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our way through Matthew's passion
narrative for our Lord's Supper Meditation. Tonight, we begin
the hearing before the Sanhedrin. We'll look at, God willing, verses
57 to 64 in Matthew chapter 26. But I'll begin reading in verse
47 that says, in the larger context. And while he was still speaking,
behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords
and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people.
Now his betrayer had given them a sign, saying, Whomever I kiss,
he is the one. Seize him. Immediately he went
up to Jesus and said, Greetings, Rabbi, and kissed him. But Jesus
said to him, Friend, why have you come? Then they came and
laid hands on Jesus and took him. And suddenly one of those
who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword,
struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. But
Jesus said to him, Put your sword in its place, for all who take
the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I
cannot now pray to my Father that he will provide me with
more than twelve legions of angels? How then can the Scriptures be
fulfilled that it must happen thus? In that hour Jesus said
to the multitudes, have you come out, as against a robber, with
swords and gloves to take me? I sat daily with you, teaching
in the temple, and you did not seize me. But all this was done
that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled, that all
the disciples forsook him and fled. And those who had lay hold
of Jesus let him lay high at this, the high priest, where
the scribes and the elders were assembled. But Peter followed
him at a distance to the high priest's courtyard. and he went
in sacrifice service to Simeon. Now the chief priests, the elders,
and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put
him to death, but found none. Even though many false witnesses
came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses
came forward and said, this fellow said, I am able to destroy the
temple of God and to build it in three days. And the high priest
arose and said to him, you answer nothing? What is it these men
testify against you? But Jesus kept silent. And the
high priest answered and said to him, I put you under oath
by the living God. Tell us if you are the Christ,
the Son of God. Jesus said to him, it is as you
said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter,
You will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power,
and coming on the clouds of heaven. In the high priest or his clothes,
saying, He has spoken blasphemy. What further need do we have
of witnesses? Look, now you have heard his
blasphemy. What do you think? They answered
and said, He is deserving of death. Then they spat in his
face and beat him. Another struck him with the palms
of their hands, saying, Prophesy to us, Christ, who is the one
who struck you? Amen. Let us pray. Our Father,
as we come to this passage now, we will see the great lengths
to which the Savior went to save us from our sin. for us sinners, for those dead
in their trespasses and sins, those dead in Adab. Yet, Father,
we see great love manifested here, we see great mercy and
grace, we see the perfect work of the perfect Savior on behalf
of the most imperfect men, women, boys and girls. May you encourage
and strengthen our hearts as we see the Savior's love in these
pages. May you increase our faith, may
you cause us to worship and to glorify and to live lives expressing
gratitude and thankfulness and worship unto you, our great and
living God, who has saved us from our sins. Fill us with the
Spirit now. us from all sin and iniquity
and everything that would darken our understanding. And we pray
these things through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, as we come
to this particular section, we want to look first at the setting
of the hearing. We see that in verses 57 and
58. Secondly, the testimony of the
witnesses. in verses 59 to 61, and then
finally the examination by the high priest in verses 62 to 64. There is that formal charge of
blasphemy in verses 65 to 68. I'm not sure we get to it tonight,
so the Lord willing, next time we observe the supper, we'll
look at that particular section. So let's look first of all at
the setting of the hearing in verses 57 and 58. But before
we look at those two verses particularly, consider the broader context
with reference to the Sanhedrin. This was the highest religious
and political court in Israel at this particular time. It was
made up of 70 persons and then the leader, the high priest,
who was the one that was sort of overseeing the whole council. And so it was made up of those
71 to a preliminary hearing. They
did not possess the authority to execute the Lord Jesus Christ,
and they knew that, so they had to concoct a way to at least
try and attempt to present looking as if they were complying with
the law. All the while, they were not. All the while, they
were engaged in a violation of their own scripture. They were
engaged in a violation of God's laws. The highest authority in
Israel They were the highest breakers of that particular law. In terms of the goal of the Sanhedrin,
we've already seen that. Go back for just a moment to
Chapter 26. In verse 3, it says, then the
chief priest, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled
at the palace of the high priest, who is called Caiaphas, and plotted
to take Jesus by a trickery and kill him. But they said, not
during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.
Their minds are made up. They already have written opposition
against the Lord Jesus. All the way back in Matthew chapter
12, the Pharisees were plotting how they could kill the Lord
Jesus Christ. And then with reference to this
specific hearing, notice what verse 59 says. Now the chief
priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony
against Jesus to put Him to death. They had no desire whatsoever
for an honest trial. They had no desire whatsoever
to give Him a fair hearing. But their intention, their specific
purpose, their minds made up with reference to the execution
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Calvin says, but they had previously
resolved to put Christ to death, and now they only seek a pretense
for oppressing him. So they couldn't just lay hands
on him, take him outside the city, and cut his throat, leave
him for dead. They couldn't do that. Again,
they were the highest religious. and political court in Israel,
they had to maintain some semblance of decency and honorability.
They had to maintain some appearance of doing that which was right,
but in terms of their desired intention, it was to execute
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the obvious challenge is
that they didn't possess this authority. Now there are two
instances subsequent to the death of Jesus where even though they
didn't possess the authority to execute, they nevertheless
did. They did with Stephen in Acts
chapter 7. They killed that holy man. And
then James, the pastor of the church in Jerusalem, a half-brother
of our Lord Jesus, that James, the Jews, executed as well. So
they did not have lawful authority. In this instance, they helped
do that, and thus they needed to employ the civil government
of Rome so that that man, Pilate, would give the death order. Now,
with reference to their particular design, they needed to build
a case against Jesus so that Pilate could carry out the execution.
They couldn't just bring Jesus to Pilate and say, we want you
to kill this man. Now, with reference to blasphemy,
Jesus is accused of that. But the Romans wouldn't execute
Jesus for blasphemy with reference to Jewish law. Later on in Luke's
gospel, in chapter 23, they charge Jesus with not paying taxes. So tax evasion would certainly
garner the ear of Pilate in this particular instance. But ultimately,
they assert that Jesus is a threat to the Roman Empire. Because
Jesus asserts that he is, in fact, a king. And if Jesus is
a king, then he's a political revolutionary. And therefore,
Pilate, you should put him down. You should execute him. You should
get rid of him. They eventually prevail upon
Pilate with that statement in John 19, 12. If you let this
man go, you are not Caesar's friend. Whoever makes himself
a king speaks against Caesar. So therefore, Biden, if you let
him go, you, in essence, are siding with a man who speaks
against Caesar. So they really forced Biden's
hand, with reference to the execution order, with reference to our
Lord Jesus Christ. Now in terms of a proposed order
of events, there's a lot going on in this passion narrative
in terms of Jesus standing before the Sanhedrin and then before
the Romans with reference to a trial. The best I can piece
together, leaning on one of the commentators, is in the first
place there was an informal examination before Annas. This occurs in
John 18, verses 12-14, and then 19-23. So it was an informal
examination. We've got a problem with this
particular fellow. This wasn't the first time. Back
in John 11, they were already plotting, how are we going to
get rid of him? This wasn't just overnight, hey, we hate Jesus,
we're gonna kill him. No, they plotted long and hard
with reference to this particular affair. Second, we have the preliminary
hearing before the Sanhedrin, which is where we're at. Here
in Matthew 26, it's also in Mark 14, and then it's followed by
a formal decision at God and deliverance of Jesus to Pilate.
You see that in chapter 27, notice in verses 1 and 2. When morning
came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted
against Jesus to put him to death. And when they had found him,
they led him away and delivered him to Pontius Pilate, the governor. There was then the Roman trial
that began with a first examination before Pilate in Matthew's gospel,
that's in 27, 11 to 14. There is then that interrogation
by Herod. Remember, when Pilate finds out
that Herod has jurisdiction, Pilate says, go visit Herod.
Herod's intrigued by this Jesus. He wants him to talk. He wants
to hear something from him. But Jesus doesn't say a word
before Herod. So Herod sends him back, and
he makes a final appearance before Pilate. Here in Matthew's Gospel,
it's in chapter 27, verses 15 to 31. And there the order is
given that he shall die. he shall be crucified, he shall
be executed as a criminal, as a revolutionary, as one who is
challenging the Roman Empire, the Roman Emperor Propero. Now
in terms of the immediate setting, notice the assembly in verse
57, and those who would lay hold of Jesus led him away to Caiaphas
the High Priest were described in the Elder's Resemble. you
would think that when you are dealing with religious men, you
would think that when you are dealing with the High Lord of
Israel, you're going to get a fair shake. Brethren, that is a false
assumption. You can never assume you are
dealing with honest men. You can never assume that you
are dealing with upright men. You can never assume that they
have, as their goal, the upholding of God's glorious law, because
that is precisely the opposite of what these men have in their
minds. And then notice as well the reference
to Peter in verse 58. There's some theology going on
with reference to Peter that we should observe. Verse 58 says,
Peter followed him at an instance to the high priest's courtyard,
and he went in and sat with the servants to see the end. So the
contextual significance in verses 69 to 75, Peter is going to deny
the Lord Jesus Christ. That's his trial. It's going
to take place out in the courtyard. The theological significance
is Peter's spiritual trajectory. He affirms his fidelity to Christ. He affirms his willingness to
die with Christ. Christ, however, says, you will
deny me. And here we know that that's
going to happen in the next section. Notice what it says, Peter followed
him at a distance. He follows, but at a distance. This is bad foreshadowing in
terms of what's gonna happen with reference to Simon Peter.
So that's the second, that's the Sanhedrin. This is a preliminary
hearing just to make sure they have their case, just to make
sure that when they send them along to Pilate, Pilate will
give the order that Jesus must die. Now Pilate himself doesn't
do that immediately. Pilate, I think, understands
what's happening in terms of these Jews. They deliver him
up because of their envy. They deliver him up because of
their hatred and enmity of Jesus. The case is not good. The case
is not solid. In fact, Pilate's wife has this
dream and tells Pilate, have no dealings with this just man.
This isn't going to end well for you, Pilate, because this
man is not what they say that he is. So it's basically a kangaroo
court that was necessary to maintain, to try to give a semblance of
some sort of law-abidingness on their part, but ultimately
to deliver him up to Pilate, so that Pilate could say, he
must die. And notice, secondly, the testimony
of the witnesses in verses 59 to 61. We have a frustrated search. Verse 59 says the chief priests,
the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against
Jesus to put him to death. I should say that with reference
to this particular section, the Sanhedrin doesn't look good. That has given no cause for concern
on the part of the persons that read the Bible. They see a latent
anti-Semitism wired into the book. They say that the Jews
are depicted as vicious and vile and horrific people. No, I think
all men are depicted as vicious, vile, and horrific people. It
just happened to be the Jews in this instance that were carrying
out this activity against the Lord Jesus Christ. But that statement
in and of itself, in verse 59, the chief brings the elders and
all the council, sought false testimony. They knew they didn't
have the goods on this man. They knew that this was, in fact,
a manual report. They understand that. Nevertheless,
they want to put him to death, and they know that they cannot
proceed without witnesses. It was mandated. Deuteronomy
17, Deuteronomy 19, Numbers 36 demands witnesses in a capital
case. The Sanhedrin couldn't just come
before Pilate and say, execute this man. There had to be witnesses,
there had to be testimony, there had to be evidence that there
was, in fact, one really on the part, or else the Romans wouldn't
execute him. Again, the testimony was necessary
to put him to death. France says the final clause,
so that they could have him executed, indicates that this was not to
be an impartial... Jesus knew that these witnesses
were not honest men. Jesus knew that the Sanhedrin
was not honest men. But notice what Jesus does not
do. He doesn't say, I'm being framed.
What's an innocent man like me doing suffering in a situation
like this? It shows the lengths to which
he went to rescue us from sin, from damnation, from the devil
himself. It is a glorious display of the
grace of Almighty God and the resolve of Jesus Christ to carry
out the mission given to Him. You shall call His name Jesus,
for it is He who will save His people from their sins. How does
He do that? He goes through this mockery.
He goes through this sham. He goes through this false witness
testimony in order to be condemned by a Roman magistrate and hung
on a cross to die for us in order to save us from our sins. that
he did this displays the great love of God for his people. Now notice they find two witnesses. Look at verses 60B and 61, but
found none. And I think this next section
is very sad, even though many false witnesses came forward.
What a horrible indictment upon our race. I don't mean Jews or
Gentiles, I mean men. There were many that came forward.
There were many that wanted to be involved. There were many
that said, oh yeah, I'll pony up testimony if it helps the
Sanhedrin put this innocent man to death. What a horrific thing! An abuse of due process, an abuse
of the legal system, an abuse of jurisprudence, an abuse of
everything that is good and right and that makes men civilized,
they're ready to cast out and throw away and have nothing to
do with. So they found none, even though
many false witnesses came forward. Notice, but at last, two false
witnesses came forward and said, this fellow said, I am able to
destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days. Now
the gravity of the charge is large. Remember, Paul, in Acts
21, they thought, or they suspected, or they concluded, that Paul
had brought Trophimus into the temple. Had Paul done that, Trophimus
would have been executed. And most likely Paul would have
been executed, well he would have, for having brought him
into that place. Certainly somebody who attacked
a temple, somebody who tried to destroy a temple, would be
executed by the Roman magistrate. That just stands to follow. So
this is a very serious charge that they offer up and one that
will play well in the hands of Pilate. If Christ is this kind
of a revolutionary, and that's the word that he uses back in
verse 55, have you come out as against a robber? That word robber
there doesn't mean he stands in the bushes and he prevails
upon men and punches them and takes their goods. The word robber
there doesn't mean he wanders into Walmart and fills his pockets
with whatever it is that he can find. The word robber there is
revolutionary. It is insurrectionist. It is
terrorist. It certainly means thief in the
general sense, but it also has that connotation of an insurrectionist,
an actual threat to the political order. So with these false witnesses
testifying that he says, I am able to destroy the temple of
God and to build it in three days, now they are interested. Now they can work with this.
Now they have something that is a capital offense. It is intriguing
because this is what Jeremiah the prophet had been charged
with as well. Jeremiah prophesied the Babylonian
captivity. Jeremiah prophesied that Nebuchadnezzar
would lead the Babylonians into Judah and destroy the temple
and destroy the city. So, Jeremiah was brought up on
charges of sedition, as if he himself was actually fomenting
some sort of insurrection against the temple. It was because of
the prophet Micah, about a hundred years prior, saying the same
thing, and yet not being charged as a heretic or as a criminal,
that they let Jeremiah go. This is the same charge that
is ponied up against Stephen. Remember, he speaks ill against
this place, against the holy temple. And in Acts 21, that's
what they say about Paul. The temple was the badge of national
identity for both religiosity and politics with reference to
Israel. The temple was everything for
them. And so anybody that was perceived
to be a threat against the temple was somebody that we need to
get rid of. Now with reference to Christ, in Matthew chapter
12, he says that something greater than the temple is here. He's
talking about himself. You need to understand that the
temple pointed to Christ. Now that Christ is here, the
temple as structure or as building is emptied of its religious significance.
And then in the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 23 at the end, and
in the beginning of Matthew 24, and throughout Matthew 24, Jesus
prophesies or predicts the fall of Jerusalem, specifically the
collapse or destruction of the temple. And so with reference
to these false witnesses, Christ had spoken things about the temple. But when we further investigate
these witnesses' claims, we'll see how bankrupt they really
are. Notice in the first place, they misquote Jesus. Verse 61,
this fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God and
to build it in three days. Turn to John 2 for a moment.
John 2 is absolutely crucial for us in our understanding of
this temple stuff. John chapter 2 in verse 13. Now the Passover of the Jews
was at hand and Jesus went up to Jerusalem and he found in
the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves and the money
changers doing business. When he had made a whip of cords,
he drove them all out of the temple with the sheep and the
oxen and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables.
And he said to those who sold doves, take these things away,
do not make my father's house a house of merchandise. Then
his disciples remembered that it was written, zeal for your
house has eaten me up. So the Jews answered and said
to him, what sign do you show to us since you do these things?
Jesus answered and said to them, destroy this temple and in three
days I will raise it up. He didn't say, I'm going to destroy
this temple. In fact, in this particular context,
he's not talking about the structure. He's not talking about that badge
of Israel's identity. Notice how John the theologian
interprets this. So on the heels of this statement,
the Jews say in verse 20, it has taken 40 years or 46 years
to build this temple. And will you raise it up in three
days? But he was speaking of the temple of his body. Therefore,
when he had risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that
he had said this to them. And they believed the scripture
and the word which Jesus had said. They misquote Jesus. Jesus didn't say, I'm going to
destroy the physical structure. I'm going to take C4. I'm going
to go walk in there and I'm going to go see on the other side.
I'm going to put charges all around the building complex.
I'm going to go in and wire it. and I'm going to send it to kingdom
come." That's not what he said. He's talking about destruction
of himself, the one that the temple pointed to, and in three
days I will raise it up. John the theologian tells us
he is speaking about his resurrection. So we go back to Matthew 26.
This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God and
to build it in three days. So they misquote him, but as
well they misinterpret him. John gives us the proper interpretation. He's talking about the temple
of his body. John Gill says, and so they perverted
his sense as well as misrecited his words. So you just don't
grab scripture and fit it in to whatever it is you want to
make it say. That is simply unacceptable.
These witnesses were in fact false. Now, this particular charge
persists. Notice in Matthew 27 at verse
39, and those who pass by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and
saying, you who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save
yourself. If you are the Son of God, come
down from the cross. It persists into the book of
Acts when Stephen is charged with being anti-temple. It persists
into the book of Acts when Paul is being perceived as anti-temple. Those men weren't anti-temple.
Those men understood temple theology. They realized that the temple
stood to point people to Jesus, and now that Jesus had come,
the temple had lost its luster. The temple had lost its significance.
It was no longer the theological rallying point for the children
of Israel. Christ is that. God and sinners
meet in our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the tabernacle of God.
He is the temple. He is the dwelling place. And
so these men are lying. These men are ponying up false
witness, false testimony. That brings us thirdly to the
examination by the high priest in verses 62 to 64. I think it's
important, brethren, that we as God's people know what's happening
in these pages. Because there's a lot of controversy
concerning the gospel narratives at this point. And so we need
to know it well. We talked about this this morning
in the first hour with reference to the confession. The people
of God need to be able to defend the word of God. Contending earnestly
for the faith, which was once for all delivered to the saints.
And a sloppy approach to the passion narrative has opened
the doors for the God-haters to try to rip the Bible to shreds.
But there isn't sloppiness. There is great harmony between
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The sloppiness is on the part
of the interpreter or on the part of the student. We need
to be diligent. We need to have our ducks in
line when it comes to this grand event relative to our salvation. So now notice, with reference
to the examination by the high priest, the question posed by
the high priest in verses 62 and 63. The high priest arose
and said to him, do you answer nothing? What is it these men
testify against you? That is intrinsic to the narrative
and the reading that we had at the outset. Christ's silence
is to be interpreted in light of Isaiah the prophet, chapter
53 and verse 7. He was oppressed and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his
mouth. He's not like us. Brethren, if
it would have been me, I would have said, those guys are liars.
I never said I was going to destroy the temple. Those guys are liars. I never said I was going to rebuild
the temple. Those guys are false. He doesn't
do that. He's quiet for us men and for
our salvation. He's quiet in accordance with
the prophet Isaiah, the suffering servant of Yahweh, going to the
end or going to these lengths in order to save us from our
sin. And then notice the high priest
now moves and imposes an oath upon our Lord. In verse 63, Jesus
kept silent and the high priest answered and said, I put you
under oath by the living God. Tell us if you are the Christ,
the Son of God. Now, the high priest is probably
exasperated at this point due to the aloofness of Jesus. I
mean, typically, if it were any other person, we would be whining,
we would be grumbling, we would be crying, we would be sniveling,
we would be saying, oh, these are false witnesses, this is
a kangaroo court, but not Jesus. So the high priest is frustrated
at the silence of Jesus, so he imposes this oath upon Jesus
to try to force his hand and to try to get him to talk. Now
with reference to the question, it is a legitimate question that
the high priest asks. When He says, I put you under
oath by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the
Son of God. Now, with reference to this question,
it makes sense. The Messiah, the one that would
come, the champion of Israel, the Savior of His people, would
be the temple builder. 2 Samuel chapter 7, the Davidic
covenant reports or rehearses that this Davidic man, the Lord
Jesus Christ, would build the temple. He would build a house
for Yahweh. Matthew chapter 16, Christ says
that very thing. Jesus says, who do men say that
I, the Son of Man, am? The disciples say, oh, they say
this, and they say this, and they say that. And then Jesus
says, who do you say that I am? And Simon Peter says, thou art
the Christ, the Son of the living God. On the heels of that, Jesus
says, on this rock, I will build my church. Brethren, you're supposed
to hear 2 Samuel 7 there. You have a son of God building
a house for God, and that comes to fruition in Matthew 16. Peter
confesses that Jesus is the son of God. Jesus declares that he's
going to build the house of God, i.e. the church of the Lord Jesus
Christ. So it's a legit question based
on 2 Samuel 7, but as well in Zechariah the prophet at chapter
6. The Messiah was to be a temple
builder. And so if it is the case Now
the high priest is assuming that the false witnesses are accurate.
If it is the case that this Jesus has said, I'm going to destroy
this temple and then I'm going to build the temple, again the
question of Jesus' identity follows necessarily. In fact, R.T. France makes the observation.
The question of the high priest in verse 63 is not a non sequitur. That means it's not something
that doesn't follow. What he's saying is that it does
follow, but rather a follow-up to the theological implications
of Jesus' alleged intention to replace the existing Jerusalem
temple. So when he puts him under oath
and he adjures him to say or to tell us, if you are the Christ,
the Son of God, Jesus now answers. Jesus answers him because silence
would betray who he is in fact. And so Jesus at this point, and
then one other time in 27, does he actually say anything? Now
with reference to the affirmation, look at what Jesus says in verse
64. It is as you said. If you look back for just a moment
at chapter 26, this is not typically the way we answer questions,
but it is the way they answered questions. Look at 26, 25. Then
Judas, who was betraying him, answered and said, Rabbi, is
it I? He said to him, you have said
it. Same convention here in verse
64. Jesus said to him, it is as you
said. So what does Jesus affirm? Jesus
is the Son of God. Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus is
the temple builder. Jesus is the one promised in
the Old Testament, law and prophets. Jesus is the champion of Israel.
Jesus is the savior of his people. Jesus is the one that they had
been taught to look for. So when the high priest puts
him under oath, Jesus doesn't say, well, oaths are no longer
valid under this new covenant era because I'm a pacifist. No,
Jesus takes the oath and Jesus affirms who he is. It is as you
said. And now he amplifies this. He
says, nevertheless I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son
of Man sitting at the right hand of the power and coming on the
clouds of heaven. He uses this language of the
Son of Man, and that suggests Daniel the prophet. Daniel speaks
of a Son of Man. In fact, turn to Daniel chapter
7 to see what's in the mind of Jesus. At least to see what could
have been in the mind of Jesus, this is the text that I think
is the backdrop. Daniel chapter 7. You have all
these beautiful images concerning the Lord Jesus in the Old Testament.
And in Daniel 7, notice what verses 13 and 14 tell us. I was
watching in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son
of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. It's very intriguing,
brethren, when you go through the gospel narratives, When you
see the phrase, Son of Man applied to Jesus, typically we utilize
that to maintain the true humanity of Jesus. It's just the opposite. The Son of Man title underscores
the true divinity of Jesus. Typically, when the New Testament
calls Jesus, or the narratives call Him the Son of God, that
usually underscores His true humanity. But the Son of Man
identifier is more an ascription of His divinity, or His deity,
or His royalty, than of His humanity. Not to say that He's not human,
but if you look at this passage, and you see what is true of the
Son of Man, and then you understand that Jesus is saying this before
the High Priest of Israel. We may not be familiar with Daniel
7, 13, and 14, but that high priest of Israel was, that Sanhedrin
was, they understood all too well the implications of Jesus
referring to himself as the Son of Man. So notice in Daniel 7,
13, I was watching in the night visions and behold, one like
the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He came to
the ancient of days and they brought him near before him.
Now there are some people that for whatever reason teach this
as a Jesus coming to earth passage. But that's not what the passage
says. The Son of Man comes to the ancient
of days. The Son of Man appears before
the Ancient of Days. The Ancient of Days is the Father.
The Son of Man is the Son, the second person of the Trinity.
This is an ascension text. After His death, after His resurrection,
Christ ascends on high. He appears before the ancient
of days. And then notice what happens
then in verse 14. Then to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting
dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom the one
which shall not be destroyed. I mentioned this morning, we're
not waiting for Jesus to take his throne. Christ took the throne
at His ascension. He comes to the Ancient of Days.
He's granted access or seat right at the right hand of the Father.
Then this kingdom is turned over to Him such that He's able to
say, all authority in heaven and in earth has been given unto
me. Christ is the Son of Man spoken
of by Daniel in Daniel 7, 13, and 14. So go back now to our
text in Matthew 26. When you understand the implications,
the response of the high priest is at least explainable. It's
wicked, it's reprobate, it's degenerate, it's vile, and it's
lawlessness, but it is explainable because what Jesus is asserting
is that he's Daniel's son of man. So back to verse 64, it
is as you said, nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter or from
now on, might be a good way to translate this connecting word,
you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power
and coming on the clouds of heaven. Now, I have preached at length
that this means that it's Christ who is over the destruction of
Jerusalem in A.D. 70. If we had a lot of time,
and I'm glad we don't for your sakes, we could make that particular
case. But that's what he is referring
to. And the theological significance, I think, is explained well by
R.T. Frantz. He says the implication
of the phrase you, it's a plural, it's not just the high priest,
you Sanhedrin, you the children of Israel, you the people of
the covenant, you will see is that the tables will be turned
and that he who is now being judged by the Sanhedrin will
soon be recognized as himself their judge. That's the implication
that we should conclude. It is, as you said, nevertheless,
I say to you, hereafter or from now on, you will see the Son
of Man sitting at the right hand of the power and coming on the
clouds of heaven. So Christ affirms that He is
the Son of God. Christ affirms that He is the
one the prophet Daniel spoke of in Daniel 7, 13 and 14. Christ
affirms that He is the one to whom the temple pointed. Christ
affirms in Psalm that He is the Christ, the Messiah of God, the
champion of Israel, the Savior of His people. And so on the
heels of that, the high priest flips out. The high priest rips
his clothes, charges him with blasphemy, and then they lay
their dirty, filthy hands upon the face of our beloved Savior. God willing, we'll take that
up next time. In conclusion, just a few thoughts
before we transition into the supper. In the first place, we
ought to see here something of the sinfulness of man. the sinfulness
of man, on the one hand, that which necessitated this kind
of conduct received by our Savior. But in a specific way, look at
how vicious and vile human beings can actually be. I think it is
imperative that we understand that. that we recognize that,
not just so we see how bad everybody else is out there, but so that
we can get a decent appreciation for what goes on in the human
heart, to see what it is we are potentially capable of. Again,
we often say, but for the grace of God, there go I. We say it
almost as if it's a bumper sticker. We say it almost as if it's a
fridge magnet. We don't say it as if our lives
depended upon it, and I suggest we should. But for the grace
of God, there go I. Man can be this bad. Man can be this despicable. Man can be this lawless and this
rebellious. And we need to understand that.
Again, not just for the men out there, but for the men that we
are, the women that we are, and to have this appreciation for
the grace of God in our lives. With reference to this particular
account, first, their sinfulness is seen in their already agreed-upon
verdict even prior to the hearing. Now, I think that most people,
some people, a fraction of people are interested in due process
or court or, you know, civil proceedings or criminal sorts
of things. I mean, there's some sort of an allure to us. I mean,
the TV shows or Internet or whatever, movies, whatever. There's this
appeal that the courtroom and the drama and lawyers and judges
and all that sort of thing. But when it is done like this,
it is reprehensible. It is vicious and vile. It's a horrific attack upon innocent
people. Christ was holy, harmless, and
undefiled. They already had the verdict
in their minds. They already knew that they wanted
to kill him. So they're going to massage the
testimony. They're going to massage the
whole court case to produce the result. That's wickedness. Secondly, their sinfulness is
seen in the willingness of the Sanhedrin to violate their own
law. Again, brethren, you'd like to
think that the chief priests, the elders, the scribes, the
higher-ups, the makedimachs in Israel would be men committed
to Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. They would be committed to
the ninth commandment, you shall not bear false witness against
your neighbor. But they don't care about that. Not one bit. They don't even pay lip service
to that. They have their verdict. They now need to find witnesses
in order to seal the deal. Thirdly, their sinfulness is
seen in the united effort of both Jews and Gentiles in the
crucifixion of the Son of God. It's not just the Jews. That's
why the allegation that the New Testament, and specifically John,
John gets heaped up with abuse that he's anti-Semitic. Strange,
John was a Jew. I mean, that's just an odd sort
of logic in my mind. He's just reporting the facts.
Again, if it were the Gentiles, if it were any other group of
people, I don't think we would have received him happily and
said, oh Jesus, we just love you and we want you with us.
But with reference to this consolidated effort, it is intriguing that
Pilate and Herod, prior to their sort of overlapping with reference
to Jesus, were at odds with each other. But this account with
reference to Jesus as being their common target brought consolidation
between those two men. So Jews and Gentiles are consolidated
in their evil activity in trying to rid the world of the Son of
God. And then the sinfulness is seen
in the willingness of many men to perjure themselves in a capital
case. Do you ever just kind of wonder
how is it the way it is? Because of sin, because of wickedness,
because of our in-Adam-ness, men act wickedly as a result
of their connection covenantally to Adam. In Adam, all die. And as a result, they engage
in this sort of lawlessness, that there were many witnesses
ready to come forward to see Jesus executed as a terrible
testimony on our race. Secondly, in sharp contrast,
And this is where hopefully we get encouraged. I feel like it's
not been too encouraging along the way. But the glorious person
and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Consider, he is Christ, the son
of the living God. That is most blessed and most
wonderful. He is the temple builder in accordance
with the Davidic covenant. The specific text in 2 Samuel
7, 13 and 14, he shall build a house for my name and I will
establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father
and he shall be my son. That is realized by and in and
through our Lord Jesus. Certainly there is a succession
of Davidic kings, the kings of Judah, ultimately terminating
in the coming of Shiloh, the Lord Christ, who would indeed
be that Son of God who would build a house for God. The function
of temples is just to illustrate God and people dwelling together. That's realized in Jesus. The
temple isn't the end. That's why a dispensational mindset
that sees in the future a rebuilt temple in the city of Jerusalem
with animal sacrifices is to go exactly backward in redemptive
history. It is to say, thank you, Lord,
for the fulfillment of all the promises of God. Yay and amen
in Jesus. We're going to go back to the
temple now and we're going to bring our bulls and our goats
and we're going to offer them up. That is not the trajectory
you find in Scripture. Tabernacle and temple pointed
to Jesus. They were types. They were shadows. They foresignified. Now that the substance has come,
there is no more significance to the earthly temple. So, this
idea that dispensationalists have of a rebuilt temple in a
rebuilt Jerusalem with a revived Roman Empire, older forms of
dispensationalism actually taught a revived Roman Empire because
they're literalists, is absolutely backward thinking. when it comes
to the trajectory of Scripture. Christ has come. He is the yea
and amen of Almighty God, and we rejoice in that. No more animal
sacrifices. We have the supper of our Lord
to remember the redemptive act of Christ on our behalf. Animal
sacrifices are not in the future for God's people. We have the
once-for-all sacrifice in our Lord Jesus Christ. The affirmation
of Christ's mission, I already told you in Matthew 16, you are
the Christ, the Son of the living God. You're right, Peter. And
on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades
shall not prevail against it. That intricate link between Son
of God and house builder, that is 2 Samuel 7. And then the fulfillment
ultimately of the temple motif, the death and resurrection of
Christ, John 2. He wasn't talking about the physical
structure that took 46 years to build. He was talking about
his body. He was talking about his resurrection
from the dead. After they put him to death,
in three days he will be raised up again. But the ultimate fulfillment
is found in Revelation 21-22, when that new Jerusalem descends
out of heaven, adorned as a bride for her husband. It's a beautiful
and glorious thing. You know what John's describing?
He's describing temple. And not temple in terms of structure,
temple in terms of concept. Temple in terms of theology.
Temple in terms of dwelling. And this is what John specifically
says in Revelation 21, 22. But I saw no temple in it, in
terms of physical structure, for the Lord God Almighty and
the Lamb or its temple. That's the forward movement of
the church, not a physical structure in geographic Jerusalem with
animal sacrifice. But it's the consummation of
the age. It is the dwelling with God Almighty.
It is that time when He wipes away every tear from our eyes,
when there's no more sorrow, there's no more pain, there's
no more hunger, there's no more thirst, there's no more death,
because death is the final enemy that is eradicated by our blessed
Lord according to 1 Corinthians 15. So, to move backward in redemptive
history is dispensationalism. To move forward is covenant theology
and to appreciate what God Most High has for His people. It's
not a physical structure in physical Jerusalem, but it's the glorious
reality of God dwelling with His people. God says, I will
be your God, and you will be my people. That's where we're
moving. That's what's in our future,
and that's what the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ our
Lord rejoice in. We see as well, he is the exalted
king-priest. He is Daniel's son of man. He
is the suffering servant. That theology is in the passage. In verse 60, verse 60, Then they
spat in his face and beat him. That comes from another servant
song in Isaiah chapter 50. So all through this brief section,
Christ affirms who he is. The high priest understands that
and the high priest loses his mind. But we as God's people
understanding that are not to lose our minds. We're to be impressed. We're to be amazed and we are
to be melted with love and affection and adoration and worship to
our blessed Christ who went through this for us men and for our salvation. Well, let us pray. Our Father,
we thank you for your word and we thank you for the reality
that Christ went through these things to save us from our sins. We often only think of the actual
act on the cross, the blood shedding, but it's all these events. It's
everything that he went through from birth, to death, to resurrection. It was not because of his sin,
because of his crime, because of his insurrection, but it was
our sin. It was our criminal activity.
It was our insurrection against the true and living God. So Christ
lives in obedience to that law. Christ dies as a sacrifice and
a substitute. Christ is risen the third day,
and now he sits enthroned at the right hand of the Father
where he ever lives to make intercession for us. And we look forward to
that day when He comes again in glory to judge the living
and the dead. We thank You that we are clothed in His righteousness.
We thank You that we are forgiven of our sins. And we thank You
that we will be brought in by Your grace and for Your glory.
And God, our hearts go out to those who still do not know You.
We pray that you would do that work in the hearts of men, women,
boys and girls, that you would convict of sin, that you would
show the lawlessness. Perhaps they're not as bad as
the high priest and these false witnesses, but they certainly
are bad, because all of us have sinned against a holy God. All
of us have fallen short of the glory of God. So, Lord, show
that to sinners here and elsewhere, wherever the gospel is preached,
and set forth Christ in all of His offices, Christ in all of
His work, Christ in all of His beauty, so that sinners by grace
can believe and be saved. And we ask this through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen. We'll look back to chapter
26 in terms of our transition to the Lord's Supper. We'll look
at verses 26 to 30, just a couple of reminders with reference to
the ordinance of the supper. In the first place, it's for
believers only. It's an in-house sort of a thing.
It's for those who have been saved. Some in the history of
the church have taught that it is a converting ordinance. We
give the supper to people. so that they can get saved. But
that's not what we see in Scripture. Rather, it is an ordinance for
the people of God. It is a sacrament for the believer.
It is for those who have been washed in the precious blood
and who have received the imputed righteousness of Christ, received
by faith alone. So if you're not a believer tonight,
please do not take, but I would heartily encourage you to believe. While you may not get to eat
the bread and drink the cup, you can certainly look unto the
Lord Jesus Christ and receive the forgiveness of sins. Secondly,
the ordinance of the supper is for believers who are dealing
with their sin according to God's Word. When we look at a parallel
passage in 1 Corinthians 11, the Apostle Paul is reproving
the church at Corinth, because in the church at Corinth, they
had the Lord's Supper in conjunction with a meal. They'd have a feast
together, and at that particular feast, the people who had a lot
were eating and drinking to the point of gluttony and drunkenness,
while the people who had nothing were starving. They had nothing
at all. And so the idea is that the rich or the well-off should
share with the poor. They weren't doing that, so Paul
reproves that. And Paul then indicates the importance
of self-examination, not examination to determine whether you're absolutely
spotless, whether you're absolutely holy, whether you're absolutely
perfect. That is an examination that is
futile. Trust me, you will never yield
those results in your examination. But an examination as to whether
or not we are seeking faithfully to deal with our sin, both with
God and with men. If we are harboring sin in our
hearts, we're holding on to it, we're cleaving it, we're enjoying
it, we're having truck with it, we're living at odds with God
or with men, then we're not to take or we're going to reap judgment
upon our own heads. As well, the elements of the
supper remain bread and wine. They are consecrated, taken from
ordinary use into special use in terms of a church service,
but they don't become something other. The bread remains bread,
the wine and the juice remain wine and juice. They are not
transubstantiated vis-a-vis the Church of Rome. The Church of
Rome says that the priest has the power to change the bread
and to change the wine into the actual body and blood of Jesus. Once the priest does that, he
offers a prayer of consecration, and then he sacrifices afresh
the Lord Jesus. They call it an unbloody atonement. They call it a sacrifice of atonement,
which is an abomination. It runs roughshod against the
statements in Hebrews over and over again concerning Christ's
sacrifice. It was once for all. It's not
to be duplicated. It's not to be replicated. It's
not to be engaged in consistently. Rather, we have a memorial and
a means of grace because as we're remembering the blessed Lord,
the blessed Lord by the Spirit is present with his people, encouraging,
strengthening, and confirming his beloved people. And then
ultimately, the focus of the supper is on Christ. It's not
wrong to reflect upon ourselves and say, wow, I'm a sinner. God,
forgive me for my sins. But then look unto Jesus. Sometimes
we get so preoccupied with ourselves that we forget Christ. That's
pretty easy to do on a basic level. But when it comes to the
supper, introspection to discover sin and confess sin is what we're
after. But it's preoccupation with Jesus
and not self that is in view. And then practically the juice
is in the outer ring and the wine is in the middle. So if
the brothers could come, and pass out the bread. We will sing
336 while they do that, and then we'll read the section appropriate
to the bread, pray, and take the bread together. So that hymn
was 336, and you can remain seated. ♪ Let our hope appear in green
and shade without ♪ ♪ As our goal is surrounded with hearts
unopened proud ♪ ♪ And love is my tender glory,
my joy to holy mind ♪ ♪ How now my Lord has spurned her, what no more sinners did
♪ ♪ I'll find a heavenly place ♪
♪ Oh, here I know my Savior ♪ ♪ It's my eternal place ♪ ♪ Look on
me with high favor ♪ ♪ I'll stay to thee ♪ ♪ What language shall I borrow
to thank Thee, dearest Friend, for this life? ♪ ♪ Life is without end ♪ ♪ Oh, may
we lie forever ♪ ♪ And should I be king ♪ ♪ Lord, let me never, never ♪ ♪ Outlive my country ♪ In Matthew 26, at verse 26, we
read, And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and
broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat,
this is my body. Well, let us pray. Our God, as
we consider the death of our Lord Jesus and the events leading
there, we thank you again for his love. We thank you for his
identification with humanity and the reality that he obeyed
the law in our stead and that he died in our place. He received
the punishment, men certainly, but the punishment, the wrath
and fury of God Almighty. So we rejoice in this transaction,
we are humbled by it, and we hopefully are drawn out with
great love, considering all that the Savior went through on our
behalf. We give you praise and glory and thanksgiving for that
wonderful event, and we ask now that you would bless and strengthen
us, confirm us in our faith, cause us to grow in our appreciation
for the gospel itself, and we pray through Jesus Christ our
Lord, amen. We'll take together. Will please turn to 342. Again, remain seated as the brothers
pass out the wine and the juice. The juice is in the outer ring.
We'll sing three, four, two. ♪ And ever with Him stand I in
love with Thee ♪ ♪ It's the Christ I have rejected ♪ ♪ As my soul
is He deceived ♪ ♪ It's the love that's kept me from Him ♪ ♪ In
His love and in His glory ♪ ♪ Every word ♪ ♪ Tell me, did the
earth appear in the morning ♪ ♪ Was there ever a meal like this ♪
♪ Friends would fear it was this morning ♪ ♪ Those exulting in
its success ♪ ♪ Many as were the Christian world near ♪ ♪ By the deep and strong that is
him ♪ ♪ Was the strong and just his name ♪ ♪ He who made us in
our hiding ♪ ♪ Was a worthy old man, here he is now ♪ ♪ Still with us today ♪ ♪ Our blessed
friend was appointed ♪ ♪ Savior and King of all ♪ ♪ Tis the word
the Lord has appointed ♪ ♪ Son of man and Son of God ♪ ♪ When
we have our foundation laid ♪ ♪ The cross of nation is the name
of which we boast ♪ ♪ And the blood of sinners through Him
♪ ♪ Sacrificed in death's long building ♪ ♪ But shall ever be
crowned as new ♪ In verse 27 we read, Then he
took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying,
Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the new covenant,
which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say
to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on
until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.
And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of
Olives. Let us pray. Our Father, we know and suspect
that people outside the church think it's odd to rejoice in
and to celebrate the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. But we
know the old covenant was ratified with blood, the blood of bulls
and goats, and the new covenant is ratified by the blood of our
Lord Jesus Christ. And as the apostle says, without
the shedding of blood, there is no remission for sin. And
so we thank you for the provision of the Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world. We give praise to you for this
sacrifice. We give praise to you for the
substitutionary atoning work that Christ wrought out on our
behalf. And certainly we know the power of the blood of the
Lord Jesus to wash to cleanse and to purify us from all sin.
So we rejoice now and we pray again that you would strengthen
us, that you would encourage us, and that you would cause
us to respond with worship and praise and adoration to Father,
Son, and Spirit for so great a salvation. And we pray in Jesus'
name, amen. We'll take together. Well, you can turn to 352. 352, and we'll stand as we sing Man
of Sorrows. in my Hallelujah! What a Savior! Built
deep, high, when helpless, free, Swampless, when our God was near,
Full of joy, we're glad in Him. Hallelujah! What a Savior! Was he to die? In his finish
was his pride. Now in heaven is all denied. Alleluia! What a Savior! ♪ When he comes our glorious King
♪ ♪ All his ransomed home to bring ♪ ♪ Then a new day's song we'll sing ♪ ♪ Hallelujah,
what a Savior ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
God, may this be true for each of us. May you bless us. May
you watch over us. May you grant us the help and
the grace that we need to persevere in this world. Grant us the grace
as well to be faithful unto our God and look with favor upon
those in our midst that are sick, that are afflicted, those who
are suffering. We just commit each one to you.
and to the word of your grace. And we thank you for a blessed
and a wonderful Sabbath day. We thank you for the ministry
of the church, the blessing of the church, the privilege of
gathering together as the people of God to worship the true and
living God on the day appointed by God. Go with us now, we pray,
in Jesus' holy name, amen. Well, please be seated for a
brief time of meditation.
