The Trials

March 25, 2018 ()

Bible Text: Matthew 26:57-68; 27:1-31 |

Series:

The Trials | Matthew 26:57-68; 27:11-31
Brian Hedges | March 25, 2018

Turn with me in God’s word this morning to Matthew’s gospel, the 26th chapter. For the last couple of weeks we’ve been taking an extended look at the the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. We began by looking at the supper that Jesus ate with his disciples, that last Passover meal and the first Lord’s Supper that Jesus ate with his disciples the night of his betrayal, the night before his crucifixion. Last week we looked at Jesus in the garden, the garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed there to the Father that if possible the cup would pass from him, and yet he submitted to God’s will. He said, “Not my will but yours be done.”

This morning we come to the trials of Jesus. So, the night passes, and now early on Friday morning Jesus is shuffled to these various trials, to the house of Caiaphas the high priest and then to Pontius Pilate. We’re going to take up the narrative in Matthew 26:57-68, and then we’re going to continue in just a couple of passages in Matthew chapter 27. So I’ll be skipping a few verses here and there, but I’ll direct you as we read, or you can follow along on the screen if you’d like. So, Matthew chapter 26, beginning in verse 57. Let’s read God’s word.

“Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. And Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with the guards to see the end. Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward and said, ‘This man said, “I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.”’ And the high priest stood up and said, ‘Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?’ But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, ‘I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ Then the high priest tore his robes and said, ‘He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your judgment?’ They answered, ‘He deserves death.’ Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him, saying, ‘Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?’”

Drop down to chapter 27:1-2:

“When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. And they bound him and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor.”

Drop down to verse 11:

“Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ Jesus said, ‘You have said so.’ But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate said to him, ‘Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?’ But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, ‘Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?’ For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, ‘Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.’ Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor again said to them, ‘Which of the two do you want me to release for you?’ And they said, ‘Barabbas.’ Pilate said to them, ‘Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?’ They all said, ‘Let him be crucified!’ And he said, ‘Why? What evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Let him be crucified!’ So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.’ And all the people answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’ Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.”

This is God’s word.

As we look at this narrative, describing for us two of the trials of Jesus, there are three things for us to notice together. I want us to see Jesus in three different ways. I want us to see:

I. Jesus the Defendant
II. Jesus the Substitute
III. Jesus the King

I. Jesus the Defendant

First of all, Jesus the defendant. Now, a defendant, of course, is someone who is accused in a court of law, right? The defendant is the person against whom charges are pressed. So in this courtroom drama, Jesus is the defendant, and in this passage we see both charges that come against him as well as the verdict of the court.

I want you to look at these charges. There are two of them. He is charged with two crimes in this passage and in the parallel gospel records. He’s charged, first of all, with blasphemy. Blasphemy. Now, you get this scene in Matthew chapter 26; let’s pick it up in verse 59, when “the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus, that they might put him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward and said, ‘This man said, “I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.”’”

Now, that’s actually not true. Jesus did not say, “I am able to destroy the temple and build it in three days.” In John chapter 2 we have the record; Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” The disciples later understood that he was actually talking about the temple of his body. But he never claimed that he would destroy the temple himself.

Nevertheless, this is the best charge they can find that has any kind of sticking power, and so they press the matter with Jesus. Look at verse 62.

“The high priest stood up and said, ‘Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?’” But Jesus remains silent. And then the high priest says, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”

Now, Jesus doesn’t quite say that he is the Christ, the Son of God. He says, “You have said so,” but he doesn’t deny it, of course, because he is; but what he says is actually even more inflammatory. You see this in verse 64. “Jesus said to him, ‘You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven.’”

That’s inflammatory. I mean, that really raises the ire of the high priest. It’s enough for the Jewish court to condemn him. Look at verse 65: “Then the high priest tore his robes and said, ‘He has uttered blasphemy.’” “He’s uttered blasphemy.”

Why do they say that? Well, because they understood the context. When Jesus says, “You’re going to see the Son of Man seated on the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven,” they understood that he was quoting from Daniel chapter 7, where you have this vision of one like the Son of Man, the Son of Man who is enthroned with the Ancient of Days. Jesus here is claiming nothing less than deity. He’s claiming equality with God. They recognize that, they say he’s committed blasphemy, “Away with him! He deserves death.”

I trust the irony of the situation is not lost on us: that here are the blasphemers who are charging the Son of God with blasphemy. Here is the high priest of Israel who sends the true and greater High Priest, Jesus Christ, to an undeserved death.

Now, there’s a problem. The problem is that the Jewish council, the Sanhedrin, had no authority to execute anyone. So in order for them to actually send Jesus to his death they have to get Pilate on board, so they send him to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor in charge of Jerusalem.

So he’s taken to Pilate, and there’s a second charge. The charge is treason. Now, this isn’t as explicit in Matthew’s narrative, but it is in Luke’s, in Luke chapter 23. In Luke 23:2 you have the charge: “We found this man misleading our nations and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.”

Again, they’re lying and twisting the things that Jesus had actually said. It’s true that Jesus had claimed lordship and kingship, but he had never subverted, deliberately, the Roman government in terms of not giving tribute. In fact, he had said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” He himself had paid taxes with his disciples. So again, they’re lying about Jesus, charging him with treason.

Well, Pilate seems to discern as much. He seems to understand that there’s no charge here that really should stick. There’s no reason to condemn this man. So you get this surprising verdict; this is the surprising thing. The charges are blasphemy and treason, and the verdict comes through loud and clear in the various gospel narratives, and the verdict is, essentially, “Not guilty”! It’s, “Not guilty.” Jesus is declared innocent.

This is explicit, again, in Luke 23:4, when Pilate says, “I find no guilt in this man.” But that verdict is confirmed again and again in what the theologian Sinclair Ferguson calls “a litany of acquittals.”

I want you to just think about this for a minute. Think about all the people who recognized that Jesus was innocent. You have Pilate; we’ve already seen that, and it’s clear as well here in Matthew 27:23. When the crowd shouts for him to be crucified, Pilate says, “Why, what evil has he done,” right? And they insisted he’s to be crucified, and so Pilate washes his hands and says, “I am innocent of this man’s blood.”

But Pilate’s wife had also recognized his innocence. She’s troubled in a dream. Only Matthew records this detail in the passion narratives; you see it in verse 19, that Pilate’s wife had sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man.” She recognized the righteousness of Jesus Christ. “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.”

And then when you pull the other narratives together, others recognized it as well. So, for example, do you remember the two thieves on the cross? There are two thieves, one on either side. One rails against Jesus, and the other one says, “This man has done nothing wrong.” He recognizes Jesus’ innocence.

And then, even the centurion, the executioner, who oversees the death of Jesus, the crucifixion of Jesus, in this passage, Matthew 27:54, confesses, “Truly this was the Son of God.” In Luke’s narrative, the wording is like this, “Certainly this man was innocent.”

So, here you have it. You see this again and again and again: a litany of acquittals. “I find no guilt in him.” “He’s innocent.” “He’s righteous.” “This is a righteous man.” “He’s done no wrong.” They all see it! They all see it, and yet, though the verdict is “not guilty,” he is condemned. He is sent to the cross. He is sentenced to death.

So, Sinclair Ferguson makes this observation, and I owe Ferguson a lot of my insight here. Ferguson says, “Jesus was not falsely judged ‘guilty’ on the basis of the misreading of the evidence. He was executed, even though the verdict passed on him was ‘innocent.’”

So the obvious question is, why? The verdict is “not guilty,” and yet the sentence is death. Why is that? Ferguson’s answer, essentially, is this: because the two charges that were leveled against Jesus, the charge of blasphemy and the charge of treason, though Jesus was innocent of each, they are exactly the charges that all of us are guilty of, because we have blasphemed God, and because we are treasonous in our hearts.

So, we see something important here, both theologically and historically. Theologically, we see here Christ dying in our place; historically, we see that there was no excuse for those who had authority. There was no excuse to condemn Jesus. This is the greatest miscarriage of justice in human history, and yet God is working out his plan.

Remember those words of Isaac Watts in one of his hymns; he asked this question:

“Was it for crimes that I had done
He groaned upon the tree?”

And the clear answer is yes. Yes! And therefore we should exclaim with Watts,

“Amazing pity, grace unknown
And love beyond degree,”

because Christ, the defendant, though entirely innocent of all the charges, he is condemned, sent to his death.

II. Jesus the Substitute

Now, why was he sent to his death? He was sent to his death for us. That leads us to the second point, Jesus the substitute. Jesus the defendant becomes Jesus the substitute.

This is right at the centerpiece of our faith, isn’t it, that Christ is the substitute for sinners. This is right at the heart of the gospel, that Christ died in our place, on the cross, for our sins. We know this from Scripture. What I want you to see is that this isn’t just what the apostles in their letters (although it is; I’ll give you a couple of verses in a moment), this is clear right here in the gospel narrative, and it’s given to us in vivid, dramatic detail as there is a great exchange, as someone who clearly was a criminal is set free, while Jesus, who clearly was innocent and righteous, is condemned in his place.

So you have the story of Barabbas, verses 15 through 26. I won’t read it all again, but you remember the story here; we just read it a few minutes ago. Pilate offers to set somebody free; this is the custom. “Shall I give you Barabbas or shall I give you Jesus?”

“Give us Barabbas!”

“What do I do with Jesus?”

“Let him be crucified!”

The crowd is chanting for the crucifixion of Jesus; there’s a bloodlust here. They’re on the verge of a riot. So in verse 26 we read, “Then he released for them Barabbas and, having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.”

You see it right there; there’s an exchange, a glorious exchange, Christ the substitute for Barabbas. Here’s Barabbas, who’s guilty, who is an insurrectionist, who is himself treasonous; he’s called a bandit, but the word there for bandit is the word that was often used of insurrectionists, of zealots who were something like terrorists. So here’s Barabbas, guilty of all these crimes, guilty of all this sin, he’s clearly an evil man; here’s someone who deserves death, and he’s set free.

In contrast Jesus, holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners; Jesus the innocent one, Jesus the Lamb of God, spotless in every way; Jesus is condemned. Jesus dies, Barabbas goes free.

This is the gospel in a nutshell, because just like Barabbas, we’re all guilty. We’re the ones who deserve it, Jesus is the one who took it, his life given in exchange for ours. Isn’t this what Peter writes? We’ve already seen the passage this morning, that “Christ suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous.”

There’s the exchange, there’s the substitution. He’s righteous, we’re unrighteous; he died for us! That’s what substitution is. Substitution means mine was the sinning, his was the suffering. Substitution means mine was the transgression, but his was the judgment. Mine was the wickedness, his was the wrath. Mine was the guilt, his was the sacrifice. Mine was the penalty, his was the punishment. Mine was the ruin, his was the retribution.

Nobody puts it more starkly than the apostle Paul, 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus on the cross becomes sin for us! What does that mean? It doesn’t mean he became a sinner in any kind of personal way. He didn’t become a sinner; it means he was treated like a sinner. It means that he was condemned like a sinner; it means he took the place of a sinner. So we see it in Paul, we see it in Peter, we see it in the gospel record itself.

The German 19th-century theologian, F.W. Krummacher, put it this way, very beautifully. He said, “Barabbas and Jesus changed places. The murderer’s bonds, curse, disgrace, and mortal agony are transferred to the righteous Jesus, while the liberty, innocence, safety, and wellbeing of the immaculate Nazarene become the lot of the murderer. In Barabbas’s deliverance, we see our own. Left to ourselves, we should have been eternally lost. When Christ exchanged positions with us, our position was decided. Since he became a criminal in your stead, you are accounted righteous for his sake. Since he was rejected in your stead, you are admitted into favor with God. Since he bore your curse, you are the heirs of his blessing. Since he suffered your punishment, you are destined to share his happiness.”

That’s the gospel. Jesus the defendant becomes Jesus the substitute.

III. Jesus the King

There’s a third scene I want you to notice here in this passage, and it’s a scene where Jesus is seen as a king, but he’s seen as a king who’s being mocked. It’s like a mock ceremony. He’s called “King of the Jews” by Pilate, and you see how this unfolds in verses 26 through 31. There are three steps in it.

First of all, there’s the scourging in verse 26. “He released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.” It only merits one verse here; not much is said about it. Luke passes over it altogether.

And yet, Jesus had said this would happen. He said that he would be delivered, the Son of Man would be delivered over to Gentiles, mocked, shamefully treated, spit upon, and flogged, and then killed, and on the third day rise again. Perhaps Jesus was thinking of Isaiah 53, “Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.” So he’s scourged.

What is this scourging? Many of you, I’m sure, have heard the details before. A number of years ago there was an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association that provided a graphic description of the whole brutal situation. The victim who would be scourged was, first of all, to be stripped naked. So, dignity stripped away. And then the back, the buttocks, and the legs would be flogged, forcefully struck again and again, with the flagellum, which was a short whip of leather thongs embedded with small bits of iron and bone. So the scourging itself would tear away skin, tear into muscle, leaving the victim eviscerated and in shock.

What inhumanity, what brutality, we see in these proceedings.

And yet, here’s the glory: Jesus’ loss of dignity means the restoration of ours. Again, to quote Sinclair Ferguson and Derek Thomas — in a wonderful book on Jesus — they say: “Ecce homo indeed, behold the man, now dehumanized by man, that we, who have been unmanned in sin, might truly become human again.”

The scourging, and then notice the mocking, verses 27 through 31, and again, what you have here is a mock ceremony. It’s like a mock coronation, as Jesus is arrayed in mock regalia. He’s given a robe, but it’s a scarlet robe, stripped of his own. He’s given a crown, but not of gold, but of thorns. He’s given a scepter, but it’s not a golden scepter; it’s a flimsy reed, which is then snatched from his hands and used to beat him with. It’s a mockery, and yet they are mocking the King of the world.

It shows us that Jesus is an altogether different kind of king. He’s not a king who wins his victories at the point of a sword, he’s not a king who ascends a mighty throne, he is a King who ascends the throne of the cross and triumphs through his death.

Listen to F.W. Faber in these moving words:

Jesus, the Judge of quick and dead,
Thyself, when falsely judged, wert led
In mock regalia clad.
May I my solemn office fill,
Judge of myself, and think no ill,
Not even of the bad.

Jesus, when scourged and buffeted
And spit upon, thy sacred head
Was bowed to earth for me.
Oh, may I pardon find and bliss
And expiating love in this,
My Lord’s indignity.

Jesus, with crown of ruddy thorn,
The Jews thy tortured brow adorn
And, jeering, hail thee King.
May I, O Lord, with heart sincere,
My humble zeal, my love and fear,
And real homage bring.

He is scourged, he is mocked, and then he is led away to be crucified, verse 31.

Now, we’ll pick up the story of the cross on Friday at our Good Friday service on Friday evening, but I think it’s important that, as we have considered this morning the trial of Jesus, Jesus the defendant, Jesus the substitute, Jesus the King, it’s important that we not move too quickly away from the courts of Caiaphas and Pilate, because what we see here is that Jesus was judicially condemned to die. That’s important; there’s a legal context, he is judicially condemned to die.

The Heidelberg Catechism asks this question, and this is kind of booting off of the Apostles’ Creed, which we’re going to confess in a few moments. Have you ever noticed that when we confess the Apostles’ Creed we confess that he “suffered under Pontius Pilate.” Why is that in the creed? Why do we need to confess that in the creed?

Well, one reason is because it’s historical, and we’re going through the historical narrative of what Jesus actually did. But here’s the other reason (this is what The Heidelberg Catechism says): “Why did he suffer under Pontius Pilate as judge?” Answer, “So that he, though innocent, might be condemned by an earthly judge and so free us from the severe judgment of God that was to fall on us.”

Again, it’s all about substitution. Jesus, in his trial, took our place, he was our representative; he took the judgment we deserve so that we could be set free. He took the “guilty” verdict so that we could have the “not guilty” verdict. I mean, here’s the scene: the accusers bring these false charges against him, and then they bring the charges of blasphemy and treason against him, and they do that so that God could then say about us, “Who shall lay any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.”

Jesus, the incarnate Lord of glory, stands in trial in a human court to have his sonship disputed and denied, to be blasphemed by sinful lips, but he does that so that you and I could be adopted into the family of God and be sons and daughters.

Jesus, the High Priest, is condemned by a high priest, so that you and I can have a merciful High Priest.

Jesus, the true Prophet, is mocked and said, “Can you tell us who slapped you? Prophesy for us!” He endures that so that you and I can have the sure word of prophecy that comes to us through Jesus Christ, the Son, who is the word of God.

Jesus, the King, is treated as if he were no king so that you and I could have a King of love, a King who dies for his people.

I want to ask you this morning (this is the most important question I would know to ask), have you trusted in Jesus, the Son of God? Have you trusted in him for your salvation? Have you counted on the fact that he was condemned so that you could escape condemnation? Have you seen yourself as a sinner and seen Jesus as the one who took your place to die for your sins on the cross so that you could be set free?

Let me urge you this morning, if you’ve never trusted in Christ, do so today. If you have believed in Christ, believe this morning, believe again, reaffirm your faith, put all of your hope in him, Jesus the substitute.

Let’s pray.

Our sin - O the bliss of this glorious thought -
Our sin, not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and we bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Oh my soul!

Thank you, Father, for such amazing love that you would send your Son. Thank you, Lord Jesus, that having your own you loved them to the end. “Greater love has no man than this, that he gives his life for his friends.” Thank you that you demonstrated your love, that even while we were sinners you died for us, the ungodly. We rest ourselves in this love, we rest ourselves in this work, Christ as our substitute.

As we come to the Table this morning, that’s what we come to remember, that’s what we come to celebrate. We come to remember the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, we come to pledge ourselves afresh to Jesus as Savior and Lord, to put our stake in what Christ has done for us, and we come to receive from you, our risen Christ, the grace of communion with you, to be enriched with all that you’ve done for us, so that all that you are may be all that we need.

So we ask you to draw near to us through your Spirit, unite us to yourself and to one another, and so we come to table together. We pray it in your holy name, Lord Jesus, Amen.