Episode Transcript
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We pray this in his name.
On Him. Let's turn in God's Word
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to the gospel of John. I'm
going to be preaching from Chapter Eighteen,
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Verses Twelve through twenty seven, but
I'd like to begin reading today from Chapter
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Eleven. So let's turn their first
John Chapter Eleven, and I'm going to
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read from verses forty five to the
end of the chapter. So I'll give
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you a moment to turn there.
That's John, Chapter Eleven, Verse Forty
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Five. Our kids are looking diligently
for the word of the Lord. Let's
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not hinder them. Thank you children. John Chapter Eleven, Verse Forty Five.
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I'll remind you that this follows Jesus
is raising of Lazarus from the dead.
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Many of the Jews, therefore,
who had come with Mary and had
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seen what he did, believed in
him, but some of them went to
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the Pharisees and told them what Jesus
had done, as if it were a
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bad thing. I don't understand that, but perhaps I do. Verse Forty
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Seven. So the chief priests and
the Pharisees gathered the council and said,
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what are we to do? For
this man performs many signs. If we
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let him go, on like this, everyone will believe in him and the
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Romans will come and take away both
our place and our nation. But one
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of them, Caiaphas, who was
high priest that year, said to them
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you know nothing at all, nor
do you understand that is better for you
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that one man should die for the
people, not that the whole nation should
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perish. He did not say this
of his own accord, but being high
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priest that year, he prophesied that
Jesus would die for the nation, and
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not for the nation only, but
also to gather into one the children of
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God who are scattered abroad. So
from that day on they made plans to
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put him to death. Jesus therefore
no longer walked openly among the Jews,
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but went from there to the region
near the wilderness, to a town called
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Ephraim, and there he stayed with
the disciples. Now the passer of the
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Jews was at hand, and many
went up from the country to Jerusalem before
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the past over to purify themselves.
They were looking for Jesus and saying to
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one another as they stood in the
temple, what do you think? That
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he will not come to the feast
at all. Now the chief priests and
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the Pharisees had given orders that if
anyone knew where he was, he should
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let them know so that they might
arrest him. Now, turning to chapter
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eighteen, we see that plan come
to fruition, this plan to arrest Jesus
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and put him to death, comes
to fruition, and it comes because someone
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obeys their orders. Someone knows where
Jesus is and he comes and he tells
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them so that they can arrest him. And that someone, it turns out,
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is Judas. Judas betrays his Lord. He is arrested and now we
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continue with the trial as he faces
those very men who plotted this plot back
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in Chapter Eleven, John, Chapter
Eighteen, verse twelve. So the band
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of soldiers and their captain and the
officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound
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him. First they led him to
honest, for he was the father in
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law of Caiaphas, who was high
priest that year. It was caiaphest who
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had advised the Jews that it would
be expedient that one man should die for
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the people. Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple, since
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that disciple was known to the high
priest he entered with Jesus into the courtyard
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of the high priest, but Peter
stood outside at the door. So the
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other disciple, who was known to
the high priest, went out and spoke
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to the servant girl who kept watch
at the door and brought Peter in.
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The Servant girl at the door said
to Peter, you also are not one
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of this man's disciples, are you? He said, I am not.
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Now the servants and officers had made
a charcoal fire because it was cold,
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and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter was also with them, standing
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and warming himself. The high priest
then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his
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teaching. Jesus answered him. I
have spoken openly to the world. I
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have always taught in the synagogues and
in the temple where all the Jews come
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together. I have said nothing in
secret. Why do you ask me?
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Ask those who have heard me what
I said to them. They know what
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I said. When he had said
these things, one of the officers standing
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by struck Jesus with his hand,
saying, is this how you answer the
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high priest? Jesus answered him.
If what I said is wrong, bear
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witness about the wrong. But if
what I said is right, why do
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you strike me honest? Then sent
him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest.
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Now Simon Peter was standing warming himself. So they said to him.
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You also are not one of his
disciples, are you? He denied it
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and said I am not one of
the servants of the high priest. A
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relative of the man whose ear Peter
had cut off asked, did I not
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see you in the garden with him? Peter again denied it, and at
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once a rooster crowde well then there
God bless his word to us. So,
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as we go back to chapter eleven, but this plot to kill Jesus,
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we understand something of the reasons of
the psychology behind this moment. There
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are a couple reasons given in God's
word for why all of this is happening.
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What was the problem with Jesus raising
people from the dead, healing people,
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offering forgiveness? Why were these men
so threatened by these actions that they
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were willing to go through this false
trial, to stir up trouble, to
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even bring this eventually before pilot,
and on and on and on. Why
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not just let Jesus do what he
was doing, to teach what he was
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teaching. Well, they say in
Chapter Eleven, this man performs many signs.
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Jesus is enemies never denied that he
was doing these things. They never
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called him a charlatan, a faker, a tricker of people. They said
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he is performing a lot of amazing
signs and this is a problem. What
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do we do? And the reason
they say this is a problem is that
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they give two reasons. If we
let him go on like this, everyone
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will believe in him and the Romans
will come and take away both our place
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and our nation. Now, believing
in Jesus from our perspective is, of
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course, a good thing. It's
an important thing, it's a life giving
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thing. God sent Jesus in the
into this world so that we would believe
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in him, and by believing him, we have life. In his name,
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we have this everlasting kingdom that we've
spoken about. But you know,
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what we don't have is power in
this world. We might lose treasures of
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this world, Jesus tells us we
might even be divided from family members and
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friends, the things of this were
world. Those things will pass away.
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We will inherit what is imperishable and
unfading and unshakable, but we won't have
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forever and ever the things of this
world. Of course, no one does.
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But those who tie themselves to the
things of this world, those who
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make idols out of the things of
this world, they are of course very
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threatened by teaching like this. Those
who see themselves and the powers of this
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world as man's chief end will of
course fight for those things, will die
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for those things, even in the
judgments of God, and that is what
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they are concerned about. They are
concerned to protect their power, to protect
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their place in the position of Rome. It might help to remember that Hon
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us the father in law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year,
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who we hear mentioned in chapter eighteen. He was appointed by the Romans when
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Rome came in and took over Jerusalem. They said, we need am our
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man, we need a man to
control these people, and he put pilot
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in place as a secular authority,
and Rome put honest in place as a
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religious authority. Honest was there as
a representative of God, maybe, but
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really he was there as a representative
of Rome, and that's where honest is.
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Power, is fun, that's where
honest is control and desires were tied
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to and not just him, but
five of his sons were also chief priests,
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and his son in law. This
family, this family of high priests
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of Roman, ruled Roman, controlled
in love with Rome priests. This was
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who wanted to kill Jesus because they
were not first and foremost servants of the
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Most High God, they were servants
of the one who wanted to overthrow the
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most high God. And so they
convene this counsel together. Jesus was a
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very real threat to them, if
people believed in him. They were concerned
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that one day he would establish this
kingdom which would overthrow Rome, and indeed
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it would, but not exactly in
the way that they thought it would.
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Jesus would allow Rome to go on
many, many more years. He would
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allow other governments to rise and and
fall as well. For thousands of years
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this world has has continued on,
not because Jesus is not in control,
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but because Jesus is being gracious to
us, calling us in, calling more
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and more people into this everlasting kingdom. So this is the thought that they're
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under. They are under the threat
of Jesus as the most High God,
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as this one who claims to be
God, and indeed was performing these signs
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and miracles, and so Caiaphas,
maybe trying to impress his fatherin law,
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maybe trying to impress Rome. Either
way, holding true to the idols of
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his heart, he comes up with
a plan kill him. Sure he hasn't
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done anything wrong, sure it's going
to be difficult to pull this off,
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sure the people are in love with
him, but what else are we going
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to do? If we don't kill
him, will lose the whole people,
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will lose the whole nation. Better
that one man would die than all of
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us right now, the amazing providence
of God, the Lord uses these words
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of evil intent, this plot to
kill Jesus, this plot to preserve their
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favored position and power with the people
in and of Rome. He uses this
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evil intention as a prophecy of what
actually would happen, that Jesus would not
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die and and what would happen is
that Jesus would not die to preserve the
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Roman government, into preserve these Jewish
leaders within that government. Jesus would die
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to save the whole world from its
sins, to establish a kingdom that was
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more perfect than Rome or any other
kingdom could ever imagine. And so that
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brings us, then, to chapter
eighteen. Chapter Eighteen, they bring Jesus
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to on us, the father of
this family. They bring him to on
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us and they say what do you
want us to do? How are we
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going to handle this? And we
read how he handles that. In Verses
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Nineteen through twenty four, the high
priest on US questions Jesus about his disciples
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in his teaching. Now remember,
honest does not care about Jesus as disciples
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in his teaching. Honest simply wants
to put Jesus to death. That's why
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he's there, that's why he's arrested. So why all of this stuff about
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his disciples in his teaching? Well, it's the same reason that wicked rulers
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often use. They use a lover
of good, a cover of righteousness to
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hide evil things, and so they, perhaps to quiet their own hearts,
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perhaps to quiet the people, they
put on kind of a show trial,
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but it's, of course falling apart
all over the place. They questioned him
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about his disciples and his teaching in
this kind of fake trial and Jesus answers
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them in accord with the fake trial
that is going on. And he doesn't
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answer them. He says I've spoken
openly to the world I have always taught
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in synagogues and in the temple,
where all the Jews come together. I've
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said nothing in secret. Why do
you ask me this? Ask those who
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have heard me. Jesus is not
going to get into it with them.
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He's not going to get into a
back and forth. Will let me teach
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you again. Let me tell you
again. He knows why this is happening.
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He's not going to he's not worried, he's not going to try and
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change their minds. He is handing
himself over so that God's will would be
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done, so that through the coming
crucifixion and his curse of death on a
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cross, he would say these people
and other people like them. Jesus answers
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them. And when he says these
things, one of the officers standing by
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strikes Jesus with his hand again.
This shows you the true nature of this
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socalled trial. Is this how you
answer the high priest? And Jesus Answers
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Him in righteousness. He says if
what I said was wrong, tell me.
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You asked me a question. I
answered you truthfully. Everything I've said
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has been openly known. Jesus impresses
on them, on their hearts, what
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is really going on their witness about
the wrong boat. If what is said
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is right, why do you strike
me? Of course they don't answer.
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In a very interesting way. What
we see here is that, though Jesus
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is on trial, it's really us, it's really Jerusalem, it's really Peter,
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as we see in a moment.
Jesus has done nothing wrong. Jesus
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has taught all of these things openly. Jesus is only healed forgiven given life
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to people. He's lived his life
and holiness. He lived his life as
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a servant of the Lord, as
a prophet, as a priest, as
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a good king. But the world, the darkness all around him is very
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evil and we see that here.
So honest sends him bound to Caiaphas,
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the high priest, on is his
son in law. Now, surrounding this
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false trial, we have another trial
will going on, the trial of Peter,
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one of Jesus's disciples. It begins
as Peter Follows Jesus. I'm with
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another disciple, who is very,
very likely John, who writes this book,
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and so we hear John, who
is the other disciple mentioned here.
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John and Peter a going in to
follow after Jesus. What's going to happen
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to him. John is able to
get access into this place because he knows
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the high priest. Peter, however, has to stand by the door.
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Seeing this, John Goes. He
goes to the servant girl who keeps watch
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of the door and he has Peter. He has Peter brought in. Nothing
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unusual going on here yet, but
it's at this moment, and John must
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have heard this, the servant girl
at the door says to Peter, you
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also are not one of this man's
disciples, are you? A servant girl
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who asked him this question, and
Peter Says I am not. This is
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very striking difference, isn't it,
compared to moments before in the guard and
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with Peter takes out a sword and
lops off a guy's ear as Jesus was
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being arrested. What's going on?
Certainly this servant girl poses no threat to
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him. If she, well,
just leave it at that. It would
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be very easy to affirm that he
is one of the disciples. He's not
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being asked anything difficult. He's not
being asked to defend Jesus. Why does
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Jesus do these things? What's going
to happen? What's the real plan?
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Just are you one of his disciples? He could have said I am just
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as easily as he said, and
sadly said in a way that would break
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his heart. He said I am
not. The boldness that Peter had in
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a public way, when it was
before the Lord and before the other disciples,
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all of a sudden vanishes in this
sort of doorway scene with this servant
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girl. What does Peter Truly love
at this particular moment, and Peter might
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say this in his own heart,
is what do I truly love? Where
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is my boldness now? It's a
reminder to us that it's not so much
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what we do when people are watching, or, in particular, when the
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Lord is watching, when the Lord
is right there and we feel his presence
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and we know him or his representatives
are there, but it's what's going on
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on our hearts that really matters,
what's going on in the hidden moments,
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what's going on when we're not seen, when it quieter, when there isn't
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an opportunity to make a big,
bold claim for Jesus, but it's simply
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standing strong and a little moment in
a hidden moment, they are often our
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hearts are revealed, and Peter's are
revealed here. He's afraid. He says,
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I am not the Lord's disciple.
And then again is Peter stands there
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warming himself. He's pressed further.
Are you not one of the Lord's disciples?
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And he denies it. Again,
he says I am not, then
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the sort one of the servants of
the high priest, a relative of the
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man who's ear he cut off,
presses him again. Did I not see
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you in the garden? There's so
many observations we might make about the nature
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of sin. One is that as
we get going, it's kind of hard
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to stop. It's a nature of
lies to once we say one we feel
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like we have to give another to
back it up, and then another to
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back it up and another to give
it back and up and where does it
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stop? And the more we lie, the harder it is to stop.
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Peter Finds himself in this situation and
we read that the Rooster Crows. You
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remember why this is important, don't
you? Because in Peter's boldness he proclaimed
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to the Lord, I'll never die
with you, I'll never lie or I'll
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never deny you all. I'll go
to the death for you. And Peter
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is told by his Lord before the
Rooster Crows, you will deny me three
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times even the night. Oh,
I won't, and then he does.
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Oh this is rips up my heart
because I know this is true of me
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too, times when I have promised
the Lord I will serve you, I
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will do this thing, and then
I didn't do it. I feel bad
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for you because I know it's true
of you two. We're all just feeling
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bad for each other and with Peter. We know this is awful stuff,
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there's no way around it. And
there is our Lord pouring out his love
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for the world as the world strikes
him and beats him and accuses him and
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denies him his own friends. This
is a reminder to US loved the the
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in the Lord's death we see our
sin. You can't avoid that, because
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he didn't sin, but he is
there because of our sin. But we
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are also reminded in the of the
in the Lord's death, of his amazing
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love for us. I can imagine
that if I were in Jesus situation,
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there are a lot of moments here
where I would have walked like enough of
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this. This is ridiculous. Maybe
even back in chapter eleven, Jesus does
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go to the countryside, but only
because it was not his time yet to
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go to the cross. And in
between that moment in this moment, we
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have all these amazing teachings that he
gives to his disciples in which he prepares
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them and he prepares us for this
death. They're all kinds of moments where
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he was. You know, I
am teaching these things. You guys don't
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want me here, fine, I'm
out. There's a little world of gentiles
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out there who would love to hear
this, who would clamor to hear this.
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And yet Jesus stays and he stays
and he stays and he stays.
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Jesus, as the Devil himself tells
us US truthfully, could have called down
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a whole host of angels just destroy
it, a whole city, and he
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stays and he stays and he stays. Why not? Because he's weak,
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because he's strong, because he's going
to be the victor, because he loves
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you that much. What we often
forget, beloved, is that we are
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not to judge and be the judge
over God, as the people try to
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do here. We are to receive
the word of the Lord, to come
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under the Lord of the Lord,
to submit ourselves to the Lord. When
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we forget that, we get ourselves
into this kind of trouble. The second
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thing we forget is that man is
often all talk. God does what he
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says. He will do all due
all. I'll serve you until the end
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of my days. I promise to
never sin again. I promise to never
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deny you. We're going to put
him to death. Man is all talk.
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God will do what he will do. No, he is going to
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rise from the dead. No,
P her, you will deny me,
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and then again you will also proclaim
me before the nation's isn't it amazing how
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the Lord will reclaim Peter, how
the Lord will take this this brokenhearted disciple
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and bring him to himself yet again, and then take in this man who
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was once a coward and afraid and
make him one of the most bold proclaimers
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of the Gospel there ever was?
I want to read to you a little
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bit more of the Scriptures now from
acts chapter four, and we'll close with
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this. And as we read this, I want you to reflect on the
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Lord's grace and mercy and the lives
of his disciples and know that that same
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grace and mercy is promised to all
of his disciples what we have an act
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for our Peter and John, these
same two men going before this same group
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of people, honest and Caiaphas and
all the other muckety mucks. So I'm
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going to read a lot here and
I hope this is encouraging to you.
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I'm going to read at the beginning
of chapter four and read through Verse Thirty
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One. And as they were speaking
to the people, the priests and the
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captain of the Temple and the Sadducees
came upon them, greatly annoyed because they
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were teaching the people and proclaiming in
Jesus the resurrection from the dead, and
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they arrested them and they put them
in custody until the next day, for
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it was already evening. But many
of those who had heard the word believed
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and the number of the men came
to about five thousand. On the next
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day, their rulers and elders and
scribes gathered together in Jerusalem with honest,
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the high priest, and Caiaphas and
John and Alexander and all who were of
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the high priestly family. And when
they had set them in there in the
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midst, they inquired by what power
or by what name did you do this?
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Then? Peter, filled with the
Holy Spirit, said to them,
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rulers of the people and elders,
if we are being examined a day concerning
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a good deed done to a crippled
man, by what means this man has
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been healed? Let it be known
to all of you and to all the
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people of Israel that by the name
of Jesus, Christ of Nazareth, whom
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you crucified, whom God raised from
the dead by him, this man is
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standing before you. Well, this
Jesus is the St own that was rejected
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by you, the builders, which
has become the cornerstone. And there is
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salvation in no one else, for
there is no one, under the name
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of Heaven, given among men by
which we must be saved. Now,
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when they saw the boldness of Peter
and John, they perceived that they were
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uneducated common men. They were astonished
and they recognize that they had been with
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Jesus, but seeing the man who
was healed standing beside them, they had
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nothing to say in opposition. But
when they had commanded them to leave the
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council, they conferred with one another, saying what shall we do with these
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men? For that a noble sign
has been performed through them is evident to
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all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and
we cannot deny it. But in order
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that it may spread no further among
the people, let us warned them to
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speak no more to anyone in this
name. So they called them and charge
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them to speak, to not speak
or teach at all in the name of
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Jesus. But Peter and John answered
them. Whether it is right, in
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the sight of God, to listen
to you rather than to God, you
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must judge, for we cannot but
speak of what we have seen and heard.
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And when they had further threatened them, they let them go. They
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got nothing right. Then, when
they had further threatened them, they let
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them go, finding no way to
punish them because of the people, for
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all were praising God for what had
happened, for the man on whom the
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sign of healing was performed was more
than forty years old. When they were
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released, they went to their friends
and reported what the chief priests and elders
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had said to them. And when
they heard it, they lifted up their
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voices together to God and said,
sovereign Lord, who made the Heaven and
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the Earth and the sea and everything
in them who, through the mouth of
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our Father David, your servants said, by the Holy Spirit. Why did
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the gentiles rage and the People's Plot
in vain? The kings of the Earth
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set themselves and the rulers were gathered
together against the Lord and against his anointed.
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For truly, in this city they
were gathered together against Your Holy Servant,
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Jesus, whom you anointed both Herod
and conscious pilot, along with the
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gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
to do whatever your hand and your planned
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had predestined to take place. And
now, Lord, look upon their threats
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and grant to your servants to continue
to speak your word with all boldness,
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while you stretch out your hand to
heal, and signs and wonders are performed
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through the name of Your Holy Servant, in Jesus. And when they had
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prayed, the place in which they
gathered together was shaken and they were all
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filled with the Holy Spirit and continued
to speak the word of God with boldness.
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In that just amazing. And,
as they themselves say, who could
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do this but God alone? Who
could do this except the God who sent
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the Lord, Jesus, Christ,
God of God, very, God of
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very, God, led of light, into this world to shine in the
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darkness, and the darkness will not
overcome it. They may kill, they
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may just threaten, but the Lord
will protect his servants, he will cause
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them to succeed, he will cause
the Gospel to go forth and he will
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even cause them to raise from the
dead. Honest and his household pet proceeded,
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watched over the death of Jesus,
the death of Stephen, probably the
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death of James and perhaps others as
well. But no matter, the Gospel
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will and did go forth. Praise
be to the glory of God. Amen.
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Let's pray our heavenly father. We
do
