Rome on Trial

WEBVTT 1 00:00:19.550 --> 00:00:25.940 These are the events that proceed come. They come just before Jesus's crucifixion. 2 00:00:28.539 --> 00:00:33.340 Then they led Jesus from the House of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It 3 00:00:33.500 --> 00:00:37.929 was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's quarters so that they 4 00:00:37.929 --> 00:00:42.729 would not be defiled but could eat the Passover. So pilot went outside to 5 00:00:42.770 --> 00:00:47.009 them and said, what accusation do you bring against this man? They answered 6 00:00:47.049 --> 00:00:50.840 him. If this man were not doing evil, would we have not delivered? 7 00:00:51.320 --> 00:00:55.359 We would not have delivered him over to you. Pilot said to them, 8 00:00:56.320 --> 00:01:00.240 take him yourselves and judge him by your own law. The Jews said 9 00:01:00.280 --> 00:01:03.560 to him, it is not lawful for us to put any one to death. 10 00:01:03.709 --> 00:01:08.629 This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken, to show by 11 00:01:08.709 --> 00:01:15.069 what kind of death he was going to die. So pilot entered his headquarters 12 00:01:15.109 --> 00:01:18.549 again and called Jesus and said to him, are you the king of the 13 00:01:18.620 --> 00:01:23.219 Jews? Jesus answered, do you say this of your own accord or did 14 00:01:23.299 --> 00:01:30.819 others say it? Say It to you about me? Pilot answered, am 15 00:01:30.859 --> 00:01:34.010 I a Jew? Your own nation and your chief priests had delivered you over 16 00:01:34.090 --> 00:01:40.489 to me. What have you done? Jesus answered, my kingdom is not 17 00:01:40.650 --> 00:01:45.370 of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would 18 00:01:45.370 --> 00:01:49.480 have been fighting that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But 19 00:01:49.799 --> 00:01:53.760 my kingdom is not from the world. Then pilot said to him, so 20 00:01:53.920 --> 00:01:57.799 you are a king, Jesus answered. You say that I am a king. 21 00:01:59.480 --> 00:02:01.750 For this purpose I was born, and for this purpose I have come 22 00:02:01.790 --> 00:02:07.790 into the world to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the 23 00:02:07.870 --> 00:02:12.469 truth listens to my voice. Pilot said to him, what is truth? 24 00:02:13.870 --> 00:02:15.900 After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told 25 00:02:15.979 --> 00:02:20.780 them I find no guilt in him, but you have a custom that I 26 00:02:20.819 --> 00:02:23.620 should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me 27 00:02:23.699 --> 00:02:28.340 to release to you the king of the Jews? They cried out again, 28 00:02:28.819 --> 00:02:35.729 not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber and sends the 29 00:02:35.810 --> 00:02:55.360 reading of God's word. Categories are very important. Knowing which category you're in 30 00:02:55.479 --> 00:02:59.990 when you're dealing with a problem, when you're doing with a question, when 31 00:03:00.030 --> 00:03:05.550 you're thinking through a complicated such situation, is essential to know, I'm how 32 00:03:05.669 --> 00:03:12.509 to think about it. You can't think right or act right if you're treating 33 00:03:12.669 --> 00:03:15.620 something in its improper place, and this is true of the Kingdom of God 34 00:03:16.300 --> 00:03:21.699 as well. If your think about the Kingdom of God as though it were 35 00:03:21.939 --> 00:03:25.139 of this world, if you think about Jesus as the king is though it 36 00:03:25.180 --> 00:03:30.689 were of this world, then you'll ask all the wrong questions and you'll do 37 00:03:30.169 --> 00:03:36.129 all the wrong things, and that's what we see happening here in John Chapter 38 00:03:36.250 --> 00:03:42.680 Eighteen. The people, and pilot him in particular, are not thinking about 39 00:03:42.759 --> 00:03:46.759 Jesus in the right way. Perhaps it because because they don't know, perhaps 40 00:03:46.759 --> 00:03:50.879 it's because they know, they do know and don't want to believe it, 41 00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:55.069 but either way it's wrong and it's leading to all kinds of bad actions, 42 00:03:55.270 --> 00:04:01.110 bad thinking and even the worst thing, but the human race is ever done, 43 00:04:02.030 --> 00:04:08.389 which is crucify the son of God. But I'm here to tell you 44 00:04:08.469 --> 00:04:15.539 today that Jesus said the truth. As Jesus himself says, he came into 45 00:04:15.580 --> 00:04:18.819 this world to bear the truth, to help us to understand who he is 46 00:04:18.980 --> 00:04:25.089 and what he does, that he is a king and that his kingdom is 47 00:04:25.449 --> 00:04:31.490 not of this world, it is not from this world. If this is 48 00:04:31.689 --> 00:04:35.610 so, so important, because what we see is that many, many people 49 00:04:35.649 --> 00:04:41.199 are assuming the opposite, not only here in the passage, but in our 50 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:46.759 world today. They think exactly the opposite, that Jesus is from the world, 51 00:04:46.399 --> 00:04:50.600 and this gets us into all kinds of trouble. Assuming that Jesus, 52 00:04:50.639 --> 00:04:55.430 for example, is from the world and that his kingdom is another kingdom of 53 00:04:55.550 --> 00:04:59.949 this world tends to put people in position where they feel like they can judge 54 00:04:59.990 --> 00:05:04.709 him, and that's what's happening here, first with honest and Caiaphas, and 55 00:05:04.829 --> 00:05:10.139 then before a pilot. These rulers of the world think that they can judge 56 00:05:10.180 --> 00:05:15.220 Jesus because he is, after all, just another leader. But he's not 57 00:05:15.259 --> 00:05:20.649 just another leader. Human beings don't get to judge the one who created the 58 00:05:20.769 --> 00:05:28.250 heavens and the earth. Human beings don't get to stand on even on parallel 59 00:05:28.449 --> 00:05:31.370 with God, much less over God, and decide what is true and what 60 00:05:31.529 --> 00:05:38.160 is not, what is right and what is not. We are under God. 61 00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:43.680 We are like pots that the paw a potter has made. We are 62 00:05:44.040 --> 00:05:50.230 creatures made by a creator. We are mortal beings made by the immortal God. 63 00:05:53.790 --> 00:05:58.550 In every way that we might think about God, he supersedes us and 64 00:05:59.149 --> 00:06:05.420 qualitatively different than us, greater than us, more glorious than us, categorically 65 00:06:05.699 --> 00:06:12.259 different from us, and this is true, of course, of Jesus, 66 00:06:12.379 --> 00:06:18.769 who is himself God, as we confess in our creeds, true God of 67 00:06:18.889 --> 00:06:26.329 True God, Very God of Very God. He is everlasting, to everlasting, 68 00:06:26.410 --> 00:06:31.170 the creator of the world and also the new world that to come, 69 00:06:32.480 --> 00:06:38.160 sovereign over time, sovereign over man, creatures, angels and all the rest, 70 00:06:38.680 --> 00:06:45.399 death itself, life itself. This is Jesus. Jesus exceeds us in 71 00:06:45.480 --> 00:06:49.069 all these ways as a divine being, and he exceeds us in all these 72 00:06:49.230 --> 00:06:57.149 ways as a human not in these ways, but in the in what I 73 00:06:57.230 --> 00:07:01.899 mean to say is that he exceeds us in his humanity as well. Jesus 74 00:07:01.939 --> 00:07:09.699 is perfect, unlike any human who has ever lived. He has obeyed the 75 00:07:09.779 --> 00:07:18.490 law of God perfectly. We talked about people as hypocrites, who who proclaim 76 00:07:18.769 --> 00:07:23.889 one thing and they yet do another. Jesus was never a hypocrite. He 77 00:07:25.250 --> 00:07:30.439 never gave the beatitudes and then went back to is house and thought, boy, 78 00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:35.000 I really should be doing better. That thought never crossed his mind, 79 00:07:35.199 --> 00:07:41.920 because he was always doing things perfectly. And yet he never did this with 80 00:07:42.160 --> 00:07:47.189 pride. He never had in his heart those sinful tendencies and that we so 81 00:07:47.430 --> 00:07:50.910 also often had. Everything that he thought, everything that he did was in 82 00:07:51.389 --> 00:07:58.230 perfect righteousness. What right does pilot have to judge him? What right to 83 00:07:58.350 --> 00:08:01.540 the Jews have to hand him over? Notice that the Jews don't even bring 84 00:08:01.579 --> 00:08:07.060 an accusation. Pilot goes outside and says to them in Verse Twenty Nine, 85 00:08:07.139 --> 00:08:13.889 what accusation do you bring against this man? Where's the accusation? They never 86 00:08:15.009 --> 00:08:20.170 sitting it, they never give it, maybe because there is none to give. 87 00:08:20.170 --> 00:08:24.850 Instead they say this. If this man we're not doing evil, would 88 00:08:24.850 --> 00:08:31.279 we not have delivered him over to you? Classic deflection. Right, what's 89 00:08:31.360 --> 00:08:35.120 his sin? He's here, isn't he right? And we're going to see 90 00:08:35.159 --> 00:08:41.509 more of this kind of political maneuvering throughout this passage. They have no accusation 91 00:08:41.710 --> 00:08:46.070 to bring. He is the one to be on judge. Jesus is not 92 00:08:46.389 --> 00:08:50.710 the one really on trial here and as John is giving us the story, 93 00:08:50.509 --> 00:08:56.100 the history of this trial, we are learning to look at ourselves and our 94 00:08:56.179 --> 00:09:03.259 own action is in light of him in his righteousness. But we miss all 95 00:09:03.340 --> 00:09:07.139 this because we don't believe what he's saying. When he says he's the king 96 00:09:07.179 --> 00:09:11.649 and that his kingdom is not of this world, that he is not of 97 00:09:11.769 --> 00:09:18.970 this world, that he comes from above, from the father. Assuming this, 98 00:09:20.649 --> 00:09:28.320 not believing this, causes us to also ask the wrong questions. Pilot 99 00:09:28.360 --> 00:09:33.399 asked Jesus. What have you done when Jesus and pilot says you so, 100 00:09:33.559 --> 00:09:37.639 you are a king. Jesus says, you say that I'm a king, 101 00:09:37.830 --> 00:09:43.110 which is true and which is Jesus way of both affirming that he is a 102 00:09:43.190 --> 00:09:48.350 king but also causing pilots a question. Maybe you're not thinking about this right, 103 00:09:48.389 --> 00:09:52.539 which, of course he isn't. Pilot is still, even as Jesus 104 00:09:52.580 --> 00:09:58.019 says these things, even as he confesses that he has a kingdom, that 105 00:09:58.139 --> 00:10:05.340 he is a king, pilot is still thinking in terms of this world, 106 00:10:05.419 --> 00:10:16.409 which also means that he fails to understand the answers that Jesus gives. Jesus 107 00:10:16.450 --> 00:10:24.559 says to him. For this purpose I was born, and for this purpose 108 00:10:24.799 --> 00:10:30.080 I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who 109 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:35.950 is of the truth listens to my voice. Pilot says to him. Yes, 110 00:10:35.110 --> 00:10:46.029 my Lord. No, he says. What is truth? The truth 111 00:10:46.429 --> 00:10:52.539 with a capital t is standing right in front of his face and he says. 112 00:10:54.500 --> 00:11:00.460 What is truth now? Did he say this questioningly, hungering for it? 113 00:11:00.899 --> 00:11:03.289 Did he say this in a sarcastic way, in a critical way? 114 00:11:05.289 --> 00:11:09.250 We all wish we knew. I don't know if we can, but it 115 00:11:09.330 --> 00:11:15.570 doesn't seem to be in a believing way, for reasons that we see to 116 00:11:15.690 --> 00:11:22.159 come and he doesn't trust Jesus, he doesn't bow before Jesus, he doesn't 117 00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:26.919 listen to his voice, it would seem. It seems to me, that 118 00:11:26.120 --> 00:11:31.639 pilot is not coming to Jesus. As an aside here, pilot is not 119 00:11:31.759 --> 00:11:35.269 coming to Jesus and Jesus is not coming to pilot as a totally unknown person, 120 00:11:37.590 --> 00:11:41.110 for couple reasons. One, this would be very unlikely given all of 121 00:11:41.269 --> 00:11:46.429 this disturbance, given that this issue has already come to pilot, given all 122 00:11:46.509 --> 00:11:50.820 the miracles and everything's that's been happening. I'm Jesus is very likely not a 123 00:11:52.100 --> 00:11:58.940 brand new figure for pilot that he's being introduced to the first. I'm second 124 00:11:58.980 --> 00:12:05.330 beyond likeliness. Notice in Verse Thirty Three, Pilot Asks Jesus, are you 125 00:12:05.450 --> 00:12:09.409 king of the Jews, without any prompting from the Jews or from Jesus to 126 00:12:09.490 --> 00:12:16.120 ask this question? Why is he asking this question and not did you steal 127 00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:20.120 some bread? Or why are you inciting a riot, or this or that? 128 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:24.039 He he seems to know something about Jesus. He seems to know something 129 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:33.190 about their complaint or what is happening. Knowing these things, knowing something about 130 00:12:33.230 --> 00:12:37.029 Jesus, he does not believe it. He does not turn to Jesus, 131 00:12:37.070 --> 00:12:43.980 he does not hear his voice. Insteady says what is truth. Another thing 132 00:12:45.019 --> 00:12:48.019 that we do, aside from asking the wrong questions, failing to understand the 133 00:12:48.100 --> 00:12:52.779 answers that we are given, more refusing to understand them, judging God when 134 00:12:52.820 --> 00:12:58.059 we are the ones were truly under trial. The last thing I'll mention we 135 00:12:58.139 --> 00:13:03.889 do when we don't believe and understand that Jesus is a king and his kingdom 136 00:13:03.970 --> 00:13:09.850 is not of this world, is that we are threatened by him and we 137 00:13:09.049 --> 00:13:15.720 try to overpower him and fight against him and separate ourselves from them instead of 138 00:13:15.840 --> 00:13:20.399 submitting to him. If Jesus is a king who is of this world, 139 00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:28.870 he is indeed a threat to the spiritual lie of those who are in charge 140 00:13:28.909 --> 00:13:33.950 in Jerusalem. He's a threat to their political life, he's a threat to 141 00:13:35.149 --> 00:13:43.340 pilot and we see that threat being felt in various ways in this passage. 142 00:13:43.659 --> 00:13:50.779 First of all, noticed that the Jews bring Jesus to pilot. Why? 143 00:13:50.899 --> 00:13:56.090 Pilot essentially asked this question himself. He says in Verse Thirty One, Taken 144 00:13:56.169 --> 00:14:01.250 Yourself, judging yourself according to your law. He gives them freedom to do 145 00:14:01.490 --> 00:14:03.889 this and they say it's not lawful for us to put anyone to death. 146 00:14:05.250 --> 00:14:09.529 It's interesting that they didn't say that when it came to the stoning of Stephen 147 00:14:09.570 --> 00:14:13.919 a little bit later. They didn't say they didn't take Stephen to pilot or 148 00:14:15.039 --> 00:14:20.080 others when they had tried to stone Jesus earlier or when they and other apostles 149 00:14:20.159 --> 00:14:28.070 this wasn't a concern. So why are they giving this reason now? Not 150 00:14:28.190 --> 00:14:33.629 a real reason, but the reason verse thirty two gives us the answer. 151 00:14:33.470 --> 00:14:37.740 This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had been shown spoken, had spoken 152 00:14:37.779 --> 00:14:41.620 to show what kind of death he was going to die. Jesus predicted, 153 00:14:41.779 --> 00:14:48.419 the Old Testament predicts, that Jesus would be raised up, cursed and hung 154 00:14:48.500 --> 00:14:52.330 on a tree, that Jesus would be raised up in crucifixion, a tool 155 00:14:52.929 --> 00:15:00.570 used by the Romans to punish people. It was something that Jews were asking, 156 00:15:00.809 --> 00:15:05.570 were pushing pressuring pilot to do? Why? Because they were threatened by 157 00:15:05.610 --> 00:15:13.080 him. They wanted him to have the most cursed, ignoble, embarrassing, 158 00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:18.600 shameful death that could possibly and be inflicted upon him. They wanted him to 159 00:15:18.679 --> 00:15:26.230 be crucified by Rome. They were threatened by him and pilot was as well. 160 00:15:28.269 --> 00:15:35.820 Instead of submitting to him, I'm giving giving him freedom and justice according 161 00:15:35.860 --> 00:15:43.340 to righteousness, according to his job to exercise justice, even though he knows 162 00:15:43.379 --> 00:15:48.860 Jesus is innocent, even though he knows there's nothing to condemn him by. 163 00:15:48.860 --> 00:15:54.490 Does he release Jesus? Does he tell does he put the Jewish people in 164 00:15:54.610 --> 00:15:58.809 their place and say you have no business here, I have no business here, 165 00:15:58.889 --> 00:16:03.320 I release this man and you're all in trouble for ruining my day, 166 00:16:03.320 --> 00:16:11.759 or whatever. Right, pilot had a job to do, to exercised justice. 167 00:16:12.919 --> 00:16:19.789 What does he do? Well, he takes Jesus in because of the 168 00:16:19.950 --> 00:16:23.470 pressure of the crowds, he has this conversation to him and then he goes 169 00:16:23.629 --> 00:16:30.509 outside to the Jews and he says I find no guilt in him. But 170 00:16:30.669 --> 00:16:38.500 then, instead of releasing him and possibly even protecting him, knowing that Jesus, 171 00:16:38.620 --> 00:16:45.259 an innocent man, was in trouble. What does he do? He 172 00:16:45.379 --> 00:16:52.090 does this very shrewd political thing. He says, but you have a custom 173 00:16:52.649 --> 00:16:59.250 that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you 174 00:16:59.370 --> 00:17:03.599 want me to release to you the king of the Jews? All right, 175 00:17:03.640 --> 00:17:08.799 so he puts it in a way that allows him to say, I've tried 176 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:12.880 to release him, I tried to appease these people, I tried to make 177 00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:18.670 everything right, and yet he also incites them by calling him the king of 178 00:17:18.750 --> 00:17:26.109 the Jews. Pilot knows exactly what is going to happen here. He knows 179 00:17:26.150 --> 00:17:33.059 exact he knows why Jesus is there, he knows why they're upset. Pilot 180 00:17:33.460 --> 00:17:37.500 does this shrewd political thing where he is able to, on the one hand, 181 00:17:37.660 --> 00:17:44.769 outwardly wash his hands, to proclaim his innocence in this, to proclaim 182 00:17:44.849 --> 00:17:48.289 that he is being a fair judge, that he's trying to give the people 183 00:17:48.410 --> 00:17:55.210 what they want, that he tried to release Jesus. But then he incites 184 00:17:55.250 --> 00:17:56.690 them and they say we want the king of the Jews. So he's able 185 00:17:56.730 --> 00:18:02.880 to actually give them exactly what they want. Will still maintaining this kind of 186 00:18:03.400 --> 00:18:08.440 what could I do? My hands were tied. Pilot was threatened and because 187 00:18:08.519 --> 00:18:15.789 he believes that Jesus is a either a nobody or a person of this world 188 00:18:15.829 --> 00:18:18.990 and that his kingdom, if he even has a kingdom, is of this 189 00:18:18.269 --> 00:18:22.390 world. He thinks that through this political maneuvering, he thinks that, through 190 00:18:22.670 --> 00:18:27.259 these appeasements to the Jews, he thinks that by this crucifixion, he can 191 00:18:27.339 --> 00:18:30.579 move on to his next day, in the next problem and whatever else is 192 00:18:30.660 --> 00:18:38.140 next on his agenda, he can stay in power without looking bad and all 193 00:18:38.339 --> 00:18:44.690 will be well, be well. And of course, as he knows, 194 00:18:45.569 --> 00:18:51.369 they cry out not this man but Barabbas, a man who was condemned for 195 00:18:51.970 --> 00:18:57.079 robbery. So this is while the world reacts when they see Jesus and they 196 00:18:57.119 --> 00:19:00.359 come into contact with his kingdom that is not of this world. They judge 197 00:19:00.359 --> 00:19:04.240 him, they're threatened by him, they use all kinds of political maneuvering to 198 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:10.190 conquer him and remain in power, remain separated from him, in opposition to 199 00:19:10.230 --> 00:19:14.190 him. But, as we know, as Jesus tells us, none of 200 00:19:14.269 --> 00:19:18.630 this is right. This way of viewing him is totally incorrect and all of 201 00:19:18.750 --> 00:19:22.309 these plans, all of this maneuvering all of this fear and hope in the 202 00:19:22.430 --> 00:19:26.460 things of this world, is going to come crash shining down, even as 203 00:19:26.579 --> 00:19:33.460 he is raised up on the cross, because they didn't believe him when he 204 00:19:33.579 --> 00:19:37.690 says that my kingdom is not of the world, of this world, that 205 00:19:37.809 --> 00:19:44.329 he is not of this world. They get that they if they find themselves 206 00:19:44.450 --> 00:19:49.849 in this unandy, unenviable place of being tied to a world that will be 207 00:19:51.049 --> 00:19:56.599 shaken and judged by God one day and will be dissolved and come crashing down. 208 00:19:59.160 --> 00:20:08.549 You might think to lighten just a moment, you might think of this 209 00:20:08.710 --> 00:20:14.470 story and sort of the problem here, that the moral and intellectual problem here 210 00:20:14.549 --> 00:20:18.910 is is kind of like the story of the Ugly Duckling. You know this 211 00:20:18.029 --> 00:20:23.579 story where the there's these different eggs and they all hat but this one duck 212 00:20:23.740 --> 00:20:29.779 it's just doesn't look right and doesn't swim at the right time and it doesn't 213 00:20:29.779 --> 00:20:33.579 act, doesn't fly at the right time and nothing's happening right and it's ugly. 214 00:20:33.660 --> 00:20:40.250 It's really ugly, and there's various versions of this story, right and 215 00:20:40.569 --> 00:20:45.289 and the thing about the story is that everybody is judging this duck wrong because 216 00:20:45.329 --> 00:20:51.680 it's not a duck, it's a goose. I think in the story a 217 00:20:51.880 --> 00:20:57.039 goose is a are a swan. A Swan there everyone's likes barn. It's 218 00:20:57.079 --> 00:21:03.549 a Swan, a swan's egg that is landed in this nest and in many 219 00:21:03.589 --> 00:21:07.910 ways it looks like an egg. It is a it is an egg. 220 00:21:07.109 --> 00:21:11.150 It's a bird like the other birds, but it's different. And the point, 221 00:21:11.309 --> 00:21:14.750 the point of this analogy, is to say, like that story, 222 00:21:14.789 --> 00:21:18.140 everyone was looking at Jesus and his kingdom in the through the wrong lens. 223 00:21:19.420 --> 00:21:25.140 Jesus telling them you're looking at through the wrong Lens, and that Ugly Duckling 224 00:21:26.180 --> 00:21:30.980 one day, of course, becomes this beautiful creature, powerful and strong. 225 00:21:32.460 --> 00:21:36.210 The Cross is like that. Everyone looks at the Cross and goes, this 226 00:21:36.369 --> 00:21:40.410 is a kingdom that is worthless, this is a king that is worthless. 227 00:21:40.410 --> 00:21:42.450 Look at him, King of the Jews hanging there. Let's put a crown 228 00:21:42.490 --> 00:21:47.160 of thorns around his head, let's watch him bleed, let's flog him, 229 00:21:47.160 --> 00:21:52.039 let's steal his clothes, let's persecute his followers, let's destroy him at every 230 00:21:52.160 --> 00:22:03.470 turn. What an ugly man, stupid kingdom. My Kingdom is not of 231 00:22:03.630 --> 00:22:07.950 this world. My Kingdom is not of this world. I am not of 232 00:22:08.069 --> 00:22:18.980 this world. Jesus is so clear about this here and in other places. 233 00:22:18.299 --> 00:22:22.660 Remember back, way back in John, Chapter six, Verse Fifteen, right 234 00:22:22.660 --> 00:22:27.579 after he feeds the five thousand people bull I'm he gives to them this bread, 235 00:22:29.700 --> 00:22:33.529 bread of heaven. He is great miracle. They people cry out when 236 00:22:33.569 --> 00:22:37.250 they had seen this sign that he had done. Indeed, he is a 237 00:22:37.369 --> 00:22:41.210 prophet who is come into the world. Perceiving this, they were about to 238 00:22:41.410 --> 00:22:49.119 come and take him by force to make him king. They were going to 239 00:22:49.279 --> 00:22:52.920 make him a king. Now, later, they're denying and as a king. 240 00:22:56.079 --> 00:22:59.509 Earlier, when they made him king, we read that Jesus withdrew again 241 00:22:59.589 --> 00:23:03.430 to the mountain by himself. Why? Why didn't Jesus let them make him 242 00:23:03.470 --> 00:23:07.910 a King? He's a king after all, because he's kingdom is not of 243 00:23:07.029 --> 00:23:14.259 this world. He is not going to take power over earthly Jerusalem, Earthly 244 00:23:14.299 --> 00:23:22.339 Rome, earthly America, earthly anywhere. His Kingdom is not of this world. 245 00:23:23.420 --> 00:23:26.490 We have a vision of this in the Old Testament, in the book 246 00:23:26.529 --> 00:23:32.650 of Daniel Nebuchadnezzar, this kingy as, this dream about this great statue made 247 00:23:32.730 --> 00:23:36.250 of these various metals and the end of this prophecy, the end of this 248 00:23:36.329 --> 00:23:41.480 dream that the Lord Servant Daniel Interprets. He has sees this stone not made 249 00:23:41.640 --> 00:23:47.720 with human hands, a different kind of stone, a different kingdom, coming 250 00:23:48.039 --> 00:23:56.470 and smashing the whole thing two bits. Or listen to these words in revelation 251 00:23:56.589 --> 00:24:07.390 chapter twenty one. I'll turn there revelation twenty one, versus one through four. 252 00:24:11.259 --> 00:24:17.299 The Apostle John, receiving a vision from the Lord's writes this. Then 253 00:24:17.380 --> 00:24:22.259 I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and 254 00:24:22.420 --> 00:24:26.809 the Earth, first earth, had passed away and the sea was no more. 255 00:24:26.329 --> 00:24:33.369 And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of 256 00:24:33.569 --> 00:24:38.200 heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I 257 00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:44.119 heard a loud voice from the thrones saying, behold, the dwelling place of 258 00:24:44.279 --> 00:24:48.000 God is with man. He will dwell with them and they will be his 259 00:24:48.200 --> 00:24:52.519 people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will 260 00:24:52.559 --> 00:24:57.150 wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more. Neither 261 00:24:57.269 --> 00:25:02.950 shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former 262 00:25:03.150 --> 00:25:10.539 things have passed away. The New Heavens and the new earth, the heavenly 263 00:25:10.779 --> 00:25:18.220 city coming down. Hebrews describes the this world and this age is being shaken 264 00:25:18.339 --> 00:25:23.210 in the judgment of God on the last day, shaken so that it would 265 00:25:23.210 --> 00:25:29.089 all kind of crumble away, so that the things that would remain, that 266 00:25:29.210 --> 00:25:37.920 are unshakable, s rock solid, everlasting, would remain forever. Jesus talks 267 00:25:37.960 --> 00:25:41.799 about the dissolving of the heavens and of the sun and the earth and all 268 00:25:41.799 --> 00:25:47.039 of these things. Anyway, the point is this. Jesus is kingdom, 269 00:25:47.279 --> 00:25:52.750 is not of this world. He is bringing into the world a new heavens 270 00:25:52.910 --> 00:25:56.750 and a new earth. His righteousness is not like the righteousness of man, 271 00:25:56.950 --> 00:26:03.230 his miracles are not like the work of Man, and his kingdom will be 272 00:26:03.269 --> 00:26:10.339 established not like any other kingdom. Jesus is kingdom, being not of this 273 00:26:10.500 --> 00:26:15.940 world, is not going to be established according to by a coup or by 274 00:26:17.019 --> 00:26:19.930 a tip for TAT, remembering of sins, and you did this and so 275 00:26:21.049 --> 00:26:25.970 we're going to do that, and all of these kinds of things. Jesus 276 00:26:26.009 --> 00:26:33.759 is kingdom, remarkable kingdom, an unearthly kingdom, will be established by the 277 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:44.599 cross, by suffering, by death. Why? Because Jesus was going to 278 00:26:44.720 --> 00:26:48.829 establish a kingdom that would last forever. In order for there to be no 279 00:26:49.150 --> 00:26:53.309 more death, Jesus needed to establish a kingdom in which death was defeated. 280 00:26:53.390 --> 00:26:57.470 And in order for death to be defeated, the curse need to be defeated, 281 00:26:59.069 --> 00:27:02.940 the curse for our sins. And ordered for the curse to be defeated, 282 00:27:03.140 --> 00:27:07.420 our sins needed to be forgiven. Our sins needed to be atoned for. 283 00:27:10.500 --> 00:27:14.539 So, in order that God and man may dwell together, Jesus went 284 00:27:14.700 --> 00:27:22.369 on a cross, endured these things willingly, suffered them to atone for our 285 00:27:22.490 --> 00:27:30.400 sins, to remove that guilt, to cleanse US forever. And in doing 286 00:27:30.559 --> 00:27:34.759 this, and in opening our eyes to see him as our king, to 287 00:27:36.200 --> 00:27:41.200 see that his kingdom is different, he establishes us in something that we don't 288 00:27:41.240 --> 00:27:47.990 have to struggle to keep. We don't have to fight, as he says, 289 00:27:48.390 --> 00:27:55.069 to establish we just receive it. We just receive his grace, everlasting 290 00:27:55.230 --> 00:28:00.579 grace, perfect grace, happiness. Remember those words from John are a revelation 291 00:28:00.700 --> 00:28:03.299 twenty one. No more crying, no more mourning, no more death. 292 00:28:07.779 --> 00:28:15.210 When we miss that, we become mobs of people rioting against God, going 293 00:28:15.329 --> 00:28:19.049 our own way, doing our own thing, trying to establish our own kingdoms. 294 00:28:21.569 --> 00:28:27.119 But when we accept the truth, when we accept his suffering and his 295 00:28:27.319 --> 00:28:32.440 death for us, we receive a kingdom that is not of this world, 296 00:28:33.319 --> 00:28:37.160 a Kingdom of truth, a kingdom of hope, a kingdom of love and 297 00:28:37.279 --> 00:28:47.069 of grace. Don't choose Barabbus over Jesus, don't choose foolishness over wisdom, 298 00:28:48.069 --> 00:28:55.779 don't choose this world over the next. Instead, here the truth that is 299 00:28:55.859 --> 00:29:00.180 being spoken to you. Bow before the king who is giving himself to you. 300 00:29:02.140 --> 00:29:08.539 Let your sins be covered by his righteousness, be cleansed by his atonement, 301 00:29:08.619 --> 00:29:15.289 and as you receive that, brothers and sisters, rest in it. 302 00:29:15.690 --> 00:29:22.369 Rest in it. This world is a hard place. It's rough and full 303 00:29:22.490 --> 00:29:29.519 of vanity and turmoil and wickedness, but it's not going to last forever, 304 00:29:30.039 --> 00:29:36.599 because Jesus is established a kingdom that is not of this world. You can 305 00:29:36.640 --> 00:29:41.190 have peace in that and you can even live in this world that he has 306 00:29:41.390 --> 00:29:45.549 called you to live in in light of the next, knowing that he is 307 00:29:45.670 --> 00:29:52.150 your king and he loves you and he's forgiven you. Let's pray