Sermon Pastor Ray Lorthioir Trinity Lutheran Church W. Hempstead, NY Based on Matthew, Chapter 26:69 27:25. Rebellion

Transcription

1 Sermon Pastor Ray Lorthioir Trinity Lutheran Church W. Hempstead, NY Based on Matthew, Chapter 26:69 27:25 Rebellion Isaiah 1:2-3, 2 Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth! For the LORD has spoken: I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. 3 The ox knows his master, the donkey his owner's manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand. This is not just Yahweh s complaint against Israel. It s Yahweh s complaint about you, me and all of humanity. He has created us, given us life and breath and everything we have. Yet, we have rebelled against Him. Being conceived and born with a sinful nature there s nothing else we can do. We are rebels. Years ago, a young man said to me, Pastor I wish there were somewhere I could go where neither God nor the devil would bother me. I was taken aback for a moment, but answered, that place already exists. It s called hell and at least God won t bother you there. That wish thoroughly illustrates our rebellion. Each of us would love to find our own corner of the universe to be our own god, our own authority, make our own definitions of good and evil, live our own way by our own standards of justice, make our own meaning, indulge ourselves the way we please and in general ignore any evidence that there is a Creator and that we are beholden to Him on a moment by moment basis. Ignore Him as we will, however, our Creator is nevertheless there and He declares all this to be rebellion with most severe consequences. Only where Yahweh is present in His creation does goodness exist. For by nature Yahweh is all goodness and all righteousness. If you notice, we have goodness here on earth. There s a lot of evil, but there is also goodness. We rebels can even do good. That means that Yahweh is present and intimately involved on this earth. He has infused His creation with His own goodness. However, because rebellion against Yahweh s goodness and righteousness exists, evil also exists. Fallen angels are absolutely infatuated with rebellion. Therefore, they are totally evil and love evil. They seduced our first parents into rebelling against Yahweh, and thus we also love rebellion. That s what the sinful nature is all about rebellion against God. But humans don t totally love evil. We know what the good is and are even capable of doing it. Yahweh has not left us fallen sinners totally bankrupt. But, when it comes to Yahweh our Creator, scripture teaches that by nature we are only capable of rebelling against Him in one way or another. Yahweh has promised that at the final judgment of this world rebels will get what they ve always desired a universe without Yahweh. As they have rejected Yahweh, so they will be rejected. They will be exiled forever into an existence where Yahweh is not and will never bother them again. 1

2 However, wherever Yahweh absents Himself, there can be nothing good, only evil. In that place fallen angels already emptied of anything good will be joined by rebellious humans freshly emptied of anything good to rejoice forever in the horrors of total evil and depravity. It will be a bar fight/gang war/holocaust/world war without end. Amen. And rebellion is behind the whole thing. For to desire to be apart from Yahweh is to hate good and desire evil. That s the nature of rebellion. Fools who think they can indulge themselves in debauchery and depravity in an un-violent way and maintain a modicum of goodness and respectability are in for a rude shock. They are only protected here from the full consequences of their rebellion because Yahweh remains present in this world. But in death they will become evil as Satan is evil. Scripture informs us that there s nothing we ourselves can do about our rebellion. We re all doomed to disaster. However, Scripture also informs us that it is our Creator s will that none of His precious human beings fall into total evil. Therefore, only our Creator Himself can deal with this impossible situation, and Scripture informs us that He has. He has taken our rebellion and its consequences upon Himself so that His own justice is not violated. He has atoned for our rebellion at great cost to Himself. At the same time He has justified us with His own total goodness so that He might come to us and we to Him. Jesus is the cure for our rebellion. He has declared us righteous by His righteousness even though we are still sinners. This is a most gracious gift. But in this life Yahweh s cure is not complete. We can only take daily treatments for the disease of rebellion in the form of Word and Sacrament. However, beyond death and at the final judgment the cure will be complete. Those who enter eternity in Messiah Jesus will be made what they have only been declared to be here totally and completely good and righteous as Yahweh Himself is totally and completely good and righteous. It will be exquisite goodness because Yahweh Himself is exquisitely good. This is the eternal life for which all believers strongly hope in Messiah a hope so strong that Jesus even called it violent. Matthew 11:12, [Jesus said,] From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. Now, because Yahweh s cure for our rebellion is thoroughly wrapped up in the person of Messiah Jesus, rebellion against Jesus is the worst rebellion of all. For it s rebellion against Yahweh s cure for rebellion. Therefore, as we now come to the end of Matthew chapter 26 and enter Matthew chapter 27, we re going to see the worst of our human rebellion. For the deep depravity of human rebellion is portrayed in all the characters around Jesus during His passion. Those characters are us in one way or another. In order to repent we need to own them. Matthew 26:69-75, 69 Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. You also were with Jesus of Galilee, she said. 70 But he denied it before them all. I don't know what you're talking about, he said. 71 Then he went out to the gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth. 72 He denied it again, with an oath: I don't know the man! 73 After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away. 74 Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, I don't know the man! 2

3 Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times. And he went outside and wept bitterly. Last week we saw Peter pledge to fight and die with Jesus, only Jesus wasn t leading a rebellion against Rome or against Judaism. Instead, He was engaging in a war against the rebellion against sin, death and the power of the devil a war that He alone could win. Therefore, Jesus predicted that Peter would exclude himself from the fight by denying Jesus three times. The word translated disown means to utterly and completely deny. Remember, Peter is the man who boldly declared in Matthew 16:16, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. But then when Jesus began to teach the plan of salvation that the Messiah must suffer, be crucified and rise from the dead Peter vehemently objected. Therefore, on this dreadful night, Peter denied knowing that Messiah, the suffering Messiah. Unless Peter could die rebelling against Rome with a sword in his hand he wasn t dying. In this ironic way Peter s rebellion against Yahweh and Yahweh s plan of salvation was plain to see. Thirty or forty years later when Peter s time to be martyred came, it was a different story. By the power of Lord Holy Spirit Peter had fully embraced Jesus, his suffering Messiah. Therefore, Peter considered it an honor to share in Jesus suffering and death so that he might share in Messiah s victory over sin, death and the devil. In deference to His Lord and Master, Peter demanded to be crucified upside down. But on this night Peter was devastated because he had denied Jesus, the suffering Messiah. Last week we saw Jesus on trial. Before the Sanhedrin He dared to identify Himself as the one prophesied to sit at God s right hand in Psalm 110:1 as well as the Son of Man prophesied to come on the clouds of heaven in Daniel 7:13. Consequently, the high priest exploded in outrage that Jesus, a mortal man, would dare to identify Himself as the one worthy of worship in Daniel 7:14. He cried out that Jesus had committed blasphemy and the Sanhedrin agreed that Jesus was worthy of death. As we know, someone blasphemed at the trial of Jesus. Either it was Jesus or it was the high priest. If it was the high priest, then he blasphemed by rejecting the very Son of Man worthy of his worship. Indeed, the whole Sanhedrin blasphemed by spitting upon and beating Jesus. But utterly convinced that Jesus had blasphemed, we now read of the unusual action the Sanhedrin took. Matthew 27:1-2, 1 Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. 2 They bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate, the governor. It says in the Torah, Leviticus 24:16, anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death. Thus, if the Sanhedrin was convinced that Jesus had blasphemed, they should have marched Him right out the door and stoned Him to death. Indeed, that s what they did in Acts 7 to Stephen, the first martyr, for saying that he saw Jesus at the right hand of God. But instead the Sanhedrin brought Jesus to the Roman governor. 3

4 Do you remember when Jesus asked the chief priests and elders in Matthew 21:25, John's baptism where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or from men? It says in Matthew 21:25-27, 25 They discussed it among themselves and said, If we say, From heaven, he will ask, Then why didn't you believe him? 26 But if we say, From men we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet. 27 So they answered Jesus, We don't know. To me it seems that they were in the same predicament once they had arrested Jesus and found Him worthy of death. If they had stoned Jesus, the crowds following Jesus might have stoned them. However, if the Roman government put Jesus to death, then no one could object. I believe this is one reason they brought Jesus to Pilate. But there s another darker reason. By turning Jesus over to gentiles for the most degrading of punishments Roman flogging and crucifixion they deprived Jesus of any and all dignity as a Jew. By this action they completely denied Jesus as the Messiah of Israel and so filled the cup of their rebellion and blasphemy. In any event, it all worked out just exactly as prophesied in Scripture. As we ll see next week, Scripture prophecies that Messiah must suffer by being pierced, not stoned. Roman crucifixion involved piercing both the wrists and ankles with nails. Matthew 27:3-5, 3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. 4 I have sinned, he said, for I have betrayed innocent blood. What is that to us? they replied. That's your responsibility. 5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. Notice it says that Judas was filled with remorse. There s a difference between remorse and repentance. Remorse is to be filled with guilt and despair. Repentance is a change of heart and mind. True, Judas changed his mind about betraying Jesus. He openly declared to the chief priests, I have sinned. But, they had not changed their minds. Therefore, they considered Judas something of a fool for changing his. A priest stands between God and man. Under the old covenant the priest pleads with God for mercy and forgiveness through the sacrifice he performs on behalf of the sinner. Through the same sacrifice he assures the sinner of God s mercy and the forgiveness of his sin. But these priests, convinced that Judas had not sinned, refused to do this for him. To do so would have been admitting their own guilt that they had falsely condemned innocent blood. In this way they filled their cup of rebellion and blasphemy even more. Therefore, seeing no other way to assuage his guilt, Judas took it upon himself to sit in God s judgment seat and pronounce a verdict of death upon himself for sin. This is actually a worse sin than the sin of betraying Jesus. For by his action Judas arrogantly usurped Yahweh s right to condemn or have mercy on him. In this way Judas completely filled his own cup of rebellion and blasphemy. The vicious sin of self-pity is at the root of much murder. Out of self-pity Cain murdered his brother Abel whom he considered better than himself. Out of self-pity Judas murdered himself, in effect blaspheming that my bad is so bad that not even God can help me. Beware! Marxism teaches people to feed on the great sins of selfpity and covetousness. That s why it is so murderous. If you feel self-pity for any reason, repent of it. Get right with God as quickly as you can, for self-pity is a killer. This deadly sin can also wreak great havoc in the Church of God. 4

5 Matthew 27:6-10, 6 The chief priests picked up the coins and said, It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money. 7 So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. 8 That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, 10 and they used them to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me. Remember we saw that weird prophecy in Zechariah 11:13 about the thirty pieces of silver? It involved tossing the coins into the house of the Lord to the potter. Matthew 27:11-14, 11 Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, Are you the king of the Jews? Yes, it is as you say, Jesus replied. 12 When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then Pilate asked him, Don't you hear the testimony they are bringing against you? 14 But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge to the great amazement of the governor. Jesus answered Pilate concerning His Kingship, but that was it. He thereby again fulfilled Isaiah 53:7, He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. So Pilate was in a quandary. Jesus was not worthy of death under Roman law. What to do? Matthew 27:15-18, 15 Now it was the governor's custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. 16 At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. 17 So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ? 18 For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him. At this point in the morning a crowd had gathered in anticipation of the governor s annual Passover pardon of a prisoner. Therefore, Pilate decided to use the occasion. Being a person accustomed to power, Pilate was wise enough to know envy of power when he smelled it. He was also skilled at baiting a trap. Who knows what other prisoners Pilate had, but by offering a forced choice between Jesus and a notorious prisoner who had openly rebelled against Rome, Pilate put the Jewish leadership in a quandary. And perhaps he was just playing them. Matthew 27:19, While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him this message: Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him. Matthew is the only gospel writer who tells us of this dream. Amazingly Pilate s gentile wife knew it was Jesus she had seen in her dream. And she recognized Jesus innocence. She also knew from her suffering in the dream that it would be some form of cosmic evil to condemn Jesus. Therefore, through this dream Pilate was warned that his judgment of Jesus would be no ordinary matter. Matthew 27:20-23, 20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. 21 Which of the two do you want me to release to you? asked the governor. Barabbas, they answered. 22 What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ? Pilate asked. They all answered, Crucify him! 23 Why? What crime has he committed? asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, Crucify him! 5

6 Human crowds are strange animals capable of good or great evil. Skilled orators can inspire a crowd to great things. Skilled agitators know how to manipulate a crowd to all kinds of mayhem. Here we learn that the Jewish leaders were skilled agitators craftier than Pilate. They used the crowd to get their way. Pilate clumsily and stupidly asked what he should do with Jesus. And his protests of Jesus innocence were to no avail. Indeed, in this regard Matthew paints a somewhat sympathetic picture of Pilate the gentile caught up in a Jewish dispute. Matthew 27:24-25, 24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. I am innocent of this man's blood, he said. It is your responsibility! 25 All the people answered, Let his blood be on us and on our children! Pilate was no pushover. He was notorious for his bloody suppression of Jewish unrest, but not on this day. He was uncharacteristically passive. And in this way he proved his rebellion against the God of justice. It was his duty to protect Jesus, but he refused to. Therefore, he passed the buck, saying to the Jewish leadership, it s your responsibility. This is now the second time we ve seen a party pass the buck in a very passive fashion saying it s your responsibility. The Sanhedrin did that to Judas and Judas hung himself. Pilate now does it to the Jewish leadership and the crowd gathered before him. The result was most remarkable. Their reply in effect states, Let the blood of this false Messiah be on us and our children. Thinking themselves justified in saying this, they instead called down a curse upon themselves. Therefore, in the ensuing 110 years Israel twice followed false leaders and a false messiah to their utter ruin, rebelling against Rome. But here with the true Messiah in their midst they showed their true colors rebelling against Yahweh. Thus, they filled the cup of their rebellion even more. Remember. Jesus told the parable of a king s vineyard let out to sharecropping tenants who rebelled when it came time to pay the rent. The owner finally sent his son to collect the rent. Matthew 21:38-39, 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance. 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. To this very day Jewish religious leadership continues to usurp the inheritance of the owner s Son namely God s people, Israel. How long, O Lord, will you permit Israel to be enslaved to rebellious false teaching? How long will you let them perish in rebellion against the suffering Messiah? As You have had mercy on us rebellious gentiles, have mercy on them, O Lord. Amen. All Bible quotes are from the NIV. 6