Journey to the Cross--Gethsemane and Trials

Journey to the Cross  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  41:22
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The Journey to the Cross-- Gethsemane and Trials Spring Valley Mennonite; March 28, 2021; Matthew 26; 27:1-26; John 18:12-14; 19-23 On Thursday evening, after the Passover meal, the disciples and our Lord left the Upper Room, making their way to the Garden of Gethsemane. It was here that our Lord solidified His decision to offer Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind, creating a pathway to the reconciliation of God and man. This very real wrestling with the decision to fulfill His purpose in coming to earth could be termed "The most significant battle ever fought." I. THE BATTLE OF GETHSEMANE Although we call this place a garden, as if it were primarily a place of retreat or reflection, it was a commercial operation including not only olive trees, but also an olive press, used to extract the oil from the olives. There was also a wealth of religious significance to the olive tree and its oil. The term "Messiah" comes from the Hebrew verb that means "to be anointed by olive oil." As part of their initiation into service, all Hebrew leaders were anointed with olive oil, be they kings, prophets, or priests. Jesus was "the Messiah, the Anointed One" who fulfilled all three offices of prophet, priest, and King. The Olive tree itself figured prominently in the prophetic promises of coming Messiah. When an olive tree grows old, it often becomes unfruitful. Sometimes the olive farmer will cut down the tree, leaving the stump. Sprouting out of that root stock comes a new vigorous shoot. Through the Old Testament prophets, God repeatedly warned His disobedient people that He would cut them off if they did not bear the fruit of righteousness. Then in Isaiah 11:1, God says, "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit." Jesus was the anointed one, the branch out of the stump of King David's family. In Gethsemane there was an olive press. Ripe olives underwent a two- step process to remove the oil; first, the olives were placed under a revolving stone wheel and crushed. The residue was gathered and placed in a container that was put under a large screw mechanism and great pressure was applied to force the remaining oil out of the crushed olives. The symbolism is profound: Jesus came to the "place of crushing" where He accepted the heavy weight of our sin to be placed upon Him. Isaiah 53:10: "Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer..." I spoke earlier of a great battle that was fought in that place of crushing. Matthew describes the scene in Chapter 26 of his gospel record: (read 36-37). Upon reaching the garden, Jesus left eight disciples at the entrance and continued to His place of prayer with His three closest disciples, Peter, James, and John. He asked them to stay there and pray with and for Him. Although Scripture doesn't mention it, there is little doubt of another presence there with Jesus and the disciples: that great enemy of God, Satan. Satan is the great tempter, always trying to persuade us to choose our will-to take the easy way out-rather than to choose God's will. Often our greatest challenge is in making the decision to do something. What was the struggle of Gethsemane? What were the issues involved in this great battle? Clearly this was a struggle, not only between God and Satan, good and evil, right and wrong, but also between Jesus' very human desire to escape pain and suffering. It is in this battle that we see most clearly the two natures, human and divine in the Lord Jesus. To avoid pain is one of the most basic human instincts. We always look to minimize pain; but so often, as demonstrated in Gethsemane, God's will often is difficult and great blessing comes only after enduring hardship, suffering and pain. In the Gospel of Luke we read, "And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground." Like the olive that gives up its oil only when placed under intense pressure, so the blood of our Savior was forced through His very skin pores by intense mental pressure. What caused such an intense pressure? Verse 39 records Jesus' words of prayer: If it be possible, let this cup pass from me..." What was this "cup?" We understand that this was a figure of speech: there was no actual cup, but the contents of that figurative cup had been handed to Him with a choice: He could accept and drink or He could reject it. Three times our Lord prayed that IF there were any way to avoid drinking that "cup"; was there any possibility to pass it up? The clear answer from the Father was "NO." Jesus submitted as He said, "Not my will, but Yours be done." It was the Father's will that the sacrifice be made. The cup must be drained. There was no other way to redeem mankind. It would be presumptuous to think we could fully understand what was contained in that cup, but I would offer some observations: 1) In the writings of the Old Testament, "cup" was often used to refer to God's wrath. For instance, listen to these words from Psalm 11:6: Upon the wicked He will rain snares; fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup. Psalm 75:8: In the hand of the Lord is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices; He pours it out and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs. The cup with which Jesus was presented was the totality of God's wrath toward sin. 2) As Jesus gazed into that cup, I believe He saw the full horror of sin. If we could imagine every sin ever committed; every inhumane act of man against man, all the atrocities of every war that has ever been waged-every act of brutality, every innocent death, every vile, disgusting act of all mankind-imagine all these sins gathered and concentrated into one stinking, vile mixture; that might just begin to explain what Jesus saw when He looked in that cup. But more than just observing the contents, drinking that cup would involve personally experiencing firsthand the guilt and condemnation accompanying all that sin! You see, accepting the cup would mean that all God's wrath would be poured out upon Jesus. Nothing we can imagine can even approximate the revulsion the Holy sinless Son of God would feel toward that foul cup that was being presented to Him. To continue on the path to the cross would mean drinking this cup of God's wrath. The sinless One would become defiled. And perhaps the greatest horror would be knowing that, for the first time in eternity past, there would be a separation in the Trinity-the Father would turn away from His Son. "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." Understanding what Jesus was being asked to do, we see why there was terrific pressure to flee from the experience. Everything human within Jesus would cry out for an alternative path, and everything in His Holy nature would resist. The decision being made, Jesus roused his disciples. The mob approached, led by the betrayer Judas, who pointed out Jesus by a kiss. The mob consisted of a "great multitude with swords and clubs from the high priests and elders of the people" also including a cohort of Roman soldiers. Jesus could have melted away into the night, but instead He moved forward to greet the crowd saying, "Whom do you seek?" Arresting and binding Jesus, they led Him away where our Lord was subjected to a series of "trials", three by the religious leaders, and three by the civil authorities. II. THE TRIALS OF JESUS BY RELIGIOUS LEADERS One observation to keep in mind as we set the scene for the religious trials: the Verdict was already determined. Because of this fact, it turns out Jesus was not really the one on trial. Mankind itself was being judged; how would sinful man respond to a Holy God visiting earth? God the Son came to earth as the Messiah, the Savior; we answered with the cross. The Jewish leaders had already determined that Jesus had to die, but they continued with a mockery of a trial. Why did they go ahead with a trial, the verdict of which was already settled? A valid guilty verdict was required to satisfy the Roman Governor, who alone had the power of life and death. The 18th chapter of the Gospel of John records the first phase of the religious trial, which was before a Jerusalem powerbroker named Annas. Annas was the leader of the most powerful family in First Century Judea. After serving as High Priest, he was removed in the year 14 by Pilate's predecessor for overstepping his jurisdiction. Annas then succeeded in placing 5 sons, one son-in-law, and one grandson in the office of High Priest. Remember at this point in history, the High Priest was a Political appointee who served at the favor of the Roman governor, there being little religious significance to the office. At this point in history the Son-in-law of Annas, whose name was Caiaphas, was High Priest, but apparently Annas still held power and influence over the office. So, it was to Annas that Jesus was first led. It was probably between 2 and 3 A.M. We read about the religious trial-phase 1-- in John 18:12-14; 19-23 (Read). This trial could be termed "preliminary", even though under Jewish laws, such preliminary trials were forbidden. However, Annas didn't seem to be constrained by following the rules. The Jews did have an elaborate legal system, and like all good systems, it was set up to protect the innocent and prevent a rush to judgment. Trials for crimes punishable by death could only be held by the Grand Sanhedrin, a mixed group of 70 Jewish Elders composed of Sadducees, Pharisees, and Scribes. This group seldom agreed upon anything, but it had agreed that Jesus must die. The Chief Priest presided over the Grand Sanhedrin. This preliminary trial before Annas violated several tenets of the Jewish legal system: first, no trials were ever to be held at night. Secondly, it was not held publicly in the official Judgment Hall. Thirdly, No trial was to be held with only a single judge, as was the case here with Annas. Fourthly, as in our legal system, the accused could not be forced to testify against himself. In addition, in this trial, no witnesses were called to establish guilt, and there was violence against the accused. Matthew chapter 26 provides details regarding the second and most intense religious trial. The place of gathering is the house of Caiaphas. The time is around 4 A.M. This trial also was illegally held at night. Trials for crimes leading to the death sentence required a formal indictment, at least two agreeing witnesses against the accused, and opportunity for the defense to present witnesses on behalf of the accused. Such trials were also forbidden to be held the day before a Sabbath or before a Jewish feast day; it also was forbidden to execute a criminal on a feast day or a Sabbath. Trials for capital offenses were required to take two days, with any verdict rendered the second day. Evidence was to be heard the first day, then all the jurors were to go home and sleep on it, then return the second day where they would rehear the evidence before casting their votes. The accused was not required to self-incriminate himself, and even if he did, such testimony was to be thrown out. All votes were to be carefully counted, with the voting to begin with the youngest members, proceeding to the oldest. This was to prevent undo influence by the older jurors. Two or three witnesses were required under Jewish law to convict. But look at Matthew 26:59-61 (read). They were trying to find FALSE witnesses against Jesus! But they couldn't even find any witnesses with matching stories! Caiaphas is required take this case before Pilate to implement a death sentence, but he can't find any witnesses! So, what does he do? He goes another illegal route; he talks to the accused. But Jesus does not answer anything. (Read v. 62-64) Finally, with the feeling of desperation, Caiaphas asked Jesus in such a way that our Lord was obliged to answer: "I adjure (or command) you by the living God that you tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." When a pious Jew heard those words, he was required to answer. Jesus answers that He was the Messiah: "It is like you say." Mark adds in 14:62 the words "I AM" before quoting the Messianic prophesy from Daniel: "And you will see the Son of Man at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of Heaven." That sealed the deal for Caiaphas! Jesus had self-incriminated himself. He was claiming to be God, and that was blasphemy which was worthy of death. Jesus was guilty! A third trial followed at daybreak, the only one that had any legal bearing as it gathered a quorum of the Sanhedrin to render a guilty verdict. This trial was staged for the sole purpose of lending legitimacy to the previous judgments. Luke 22:66-71 records the formal "official" trial (Read). The Council of Elders, Chief Priests and Scribes were gathered in the Judgment Hall and passed judgment based on Jesus' own words, delivered when they asked if He was the Messiah. The verdict of "Blasphemy" was passed. In the eyes of the religious establishment, this crime was worthy of death. To be legal, this trial should only have been held only after the morning offering at 9 A.M.; instead, it commenced three hours earlier at daylight. The obvious reason for this early hour was to have Jesus' tried and condemned by the Roman Governor before any of the multitudes who supported Jesus found out about it. Remember the original plan of the Jews was to avoid any confrontation with Jesus during the Passover because of the crowds. Obviously, Jesus had His own timetable. His hour had come. The religious trials completed, the crowd of Jewish leaders brought Jesus before Pilate for the first phase of: III. THE CIVIL TRIALS OF JESUS Turn to LUKE, chapter 23:1-2 (read) It seems Pilate was prepared for this early morning meeting. This was because he had been warned that this Jesus was a troublemaker, and a riot was possible from His followers. That was why Pilate had lent Roman soldiers to the Chief Priest to arrest Jesus in the night. Pilate had gotten in trouble with the Emperor previously for allowing rioting among the Jews. In fact, to prevent such things was the main reason Pilate was in Jerusalem during Passover. The Governor's main job was to collect revenue and to keep order. Although Jesus had been convicted of blasphemy by the Jews, this was not a crime worthy of death under Roman Law. So, we see that the charge presented to Pilate was different from blasphemy: Jesus was accused of "misleading the nation and forbidding paying taxes to Caesar, as well as claiming to be a king. " The charge Pilate picked up on was that of Jesus' claim to be a King. If this was true, it would be treason, punishable by death. A king would have potential followers who would fight for their king. Perhaps because of Pilate's established reputation of cruelty, the Chief Priests felt that they would have little trouble convincing him to crucify another trouble-making Jew. Perhaps they were surprised when Pilate resisted their wishes and insisted on proof of Jesus' guilt. There was, of course, no evidence of any crime. Jesus was repeatedly found innocent of any charge. John 18:33-37 (READ): Pilate asked Jesus if He were the King of the Jews, to which Jesus replied in the affirmative: "Yes, I am a king, but not of this world." There was no danger of rebellion from Jesus' followers. Pilate's verdict: Not guilty. Of course, the Jews protested, mentioning that Jesus had stirred up trouble from Galilee to Judea. Hearing Galilee, Pilate hit upon a possible way out of this dilemma: He would send Jesus to Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee, for judgment. So, we have a second phase of the civil trial, this time before Herod Antipas, ruler of the province of Galilee. This was the same Herod who had John the Baptist beheaded. He was the son of Herod the Great. Turn to LUKE 23:6-12 (READ). Pilate's hope of letting Herod take care of this problem was short-lived. Jesus didn't even answer any of Herod's questions, and Herod, wanting to see a miracle, was disappointed. In a mocking manner, he dressed Jesus in a purple robe. It seems that Herod almost made a joke out of the whole matter, and neglecting to pass judgment on the Lord, sent Jesus back to Pilate. Herod's verdict? By default, Not Guilty. This brings us to the third, and final phase of the Roman Civil trial of Jesus. I. TRIAL UNDER PILATE, PART II Continuing in LUKE 23, look at vv. 13-16 Repeatedly, Pilate said that Jesus was "not guilty.". Notice particularly verse 14: "I have found no guilt in this man regarding the charges which you make against Him." V.15: "nothing deserving death has been done by Him." This is so very important: Jesus was not crucified for any crime. He was not guilty of blasphemy, as the Jews claimed, for He was God. He was not guilty of treason or sedition against Rome, for His kingdom is not of this world. He was innocent and sinless by every standard man might use; Jesus was the perfect innocent sacrificial Lamb of God being led to slaughter. Pilate, trying to appease the wrath of the crowd, tried to play on their sympathies by having Jesus punished. This was the Roman scourging, not that of the Jewish practice, which was limited to 39 lashes. For the Romans, there was no limit to the number of lashes, and against our Lord, it seemed that the Roman soldiers took out all their bitterness and anger toward all Jews on Jesus. After the scourging, Jesus was brought out, and Pilate uttered those famous words: "Behold the Man." His hope was that the crowd would feel sympathy toward Jesus and be satisfied. They were not, and led by the Jewish leaders, began screaming "Crucify, Crucify!" When a choice was given to them of Jesus or Barabbas, they chose a notorious murderer for release. Pilate was in a difficult position. Peace was fragile in Judea: the city was overcrowded with Roman-hating Jews, and right now it seemed that a riot was threatening to break out. I'm sure he weighed out the life one solitary Jew against any principle of fairness. If a riot broke out, it would grow and would be another black mark on His record. This Jewish High Priest had connections in Rome. Pilate had already been accused of leadership deficiencies, and his position was tenuous. Pilate concluded that standing before him was an innocent man. He was troubled by his wife Claudia's warning to "have nothing to do with this man; I was troubled in a dream about him last night." That was an ominous warning, for Claudia had never seen this man before; how could she dream about him unless it were a warning from the gods? Pilate also observed the obvious jealousy and envy these Jews had toward Jesus. The charges against Jesus were obviously contrived, yet the crowd was clamoring for His death. That too probably was at the instigation of these Jewish leaders. The only claim made against Jesus was that He claimed to be a king, but Pilate found this Jew no threat to the Roman government. Yet Pilate saw no alternative than to condemn Jesus to death. He made a politically expedient decision. In the long run, he felt this was just another ordinary Jew whose own people wanted Him dead. This would all be forgotten in a few days anyway. Pilate made his choice. He washed his hands before the crowd, and said, "I am innocent of this Man's Blood; see to that yourselves." And all the people said, "His blood shall be on us and on our children!" Who was responsible for Jesus' crucifixion? Was it the Jewish leaders? Pilate? Herod? The Roman soldiers? You and me? Yes, in some sense, all mankind was judged guilty. It was Mankind that was on trial, our sins that nailed Jesus to the cross. But in a much larger sense, God was responsible for the death of Jesus. It was Jesus' own Father who allowed him to be killed. Isaiah 53:10 states, "The Lord was pleased to bruise him; He has put Him to grief." Paul describes Jesus' death as "a fragrant aroma to God." Acts 2:23 tells us that Jesus was "delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God". Jesus' trials were necessary, but not to condemn Him for wrongdoing. They were staged to prove His innocence! Jesus chose to die on the cross. What great love! He was the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. 2
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