In today’s sermon Pastor Babij examines Jesus’ trial and explains how Jesus was in complete control of the proceedings and outcome, despite the inherent illegality of the way in which the high priest and Sanhedrin prosecuted Jesus. Pastor Babij further reminds that, when Jesus returns, Jesus will be to each person either a ferocious Judge or a gentle Savior; only those who trust and believe the gospel will have Jesus as Savior.
Auto Transcript
Note: This rough transcript was automatically generated by YouTube’s AI algorithm. We provide it here for your convenience, but know it will surely contain errors as it has not been proofread or edited by a human.
hey let’s take our Bibles this morning and turn to um Mark chapter 14 continue to look through this great gospel a couple announcements I do have um our missionaries to the Philippines were supposed to be here uh at the the last Sunday of this month on the 26th but because of their schedule they will be here actually next Sunday so that’s Chad and Cara Dexter and they’ll be here next Sunday so just prepared for that praying for them and we always want to give them a love offering when they come so um be ready to do that and then also because uh of this impending snowstorm that we may have this week the membership class that is supposed to start this Tuesday uh if it doesn’t snow we will meet at 6:30 uh here at the church um but if it snows of course um it’ll be canceled and we will be meeting in the back uh excuse me next Sunday in the for Sunday school all right for those who signed up for membership class all right I think that’s all the announcements I have let’s take our Bibles again turn to Mark chapter 14 as we continue to look uh through this gospel and we are now learning about our Lord and what he what he did so we can be saved and so we can hear the gospel uh so he can defeat his enemies and uh Reign Victorious and really Mark is uh giving us this uh sense that uh we what we’re looking at this morning is the trial of the son of man by his enemies and we we’re going to see this morning a really a series of flagrant injustices uh in our text today that the Lord endured uh in behalf of his children well let me pray before I look at that let’s pray Lord this morning we are grateful for your kindness to us we’re grateful Lord that we are able to meet together today um and to be able to listen to your word listen to the word of the king of kings and I pray Lord that we would be attentive uh to your word and be ready to receive it be ready to think through it and then Lord be ready to see where uh you are are moving and changing us molding and shaping us Transforming Our Minds Lord so we be children of God that are uh faithful to be servants in your uh church and to give you praise and glory for all the things that you have and will do in our lives I pray that you would make us those kind of people and I pray that you would do it by taking the word of God to transform us with it and I pray it in Christ’s name amen amen so Mark 14 starting with verse 53 I was going to go to the end of the chapter but I I think I’m going to end up in verse 65 this morning and remember this is uh the section of scripture that’s talking about the self-sacrifice of the servant Jesus Christ and we have already witnessed jesus’ deep Agony in the garden of gethy in which Jesus prayed to his father and each time he prayed he prayed the same thing thing and that prayer was father all things are possible for you remove this cup from me yet not what I will but what you will so we also uh witnessed the hellbent crowd comprised of soldiers and uh loaned to the temple uh so the temple uh guards by the Romans and then we had the Temple Police and a bunch of henchmen and underlings and rabble rousers that were uh going along to arrest Jesus uh finally and of course those people were packed with swords and clubs to arrest the Lord now this is of course something the Jewish leadership wanted to do to Jesus for a long time in verse number 46 it says they wanted to lay hands on him and seiz him but of course by Divine protection they were unable to also the leadership did not seize Jesus because they were afraid of the multitude uh especially the multitude remember that came to Jerusalem remember there’s millions of people in Jerusalem for the high holy days so and they believe me they’re coming to see Jesus they’re coming to find out about this man and most of them coming have a favorable view of Jesus all right and but the of course the Jewish leadership does not have a favorite view of Jesus and so they’re afraid on on of the crowds and so Jesus arrest would have to be done in an out ofthe way place under the cover of Darkness While most of the multitude in Jerusalem were asleep and that’s exactly what happened so then Jesus really was arrested he was led away under guard and he was led away to be Tried by the Jew Jewish leadership now what day is it in the passion week well it is early Friday morning long before Dawn possibly between 2: and 4: a.m. in the morning it’s very early most of the worshippers are asleep and and so today we’re going to learn really specifically about one thing and I call it the criminal trial of Jesus now this trial really takes place in three stages well I what actually the the trial has three stages but in those three stages are six mini trials and so Mark the gospel of Mark picks up on the second stage all right the first stage would be Jesus is examined by Annis uh the former high priest actually the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was now the high priest in Jerusalem and of course Annis uh questioned Jesus about two specific things about his disciples and about his teaching uh Jesus answered him on those issues and then stage two uh is where Mark picks it up and what we have in stage two we have a hasty informal trial before caiaphus the high priest and the Sanhedrin all right remember the Sanhedrin was the 71 men from the uh the chief priests the scribes and of course the Elders of Israel in other words all of them were there nobody was going to miss this event they were all there and they were there for one specific reason what’s going to happen with Jesus all right and so we’re going to find out that Jesus is condemned he’s mocked and he is beaten and then there there’s a third stage that and that’s going to be after Dawn all right sun has come up it’s now morning and then Jesus is going to be formally condemned by the uh not only the Sanhedrin but by the Roman court all right so today we’re going to learn about the really the flagrant injustices Jesus endured for you and for me who are believers so the first thing we see is that Jesus has a a hasty Tri before the high priest and the Sanhedrin and we’re going to see that all the Jewish leadership is there notice in verse 53 it says they LED Jesus away to the high priest and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes gathered together that means the whole religious Council were present in full force and they were ready for action now while this is happening Peter is following the crowd at a distance now if you notice verse 54 it says Peter had followed him him at a distance right into the courtyard of the high priest and he was sitting with the officers and warming himself at the fire now I’m not going to talk about Peter this morning I’m going to talk about him next time uh the the last Sunday of this month all right so I’m going to leave him alone for now and I think Peter has been uh kind of viewed in a very very negative light in the last uh several uh passages we looked at but so I’m going to leave him to rest a little bit we’re going to pick him up next time and see how he’s doing then all right so this morning also the chief priests and the council were trying to gather Witnesses uh to come against Jesus now I want you to think about that for a moment because uh isn’t it that wouldn’t they need charges against Jesus to arrest him they would wouldn’t they and if you have charges then you would need Witnesses well if you haven’t figured out yet uh this whole judicious session is illegal they were seeking testimony from anyone no matter the truthfulness of their claims the purpose of this mock trial was to gather evidence against Jesus for what reason if you notice in verse number 55 this is the reason for it now the chief priest in the whole Council they kept trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put him to death and they were not finding any now what is very very interesting is that and by the way the San Adan had no power to inflict the death penalty instead it was their function not to condemn but to prepare charges on which the criminal could be tried before the Roman Governor all right so they had no power to put anybody to death they had no power to condemn anybody in fact there was a list of restrictions that the Sanhedrin had put on themselves so they would not be involved in injustices in the court system in fact here are some of them these legal restrictions of these 71 men were as follows the official meeting place of the Sanhedrin was to be within the temple precincts and only decisions made in the official meeting place within Jerusalem could be an official verdict right well they’re meeting at the home of the high priest wrong place also the court could not meet at night nor could it meet during any of the great feasts well they’re meeting at night early in the morning right when everybody’s asleep and they’re they’re meeting to one of the biggest feasts that Israel has and so that’s another thing that you see the injustices also when evidence was Tak taken Witnesses were examined separately and their evidence to be valid had to G agree in every single detail so every witnesses that came they would be examined individually and everything they said had to be cabor with the other witness and they had to be exact or they were thrown out as false Witnesses right and then each individual member of the Sanhedrin must give his verdict separately in other words he had a private vote right he didn’t talk about the the other Sanhedrin they didn’t try to influ each other one man cannot persuade another to decide the verdict all right so now all the votes came in the 71 votes came in all right and so then you determine whether this person is guilty right whatever the percentage is over the highest percentage it would mean that the person would be guilty now if the verdict was the verdict of death a night must elapse before it could be carried out and why did they do that so that the court might have a chance to change its mind and decide towards Mercy all right so they had to leave a whole day before they actually made a decision and then if a question is asked to the defendant it could not be a question in which the person on trial could be could incriminate themselves in other words no person could be asked a direct question in order to get that person to condemn themselves they weren’t allowed to do that right so if you notice in verse 55 of chapter 14 it says now the chief priest and the whole Council kept trying to obtain testimony against Jesus in order to put him to death so that means Jesus was arrested there’s no crime against him there is no Witnesses all the witnesses prove to be a deadend street verse end the verse number 55 for many were giving false testimonies right end of verse number 55 it says and they were not finding any they’re not find finding any reliable Witnesses and then in verse number 56 it says some stood up and began to give false testimony against him saying we heard him say I will destroy this Temple made with hands and in three days I will build another made with hands and then notice in verse 50 that was verse 58 excuse me no that was verse 57 verse 58 says and we heard him say I will destroy this Temple made with hands and in 3 days I will build another made without hands and look at verse number 59 not even in this respect was their testimony consistent so it looks like these Witnesses were either In Cahoots with the Jewish leadership or they were promised to be paid like they promised to PID Judas so nothing’s coming of this and then finally we see that the council had these two witnesses that gave testimony to the same thing that’s what they were looking for so these stood up and notice in verse number 57 some stood up and began to give false testimony against him and what did they say that about the temple being destroyed and then being uh built in three days now once again it proved to be false because Jesus did not actually say what these Witnesses were claiming it says in verse 59 not even in this respect was their testimony consistent Jesus actually said in John chap 2: 19 destroy this Temple and in 3 days I will raise it up again he wasn’t saying he was going to destroy it he was going to say someone else was going to destroy it and then in verse 21 of John chap to but he was speaking of the Temple of his body all right so they totally missed what was going on and the crowd Miss was Miss what was going on but but remember here this is this is really uh lies and false reports being hurled at Jesus in a huge way and but but remember Brethren that lies and false reports are among Satan’s choicest weapons against against his children against God’s kids the enemy loves to harass those who Faithfully serve Christ by making serving Jesus uncomfortable and especially uncomfortable in relationships especially relationships that at one time or another you may have to have uh you contact with like the leadership of a Nation right or the religious leadership and especially in this case so can’t forget what it says in in Matthew 5 blessed are you when men cast insults at you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely on account of me that’s still going to happen that’s still happening today Christians are often accused of things without proof without evidence without facts and nobody’s questioning them because a lot of people are on the same same page of that person coming against you that’s going to be a normal all right don’t think it’s strange when that happens when somebody maligns you for being a Believer for some somebody twists your words and and and makes them say what you never said that’s going to happen matter of fact it’s going to happen more than once and it’s going to happen throughout your Christian Life it never you never can really Escape that all right but remember if you’re persecuted for a righteous life for your testimony for Christ remember if you’re doing it on account of the Lord Jesus Christ count it a joy count as something that he suffered these things why would we think that we’re going to be bypassed by those things we’re not we’re going to we’re going to follow in the same steps that Jesus uh not to the same extent of course but don’t think it’s strange when those things happen so the trial at this point should have been over there’s nothing there’s no proof there’s no indictment there’s no reliable and proper testimony or Witnesses and it’s clear that the arrest of Jesus was illegal and the trial of Jesus was unjust it was a sham it was a sherat that’s what was going on here see the trial was illegal by every standard of Jewish Jewish prudence and and thus Jesus remained silent as accusations were hurled against him and yet even with this determination the Sanhedrin ists were unable to construct the case against Jesus even the much used charge that Jesus had threatened to destroy the temple was insufficient it turns out to be insufficient so of course at this point if you if you remember Mark is writing it away to try to put you there to to feel what’s going on to feel the tension that is is really accumulating in this particular event the high priest wasn’t satisfied and actually was frustrated completely and leaps up because the Witnesses were not leading in the council uh to the council’s desired results and what was the desired result to put Jesus to death right they needed that evidence they were weren’t getting any of that evidence so what does he do notice in verse number 60 all right this is what he does now Caiaphas remember is the high priest at the time tries a different approach but it is still an illegal approach against their protocol Caiaphas used the indirect approach using somewhat of of a scare tactic and no notice what it says in verse 60 it says the high priest stood up and came forward and question Jesus saying do you not answer what is it that these men are testifying against you see these two witnesses he’s in other words saying have incriminating testimony against you and you’re not answering well you know destruction of a worship place was a capital offense but the scriptures require agreement from at least two witnesses for a conviction as far as this tribunal was concerned Jesus was guilty until proven in innocent all right that’s isn’t that opposite you’re supposed to be innocent till proven guilty well he’s guilty until proven innocent see he was not according to the council he was not going to be found innocent they were going to find something on them but it was not going to come from any of the witness because if if you waited long enough and the reason why this was being done at night if they waited long enough you know how many witnesses reliable Witnesses would have stood up and gave testimony to how great Jesus was how many miracles he performed the good things that he did cast out demons healed people restored sight to the blind see they didn’t want people to give those kind of testimonies because that would all prove what Isaiah said about what the Messiah would do when he came right nobody was ever healed of blindness ever until Jesus so and the reason why that would never happen is because Jesus is the one who’s going to do it to prove who he is so see the high priest is frustrated have have doesn’t have any good evidence doesn’t have any good Witnesses and he says to Jesus do you have an answer to the charges of these false Witnesses and look at verse 61 but he kept silent and did not answer now why did he do that well he did it to fulfill prophecy Isaiah 53 verse number seven says yet he did not open his mouth like a lamb that is led to the slaughter and like a sheep that is silent before it shearers so he did not open his mouth so Jesus is actually fulfilling prophecy but you see something else in the background another indicator that God is Sovereign and in control of all the details of this proceeding all right everything being checked off as to what the prophet said exactly the way the prophet said it and so Jesus is in control he is not out of control God is in control of these events even though it looks like everything is going south Caiaphas the high priest is determined to get to the real question in the matter and that is this that Jesus claims to be the Son of God that is what he wants to ask he’s dying to ask that question the only problem is well protocol says you can’t ask that question why because it’s it’s a direct incriminating question right but of course we already know that protocol is already out the window so let’s break another one of the the and violate another protocol and so he asks a direct incriminating question put your eyes on verse 61 again it says the middle of the verse uh again the high priest was questioning him and saying to him are you the Christ Messiah the Son of the blessed one that’s a direct question right now the high priest in other words puts Jesus on the witness stand and asks if he is the Messiah the blessed one now so far there is no reliable witnesses to the truth but what is quite amazing about this particular text is that there is one faithful reliable witness who is who who is it you say about you ask that well let’s let’s look let’s look uh let scripture answer that but before we look at that well let’s look what it says at verse number 62 this is probably this is an incredible and Jesus said this how he answers him I am and you shall see the son of man sitting on the right hand of power and coming with the Clouds Of Heaven now of course he gave them way more than they were asking for but he just answered I am you know what that signified I am took him right back to the Old Testament when Moses went before pharaoh and says when I go before pharaoh who shall I tell them sent me and tell and God says to Moses tell them I am sent you I am the god I am the bread of life I am the door I am the way right he’s saying that’s that’s a signification of deity he is saying to him I’m God all right I’m God and not only that but you shall see me again not in this context and you shall see it says the son of man he uses that term again son of man I’m going to explain it again in a minute sitting at the right hand of God of of the right hand of power that means that Jesus is saying to them not only am I going to be standing here but I am going to be sitting once I’m done here at the right hand of the side of the father and I’m going to be making intercession for the Saints and then he says I’m coming in the Clouds Of Heaven I’m coming again he just gave him the whole Plan of Redemption in this one particular sentence so you know the son of man it was Jesus alone who gave himself this title and remember that Jesus avoided using the term Messiah in reference to himself instead he spoke of himself as the son of man of his coming suffering and death and the term son of man had a half concealed and a half revealed it kind of half concealed and half revealed the identity of Jesus of the of as the Messiah now because Jesus has been ministering in the context of really substantial misunderstanding and the constant conflicting Messianic expectations of the people and of the leadership he avoids that particular title at all costs well he doesn’t avoid it here in fact fact the whole Messianic secret is over they got it in other words from the mouth they needed to get it from in fact before I go any further there’s three thoughts that converge when Jesus uses the title son of man the first is this it it lifts Jesus out from among all men as being one who Bears the human nature like no other man bears it see the true man but more than a man God yes Jesus is also the son of the Living God because it became evident when he ex exhibited his authority over demons over nature over disease over paralysis and of course the the crowning one when Jesus publicly forgave sin what did they wanted to do with him then when he publicly forgave sin they wanted to put him him to death so yes the son of man it says in Mark 2:10 has the authority on Earth to forgive sin well the only one who has the authority to forgive sin is God so he already he told them there by his actions not his words that he was God secondly this term son of man connects Jesus to humanity as a suffering servant in his mission and that’s what really Mark takes on in the the gospel of Mark uh for it says for the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and give his life a ransom for many but this third one is the one that he really hits in verse 62 John of Mark chapter 14 and it’s this Messianic title connected with the greatness of God the power of God and the exaltation of of God and Christ Beyond men Daniel description of the son of man rules All Peoples and Nations the phase son of man is used eschatologically in connection with the consummation of all things at the end in fact if you like the term there Daniel 7 verse 13 and 14 uh the prophet actually sees there as you’re turning there a vision all right that there will be a fifth powerful Kingdom succeeding the fourth great powerful Kingdom in the world so Daniel sees in his vision one like the son of man and this power is said to be the kingdom of the Saints of the most high that smash es all the other kingdoms and takes over at the as the last Kingdom of this world ruled by Jesus the Messiah notice in verse 14 of Daniel 7 if you’re there I kept looking in the night visions and behold with the Clouds Of Heaven one like the son of man was coming and he came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him Ancient of Days being the father and it says in verse 14 and to him was given Dominion glory and a kingdom that all the peoples Nations and Men of every language might serve him his Dominion is an everlasting Dominion which will not pass away his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed in other words Jesus the son of man comes from the Throne of God In The Clouds Of Heaven ultimately to judge the world to judge humankind it’s a claim to deity and of course mark back to the gospel of Mark if you notice in chapter 8 I’ve mentioned these passages already before but again it brings this passage into a greater light when you see that he has been saying this all along these things are not new to his disciples all right in John Mark 8:38 it says for whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation the son of man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his father with his Holy Angels Jesus all along been telling his disciples listen I’m going to the Cross I’m going to suffer but I’m going to be exalted I’m going to rise from the dead and I’m coming back again and I’m coming back the next time as a judge also in Mark chapter 13 notice Mark 13 again verse 26 and 27 the same kind of thing is being said in verse 26 of Mark 13 it says then they will see the son of man coming in the clouds in clouds with great power and glory and then he will send forth his angels and will gather together his elect from the Four Winds from the farthest end of the Earth to the farthest end of heaven and then of course without turning there it picks up at the end of Revelation or in the middle of Revelation it says something like this and I looked and behold a white cloud and sitting on the cloud was one like the son of man having a Golden Crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand what what is that the crown represents Jesus as the king the one who rules over everything and a sharp sickle in his hand has to do with the Judgment that comes when the Messiah comes again he comes Victorious but he comes as one who’s conquered sin and death and Satan and has won the right to act as a judge so this title the the son of man links Jesus to the God man and to the entire process of redemption and the consummation which will come in the final judgment Now by referring to Daniel chapter 7 Jesus is deliberately forcing all those who are listening he’s forcing us to see the Paradox and there is a a huge Paradox here and the Paradox that we find here and it’s a it’s an it’s an enormous turnaround he is to judge over the entire world yet the Sanhedrin is judging him right now in other words Jesus is saying today I stand before you but there is coming a day when you will stand before me as the judge of all humanity and that will be a sad day for not only the Jewish leadership who disbel Jesus but for all who do not believe because the enemies of Jesus Christ are all those who do not believe who he is and what he came to do as Lord and Savior it doesn’t matter how nice people are in their refusal to believe Jesus it doesn’t mean doesn’t matter how moral people are on how they live their life how religious they may present themselves in this world what matters is do you believe in Jesus Christ Alone to save you from Eternal damnation and from future judgment if you don’t believe that you are Jesus Christ’s enemies and he will become your judge see that is what’s going on in this passage of scripture of course someday in the future the tables will be turned on you when of course powerfully Jesus Will demonstrate the truth that he just claimed In this passage when in infinite power they will see him with experimental perception big word huh it just means that they’re going to experience them standing before him in reality this is not something that is a dream this is not something that’s fuzzy this is something that is real that Jesus will be a real judge and come into this world and real people will stand in front of him and he will judge them and they will have no chance to have a lawyer they will have no chance there’s no second chance when he comes back for those who disbelieved him you will see Jesus in his human nature joined with his divine nature and he will act with divine power and authority and not in humiliation and lonliness but in Divine Glory that’s how he’s coming so you will one day be conscious he is saying to the Jewish leadership one day you’ll be conscious of whom you are about to condemn to death you’ll know who I am in my full glory and you won’t be able to do anything about it then this is your chance to come and believe now soon as Jesus says this soon as Jesus says I am am and you shall see the son of man sitting at the right hand of power and coming with the Clouds Of Heaven soon as he says that the situation turned from bad to shameful a shameful display of Dishonor and satanic fun that’s what happens in other words Jesus Is Right on the spot condemned by the high priest look what it says in verse 63 it says tearing his clothes the high priest said what further need do we have of witnesses and then he says in verse 6 4 you have heard the blasphemy let me just stop there see this high priest when he received Jesus statement with his blind eyes and his deaf ears and his dead heart gave this theatrical response and what was that he tears his high Priestly garments all right that means he was Furious he was overcome with grief and rage for what reason not that Jesus told the truth but he finally had the evidence in other words this is Kai gotcha moment right I got you what did he get him for he got him for the penalty of blasphemy right he’s here’s a man who’s claiming to be God that’s all they saw him of it as a man and so remember what what’s the verdict of blasphemy in the Old Testament well if you you remember what it says in Leviticus it says moreover the one who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death and all the congregation shall solemnly Stone him the alien as well as the native when he blasphemes the name shall be put to death the only problem is that Jesus didn’t blashe anybody all right Jesus did not do that actually he blessed the name of God by telling the truth about exactly who he was amen hallelujah so as far as caiaphus is concerned the case is settled he bypasses legal procedure again he doesn’t ask for a vote from the other 71 he does have he has no Witnesses the only Witnesses he has is the is Jesus himself who is the reliable witness the only reliable witness so he moves and influences the whole C to do one thing to do what he came there to do to condemn Jesus notice what it says in verse 64 you have heard the blasphemy how does it seem to you question to the council and they all condemned him to be deserving of death that’s it arrested on false charges no charges no Witnesses puts him on the stand to incriminate himself and he said that’s enough Witnesses listen no waiting for a second session or a day no tabulating the votes for quiddle or guilty charges are found without Jewish legal foundations so as soon as the whole Council which is now I calling it a kangaro kangaroo court right that’s what’s going on here it’s says they all condemned him to be deserving of death and you know once the leadership makes this decision what do you think happens in in the crowd the crowd you know what happens now exactly what the crowd came for some of the crowd just came wondering but part of the crowd the henchmen the underlings the Rabel rousers you know what they came for a riot all right I want a rumble that’s what I want and so what happens notice what it happens because that’s exactly what takes place uh a riot breaks out and all the restraints upon the wicked human heart break out against Jesus and this is really just the kind of atmosphere enjoyed by henchmen underlings and rabble rousers and what happens notice in verse number 65 it says some began to spin at him and to blindfold him and to beat him with their fist and say to him prophesy and the officers received him with slaps in the face so what do they do they insult Jesus by spitting on him isn’t that even an insult today I mean I think I don’t know if there’s a higher insult somebody can give you if they spit in your face is there I don’t think so I think I I think that’s like the height of disrespect the height of disbelief the height of the the um just the depravity of the human heart and then what they do is they they threw a cloth over his head and started slapping his faith and yelling prophesy tell us what tell us which one hit you just mocking even the Temple Police join in with greater force and savagely strike Jesus with their fists notice what it says in verse um what verse oh it says the officers and the officers received him with slaps in the face actually that’s kind of a Kind way of putting it they were beating him with their fists all right they were beating him and this this according to the text continued for a while they beat Jesus Beyond recognition Isaiah the prophet tells us I gave my back to those who struck me my cheeks to those who pluck out my beard I did not cover my face from hum humiliation and spitting Isaiah the prophet said that about our Lord 700 years prior before plus all right so all the again things taking place according to the prophetic word according to how God designed it so Jesus can take care of things for you and I now of course the question I would have for you this morning as I come to a close is is Jesus your gentle savior oh yes or is he your ferocious judge Jesus will either be one or the other it’s like it says in in the book of Acts when Paul was uh preaching the word of God this is what he said he said you know Jesus of Nazareth how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power and how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil for God was with them and then he says this we Are Witnesses of all these things he did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem and he says and you knew all about that and what did you do you put him to death by hanging him on the cross so see it’s a matter of belief or unbelief either one gets God’s Wrath or one gets God’s mercy the only match for our defiled unclean impure Hearts is Jesus Christ’s atonement in the place of Sinners that’s the only thing that will make us clean before God it cost him his blood and it is the only thing that can deal with the problem of evil and the evil that resides in our hearts when we are born we are born with a heart of sin it doesn’t take long for a little kid to manifest their wicked heart soon as they say no to Mommy and Daddy that’s Rebellion right and soon as they have their own will and assert their will over you and want to take over and believe me if CH if kids are telling you what to do and you’re coming and and doing everything they say they are in control not you parents you have the power man use that power and use it in the right way to direct your children move them from the evil bents of their heart and show them what it is and then teach them what righteousness is and what it means to live in an honoring way and then of course teach them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ so when One Believes In Jesus alone for forgiveness of sin and eternal life God does not give that person what he or she actually deserves and what do they deserve what do we all deserve we deserve help we deserve to be separated from God forever and we deserve his judgment but he doesn’t give it to the person who believes in Jesus and that’s God’s mercy God had compassion on us God brought the gospel to us God opened our eyes to see he resurrected our dead spirits and quickened us so we can what believe the truth and not believe that it was my works that is going to please God or some good thing that I did I did to please God no it’s none of that it’s Christ alone and what he did is by faith I am saved by what Jesus did on the cross and what Jesus did before the cross all these events are before the cross all of them had to take place to show how rightous Jesus was and that when he was nailed to the cross he was the unblemished Lamb of God he was the perfect sacrifice he was the only man who ever lived that could die in the place of Sinner he was the only one all these things show that he was the only one so let the Christ in whom we believe not only be the Christ who died for us and again the Christ who lives for us and intercedes for us right now who those who believe but the Christ who will one day return in glory and gather together and reward his people and punish fearfully all his enemies that’s who Jesus is we often think people often give the perception that Jesus is this Meek person uh and that’s it he is that person but he is way more than that he is going to be the fierce ferocious judge that he will judge the world someday and his judgment will be completely righteous and it will be total so those who don’t believe are his enemies this morning this text gives us another glimpse of our Lord and should enable us the more passionately and with knowledge love him more and thank him more for what he accomplished in our behalf right so we can us us us sinners can be saved and and to me that is quite encouraging and um and I’m thankful that it’s right here in scripture aren’t you let’s pray Lord thank you this morning your again word is so so incredibly clear Lord but Lord I I often think we would have been in that crowd we would have been the ones that were possibly mocking you even spitting on you but I I thank you Lord that you didn’t let us go there I thank you Lord that you stopped us in our tracks you convicted us of our sin you showed us who Christ was in what he did and you granted us faith and repentance so we can believe in you and we can be saved based on nothing we could have ever done but based on everything you did and accomplished so for that Lord You Want To Worship You and praise you and thank you and I ask and praise your name this morning amen