Lent Mediation- The Trial of Christ from March 21, 2011

Lent is in full swing and Holy Week is right around the corner. With the Passion Week coming up, I have been contemplating the trial of Jesus. Our Savior stood in four different courts that day before different judges. It is interesting to see that even today Jesus is standing in each of these courts being judged. The question is which court are you standing in? How will you judge Jesus? What is your response to the King of Kings?

Court #1- The Sanhedrin (The Court of the Religious)

57 Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. 58 But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see the outcome. 59 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. 60 But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward 61 and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’” 62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 63 But Jesus remained silent.The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” 64 “You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. 66 What do you think?”  “He is worthy of death,” they answered. 67 Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him 68 and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?”  - Matthew 26:57-68

The Pharisees and Sadducees thought that they had God all figured out. They knew the Law and wielded it like a club. They enjoyed their power and prestige. They used the Scriptures to manipulate people and exalt themselves. . They had their own preconceived ideas as to the identity of the Messiah. They wanted the Messiah on their own terms, not God’s terms. They thought the Messiah would be a political deliverer who would throw out the Romans and set up God’s kingdom on earth with them as co-rulers. How disappointed they must have been with Jesus.

Jesus came not as a mighty king, but as a humble carpenter. He claimed to be God incarnate, complete with all authority under heaven. He forgave sins, healed the sick, cast out demons, and dwelt with sinners. He exercised humility and called for repentance. This aggravated the religious leaders who saw themselves as holy, approved of God, and above reproach. They held positions of prestige among the people. How could a humble carpenter be the Son of God? They could not fathom it. They didn’t want to fathom it.

When Jesus spoke with the Pharisees and Sadducees, he held up a mirror to their souls. They did not like what they saw. He called them hypocrites. He showed them to be just as sinful as those they looked down upon. At least the tax collectors and prostitutes recognized their sinfulness, repented, and asked for mercy. The religious leaders did no such thing. Jesus called them whitewashed sepulchers, pretty on the outside and decaying on the inside. He did so out of love, that they could see their true sinful condition and repent. A few did, but most rejected this outright. In their anger and pride, they trumped up charges of blasphemy and sought to kill him. Their sentence was death.

In the court of the religious we see people more concerned with their own prestige than a genuine relationship with God. They use the Bible to manipulate and condemn rather than grow in Christ. They turn a blind eye to their own sinfulness, afraid to see the horrific reality in the mirror of their soul. They rationalize and self-justify rather than repent. They seek their own self exaltation rather than an authentic relationship.

To those who see themselves in the court of the religious, I encourage you to look into the mirror of your soul. Humble yourself and seek Christ. He desires an authentic relationship with you. He is calling to you, seeking you. He wants you to know Him. There is no shame in repentance. There is no weakness in acknowledging your dependence upon Him.

Court #2- Herod (The Court of the Scoffers)

 8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort.9 He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. 11 Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. – Lule 23:8-11

Herod Antipas was a wicked king. He was given jurisdiction of Galilee under Caesar. Having married his brother’s wife, he faced the onslaught of accusations of adultery from John the Baptist. Prodded by his wife, he had John arrested and beheaded him at the whim of his step-daughter after she pleased him with a dance. The words of John haunted Herod, but he valued his political power more. He dealt harshly with John because he feared that John was stirring up the people against him.

The Biblical text says that Herod was eager to meet Jesus because he heard that he had powers. He was only interested in Jesus because he thought he could use him for his own selfish purposes. Perhaps he wanted to have his own court magician to enhance his own power?  What is evident is that he demanded a sign. If Jesus was who he said He was, then let Him prove it! Jesus’ response was silence. He was not going to indulge Herod.

Today we find many who refuse to believe. They demand signs and wonders to validate the existence of God or the truth of the Gospel. “If God is real, why doesn’t he just show himself?” They scoff at the very idea of God. The Gospel is foolishness to them. The very notion of submitting themselves to anything or anyone is repugnant to them.

The reality is that their consciences have been seared. Jesus stated that they have Moses and the prophets. If they do not believe them then they would not believe even if one were to come back from the dead. The same crowd that saw him perform miracles in public and teach with authority would later be calling for His crucifixion. Paul states well in Romans 1 that God HAS made himself know so that all are without excuse, yet they suppress the truth of God in their wickedness. There is no sign or miracle that would convince them.

My prayer for the scoffers is that God will open their eyes that they may see. Let God perform the work of regeneration within them that they may believe. No cleverly designed argument will convince them. No miracle will persuade them. No eloquent sermon will bring them to the cross. It is only a sovereign work of the Holy Spirit in response to the preached Word of God that will quicken their spirits, open their eyes, and bring forth repentance. If there are scoffers in your life, pray for them. Preach the Word to them. Above all, trust that is God and God alone that can reach them.

Court #3- Pilate ( The Court of the Indifferent)

 1 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate. 2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate. “You have said so,” Jesus replied. 3 The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.” 5 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed. 6 Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did. 9 “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead. 12 “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them. 13 “Crucify him!” they shouted. 14 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.  But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” 15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.- Mark 15:1-15

Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea. He was responsible for keeping the peace. He had no interest in the internal squabbles of the Jews. Their religion was their business. As long as they remained peaceful, paid their taxes, and remained loyal to Rome, he was content. He may be a good representation of what Francis Schaeffer referred to as “personal peace and affluence.” In other words, “leave me alone to believe whatever I want and don’t hinder me in the accumulation of stuff.”

When presented with Jesus, he was interested in only one thing, was Jesus a threat to Rome. All of his questions were to determine if Jesus was intent on sedition. It was Jesus’ claim to be a king that provided the Sanhedrin the charge they would bring before Pilate. Pilate asked Him point blank, “Are you a king?” In looking at the other Gospel accounts, we see Pilate digging a little deeper, but not too deep. When convinced that Jesus had no earthly ambitions, he decided to let Him go. After further prodding by the Sanhedrin, he chose to present Jesus to the crowd, convinced that the crowd would choose their “king” over the criminal Barabbas. When the crowd chose the criminal, he acceded to their wishes and had Jesus crucified. He didn’t really care that much at all. What was one more Jew? He condemned men to death routinely. Jesus just didn’t really matter to him in the grand scheme of things. It was what was needed to keep the peace.

There are so many today who simply don’t think of Jesus at all. Religion is a matter of personal taste, like choosing chocolate over vanilla. We live in a pluralistic society after all and one person’s religion is just as good as another person’s in the eyes of many. When they hear the Gospel their response seems to be, “Oh. That’s nice. I am so glad that it works for you, but its not for me.” Their feeling towards Jesus is indifference. If Christianity were to die and disappear from the face of the earth, it would make no difference to them. It would just be one more idea on the ash heap of history.

Jesus stated in Luke 11:23 that “whoever is not with me is against me”. There is no neutrality with Christ. There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. The Gospel call goes out to all men. It is important for the indifferent to realize that a Christian has an ultimate commitment. It infects everything he does, every thing he believes, everything he values. The indifferent are calling for Christians to set aside their “religion” when in the Public Square. You might as well ask them to set aside their gender or ethnicity. The Christian faith defines who we are in all aspects of our lives. Our faith is not just one spoke on our wheel with ourselves as the hub, but rather Christ is the hub to which all other spokes tie in. We must resist the calls to be indifferent and recognize that it is Christ that defines us.

Court #4- The Father (The Court of Heaven)

 34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”

 –Luke 9:34-35

All that Jesus did pleased God. God’s judgment on his Son was pleasure…and yet the day of trials was not done. Jesus moved from the court of the Sanhedrin to the court of Herod to the court of Pilate to the cross. God was not done. The scriptures spoke extensively of this moment.

Isaiah 53

 1 Who has believed our message 

   and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 

2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, 

   and like a root out of dry ground. 

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, 

   nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 

3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, 

   a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. 

Like one from whom people hide their faces 

   he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

 4 Surely he took up our pain 

   and bore our suffering, 

yet we considered him punished by God, 

   stricken by him, and afflicted. 

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, 

   he was crushed for our iniquities; 

the punishment that brought us peace was on him, 

   and by his wounds we are healed. 

6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, 

   each of us has turned to our own way; 

and the LORD has laid on him 

   the iniquity of us all.

 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, 

   yet he did not open his mouth; 

he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, 

   and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, 

   so he did not open his mouth. 

8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. 

   Yet who of his generation protested? 

For he was cut off from the land of the living; 

   for the transgression of my people he was punished.

9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, 

   and with the rich in his death, 

though he had done no violence, 

   nor was any deceit in his mouth.

 10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, 

   and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin, 

he will see his offspring and prolong his days, 

   and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 

11 After he has suffered, 

   he will see the light of life and be satisfied; 

by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, 

   and he will bear their iniquities. 

12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,

   and he will divide the spoils with the strong,

because he poured out his life unto death, 

   and was numbered with the transgressors. 

For he bore the sin of many, 

   and made intercession for the transgressors.

Jesus hung on that cross, bearing the full weight of our sins. All of God’s wrath was poured out upon Him. The judgment that we so richly deserved was passed upon God’s only Son. We should have been crucified. We should have bourn God’s wrath. We should have felt the abandonment of God. Yet it pleased God to pour out his wrath upon his only Son. It was his plan from the beginning. The Son, having never known anything other than the intimate love and presence of His Father, now finds Himself abandoned, alone, bearing the sins of the world.

Still, this is not the end. Three days later, Christ is raised from among the corpses. He is risen and lives. God’s approval is upon Him. He was obedient, even until death upon the cross. God has now highly exalted Him above all names that every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! The verdict from the court of Heaven is that “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased!”

It is the message of the cross that we preach. It is foolishness to those who are perishing, but those who believe it is the power of God. It is life. It is the Gospel.

The Gospel message is simple, but not easy. We were created to worship and have fellowship with God. By one man’s disobedience sin came into the world. We have ALL sinned and fall short of God’s standard. The punishment for our disobedience is death. We deserve the full wrath of God. Because of His mercy and love, God satisfied his justice by sending His Son to suffer His wrath in our place, in order that all who trust and believe upon Him would not perish, but have eternal life. His righteousness has been credited to those who believe as righteousness. God’s Holy Spirit has and will regenerate the spirits of many that they may believe and enjoy fellowship with God. And in this fellowship he will perform the work of sanctification in us, helping us daily to be conformed to the image of Christ. We will be joined with Christ in eternity as His Bride, forever enjoying fellowship with God as we were designed to do.

Christ faced God’s wrath, and in doing so was approved by His Father. Glory be to His name!

The Reigning American Idol..."God to Me" from March 9, 2009

David Cook is the reigning American Idol. I know this because I am an American Idol addict. I love this show. However, there is another American Idol that has been reigning across this country for many years. This idol is “God to me”. 

I was reminded of this when my teenage stepson said to me that, “I only have to listen to you when you are right.” In typical teenage fashion, this did not mean that I as a parent was being held to God’s standard as revealed in his Word. This meant that what is right or wrong was subject to his own whims and opinions. If he disagreed with me, he wouldn’t listen because he didn’t feel like it. Needless to say, he is in for a rude awakening when he gets out into the real world. 

Unfortunately, this is so much of what our current culture says. People like to believe in God, but it is not the God who has revealed himself in holy writ. He is “God to me.” This idol takes many forms. He is a loving God, because we like the idea of a God who loves. He is interested in justice, just as long as he doesn’t judge MY sin. God to me would NEVER send someone to hell. The list goes on and on. The funny thing is, if you ask them how they arrived at their picture of who God is, it ultimately comes down to…that is the kind of God I want to believe in. The difference between the Christian and the non-Christian is that the Christian starts with a God who has revealed himself. The Christian looks to the self revelation of God in Jesus Christ as recorded and revealed in the Bible. It is this image of God that we accept and submit to. The unbeliever starts not with a God who has revealed himself, but with a deity who is created in his own image. The non-Christian starts with their own ideas of what kind of god they would like and create him (or her) from the eclectic ala carte of their own culture and personal preferences.

Contrast this with the words from Proverbs 3:5-8

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your flesh 
and refreshment to your bones.

Proverbs warns us NOT to lean on our own understanding. We are NOT to be wise in our own eyes. Our obligation is to acknowledge God not for who we want him to be, but rather submit ourselves to who he has revealed himself to be. Our standard of wisdom, morality, conduct, and ontology (that means “what is or exists”) lies outside of ourselves. It is not subject to our opinion. It is what God has said it is. The Christian submits to what is. The non-Christian projects what he wishes to be.

Francis Schaeffer spoke of this in his book How Shall We Then Live. He wrote, 

“…the gods in Greek and Roman thinking were like the men and women larger than life, but not basically different from human men and women…The gods were amplified humanity, not divinity…they did not have anything big enough or permanent enough to which to relate either their thinking or their being…All their gods put together could not give them a sufficient base for life, morals, values, and final decisions. These gods depended on the society which had made them, and when the society collapsed the gods tumbled with it.”

Isaiah himself saw the foolishness of idolatry.

"All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.

The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”

They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” (Is 44:9-20)"

Here you see the craftsman who uses tools and raw materials to fashion gods for himself, yet uses part of the materials to feed himself and keep warm. He works by the sweat of his brow and fashions an image, only to fall down and worship it. It has eyes that can not see, ears that can not hear, a mouth that can not speak, and legs than can not move. It has no will of its own and makes no demands on his worshipers other than the demands they place upon themselves. How much is this like to today. No one stops to think! We create a god in our own image, to help us resolve the problem that is in our own image. We are sinful and fallen. No one is righteous. No one seeks after God (Rom 3:11) And yet we fashion a god in our own image because we refuse to submit to a God to whom we owe allegiance and submission. We have created our new god…”God to me.”

Sadly, this is not just a problem outside the church. Even inside the church we have fallen into the trap. John Piper spoke of this at the 2007 Ligonier National Conference in his message “Faith and Reason.”

“What does faith receive in order to be justifying faith? The answer, of course, is that faith receives Jesus Christ. “Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). “To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). Faith saves because it receives Christ. 
But we must make clear what this actually means, because there are so many people who say they have received Christ and believed on Christ, who give little or no evidence that they are spiritually alive. They are unresponsive to the spiritual beauty of Jesus. They are unmoved by the glory of Christ. They don’t have the spirit of the apostle Paul when he said, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8). This is not their spirit, yet they say they have received Christ. 

One way to describe this problem is to say that when these people “receive Christ,” they do not receive him as supremely valuable. They receive him simply as sin-forgiver (because they love being guilt-free), and as rescuer-from-hell (because they love being pain-free), and as healer (because they love being disease-free), and as protector (because they love being safe), and as prosperity-giver (because they love being wealthy), and as Creator (because they want a personal universe), and as Lord of history (because they want order and purpose); but they don’t receive him as supremely and personally valuable for who he is. They don’t receive him as he really is—more glorious, more beautiful, more wonderful, more satisfying, than everything else in the universe. They don’t prize him or treasure him or cherish him or delight in him. 

Or to say it another way, they “receive Christ” in a way that requires no change in human nature. You don’t have to be born again to love being guilt-free and pain-free and disease-free and safe and wealthy. All natural men without any spiritual life love these things. But to embrace Jesus as your supreme treasure requires a new nature. No one does this naturally. You must be born again (John 3:3). You must be a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15). You must be made spiritually alive (Ephesians 2:1-4). 

Therefore, saving faith is a receiving of Christ for who he really is and what he really is, namely, more glorious, more wonderful, more satisfying, and therefore more valuable than anything thing in the universe. Saving faith says, “I receive you as my Savior, my Lord, my supreme Treasure; and I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Which is why Jesus said, “Therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33). And again, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37). And again, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Matthew 13:44).” 

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/ConferenceMessages/ByDate/2016_Faith_and_Reason/

“God to me” is the true American Idol. It is what we confront on a daily basis. As we share our faith, we must be careful to present a full gospel message. It is not a message that says simply believe in Christ. It says to believe in Christ as He has revealed Himself. Sacrifice yourself. This is the end of you as an autonomous individual. You must now submit yourself to a God who has revealed himself. You may no longer define who God is, but rather you must surrender to the God who has revealed himself. And yet, this is a joyful surrender. This is a joyful sacrifice, for Christ is our supreme treasure. In fact, He is most glorified in us as we are most satisfied in Him. It is not enough just to believe in Him, but we are to love him above all else. We can’t wait to spend eternity sitting at his feet and hearing his wisdom and singing his praises. 

And so, I say to my son…”Hear the true wisdom from the scriptures. Do not be foolish and set yourself up as the final arbiter of what is right and wrong. Submit yourself to the teaching of our Lord. Do not violate God’s laws and say that you did nothing wrong. Your pride will lead you to destruction, but if you humble yourself and submit to God’s instruction He will exalt you. The Bible is not an ala carte buffet that you can pick and choose what you like. If you would follow the Lord, do so with all your heart. Be more in love with Jesus than anything else. I am not perfect, but I would hope and pray that if I 
stray from God’s law, that his reproof would lead me not to defiance, but repentance and remorse. Do not fall into this cultural trap of worshiping God to me. Listen to who God has revealed Himself to be."