about 613 00:37:48,360 --> 00:37:50,760 the greatest decision a person will ever make in their life. 614 00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:53,560 There's nothing more important than your relationship with the 615 00:37:53,560 --> 00:37:58,080 Lord. Jesus said I am truth. 616 00:37:58,600 --> 00:38:02,560 Notice in the previous verse he said everyone who is of the 617 00:38:02,560 --> 00:38:11,000 truth hears my voice. Wow here's my voice. 618 00:38:11,600 --> 00:38:16,200 What is the word here? I hope this really drives home 619 00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:22,840 what's it mean to hear Jesus. It means this from the Greek to 620 00:38:22,840 --> 00:38:32,880 listen intently and obey. So everyone who is of the truth 621 00:38:33,520 --> 00:38:37,720 listens intently and obeys my voice. 622 00:38:37,720 --> 00:38:43,360 It's pretty heavy stuff. Jesus said it. 623 00:38:45,720 --> 00:38:48,440 So in other words, to have a relationship with Jesus, you got 624 00:38:48,440 --> 00:38:53,520 to hear him and you got to obey him and you can't do it on your 625 00:38:53,520 --> 00:38:56,280 own way. You can't pave your own way. 626 00:38:56,320 --> 00:39:00,320 When the Bible says work out your own salvation with fear and 627 00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:04,200 trembling, it's misinterpreted among many to say this, I'm 628 00:39:04,200 --> 00:39:06,160 going to do it my way. You do it your way. 629 00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:08,520 And you know what, I knew a guy told my father this all the 630 00:39:08,520 --> 00:39:10,160 time. I'm going to be on my path. 631 00:39:10,160 --> 00:39:12,200 You go on your path and we'll see you guys to heaven first. 632 00:39:14,080 --> 00:39:15,720 Used to make a joke with my dad. They were good friends. 633 00:39:19,880 --> 00:39:24,320 Jesus says enter ye into the straight gate, for wide is the 634 00:39:24,320 --> 00:39:27,400 gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction. 635 00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:30,960 And many there be that go in there at For straight is the 636 00:39:30,960 --> 00:39:32,840 gate, narrow is the way that leads to life. 637 00:39:34,480 --> 00:39:37,640 And few there be that find it not few there be that not few 638 00:39:37,640 --> 00:39:39,320 there be. Because it's hard to find. 639 00:39:39,320 --> 00:39:44,160 That's not what that means. It means that few as opposed to 640 00:39:44,160 --> 00:39:47,320 many are going to make the choices, to make the sacrifice, 641 00:39:47,400 --> 00:39:49,520 to do what the Lord said and do what? 642 00:39:49,720 --> 00:39:53,320 Listen intently to the Lord and obey what the Lord said. 643 00:39:53,440 --> 00:39:55,480 And the standard is the word of God. 644 00:39:56,160 --> 00:40:05,400 It's got to be, it's got to be. So after Jesus, after Pilate had 645 00:40:05,400 --> 00:40:09,080 said this, he went out and you know, he said I find no fault in 646 00:40:09,080 --> 00:40:12,480 him at all. And by the way, he says it 6 647 00:40:12,720 --> 00:40:17,200 times so far, he's proven faultless. 648 00:40:17,200 --> 00:40:21,680 In conclusion, there's no indictment at the beginning. 649 00:40:22,960 --> 00:40:24,840 There's no conviction in the end. 650 00:40:26,120 --> 00:40:31,280 The King of Truth is accused, he's maligned and he's hated, 651 00:40:32,560 --> 00:40:36,560 but he's proven time and time again to be perfect and 652 00:40:36,560 --> 00:40:40,880 faultless. But Pilot wasn't finished, and 653 00:40:40,880 --> 00:40:45,440 that's going to be next. He has to make a decision, and 654 00:40:45,440 --> 00:40:51,120 that decision is what then shall I do with Jesus? 655 00:40:53,720 --> 00:40:58,960 Do you know you got to make that same choice, So do I Everybody 656 00:40:58,960 --> 00:41:01,920 has to make the choice. Here's the evidence. 657 00:41:02,120 --> 00:41:03,720 What am I going to do with Jesus? 658 00:41:05,560 --> 00:41:08,280 We're going to talk about how Pilot has to make that choice 659 00:41:08,280 --> 00:41:11,520 next. And finally he turns to them. 660 00:41:11,520 --> 00:41:16,080 He says, shall I crucify your king knowing he's innocent? 661 00:41:18,240 --> 00:41:20,120 You got a choice today too. What are you going to do about 662 00:41:20,120 --> 00:41:23,560 Jesus? Jesus died for your sins. 663 00:41:23,800 --> 00:41:26,840 He shed his blood. He rose again on the third day. 664 00:41:28,240 --> 00:41:31,000 He is now sitting at the right hand of God. 665 00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:38,000 He's reigning as our king. He's reigning as our king with 666 00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:42,960 his scepter being truth. You got a relationship with 667 00:41:42,960 --> 00:41:45,160 Jesus. I'm going to tell you what you 668 00:41:45,160 --> 00:41:47,760 can today. This is how you do it, not based 669 00:41:47,760 --> 00:41:50,280 on what you think or I think. By the way, don't ever listen to 670 00:41:50,280 --> 00:41:51,680 me. If I can't give you book, 671 00:41:51,680 --> 00:41:53,800 chapter and verse, If I can't show it to you in the Bible, 672 00:41:53,920 --> 00:41:55,440 then you throw out anything I say. 673 00:41:56,880 --> 00:42:00,640 But if I quote the Bible, please hear the Bible and listen to 674 00:42:00,640 --> 00:42:03,760 what the Word says, OK. Jesus talked about hearing means 675 00:42:03,960 --> 00:42:07,200 listen intently and believe. What did Jesus say in order to 676 00:42:07,200 --> 00:42:09,160 go to heaven? What does the Bible say in order 677 00:42:09,160 --> 00:42:11,760 to become a Christian? Here's the invitation that we 678 00:42:11,760 --> 00:42:15,520 extend to everyone after we teach from the Word of God. 679 00:42:16,520 --> 00:42:18,840 First thing you got to do, you got to hear the Word. 680 00:42:18,960 --> 00:42:22,520 The word is the standard. It's the scepter of truth. 681 00:42:23,600 --> 00:42:26,400 Romans 10/17. So faith comes by hearing, and 682 00:42:26,400 --> 00:42:29,640 hearing by the word of God. After you hear the word of God, 683 00:42:29,640 --> 00:42:33,280 which as we've already noticed, means listen intently and obey, 684 00:42:33,400 --> 00:42:38,040 you got a choice. You got a choice, Jesus said. 685 00:42:38,040 --> 00:42:39,120 You got to believe with all your heart. 686 00:42:39,240 --> 00:42:42,960 Hebrews 11 and 6. Jesus said that in in Mark 1616, 687 00:42:43,160 --> 00:42:46,920 but also Hebrews 11:00 and 6:00. You got to believe with all your 688 00:42:46,920 --> 00:42:48,880 heart. Without faith, it's impossible 689 00:42:48,880 --> 00:42:52,560 to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is 690 00:42:52,720 --> 00:42:56,320 and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. 691 00:42:56,440 --> 00:42:59,240 You hear the word of God. You hear the standard of truth. 692 00:42:59,400 --> 00:43:02,200 You got a choice to make. Am I going to believe it or not? 693 00:43:03,160 --> 00:43:06,440 And by the way, belief means having the force to obey. 694 00:43:07,520 --> 00:43:11,040 There's that word again. You got to believe with all your 695 00:43:11,040 --> 00:43:14,280 heart what else? You got to repent of your sins. 696 00:43:14,280 --> 00:43:16,600 All that means is, man, I've been going in that direction. 697 00:43:16,600 --> 00:43:18,000 I'm not going to go in that direction anymore. 698 00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:21,720 I'm a follower of Jesus. You know what Christian is? 699 00:43:23,120 --> 00:43:29,800 A disciple of Jesus, a follower of Jesus, and a learner of 700 00:43:29,800 --> 00:43:32,880 Jesus. When a person comes to the 701 00:43:32,880 --> 00:43:35,000 conclusion, I want to follow Jesus, that's what you're doing. 702 00:43:35,000 --> 00:43:36,800 I'm going to be his disciple and follow him. 703 00:43:36,920 --> 00:43:38,440 I'm going to be a learner of Jesus. 704 00:43:38,560 --> 00:43:40,360 I'm going to follow him and serve him. 705 00:43:40,520 --> 00:43:43,240 That's what I'm going to do because he's my King. 706 00:43:44,960 --> 00:43:47,160 Then you got to be willing to confess Jesus Christ as the Son 707 00:43:47,160 --> 00:43:48,560 of God. Then Philip said, if you believe 708 00:43:48,560 --> 00:43:51,400 with all your heart, you may. And he answered and said, I 709 00:43:51,400 --> 00:43:54,400 believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 710 00:43:54,640 --> 00:43:58,680 These are steps that point toward or lead to the point of 711 00:43:58,680 --> 00:44:01,320 salvation. These things are unto salvation, 712 00:44:02,600 --> 00:44:04,320 but this is what puts you into Christ. 713 00:44:05,680 --> 00:44:11,200 Be baptized for the remission of your sins. 714 00:44:11,280 --> 00:44:14,040 Mark 1616. He who believes that is baptized 715 00:44:14,040 --> 00:44:17,560 will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned. 716 00:44:17,800 --> 00:44:20,600 Is it necessary? Do you have to be baptized to be 717 00:44:20,600 --> 00:44:22,760 saved? According to the scriptures, you 718 00:44:22,760 --> 00:44:26,360 do be baptized for the remission of sins first. 719 00:44:26,360 --> 00:44:28,840 Peter 321. The like figure where to even 720 00:44:28,840 --> 00:44:34,920 baptism does also now save us. Not the putting away the filth 721 00:44:34,920 --> 00:44:38,680 of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God by 722 00:44:38,680 --> 00:44:40,720 the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 723 00:44:41,760 --> 00:44:43,120 That's what it takes to become a Christian. 724 00:44:43,120 --> 00:44:44,680 That's what it takes to be saved. 725 00:44:46,440 --> 00:44:54,840 Baptism for the purpose of remission of your sins, beauty 726 00:44:54,840 --> 00:44:57,760 of it. You're saved and Jesus adds you 727 00:44:57,760 --> 00:45:02,080 to his body, his church, his Kingdom that he's reigning over. 728 00:45:02,080 --> 00:45:06,120 Now, have you taken these steps perhaps, and you've drifted 729 00:45:06,120 --> 00:45:07,200 away. Maybe there's something in your 730 00:45:07,200 --> 00:45:08,880 life that you need to correct. You can do that. 731 00:45:09,440 --> 00:45:10,960 There won't be that one of either class. 732 00:45:10,960 --> 00:45:13,040 Come forward. Let your request be made known 733 00:45:13,040 --> 00:45:14,240 while we stand and while we say.