[0:00] Welcome to our service this morning. As we come together to worship God, we pray for his blessing and his word to us. We can begin by singing to God's praise from the second psalm, psalm 2, and we're singing from verse 7. Second psalm, I'm singing from verse 7.
[0:31] The sure decree I will declare, the Lord hath said to me, Thou art mine only son, this day I have begotten thee. Ask of me and for heritage, the heathen I'll make thine, and for possession I to thee will give earth that must line. Thou shalt us with a weighty rod of fire and break them all, and as a porter shared, thou shalt them dash in pieces small. Thou therefore kings, be wise, be taught ye judges of the earth. Sell God in fear and see that ye join trembling with your mirth. Cuse ye the sun, lest in his eye he perish from the way, if once his wrath begin to burn. Blessed all that on him stay. Let us sing these verses, the second psalm, from verse 7 to the end. The sure decree I will declare, the Lord hath said to me. The sure decree I will declare, the Lord hath said to me. Thou art mine, O
[1:51] Christ, the Lord hath said to me. Thou art mine, O Christ, the Lord hath said to me. He will give earth that must line. Thou shalt us with The which he wrote, O find on, bring them all.
[2:47] And as the water shared the shout, Then the action is as small.
[3:02] Now therefore, King, he might be taught, He judges of the earth.
[3:18] Stare God in fear, And see that he joined trembling with your fire.
[3:35] Kiss ye the sun, Blessed in his sight, He perished from the way.
[3:50] If once his wrath begin to burn, Blessed all that on him stay.
[4:05] Let us join together in prayer. Let us pray. O Lord, O God, Help us to worship In the manner in which you Seek worship from Your people, Wherever they are met, Whether they are met corporately, Or whether they are alone.
[4:37] Whether their number is many or few. What you seek from is That our heart would engage In this act of worship, And that it would be the whole heart.
[4:54] That we would be Fully aware of Who it is that is before us Receiving the praise of our lips.
[5:07] And that In order to Satisfy that, That we would have our mouth filled From on high. That we would not come with With our own.
[5:23] And With Nothing of God. But with All of God And all of our own. Giving back To you What you have given to us.
[5:36] And what have we But what we have Received. We Are often Beguiled into thinking That it is by our own Endeavors that Our possessions accumulate.
[5:48] Our position Is Elevated. And We Think that By reason of our Energy And our Our Desire To secure Advancement That we are To receive The accolade of heaven Itself.
[6:18] And yet The truth is that We are to To give To the God Who gave In order To acknowledge The recognition That we give To that fact.
[6:36] And that there is No one Here Or anywhere Under the sun Who can Aspire to Greatness And believe That It is by virtue Of these Aspirations That they Achieved Greatness Whether that is The possession Of wealth Or property Or even The advancement Of Mental Pravice These things Are ours By reason Of your Gifting And that is Not to say That we are not Required To Strive To ensure That We do Secure These things That are For our good And for the good Of others We are In no way Allowed To be Lethargic Or lazy In our
[7:37] Engagement With the world And what this World requires Of us In order to Continue in it And experience Well-being As a result But do not Allow us To fall into The trap Of believing That That these Things That we Aspire To Are ours By reason Of Our own Energies Alone We give Thanks That you Are God Who Who is The giver Of every Good and Perfect Gift And we Are indebted To you For the Gifting Of others In the Way in Which they Progress These gifts And advance Themselves In their Skills Sets In the World There is Not one Person Here Who may Have No reason To To overlook The fact That At some Point in
[8:38] Their life If not Now In the Future That they Will be Looking To others Who have Developed These skills And who Have Thought to Build upon What others Have Established We may Think of Advances In medical Science And Especially At a Time of Our world Pandemic When we See How much We depend Upon Upon the Developments That have Ensued By reason Of the Seal With which So many Were involved In developing Vaccines And Developing Means By which Their Suffering Would have Their suffering Alleviated We give Thanks for All who Have Been
[9:38] Industrious To that End And within The sphere Of medicine Again and Again we Depend on The skills Of surgeons And those Who are Instrumental In delivering Care Afterwards And we Are indebted To them But most Of all We are Indicted To the God Who Has Given to Us These Things As we Look Around Us In the World Where there Are so Many Creature Comforts That we Enjoy And take For granted We give Thanks for Them And thanks To you For those Who have Been Instrumental In bringing These advancements To fruition But always Enable us To remember That the God of Heaven Is the One To whom Thanks is To be Offered Most of All as We gather In your Name Today We pray
[10:38] For The Truth Of the Gospel To be Impressed Upon our Hearts And minds That Salvation Is something That Has not Been left To In one Of us And were It to be So In our Lostness Would be Perpetuated It would Be Something that Would continue Without hope Of deliverance Our lostness By virtue Of sin Would be Something From which We would Not be able To seek Or to Receive Deliverance Except for The provision That you have Made for us In the one Who is the Redeemer of The lost Jesus Christ The righteous Lift him up Before us This morning Afresh That we Might Penetrate The darkness That envelops Us by nature With the light Of your own Countenance Lifted up Upon us That we May gaze
[11:39] Upon the Face of The one Who possesses A glory Like no Other That we May see Him Whom to Know his Life Eternal To see Him With the Eye of Faith To see Him As he Radiates Glory That is His By right We marvel At the fact That he Came into This world That he Humbled Himself And became Man And so Was and Continues to Be God And man And yet At the same Time When he Was in The world The glory Was veiled It was Hidden From sight He was Seen As an Infant Of days And his Glory Was hidden Even though At the Moment of Birth He was Still The eternal Son of The most High God The one Who is From everlasting To everlasting Who possesses By right All the Attributes Of divinity We give We give Thanks That he
[12:39] Came in Order to Secure Salvation For sinners And that he Pursued Diligently The path That would Secure that Salvation And we Bless you For that And for the Way the Gospel Declare it To us May we Wrestle Diligently To find Answers To our Questions If we Are still Questioning The truth Of the Bible If we Are still Indifferent To the Claims That the Gospel Makes We pray Lord That you Would take Away That which Veils our Eyes And hides From us The glory Of that Christ We pray For your Spirit To come Into our Midst And that You would Work in The hearts And the Minds Of all Who are Present Confirming Your People As those Who possess Life Without End Encouraging
[13:39] Them to Know that That life Is in And through Christ And Celebrating The fact That he Has Brought To them That which They could Not secure For themselves Encourage Others To seek The same For themselves To do So earnestly And to Do so With urgency As we Face an Uncertain Future Because all Future is Uncertain Whatever we Say about Our lives We may Plan And we May have Purposes We may Have Ideas And we May have Things that We want To do And think That they Are ours To do At will But how Quickly You cut Across The path That we Have set Ourselves Upon And you Show to Us that You are The God Who is The God Of providence And sometimes Our providence Is one Is one That is Often Seen to
[14:40] Be Complicated And sometimes Even beyond To Reckoning But you Are sovereign And we Give thanks For that And we Pray That today That we Would recognise The need That there Is to Pursue Holiness Without Which No man Can see God We pray For our Nation We pray For the Government Of the Day Nationally We pray For the Westminster Parliament We pray For the Parliament In Holyrood We pray For the Local Council As we Enter into A period Of Preparation For Election We pray For those Who Have served The community And those Who intend To do so May you Overrule For good In all The Deliberations That are Left to Each of Us We pray For your For your
[15:41] Grace to Manifest Itself In all That we Seek to Do in This world Remember The endeavors That are Made for After peace Especially In light Of the Devastation That is Witnessed By us In the Ukraine And in The armed Conflict That is On going There We We Grieve Over Those Lives That have Been Lost The blood That has Been shed The indiscriminate Use of Violence And Those Who have Been Devastated In ways That we Cannot even Begin to Understand Not only Have they Been A destitute Of property And Homes And Possessions But also They have Been ravaged Ravaged In the sense Of their Peace Been Forcibly Taken Taken Taken Taken From Them And The fear That That Fills
[16:41] Their heart And mind Is not Something That can Easily Be Aswaged And we Give You the Glory Who is Able To bring Your Peace Peace And as That is So we Pray For your Peace To be Liberally Bestowed Upon the Needy Especially Those who Are Driven Away From These Regions In Their Thousands Upon Thousands We Remember All parts Of the World That are Suffering From War And the Effects Of It Hear Our Prayers And Bear Your Arm In Mercy Pour Out Your Spirit To bring Us To Our Senses That We May Cry Out of A sense Of Our Need For Relief From The Aftermath Of Sin In The World Every Day That we Open Our Eyes We Are Confronted By The Reality Of What Sin Has Brought Into Our Experience We Sin Daily In Thought
[17:42] In Word And Indeed And No Man Dare Deny That Fact So Cleanse Us From These Sins Through The Blood Of The Everlasting Covenant Go Before Us We Pray Blessing Your Word As We Read It As We Sing It As We Contemplate It May The Light Of Your Countenance Be Lifted Upon Us And Pardon Sin In Jesus Name Amen We're Going To Read Two Passages From The Scriptures The First We Find In The Old Testament Scriptures The Familiar Words Of The Prophet Isaiah Isaiah Chapter 52 Reading Into Chapter 53 Isaiah Chapter 52 And We Can Read From Verse 13 Reading Into Chapter 53 goes Behold, my servant shall deal prudently.
[18:41] He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. And many were astonished at him, whose visage was so marred more than any man, and is far more than the sons of men.
[18:56] So shall he sprinkle many nations. The kings shall shut their mouths at him, for that which had not been told them shall they see, and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
[19:11] Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground.
[19:23] He hath no forum nor comeliness, and when he shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
[19:38] And we hid as it were our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted.
[19:54] But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed.
[20:06] All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth.
[20:20] He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is done, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who shall declare his generation?
[20:36] For he was cut off out of the land of the living, for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
[20:52] Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief. When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
[21:10] He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities.
[21:22] Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he hath poured out his soul unto death.
[21:33] And he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. We can read also from the New Testament Scriptures, from the Gospel of Mark, and we're reading from chapter 15, and from the beginning down to verse 15.
[22:01] Mark, chapter 15, verse 1. And straight away, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes, and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate.
[22:20] And Pilate asked him, Art thou the king of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it. And the chief priests accused him of many things, but he answered nothing.
[22:33] And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? Behold, how many things they witness against thee. But Jesus yet answered nothing.
[22:46] So that Pilate marveled. And now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired. And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection.
[23:05] And the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had ever done unto them. But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the king of the Jews?
[23:20] For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy. But the chief priests moved the people that he should rather release Barabbas unto them.
[23:31] And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the king of the Jews?
[23:41] And they cried out again, Crucify him. Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him.
[23:54] And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them and delivered Jesus when he had scourged him to be crucified.
[24:08] And so on, may the Lord add his blessing to this reading of his word and to his name be the praise. We're going to sing from Psalm 119.
[24:22] Psalm 119. At verse 137. Let's sing this section of the Psalm. Psalm 119.
[24:34] At verse 137. O Lord, thou art most righteous, thy judgments are upright, thy testimonies thou commandst, most faithful are upright.
[24:48] My zeal hath even consumed me, because mine enemies, thy holy words forgotten have, and do thy laws despise.
[24:59] Thy words most pure, therefore on it thy servants love is set. Small and despised I am, yet I thy precepts not forget.
[25:10] Thy righteousness is righteousness, which ever doth endure, thy holy law, O Lord, also is, the very truth most pure.
[25:23] And so on. We're going to sing to verse 144 from verse 157. O Lord, thou art most righteous, thy judgments are upright.
[25:34] O Lord, thou art most righteous, thy judgments are upright.
[25:53] Thy testimony is like all mine, most faithful, most faithful, most faithful, and upright.
[26:10] My zeal hath been concerned with me, because my enemies, thy holy words forgotten have, and do thy laws despise.
[26:47] Thy works most pure, therefore on it thy servants love is set.
[27:05] Small and despised I am, yet I thy precepts not forget.
[27:22] Thy righteousness is righteousness, which ever doth endure.
[27:40] thy holy law, Lord, also is, the very truth most pure.
[27:59] Trouble and anguish, I'll be loved, and take the home of me.
[28:16] Yet in my trouble, while I delight, thy just, don't love me.
[28:33] eternal righteousness is death, thy testimony is all.
[28:53] Lord, Lord, Lord, could be understood, in you, I'll never live, I shall.
[29:10] Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, find in the first epistle, general of Peter, chapter 1, and we can read at verse 18.
[29:31] 1 Peter, chapter 1, reading verse 18. For as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation, received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without sport.
[30:03] In this passage, where we find our text for this morning, the apostle Peter is telling the reader that redemption, that is the redemption of the Christian, is something that was purchased by the Christian.
[30:32] That was purchased by the blood of Christ. Normally, if we are redeeming something, we would redeem it by using something of monetary value.
[30:48] We would use pounds, shillings, or pence, or whatever the denomination of currency applies. But the teaching of Peter here is, has to do with paying a redemption price that secured the freedom of the person for whom that price was paid.
[31:17] In the historical context, it would be language that they would be familiar with.
[31:28] Because slavery was something that was commonplace. And it was something that they were aware of, and something perhaps that many of them would have participated in.
[31:44] The purchase or the sale of slaves. They may have been slaves. They may even have been slaves themselves, who had experienced being bought or sold.
[31:57] So they would understand, the reader would understand the terminology. But Peter is using that language to describe what happens when a person who is a sinner by nature is redeemed from the cost of their sin.
[32:25] When their debt is paid.
[32:44] And God accepts the price that is paid for them. He is teaching them about the sacrificial death of Christ.
[32:56] He is teaching them why Christ had to die. And what the aftermath of that death would secure.
[33:07] Many theologians, many gospel teachers have taken this teaching into their ministry.
[33:19] And again and again you would find expressions such as the following declared. That this is what is, that this is the matter of the gospel.
[33:32] Christ died the death that I could not die. In order to pay the debt that I could not pay.
[33:43] And that's really what the apostle is teaching here. Now you must wonder. We've read a passage from the Old Testament.
[33:54] And we've read a passage from the Gospel. And you've taken your text from the Epistles. What is it that connects these three passages?
[34:05] And the connection has to do with God's provision of a Saviour. In the prophecy, the prophet was directing the attention of those who were listening to the words of the prophet the prophet's voice.
[34:26] The prophet was looking at the prophet's voice. To what God was yet to do in the passion of Jesus Christ. What he was going to do. How he was going to do it. And what he would secure when he did it.
[34:40] And the prophet, perhaps in language and in ways that many would be puzzled at what he was seeing. And how could that possibly impact upon their lives.
[34:56] Because there were many things that might not make sense to them hundreds and hundreds of years before it actually happened. In the New Testament, what we have read there is a section of the New Testament that describes to us the process leading up to the death of Christ.
[35:17] Where he is examined at the point in the gospel that we read by the Roman authorities and the head of the Roman authorities, Pilate.
[35:31] He is acting judicially and responsible for bringing Jesus to death on the cross.
[35:42] And I suppose the bridge between the two is this verse that we are looking at here. I want us to understand that there is a connection between some of what the prophet said and some of what we see happening in the gospel as it describes to us the experience of the Lord Jesus.
[36:07] And what exactly was happening as prophecy was fulfilled and Christ's personal experiences described to us.
[36:20] If you remember, we read the prophecy of Isaiah. Isaiah. And we're just looking at one part of that passage that we read. In chapter 53, verse 7.
[36:34] We read, he was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before a shearer is done.
[36:47] So he opened not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment. And who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living.
[37:00] For the transgression of my people was he stricken. Now the part of that that I want us to think about and bear in mind as we're looking at the words of the apostle Peter.
[37:13] The first thing that he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter. And in the words of the apostle, what we have here is that he is speaking of the redemption of the sinner through the death of Jesus Christ.
[37:36] And he identifies Jesus Christ in this way. As a lamb without blemish and without spot. Now, these two things are important.
[37:50] The lamb of which the prophet speaks. The lamb of which the apostle speaks.
[38:01] The lamb of which the prophet speaks. It's one of the same. It is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the description is reminding us of what we see happening in the other picture that we have.
[38:20] Where we see Christ undergo examination at the hands of his accusers. And I want you to try and retain that thought in your mind.
[38:35] As we try and understand how minutely the scripture brings before us the awesome wonder of what God is doing in order to save sinners.
[38:55] Now, when it comes to thinking about what we read in the gospel. Each one of the gospel writers makes reference to the point in Jesus' life where he is under arrest and he is brought before his accusers for trial.
[39:23] And each one of the gospel writers makes reference to that in some detail. So, I want us to understand that there is a judicial process taking place.
[39:44] As if Christ is standing before a court of law. Now, that's normally the case. If a person is accused of a crime, that crime is identified.
[39:58] The accusation is made. And the accused is brought before judge. And judged accordingly.
[40:09] In the experience of the Lord Jesus Christ. There were several accusers. There were several endeavors made to lay a crime to his charge.
[40:28] And it is as if there are several courts working in collaboration. And I don't want to go into too much detail. But what we can say about the trial of Jesus is that there is nothing at all straightforward about it.
[40:49] It is not even a matter of one authority. But several who are engaged in trying to bring Christ to condemnation.
[41:02] And we could spend a lot of time. And it's a very interesting study for you. If you have the time. To focus on the gospels.
[41:13] And see the information that the gospel brings to your attention. About the arrest of Jesus. And the processes that followed. Subsequent to that.
[41:24] Prior to his death on the cross. But we could say safely. In one sense it is the grossest miscarriage of justice.
[41:37] There is the Jewish authorities. Those who are identified as responsible for bringing criminals to justice within the religious sphere.
[41:56] The Greek authorities. So the Bangladeshi. The Greek authorities. And if the Jew. The Greek cops are instance, oppressed 18-Sp ran into two screws that have injury.
[42:15] With Earth boots. The jusqu boosts the gold, not opera. And in this sport, for example. And there are formal procedures that needed to be followed, and they have to be followed diligently and to the left.
[42:34] But if you are of a mind to do that, you can find that, strictly speaking, many of the very procedures that they were bound by were ignored.
[42:49] And they were intent on pursuing a path where the condemnation of Jesus would be secured.
[43:00] They said that as much. You know, if you are bringing somebody to a court of law, the end there is twofold.
[43:10] You either secure a conviction or you ensure that the person who is innocent is found innocent. Normally, a person who is acting as judge or jury in that role, they are supposed to act with a clear mind as to what they are actually doing.
[43:34] They are not going there with the thought in their mind, this person is guilty, I am going to find him guilty. But to ensure that the evidence that is supplied will secure a verdict, guilty or innocent.
[43:50] Now, in the mind of his accusers, Jesus was already guilty. And what they were intent upon was not even securing a guilty verdict, but securing the capital penalty that a guilty verdict would end up with.
[44:10] But just to short-circuit any great discussion on the matter, there is a book, a very well-known book, written by a man called Alfred Eidersheim.
[44:23] Now, it's not just a social history of the time that he wrote, but he is somebody who has a knowledge of the religious procedures of the jury at the time.
[44:42] Jury in the sense of the people of Israel, the people of God, the people of Christ's own day. The title, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah.
[44:54] So he's particularly interested in the religious role of the authorities, how they executed it. And this is what he says.
[45:07] He says quite a lot. And if you ever have time, it's a good book to take on holiday with you. It will keep you going for many happy hours if you have that mindset.
[45:18] The gospel narratives, he says, do not speak of a formal trial and sentence by the Sanhedrin. On the other hand, the four gospels indicate that the whole proceedings of that night were carried on in the palace of Caiaphas, the high priest, and that during that night, no formal sentence of death was pronounced.
[45:46] However, there can be no question that Jesus' condemnation and death were the work of, if not the Sanhedrin, yet of the Sanhedrinists.
[45:58] There is just a summary of what he has to say. Because, for example, it wasn't appropriate for such a group of people to initiate a trial at night.
[46:13] It was unheard of. And yet, this was something they rapidly did in order to secure the end they had in view. To call the proceedings that of a kangaroo court is an understatement.
[46:30] False charges were made and false witnesses were supplied. And yet the words of the prophet Isaiah resonate.
[46:42] Because in each one of the gospel accounts that we have, when Jesus is before his accusers, when he appears before Annas, who is a retired high priest who has no locus in the matter, and yet he interviews Jesus, Caiaphas, the existing high priest, he examines Jesus, Pilate, who is the Roman authority, into which they hand Jesus over, because they want Jesus killed.
[47:20] They want him executed. They have no power to do that themselves. They need the Roman authorities to do that, so they are willing to pay lip service to the Roman authorities, who they despise, in order to secure the verdict they crave.
[47:38] That is the death of Jesus. Jesus appears, first of all, before Pilate, and again Jesus is silent in the presence of Pilate, virtually.
[47:52] Pilate passes him on to Herod. Herod again interviews Jesus, and then he is passed back to be examined again by Pilate.
[48:02] Pilate, and what we find is that the words of Isaiah are fulfilled literally.
[48:14] Here is the Lamb of God. If you know your scripture, you know that that description was a description that was given of Jesus by John the Baptist.
[48:27] When Jesus was presented by John to the people, he said, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
[48:39] And that name is a name that belongs to him exclusively. God said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
[48:52] This is, in other words, my Lamb. And when Jesus appears, in the presence of his accusers, he fulfills the prophecy, in this sense, that he is brought as a Lamb to the slaughter, as a sheik before a shearer, is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.
[49:14] Now the prophecy doesn't just stop there. It goes on, He was taken from prison and from judgment. And who shall declare his generation? I believe that fixes what the prophet is seeing on this hour, where he is taken from judgment.
[49:34] The judgment where Jesus refused to speak, refused to defend himself, and to declare his innocence to his accusers.
[49:49] F.W. Krumachar, another preacher and teacher, he says this, His holding of his peace is the reflection of a more mysterious silence before another and higher than any human tribunal.
[50:08] We must regard the silence of Jesus, who, having taken upon him before God the sins of his people by a mysterious imputation, deems himself worthy of death and the curse.
[50:24] That's a very interesting understanding of what is happening. But I believe it is an understanding that can be defended on the basis of what we see happening.
[50:38] Jesus is innocent of the crimes that are laid to his charge by the civil authorities and by the religious authorities.
[50:52] Pilate, as much as says so, as we shall see, and yet Jesus says nothing about his innocence or guilt.
[51:05] So the question arises, why is he willing to remain silent when he is present before his accusers? And that answer is given by F.W. Krumachar, because Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God, is there.
[51:24] Not because the religious authorities want him to be there, not because the civil authorities have decreed that he be there, but because he is under another sovereign authority, that of God, the Heavenly Father.
[51:43] And he is there, answering not for his own sins, but for the sins of the people. He is answering the crimes that the people of God are guilty of.
[51:58] They are under the condemnation of God. Their guilt is there, and Christ is willing to sit under that guilt and answer to that judgment of a higher a size than that of the religious or the civil authorities of the day.
[52:26] I even listen, we often refer to him in a book written across in the experience of our Lord. He says the following, It was right, he says, that the religious and the civil, the spiritual and the temporal should both have a hand in this.
[52:48] Sin had entrenched itself in both realms, the spiritual and the civil, and the cross of Jesus has a message for both. In other words, they are involved because it is fitting that they be involved because sin has permeated their whole way of doing things, as is seen by the way they endeavor to execute judgment, even a perverse form of it as they see fit.
[53:21] But the thing that we want to move on to is this, the silent lamb is in the presence of examiners prior to being sacrificed.
[53:36] If you know your Bible, you'll know that on the day of when the Paschal lamb was being offered, when there was the celebration of the redemption of Israel from Egypt.
[53:54] The means by which their salvation was secured was with the sacrifice of a lamb whose blood was sprinkled on the doorposts and the lintels of the homes of those who possessed that lamb.
[54:10] Now part of the process involved before the sacrifice was this. The lamb had to be produced by the offerer and it was presented to the priesthood and the priesthood would examine the lamb and the priesthood would prove whether the lamb was suitable for offering or not.
[54:36] It had to be whole, it had to be free from any blemish or stain that would make it unsuitable for the sacrifice for which it was meant. this was decreed by God, this was observed by the religious observers of the sacrament all their days.
[54:57] So when we see the prophet describe the the the the the lamb being silent it is not just describing to us something that has to do with the creature but something to do with the way Christ is presented in the presence of his accusers.
[55:24] he is examined and he is he is found guilty and he is sentenced accordingly but that's not what we have.
[55:38] If you go again to the New Testament what you read there the one who has the final word to do with the life or death of Christ as far as human beings are concerned is Pilate and Pilate says this I find no fault with this man three times he says that I find no fault with this man I have found no cause of death in him now and yet Christ is killed Christ is slain the sacrifice is offered how can that possibly be what sense does it make here we have somebody who who has the last word as far as as the authorities are concerned he declares his innocence and yet he gives him over to death well the explanation is given by theologians and Professor
[56:41] Dalton MacLeod is very good at explaining things far better than I am and he refers to Calvin John Calvin one of the older commentators and he says this it was not enough for Christ to suffer any kind of death it had to be a judicial death involving an arraignment an accusation and a condemnation Pilate the authority appointed by God is the symbol and executor of a judicial process by which Jesus was formally found guilty and formally sentenced he was not murdered by an assassin or lynched by a mob or killed in an incident he was convicted by a judge after due process and judicially executed and yet the lamb is declared pure unblemished and yet because it is and it is because it is that it is fit to be slain it is because the lamb is without blemish that the sacrifice is acceptable to God that God is willing to receive the lamb from those who are offering it
[58:05] Professor Finneson says and it says it's significant he says and it's no more than this and it's a very interesting point that he makes when you look at the occasion when Christ died it was the occasion when the people were met together for the Passover celebrations it was at the time when this offering was made and the part that belongs to the offering the examination of the lamb as it was presented to the priests he says it was at that very moment that Christ was presented in the presence of his accusers and examined he says it is just a thought more or less saying no more than that but I think there's a great significance attached to it he was undergoing the trial of his accusers while at the same time what symbolised that was taking place you know the type and the anti-type more or less simultaneously taking place that's wonderful that's an amazing coincidence if nothing else but it's more than a coincidence it is God's doing and when God does something what he says by the word of
[59:48] Isaiah hundreds of years before comes to pass to the letter the very detail of it is inexplicable if it is not the work of God here he is willing to submit to the scrutiny of men but more importantly of God who saw his lamb and he supplied it he saw his lamb that's what he saw God could say that's my lamb that's being slain and he knew what kind of lamb it was it was the best lamb there was no lamb like it it was his choice lamb it was the son of his bosom and he knew there was nothing lacking in it he supplied it and he was pleased with it and therefore when it comes to the death of that lamb is it any wonder that he could say afterwards this is my lamb
[61:00] I am pleased with it I'm not going to look for any other if you're a Christian today and you're thinking of what you can do to please God to in any way elevate yourself in the sight of God to make him pleased with you well this is the only thing you can do put your hand by faith on the head of that lamb and say you're pleased with that lamb then so am I your lamb is my lamb whose sacrifice is my sacrifice whose death is my death whose works are what I couldn't do for myself do you understand that are you here today without Christ as your saviour hearing these words and you're scratching your head and you're saying to yourself I don't understand that
[62:02] I can't understand that well try with God's help to look at his word and see if God will give you the sight of his lamb that you need for the salvation of your soul if he's pleased with him surely you can be pleased with him because his death has meant the salvation of many many sinners for as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot do you see the connection do you make the connection well please put your trust in such a lamb because this is the lamb that takes away the sin of the world let us pray oh lord god help us to see what we cannot see except you give us sight open the eyes of our heart and mind that we may marvel at the wonder of your provision when we see the enmity that is in the heart of man so many were intent on the destruction of one that was wholly innocent and yet it was through that holocaust that you were willing to receive sinners to yourself we give thanks for the provision you have made in
[63:46] Christ satisfy us with him pardon us every sin in Jesus name amen shall flourish in his days and prosper in his rain he shall while death the moon endure abundant peace maintain his large and great dominion shall from sea to sea extend that from the river shall reach forth and to earth that must end and sing these verses the people's poor ones he shall judge the needy's children save the people's term want he shall judge the needy's children save and though shall he in peace spread who live o'er present now they shall be here while sun and moon to us through ages all like rain on moon grass he shall grow our showers on earth and fall the just shall flourish in his days and prosper in his reign he shall while does the moon endure have found them peace they day his his large and great dominion shall from sea to sea extend and all of the river shall reach shore unto earth's uncle's dead amen may grace mercy and peace from god the father the son and the holy spirit rest and abide with you all never and always amen