Greater Authority

WEBVTT 1 00:00:03.480 --> 00:00:10.390 Let us turn together in God's word, to John Chapter Nineteen. John Nineteen, 2 00:00:10.429 --> 00:00:51.840 I'll be reading the first sixteen verses John Nineteen, verses one through sixteen. 3 00:00:54.560 --> 00:00:58.640 Then pilot took Jesus and flogged him, and the soldiers twisted together a 4 00:00:58.799 --> 00:01:02.079 crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple 5 00:01:02.159 --> 00:01:04.469 robe. They came up to him, saying Hail, King of the Jews, 6 00:01:04.590 --> 00:01:10.390 and struck him with their hands. Pilot went out again and said to 7 00:01:10.510 --> 00:01:12.950 them, see, I am bringing him out to you that you may know 8 00:01:14.189 --> 00:01:18.739 that I find no guilt in him. So Jesus came out, wearing the 9 00:01:18.900 --> 00:01:23.140 crown of thorns and purpled the purple robe. Pilot said to them, behold 10 00:01:23.180 --> 00:01:29.140 the man. When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried 11 00:01:29.219 --> 00:01:33.329 out, crucify him, crucify him. Pilot said to them, take him 12 00:01:33.329 --> 00:01:38.450 yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him. The Jews 13 00:01:38.489 --> 00:01:42.530 answered him, we have a law and according to that law he ought to 14 00:01:42.730 --> 00:01:48.040 die because he has made himself the son of God. When pilot heard this 15 00:01:48.159 --> 00:01:52.840 statement, he was even more afraid. He entered his headquarters again and said 16 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:57.560 to Jesus, where are you from? But Jesus gave him no answer. 17 00:01:57.200 --> 00:02:01.269 So pilot said to him, you will not speak to me. Do you 18 00:02:01.430 --> 00:02:07.349 not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you? 19 00:02:07.390 --> 00:02:13.189 Jesus answered him. You would have no authority over me at all unless it 20 00:02:13.229 --> 00:02:17.099 had been given to given you from above. Therefore, he who delivered me 21 00:02:17.340 --> 00:02:23.020 over to you has the greater sin. From then on, pilot sought to 22 00:02:23.139 --> 00:02:25.500 release him, but the Jews cried out, if you release this man, 23 00:02:27.620 --> 00:02:34.009 you are not Caesar's friend. Everyone who makes himself a King Opposes Caesar. 24 00:02:36.090 --> 00:02:39.370 So when pilot heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on 25 00:02:39.490 --> 00:02:46.360 the judgment seat at a place called the stone pavement and an Aramaic Gabbatha. 26 00:02:46.439 --> 00:02:51.800 Now it was the day of preparation of the Passover. It was about the 27 00:02:51.919 --> 00:02:57.639 sixth hour. He said to the Jews, behold your king. They cried 28 00:02:57.759 --> 00:03:01.349 out, away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilot said 29 00:03:01.389 --> 00:03:07.150 to them, shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, we 30 00:03:07.469 --> 00:03:13.099 have no king but Caesar. So he delivered him over to them to be 31 00:03:13.219 --> 00:03:30.330 crucified. It was we read the account of these events, you can't help 32 00:03:30.409 --> 00:03:39.449 but feel the tension and the stress, if I could put it that that 33 00:03:39.610 --> 00:03:50.199 way, of this situation. You have a crowd screaming, yelling for the 34 00:03:50.400 --> 00:04:03.550 death of the Savior of the world, and this is particularly Ironic, sad 35 00:04:05.310 --> 00:04:10.460 and many other things in light of the context in which all of this is 36 00:04:10.580 --> 00:04:15.019 happening. Remember, this is happening in the context of the Passover. John 37 00:04:15.459 --> 00:04:19.420 Explains that he he reminds us in several places, and here in this passage 38 00:04:19.459 --> 00:04:23.899 as well. In verse fourteen, we read that it was the day of 39 00:04:24.019 --> 00:04:27.649 preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour, which is around 40 00:04:27.730 --> 00:04:32.490 noon. It's a little bit of background on the Passover so we can understand 41 00:04:32.529 --> 00:04:36.170 the context in which all of this is happening. The Passover was one of 42 00:04:36.250 --> 00:04:42.959 the great three annual feasts, I'm one of the great celebrations in the year, 43 00:04:43.519 --> 00:04:49.000 Israel's year. The population of Jerusalem would swell, since all the males 44 00:04:49.160 --> 00:04:54.389 of the people were called to come. There have been Darius estimates on how 45 00:04:54.589 --> 00:04:58.750 big the city would get, but it's possibly around a hundred eighty thousand people 46 00:04:59.589 --> 00:05:02.269 in the city. It was packed. These are not huge not a huge 47 00:05:02.389 --> 00:05:09.860 place this will typically happen in the spring, late March, early April, 48 00:05:10.980 --> 00:05:19.100 and what this celebration celebrated was one of the most important events that had happened 49 00:05:19.180 --> 00:05:24.009 and really the history of the world and also in the history of Israel, 50 00:05:24.250 --> 00:05:30.850 and that was their redemption by God from Egypt. Remember this as one of 51 00:05:30.889 --> 00:05:38.040 the great momentous events in really world history and certainly the history of this particular 52 00:05:38.120 --> 00:05:44.000 people. there. Israel had grown as according to the promise of Abraham, 53 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:49.189 the family. His family had growned thousands and thousands and thousands, and here 54 00:05:49.310 --> 00:05:55.389 they are now in Egypt. But there came a point where they become became 55 00:05:55.589 --> 00:06:02.389 slaves of Egypt. They were constantly oppressed, they were stripped of their wealth, 56 00:06:02.430 --> 00:06:08.899 they were stripped of their dignity, they were forced to work, they 57 00:06:08.939 --> 00:06:15.500 were treated unfairly and without justice. It was cruel, it was oppressive, 58 00:06:15.699 --> 00:06:20.569 it was wrong, what happened to them. On top of all of that, 59 00:06:20.850 --> 00:06:27.529 they were in a country which worshiped false gods. Is God executed these 60 00:06:27.689 --> 00:06:31.879 plagues as a way of rescuing his people. Each one of them was directed 61 00:06:32.040 --> 00:06:40.160 at undermining these various gods of Egypt, showing how the gods of pharaoh the 62 00:06:40.279 --> 00:06:45.279 gods of the government, the Gods of these people, were not truly God. 63 00:06:45.439 --> 00:06:49.550 We're not truly powerful, but Yahweh was the great rescuer. Yahweh would 64 00:06:49.709 --> 00:06:55.949 command nature itself and bring them out, and that was what they hope to 65 00:06:56.029 --> 00:07:01.540 do, to come out of Egypt so that they might worship God. Wanted 66 00:07:01.579 --> 00:07:09.779 to establish with them a new covenant, a Covenant which would advance that covenant 67 00:07:09.779 --> 00:07:15.769 that had first been given to Abraham, a covenant which would anticipate the final 68 00:07:15.889 --> 00:07:20.370 things that God would do in the day that Jesus would return. And as 69 00:07:20.410 --> 00:07:24.569 he began to establish that covenant, what he was going to do, as 70 00:07:24.610 --> 00:07:28.930 he was going to bring people out of slavery, he was going to rescue 71 00:07:29.050 --> 00:07:32.519 these slaves and he was going to bring them to freedom and establish them in 72 00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:38.319 their own country, with their own temple and true worship. It would be 73 00:07:38.399 --> 00:07:42.439 a land, a heavenly land, flowing with milk and honey. It would 74 00:07:42.480 --> 00:07:46.110 be free from oppression and evil. It would be free so that they could 75 00:07:46.230 --> 00:07:51.189 worship and live and abide with the one true God. No more of Egypt. 76 00:07:51.589 --> 00:07:58.740 Now it was going to be this heavenly land of Canaan and all of 77 00:07:58.860 --> 00:08:03.420 this anticipates, of course, in an earthly and temporal way, the things 78 00:08:03.500 --> 00:08:07.740 that are coming when the Lord returns, when the Lord will rescue his people 79 00:08:07.899 --> 00:08:13.529 out of this world completely and entirely and usher us into heaven if, in 80 00:08:13.610 --> 00:08:18.490 as, he reigns down judgments and all those who would defy him. This 81 00:08:18.850 --> 00:08:24.050 Day, this Passover Day, celebrated the day in which God passed over his 82 00:08:24.290 --> 00:08:30.160 people, passed over and did not judge them but instead judge their enemies, 83 00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:37.480 and he rescued them, he brought them in and out of slavery and into 84 00:08:37.639 --> 00:08:43.429 freedom. It's called Passover because what would have what happened on that last night 85 00:08:43.710 --> 00:08:48.950 that they were there in Egypt, is God commanded them to sacrifice ice and 86 00:08:50.750 --> 00:08:56.860 to spread the blood of a lamb or goat on the sides and the top 87 00:08:56.899 --> 00:09:00.460 of the door posts. And if and then, as the angel of the 88 00:09:00.539 --> 00:09:07.340 Lord came to execute judgment on Egypt, the that judgment would pass over the 89 00:09:07.419 --> 00:09:11.730 people whose blood, who were covered by the blood. This, of course, 90 00:09:11.850 --> 00:09:18.450 anticipates Jesus and the covering by his blood that he gives to us when 91 00:09:18.490 --> 00:09:22.330 Jesus goes to the cross, as he's doing here in our passage and John 92 00:09:22.370 --> 00:09:28.080 Chapter Nineteen. He's being that lamb. He is being the one who John 93 00:09:28.159 --> 00:09:31.480 spoke about the very beginning and said, behold the lamb of God, who 94 00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:37.240 takes away the sins of the world. By his sacrifice. He pays for 95 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:41.669 our sins. And because our sins are paid for, when the Lord comes 96 00:09:41.750 --> 00:09:48.429 with his mighty angels to judge the Earth, he will pass over us because 97 00:09:48.470 --> 00:09:54.700 we are considered sinless. Now, how could we be considered sinless when we 98 00:09:54.860 --> 00:10:01.779 have sinned? The answer is because Jesus has taken our guilt on himself and 99 00:10:01.980 --> 00:10:09.929 has given to us his righteousness. That's grace. He's given to us something 100 00:10:11.049 --> 00:10:16.809 we didn't deserve. He has rescued us, he has redeemed us. If 101 00:10:16.929 --> 00:10:20.570 that says as if you say that's not fair, I deserve to pay for 102 00:10:20.769 --> 00:10:24.480 my sins, well, yeah, that's exactly right. That's why we call 103 00:10:24.519 --> 00:10:31.080 it grace. God gives to us something we didn't deserve. He loves people 104 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:37.909 who didn't deserve to be loved and covered by that blood of Christ, judgment 105 00:10:37.950 --> 00:10:45.350 will pass over us and we will be ushered into glory and freedom and eternal 106 00:10:45.429 --> 00:10:50.580 worship of the triune God. This is what we are looking forward to and 107 00:10:50.700 --> 00:10:58.899 this is all anticipated and modeled for us in the Passover. So this is 108 00:10:58.980 --> 00:11:03.889 what's going on now. Just I want to spend because I haven't done this 109 00:11:03.929 --> 00:11:09.570 before. I want to tie in a few different verses that we it's been 110 00:11:09.610 --> 00:11:15.330 a while since we've seen if you flip in your bibles back to John Thirteen, 111 00:11:16.169 --> 00:11:20.159 I don't even know when we were in this passage. It was a 112 00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:24.559 while ago. We read at the beginning of John Thirteen. Now before the 113 00:11:24.759 --> 00:11:30.679 Feast of Passover. I'm sorry, let me, I'll let you turn there. 114 00:11:35.350 --> 00:11:37.669 Now, before the peace to pass over, when Jesus knew that as 115 00:11:37.750 --> 00:11:43.549 our had come to depart out of this world, to the father, having 116 00:11:43.669 --> 00:11:46.620 loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 117 00:11:48.299 --> 00:11:54.419 Now this verse, this verse that comes right before the Passover, right 118 00:11:54.500 --> 00:12:00.259 before the piece of Passover, Mark's a big transition in the Gospel. More 119 00:12:00.419 --> 00:12:03.529 or not. Mark a John is transitioning. He's saying he's concluding in a 120 00:12:03.690 --> 00:12:07.809 way on what has come and he's transitioning to what is about to come. 121 00:12:09.610 --> 00:12:13.970 He says that, knowing that his hour to depart, okay, the hour 122 00:12:15.129 --> 00:12:18.679 is about about here. He has loved his own and he loved them to 123 00:12:18.840 --> 00:12:26.600 the end. Then in verse two, John Transitions to that Passover which he 124 00:12:26.759 --> 00:12:31.669 is just spoken of during the supper. All right, so this is now 125 00:12:31.750 --> 00:12:35.549 the next day, during the supper, and we know that this supper is 126 00:12:35.629 --> 00:12:39.429 not just a regular supper because he's just talked to us about the Passover right 127 00:12:39.549 --> 00:12:46.139 where the bat pass over which was about to happen. Now it's and then 128 00:12:46.179 --> 00:12:48.620 it says verse two, during the Supper, when the devil had already put 129 00:12:48.659 --> 00:12:52.059 it into the heart of Judas a scariot, Simon's son, to betray him, 130 00:12:52.460 --> 00:12:56.940 Jesus, knowing that the father had given all things into his hands and 131 00:12:56.259 --> 00:12:58.929 that he had come from God and that he was going back to God, 132 00:13:00.450 --> 00:13:03.649 rose from the supper. He laid his outer garments and, taking a towel, 133 00:13:03.769 --> 00:13:07.850 tied it around his waist. And you know what happens from here. 134 00:13:07.889 --> 00:13:11.210 He then goes to wash his disciples feet. He teaches them what it means 135 00:13:11.330 --> 00:13:16.039 to serve and to love, and he goes on to tell them all kinds 136 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:20.919 of very important things. He talks to them about suffering in this world. 137 00:13:22.759 --> 00:13:26.519 He talks about though he's going to be going away, he's going to leave 138 00:13:26.559 --> 00:13:30.669 them here, but he's going to equip them, he's going to give them 139 00:13:30.710 --> 00:13:33.309 the Holy Spirit, he's going to fill them with his word and with the 140 00:13:33.549 --> 00:13:39.710 peace of God. He's going to be with them and they're going to abide 141 00:13:39.870 --> 00:13:43.179 with him. We are going to abide with him in his love, that 142 00:13:43.340 --> 00:13:46.779 same love that he has from the father. And these, all of these 143 00:13:46.899 --> 00:13:50.899 words, we spent so much time on, and for good reason. They're 144 00:13:50.139 --> 00:13:56.690 so important. And that takes us all the way through chapter seventeen. He 145 00:13:56.809 --> 00:14:01.809 institutes the Lord Supper, he teaches these things. These are all happening on 146 00:14:01.929 --> 00:14:07.690 the day of Passover. Now, to kind of get the events in your 147 00:14:07.769 --> 00:14:16.279 head, the day of Passover starts on Thursday night, essentially, because the 148 00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:20.120 days run sort of from evening to evening. So this is what happens a 149 00:14:20.320 --> 00:14:28.389 Thursday night. Jesus is having this meal with his disciples. Then what happens? 150 00:14:28.429 --> 00:14:33.269 He's for chapter eighteen. He speaks these words, he goes out with 151 00:14:33.389 --> 00:14:37.190 his disciples and then of course they're it's betoeen there. He is betrayed by 152 00:14:37.269 --> 00:14:41.220 the one that was mentioned back in chapter thirteen. This is all the same 153 00:14:41.340 --> 00:14:43.820 night and other where it's all those chapters the same night. And now it's 154 00:14:43.820 --> 00:14:48.100 still the same night. This is, you know, Thursday night when when 155 00:14:48.460 --> 00:14:58.370 Jesus is betrayed. Jesus is betrayed with this kiss and he is captured by 156 00:14:58.490 --> 00:15:07.679 these people and he's taken to the high priest. Then we read in Verse 157 00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:11.600 Twenty Eight of Chapter Eighteen, the early in the morning. Right. So 158 00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:16.000 what would this be? What morning are we talking about? Friday morning, 159 00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:18.519 but it's still the day of the Passover, right, because we're counting from 160 00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:24.230 Thursday evening to Friday evening. So they're taken to the they are taken to 161 00:15:24.590 --> 00:15:28.750 the governor's yes, taken to the governor's house. It was early morning. 162 00:15:30.029 --> 00:15:33.230 But notice what it says. They themselves. This is verse Twenty Eight. 163 00:15:33.110 --> 00:15:37.899 The chief priests. They did not enter the governor's house so that they would 164 00:15:37.940 --> 00:15:43.500 not be defiled but could eat the Passover. All right, how are we 165 00:15:43.539 --> 00:15:48.580 to understand this? Is this a second Passover meal? No, the main 166 00:15:48.700 --> 00:15:52.809 Passover meal happened already, but it's still the Passover Day. Essentially, this 167 00:15:52.850 --> 00:15:58.730 is a lunchtime meal that it was still on that day. It's still a 168 00:15:58.929 --> 00:16:03.919 holy day. They still are being careful, outwardly careful, and they and 169 00:16:04.039 --> 00:16:08.120 so they don't want to enter and be defiled in this way by entering into 170 00:16:08.960 --> 00:16:12.759 the eveners house. The way I kind of think about it is you, 171 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:18.830 you know, when we have our Thanksgiving right, there's a meal right to 172 00:16:18.950 --> 00:16:22.029 happen. It's the Thanksgiving meal. But when you're, you know, microwaving 173 00:16:22.110 --> 00:16:27.870 the leftovers, you know, five, six hours later, it's still thanksgiving 174 00:16:27.909 --> 00:16:32.980 right. You're still you're still enjoying the day, you're being to get all 175 00:16:33.019 --> 00:16:36.259 the things that we do on Thanksgiving. It's it's something similar. The day 176 00:16:36.379 --> 00:16:41.460 is still happening, though that primary meal is already happened. The Passover is 177 00:16:41.580 --> 00:16:45.700 still going on, and so they're still concerned. So as we continue on 178 00:16:45.779 --> 00:16:52.690 this timeline, then we come to verse fourteen. All right, so now 179 00:16:52.809 --> 00:16:57.210 we're getting it's now noon, essentially on Friday, still the Passover, and 180 00:16:57.409 --> 00:17:03.080 we read that at this moment, at this moment, they the whole thing 181 00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:07.279 with pilot happens and now he's coming hit this sort of back and forth with 182 00:17:07.400 --> 00:17:10.599 them. Now it's about noon, right, so we've had about six or 183 00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:15.710 so hours have passed. It's the sixth hour and it says now it was 184 00:17:15.829 --> 00:17:19.950 the day of preparation of the Passover. What does that mean. Well, 185 00:17:21.029 --> 00:17:26.750 the day of preparation here is not the day before the like another Passover to 186 00:17:26.829 --> 00:17:32.059 coming up. What it's talking about? It's time about the sabbath, because 187 00:17:32.099 --> 00:17:37.259 remember what would hey were on right, it's Friday afternoon. What's coming next? 188 00:17:37.299 --> 00:17:41.900 The Sabbath on Friday evening, which will run from Friday evening to Saturday 189 00:17:41.940 --> 00:17:45.410 evening. So there it's. You know, it's sort of like if you 190 00:17:45.490 --> 00:17:48.450 happen to have, you know, if your birthday backs up to Christmas, 191 00:17:48.490 --> 00:17:52.369 let's say. Right, you have the one day, but as you're finishing 192 00:17:52.650 --> 00:17:55.130 that day you're kind of like, Oh, here comes the next one. 193 00:17:55.210 --> 00:17:59.359 Right, you got to get ready. It's the day of preparation of that 194 00:17:59.599 --> 00:18:03.599 of the Passover, but not for the Passover. Right. It's for the 195 00:18:03.680 --> 00:18:07.880 Sabbath, but of the Passover because it's on that day. I'll follow me 196 00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:11.400 so far. Okay, this, by the way, this is all helpful 197 00:18:11.400 --> 00:18:14.589 because a lot of people will look at these verses and say, look, 198 00:18:14.630 --> 00:18:17.869 the Gospels are all contradictory. They don't even know when the Passover happens. 199 00:18:18.630 --> 00:18:22.789 There's three passovers to pass over. If you read it in those ways, 200 00:18:22.869 --> 00:18:26.950 then you will come up with these these things, but there's a there is 201 00:18:26.950 --> 00:18:30.980 a way to read this and understand this that we're at all makes sense. 202 00:18:33.380 --> 00:18:37.980 So anyway, it's Friday noon and the concern is that the Sabbath is coming 203 00:18:38.019 --> 00:18:42.569 and as and just keep that in your mind because as we come into the 204 00:18:42.650 --> 00:18:48.450 next passages, various people will do certain things because the Sabbath is about to 205 00:18:48.609 --> 00:18:52.970 come, and we'll get to that when we get to that. So all 206 00:18:53.049 --> 00:18:59.880 that to say, here we are on the Passover Day. Right. They've 207 00:18:59.920 --> 00:19:03.160 had the meal, they went to sleep, they woke up, it's still 208 00:19:03.359 --> 00:19:06.920 pass over. They're very it's very much in their minds. Their concern in 209 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:11.349 to keep it, to stay holy. But the very one that this whole 210 00:19:11.470 --> 00:19:17.430 day is about, the one remember John, who says behold the lamb of 211 00:19:17.589 --> 00:19:21.789 God, who takes away the sin of the world. That one. What's 212 00:19:21.829 --> 00:19:26.059 happening here on the Passover Day? Instead of saying behold the lamb of God, 213 00:19:26.140 --> 00:19:30.500 who takes away the sin of the world, pilot says behold your king, 214 00:19:30.420 --> 00:19:36.380 and they say away, but not away with sin. They say away 215 00:19:36.500 --> 00:19:44.690 with him, away with him, crucify him. On This Day, this 216 00:19:45.049 --> 00:19:49.769 Great Day of celebration, This Day were all these people had come to celebrate 217 00:19:49.890 --> 00:19:56.839 the great redemption of God. Here is the redeemer, the new and Better 218 00:19:56.960 --> 00:20:03.319 Moses, to inaugurate a new and better kingdom. The food, the the 219 00:20:03.839 --> 00:20:08.190 people, the lambs, all of the temple, everything, they are pointing 220 00:20:08.230 --> 00:20:18.589 to this and they're saying crucify him. And worse than that, they're not 221 00:20:18.670 --> 00:20:26.660 I don't know, worse than that, but along with that they're pledging their 222 00:20:26.819 --> 00:20:34.259 allegiance to CAIZAR. This would be like the angel of the Lord Word, 223 00:20:34.339 --> 00:20:38.049 you know, passing over their houses and the people calling out Faara, oh 224 00:20:38.410 --> 00:20:47.089 fair, oh right, they are. They pilot, caesars man, is 225 00:20:47.410 --> 00:20:52.519 trying to kind of get out of this. He's trying to get out and 226 00:20:52.680 --> 00:20:56.039 they press him, they press his hand. Listen to this threat in verse 227 00:20:56.119 --> 00:21:00.680 twelve. If you release this man, you are no friend of CAESARS. 228 00:21:03.039 --> 00:21:08.109 That is a threat. And of course pilot, he cares very much about 229 00:21:08.150 --> 00:21:11.549 that. And it turns out so do the Jews, everyone, these, 230 00:21:11.589 --> 00:21:15.990 especially the chief priests, these teeth that, it says, those who brought 231 00:21:17.029 --> 00:21:22.579 Jesus to him. Verse six, the Chief Priests and the officers. They 232 00:21:22.619 --> 00:21:29.619 are there. They want to establish themselves as CAESARS men. They press pilot 233 00:21:29.779 --> 00:21:36.289 on that. Point in particular. And when he says behold your king, 234 00:21:36.450 --> 00:21:38.849 they cry out away with him, away with him, crucify him. Shall 235 00:21:38.849 --> 00:21:44.690 I crucify our King? The Chief Priest's answers. We have no king but 236 00:21:44.970 --> 00:22:03.430 Caesar. Let's take a moment and sit with that and think about our own 237 00:22:03.509 --> 00:22:10.789 sin and think about all the ways in which we do the same, very 238 00:22:10.829 --> 00:22:18.940 same things in which God, who is actively pledging himself in grace and love 239 00:22:18.099 --> 00:22:22.700 to us to forgive us our sins, to wash us, to cleanse us, 240 00:22:22.019 --> 00:22:30.690 to make US citizens of a kingdom that is forever indestructible, full of 241 00:22:30.930 --> 00:22:34.569 freedom and worship and holiness, when that God, our God, gives that 242 00:22:34.769 --> 00:22:38.450 to us, and then we choose the things of this world over him. 243 00:22:41.450 --> 00:22:45.160 They're not the only ones to do this right, and we do this in 244 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:51.400 all kinds of ways. We do this when we tie ourselves, for example, 245 00:22:51.400 --> 00:22:55.119 if I could put a little bit of pressure on your hearts, when 246 00:22:55.200 --> 00:23:00.109 we tie ourselves too much to one candidate or another as an election approaches and 247 00:23:00.190 --> 00:23:04.589 we feel like everything is riding on this, all my hopes, all my 248 00:23:04.750 --> 00:23:08.950 fears, all my dreams. Everything will go wrong if this doesn't go as 249 00:23:10.029 --> 00:23:15.660 I think it should. Go. It's not to say the our elections aren't 250 00:23:15.700 --> 00:23:18.980 important, that we shouldn't be active participants in this world. God, we've 251 00:23:19.019 --> 00:23:23.019 talked about that. God has called us to that. But this world will 252 00:23:23.140 --> 00:23:29.410 pass caesars. What's a Caesar, some of you might be asking right now. 253 00:23:33.650 --> 00:23:37.809 Empires come and go, they rise and fall, but our Lord and 254 00:23:38.089 --> 00:23:42.880 his word stands forever. Of course, it's not just politics, it's all 255 00:23:42.920 --> 00:23:48.880 kinds of things, when we scramble after money, when we do everything we 256 00:23:48.920 --> 00:23:53.359 can to fulfill our lusts, when we seek out certain relationships and put all 257 00:23:53.480 --> 00:23:57.710 of our hopes and our dreams and these any time that we are seeking the 258 00:23:57.829 --> 00:24:00.670 things of this world, even the good things that God has given us, 259 00:24:00.829 --> 00:24:07.950 and we seek those over loyalty to Jesus. We say food is my king, 260 00:24:10.619 --> 00:24:17.180 or love is my king, or or politics is my king, or 261 00:24:17.579 --> 00:24:25.369 my job is my king or whatever. We fail in these very same ways, 262 00:24:25.410 --> 00:24:30.849 and look how awful it is. They crucified the Lord and Savior of 263 00:24:30.930 --> 00:24:37.170 the world, and you know, we weren't there calling out for his name 264 00:24:37.210 --> 00:24:41.119 at that time. Right. This is not us that were there, but 265 00:24:41.240 --> 00:24:45.079 you remember, of course, that he went to the cross to die for 266 00:24:45.920 --> 00:24:53.549 our sins. That's not, and I wasn't, a sort of hypothetical thing 267 00:24:53.710 --> 00:25:03.269 like my sins. Jesus died for yours and Jesus died for when we think 268 00:25:03.269 --> 00:25:07.019 about the suffering of the cross, when we think about what he endured for 269 00:25:07.099 --> 00:25:11.859 us, when we think about that, it's our sins that put him there. 270 00:25:12.700 --> 00:25:18.059 That should cause us some heartbreak. I think heartbreak for our sin, 271 00:25:19.420 --> 00:25:25.650 even abhorrence for our sin, when when we profess our faith here at covenant, 272 00:25:25.650 --> 00:25:27.690 when we take our membership vowels, one of the things is we say, 273 00:25:29.210 --> 00:25:33.329 don't do you abhort yourself and the sinfulness of your nature and these things 274 00:25:33.410 --> 00:25:37.920 that were born into one of the things I'm trying to say is that when 275 00:25:37.920 --> 00:25:42.720 we look to the Cross and we see it's horror, it's a reminder to 276 00:25:42.799 --> 00:25:48.079 us that that's how we should feel about our sin. That's what it means 277 00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:56.670 when we say I have no king but Caesar. We ought to take our 278 00:25:56.829 --> 00:26:03.869 sin that seriously. When we look to the cross, we we don't only 279 00:26:03.069 --> 00:26:07.779 see our sin and the horror that it is and the abhorrence that it should 280 00:26:07.779 --> 00:26:15.420 be to us, we also see their God's outstanding grace, steadfast love, 281 00:26:15.980 --> 00:26:22.569 because notice how, throughout all of this, Jesus is going through this willingly, 282 00:26:22.289 --> 00:26:29.609 lovingly, confidently, right chapters thirteen and through seventeen, that whole time 283 00:26:29.769 --> 00:26:32.960 that he was at his disciples, that's what he was saying, right over 284 00:26:33.119 --> 00:26:37.839 and over again. I love you, I'm going for a reason. This 285 00:26:37.119 --> 00:26:44.119 is why this is happening, my grace, my love, it's sufficient for 286 00:26:44.279 --> 00:26:48.950 you. And throughout all of this, Jesus so healthy, helps us to 287 00:26:48.950 --> 00:26:53.710 see how the world should be put in its place. Just one example, 288 00:26:53.910 --> 00:27:00.190 the example of pilot, don't you know? He says that I have the 289 00:27:00.269 --> 00:27:07.220 authority to release you and crucify you, and Jesus is like man right. 290 00:27:07.660 --> 00:27:15.450 He says, you would have no authority over me at all unless it was 291 00:27:15.569 --> 00:27:22.609 given to you above. Pilot says I am been power, I'm in in 292 00:27:22.769 --> 00:27:33.400 control, and Jesus says not really. Jesus understands that it's God who is 293 00:27:33.519 --> 00:27:37.119 at work, that God is the one who institutes these things, and it 294 00:27:37.319 --> 00:27:42.039 is god to whom, God the father, that he owes his obedience as 295 00:27:42.200 --> 00:27:49.470 the son who is acting obediently for the human race. He is our substitute, 296 00:27:49.589 --> 00:27:53.150 he is our mediator, he is the one who goes before us and 297 00:27:53.309 --> 00:28:00.579 does what Adam and what we fail to do. Jesus is being obedient to 298 00:28:00.740 --> 00:28:04.980 that law, he is being obedient to that mission and he and so he 299 00:28:06.140 --> 00:28:12.009 goes in this way and he goes willingly and he delivers even himself over to 300 00:28:12.130 --> 00:28:18.450 be crucified. And so when you look at the cross, don't only see 301 00:28:18.569 --> 00:28:22.410 the horror of your sins as you think about what an awful thing it is 302 00:28:23.569 --> 00:28:29.960 to celebrate death and destruction and this passing world and judgment and all of these 303 00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:33.640 things at the very moment when God is promising redemption. That is a horror, 304 00:28:33.599 --> 00:28:38.720 but see the redemption to and know that at this moment, as Jesus 305 00:28:38.880 --> 00:28:44.829 is going to be judged for his sins, at this moment, when Jesus 306 00:28:44.829 --> 00:28:48.269 is going to be judged for his sins, that is the moment in which 307 00:28:48.349 --> 00:28:53.470 God is going to pass over your sins. Indeed he did, so that 308 00:28:53.549 --> 00:29:00.539 when the Lord comes again, we are not afraid but hopeful, looking forward 309 00:29:00.539 --> 00:29:04.259 to the resurrection of the dead, the judgment to come, because we have 310 00:29:04.579 --> 00:29:08.460 been saved, because we have been redeemed, because of what Jesus has done 311 00:29:08.460 --> 00:29:15.049 on the Cross. Praise be to God. Let's pray and ask that God 312 00:29:15.089 --> 00:29:19.690 would help us to see the cross as it is given to us, and 313 00:29:19.849 --> 00:29:22.490 that we might live in light of it. Let's pray