It's the moment that we both love and hate in our favorite stories
when the good guy is captured and brought into the villain's lair
and he is powerless against pure evil.
I think of Frodo stung by the giant spider Shalob in The Lord of the Rings.
And we think all is lost.
Or Wesley trapped in the pit of despair.
I won't try to do the imitation of the actor who portrayed the albino.
The pit of despair in the 80s classic Princess Bride.
Or more recently, Batman broken by his evil nemesis Bane.
And we think he is to never fly again.
And without fail, at this point in the movie, the music is in a minor key.
The lighting is dark.
The shots are lingering.
And we're meant to feel the depth of loss and sorrow as the story turns dark and hopeless.
And we hope that soon the good guy will find a way out of his evil plight and turn the tide.
But for now, all seems like it is lost.
The story we're going to step in today in Matthew 26 is really gloomy.
That's where we're at, Matthew 26.
Human evil, human failure, and human despair are thick in the atmosphere of this passage.
And Jesus is proceeding down into the yawning, dark path that God has laid out for him to walk.
It is not positive or encouraging.
It is the evil hour when darkness reigns.
When evil comes out to play.
Today's passage is a series of dark scenes that are tied together with some common threads.
And they're woven together by Matthew, by the guidance of the Holy Spirit,
to show us something about the bad guys, about the good guy, and about the God that is over all of it.
And I think it's going to speak something to us.
So I'd like to read it in full together.
We're going to start in Matthew 26, verse 57.
Matthew 26, verse 57.
And we'll read through Matthew 27, verse 10.
And as I read, would you just be listening for a few things?
Would you listen to how much space Matthew gives to human failure and human evil?
And would you also be listening for a little bright display of Jesus?
And would you also be on the lookout for a few little hints and glimpses of how all of this is according to plan?
So let's read together.
Starting at chapter 26 of Matthew, verse 57.
This is God's word.
Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and elders had gathered.
And Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest.
And going inside, he sat with the guards to see the end.
Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death.
But they found none, though many false witnesses came forward.
At last, two came forward and said,
This man said, I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.
And the high priest stood up and said,
Have you no answer to make?
What is it that these men testify against you?
But Jesus remained silent.
And the high priest said to him,
I adjure you, I put you under oath by the living God.
Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.
Jesus said to him,
You have said so.
But I tell you, I tell you all.
From now on, you all will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven.
Then the high priest tore his robes and said,
He has uttered blasphemy.
What further witnesses do we need?
You have now heard his blasphemy.
What is your judgment?
And they answered,
He deserves death.
And they spit in his face and struck him.
And some slapped him, saying,
Prophesy to us, you Christ.
Who is it that struck you?
Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard.
And a servant girl came up to him and said,
You also were with Jesus the Galilean.
But he denied it before them all, saying,
I don't know what you mean.
And when he went out to the entrance,
Another servant girl saw him and she said to the bystanders,
This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.
Again, he denied it with an oath.
I do not know the man.
After a little while,
The bystanders came up and said to Peter,
Certainly you two are one of them,
For your accent betrays you.
Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear,
I do not know the man.
And immediately the rooster crowed.
And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus,
Before the rooster crows,
You will deny me three times.
And he went out and wept bitterly.
When morning came,
All the chief priests and the elders of the people
Took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.
And they bound him and led him away
And delivered him over to Pilate the governor.
But then when Judas, his betrayer,
Saw that Jesus was condemned,
He changed his mind
And brought back the thirty pieces of silver
To the chief priests and the elders,
Saying,
I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.
They said,
What is that to us?
See to it yourself.
And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple,
He departed and went and hanged himself.
But the chief priests,
Taking the pieces of silver,
Said,
It is not lawful to put them into the treasury,
Since it is blood money.
So they took counsel and bought with them
The potter's field as a burial place for strangers.
Therefore that field has been called
The field of blood to this day.
Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah,
Saying,
And they took the thirty pieces of silver,
The price of him on whom a price had been set
By some of the sons of Israel,
And they gave them for the potter's field,
As the Lord directed me.
This is God's word.
What God wants us to see today,
In this passage,
Is this.
Human nature,
And our Savior Jesus,
Both showed their true colors,
On this darkest of all nights.
All to fulfill God's written will.
Human nature,
And our Savior Jesus,
Both showed their true colors,
On this darkest of all nights.
All to fulfill God's written will.
So as we go,
What I want to do,
Is I want to unpack all three of those parts.
I want us to see,
The true colors of human nature,
On display in this passage.
And Matthew gives the most amount of real estate,
To this in his passage,
And I'll be giving the most amount of time,
Here,
To point that out.
However,
I want to circle back around,
After we go through all three scenes,
And point out,
The true colors of Jesus.
And then at the end,
I want to see how it's all,
According to God's written will.
And then we'll be applying it as we go.
So first,
Let's look,
At human nature's true colors,
In this passage.
The first true color of human nature,
That we see here,
Is the malicious injustice,
Aimed at Jesus,
By the religious leaders.
The malicious injustice,
Aimed at Jesus,
By the religious leaders.
We've been introduced to Caiaphas,
Way back in the beginning of this chapter,
In verse three.
He's the high priest,
The leading religious leader,
Of the Jews at the time.
He was one of the most respected,
And most powerful men,
In Jerusalem.
And he was surrounded,
By respected and powerful men,
Chief priests,
Scribes,
And elders of the people.
They were the elite leaders,
That exercised influence,
Over Israel at this time.
And,
They wanted Jesus dead.
Why did this group,
Of respected,
Pious,
Religious leaders,
Unite around,
Such a murderous,
Common cause?
Because Jesus threatened,
Their authority.
He called them out,
On their fake righteousness,
Of external religion,
Their thirst for human approval,
And their utter lack,
Of true love of God.
And so,
They have succeeded in their plot,
They started in verse three,
They're back in Caiaphas,
His house,
They've brought Jesus,
In captivity,
After grabbing him,
Under the cover of darkness,
And are bringing him in,
For a hearing.
It seems like evil is winning,
And darkness is winning.
And Matthew makes it painfully clear,
That this whole trial,
Is an embarrassment to justice.
According to Jewish tradition,
Capital cases couldn't be tried at night,
It's night.
They normally took place,
On the temple grounds,
They're in Caiaphas' house.
The defendant had the right,
To a defense attorney.
None rose to the occasion.
He was able to,
The defense attorney was able,
To cross examine the witnesses,
That came against the accused,
And this did not happen.
The accused also had the right,
To call witnesses to his defense,
And none of this seems to be,
Brought up for consideration.
They must have had,
Some kind of amnesia,
About these rules,
That they had made.
This was a quick,
Cut and paste trial.
A hoop to jump through.
It was just to bring about,
The desired conviction,
To prop it up with enough,
Outward appearance,
To seem legit.
And what's so ironic,
Is that the evidence,
That they try to piece together,
Which Matthew describes as false,
It won't add up.
Mark tells us,
The accounts of the false witnesses,
That came forward,
Were kept on contradicting each other.
Finally,
We see in verse 60,
Two men stand up,
And they come forward,
With something that might stick,
Against Jesus.
It's an easily misquoted,
And twisted version,
Of something Jesus had said,
A long time before.
But Jesus is silent.
In verse 63,
Caiaphas is obviously frustrated,
By Jesus' lack of response,
So he pulls out his big guns,
He puts Jesus under oath,
Before God.
He demands,
That Jesus declare,
Whether he's the Messiah,
The son of the living God,
Or not.
Well,
Upon hearing Jesus' faithful,
Confession of the truth,
Caiaphas tears his robes,
Proclaims the sentence,
That Jesus has blasphemed God,
And gets full agreement,
From the rest of the group,
That Jesus is worthy of death.
It's a very,
Impartial trial,
Isn't it?
An emotional appeal,
By the judge,
To the jury,
To get his verdict,
That he wants.
It's very impartial.
Extremely fair.
But,
On top of all that,
It's this last part of the scene,
That's very disturbing.
Then the restrained malice,
Behind all of these proceedings,
Comes out,
And it's unleashed.
Some of those who are present,
Either temple guards,
Or servants,
Or the priests,
And elders themselves,
They descend upon Jesus,
With pure hatred.
Spitting,
Hitting,
Mocking.
This was a physical way,
To proclaim the opposite,
Of what Jesus had just claimed.
That he was not the Messiah,
Because what kind of Messiah,
Would allow himself to be hurt,
Spit upon,
Shamed,
Told that he couldn't prophesy,
The future,
Because he couldn't identify,
The one who hit him.
Even the most despised,
Prisoner,
In a courtroom today,
Would never receive,
Such treatment.
Such unrestrained,
Hate-filled abuse.
When we behold this scene,
It's hard not to be disgusted,
With the malice,
And the injustice.
They have passed the verdict,
On Jesus in their hearts,
Before hearing any witnesses,
Or bringing any charges.
This trial was simply needed,
To check the boxes,
Of external formality,
To make their sentence of death,
Official.
We see,
Something to be disgusted at.
Hopefully,
We,
It also provokes in us,
A little bit of humility.
Our hearts,
Are not unable,
Of going this low.
How often,
Have you treated someone,
With anything less,
Than the respect,
And dignity,
That a human being,
Deserves,
Because he's an image bearer,
Of God,
Simply because,
They rubbed you,
The wrong way.
I know myself,
I can move a person,
From innocent,
To guilty,
To condemned,
In a millisecond,
On the judgment seat,
Of my heart,
If they do something,
To cross me.
I'm sure,
It's the same with you.
There isn't as much,
Difference between us,
And these religious leaders,
That we want to believe.
The same seat of murder,
Lies within us.
We should read this passage,
With humble and sober,
Reflection on the evil,
That lies in every human heart,
Including our own.
Well on that note,
Let's look a little more briefly,
At our second scene,
And see the second true color,
Of human nature,
Come out.
It is this,
Our fear laden,
Faithlessness.
Our fear laden,
Faithlessness.
And we need,
Look no further,
Than our good friend Peter.
Matthew has already told us,
Back up in verse 58,
That Peter is present here,
At Caiaphas' house.
He's in the courtyard,
While the trial is going on inside.
He was following Jesus,
At a distance,
Which is admirable,
Given the rest of the disciples,
Were nowhere near.
But neither is he,
Identifying himself with Jesus.
As one scholar put it,
He is wavering,
Halfway between courage,
And cowardice.
Now before we dive in,
Let's remember,
What Matthew told us,
Back a few verses before,
That what happened,
Only hours before,
That Jesus and his disciples,
Were on the way to Gethsemane,
And Peter,
Reacted very strongly,
Against Jesus' prediction,
That they would all abandon him.
Confidently saying,
If all others fall away,
I will not.
I never will.
And Jesus turns to him,
And he says,
You're going to disown me three times,
This very night, Peter.
And it's here,
Where this tragic scene unfolds,
In the high priest's courtyard.
There's a fire going on,
The servants of the householder,
Gather around to keep warm,
Against the cold night.
He's at the outskirts of this huddle,
And hoping to remain anonymous,
And yet gain information,
About what's going to happen,
To his Lord.
He's scared,
He's confused,
And he's anxious.
I would be too.
And we see that the intensity,
Of the accusations,
And the intensity of his denials,
Increase dramatically,
From beginning to end.
Look at verse 69.
He tries to skate past,
The servant girl's curious question,
With a classic line.
I don't know what you're talking about.
And then he gets himself,
Publicly accused by another servant girl,
Within the earshot of everyone else.
And he says,
I don't know the man.
He disowns Jesus blatantly.
And he puts himself under an oath,
To give some oomph to his denial.
To kind of bolster his credibility.
And the last accusation,
In verse 73,
You got a group of people,
Confronting him,
Saying,
Certainly,
You,
Are one of them,
Your accent betrays you.
If anybody opens their mouth,
If anyone's from,
Georgia or Alabama,
And they open their mouth,
In Wisconsin,
It's a dead giveaway.
We tend to know,
Kind of where they're from.
And the Judeans,
Southern Israelites,
Made fun constantly,
Of their northern Galilean counterparts,
For their accent.
And they say,
You got a Galilean accent.
This guy's Galilean.
You're one of them.
Now it's not proof positive,
But Peter's on the spot.
So he pulls out his ace of spades.
Not only an oath,
But a curse.
He calls down God's wrath on himself,
As proof positive,
That he is telling the truth,
That he doesn't know Jesus.
And apparently it worked for the crowd.
But then the rooster growed.
He remembered Jesus' prediction,
And the fear of the moment,
Faded into bitter tears of guilt.
He found a dark place in Jerusalem,
And wept like a broken man,
Because he was a broken man.
He was a colossal failure.
And not only did he feel deep remorse and grief,
For having disowned Jesus three times,
But he was approaching utter despair,
Of his soul,
As he had just called down God's wrath.
And he knew he was lying.
Can anyone identify with Peter?
All of us have shown our true colors,
Of faithlessness.
We can recall them,
The moments to our minds right now.
Maybe you can recall moments,
This morning,
Or this week,
Of your faithlessness.
We cave due to fear,
Or pride,
Or unchecked desires of the flesh.
We seek to preserve self,
Rather than suffer,
As we pursue obedience.
These are our true colors.
Our faithlessness.
There's good news coming.
I want to wait just a minute.
I want us to look at this last true color,
Of human nature,
In this last scene.
Here it is.
It is human despair,
And destruction,
For undervaluing Jesus.
Human despair,
And destruction,
For undervaluing Jesus.
The first two verses,
Of chapter 27,
Describe the Jewish leaders,
Official sentencing of Jesus.
There was a law,
That kept them from,
Passing an official sentence of death,
At night.
So of course,
They had to keep up appearances,
And make sure they passed,
The official death sentence,
During the day.
And they went off,
To Pilate,
With Jesus in tow,
With a guilty verdict,
And with a ready argument,
To make sure they get,
Pilate's signature,
On his execution.
But Matthew doesn't,
Immediately move his narrative,
To Jesus' trial,
Before Pilate,
Just yet.
He wants to make,
One more comment,
On the true color,
Of human nature,
Before that.
He tells us,
That Judas hears about,
This death sentence,
And he feels,
Deep remorse,
About his decision,
To betray,
Jesus.
We see that,
In verse 3,
That he changed his mind.
This is not true,
Repentance of coming,
Back to God,
This is,
Simply guilty,
Remorse.
So,
He tells us,
That Judas hears about,
The death sentence,
He feels the remorse,
And we see,
Why he feels this remorse,
In verse 4.
He comes into the temple,
In despair,
And he tried,
To return the 30 silver pieces,
To the chief priests.
And he says,
I've sinned,
By betraying,
Innocent blood.
Judas recognizes,
The evil that he's done,
He knows that he is,
Responsible for the violent death,
Of an innocent man,
And it leads him,
To guilt ridden,
Despair.
He is desperately,
Seeking some relief,
From his sense,
Of shame.
He goes to the,
Spiritual leaders of Israel,
At the time,
To seek that comfort,
And is,
Sorely disappointed.
They tell him,
What is that to us?
See to it yourself.
It's not our problem.
You take care of your own,
Seared conscience.
Well,
Judas does.
After a desperate,
Attempt to put the money back,
Where it came from,
To try to clumsily,
Make up for his sin,
He takes care of his,
Despair problem,
By ending his life.
He hangs himself.
The leaders,
Then decide,
That it is,
Since it's unlawful,
To return blood money,
To the temple treasury,
They do what their law,
Permitted them to do,
With blood money,
Which is to meet,
A public need.
There was a public need,
For a burial place,
For foreigners,
Outside the city limits,
And so they used it for that.
But before we move on,
Do you see how twisted,
Their thinking is?
It's unlawful,
To return blood money,
To the temple treasury.
It's not unlawful,
To draw that money out,
In the first place,
To betray an innocent man,
And lead him to death.
The irony is just thick.
Both Judas,
And these leaders,
Valued Jesus,
At 30 pieces of silver.
And although Judas felt remorse,
And the leaders did not,
Both of them are on their way,
To destruction.
They both valued Jesus,
Cheaply.
He was the price,
Of a common slave,
Or in the leader's eyes,
Just enough to buy,
Some cheap property,
Outside the city limits,
To dump polluted bodies,
For burial.
So the result for Judas,
Is a guilt ridden soul,
With no hope of redemption.
And the prophecy,
At the end of this scene,
Which we'll look at in a little bit,
More in depth,
Is echoing a passage in Jeremiah,
Where God promised destruction,
For those who valued him,
And his word,
Cheaply.
Friends,
What value do you put on Jesus?
What worth does he hold,
In your heart?
What do you prize him at?
Really?
To know him,
Is to treasure him,
Above all else.
To have him,
Is to cling tightly to him,
And it will be seen,
In the end,
How greatly you value him.
The God man,
This absolutely unique person,
Is your master,
Your rescuer,
Is your only hope in life,
In death.
Do you value him?
Do you value him cheaply?
To do so,
Is to invite despair,
And destruction,
From a wasted life.
Are you trading him in,
For the pursuit of pleasure,
Or comfort,
Or fame,
Or the accomplishment of,
Your will,
Not the father's will?
If you're doing that,
Repent.
Turn to the one,
Who is precious,
Beyond all riches,
And we're going to see,
How precious he is,
In just a moment.
Matthew spends,
Considerable time,
And space,
In this chapter,
Painting a picture,
Of the human nature,
True colors,
And we ought to feel,
The ugly weight,
Of it on our souls.
We ought to see,
The dark colors of it,
Reflecting out of our own hearts.
We are meant to feel,
Disgust,
At this.
Malice,
And injustice,
Towards others,
Who offend our pride,
Or the heavy sense,
Of our own,
Faithlessness,
Or the way,
That we value Jesus,
Cheaply.
If we ended here,
It would be depressing sermon.
But there's another,
Who is showing,
His true colors,
In this passage,
And I want to look,
At that right now.
Let's look at,
Jesus' true colors,
It comes out,
Particularly,
In the first scene.
Pastor Mike,
Preached last week,
On Jesus' true colors,
That came out,
In the garden of Gethsemane.
He fought,
The battle,
In prayer,
Of submission,
And obedience,
To the father's will,
At the utmost cost,
To himself.
And then he rose,
To meet his betrayer,
With courage,
And with confidence,
Having resigned himself,
Completely,
To do his father's will,
Every step,
Of the way.
And that's how,
We see him in this passage,
Actively,
Resolved,
To do the father's will,
Every step of the way.
Even though,
Verse 56 tells us,
That he's completely alone.
It's him,
And his obedience,
To God,
And that's it.
We also see,
That he's utterly silent,
In the face of his accusers.
It would be easy,
For him to shoot down,
These lies,
That are aimed at him.
But the only words,
He speaks in this passage,
Are the very words,
Of truth and faithfulness,
That bring,
His,
Condemnation.
He incriminates himself,
By speaking the truth.
And he does it,
Steadfastly,
Resolved,
To follow through,
With the father's will.
Caiaphas puts him under oath,
To answer whether he's the Messiah,
Or not.
Jesus makes his good confession,
As Paul calls it,
In 1 Timothy 6,
He answers Caiaphas,
Calmly,
And truthfully,
A stark contrast,
To the hasty falsehoods,
That are zipping about,
That night.
He says,
Yes to Caiaphas,
I am the Messiah,
It's a very hesitant,
Yes though.
Not hesitant,
In that he's not the Messiah,
But,
For Caiaphas,
And the rest,
The Messiah was an obvious,
Vanquisher of his enemies,
They liked power,
So it makes sense,
That their Messiah,
Would be obviously powerful,
Not this weakling,
Standing before them,
So powerless,
He hadn't put up a fight,
Jesus wanted to make sure that he answered Caiaphas
and said, yeah, I'm the Messiah
but I'm not your kind of Messiah
and then he clarifies the kind of Messiah that he is
with two potent Old Testament passages
Psalm 110 and Daniel 7
Psalm 110 is the most oft-quoted Old Testament passage
in the New Testament, period
it's really, really powerful
in the way that it portrays the Messiah
both of these passages show that the Messiah
would have a unique relationship with God
in fact, he would share God's power and authority
so, yeah, I am that kind of Messiah, Caiaphas
I am going to be the vanquisher of my enemies
but not in the way you think
Psalm 110 and Daniel 7
has the Messiah seated at the right hand of God's throne
and in Daniel 7
coming with the clouds of heaven
bringing God's kingdom to earth
as God's appointed king
sharing God's power and authority
in an absolutely unique way
Caiaphas wouldn't argue with this depiction
of power and authority
but notice the slight shift of phrase
that Jesus uses
he changes Caiaphas' phrase of
the Christ, the Son of God
to the Son of Man
and if we've been reading carefully
through the book of Matthew
we find that the Son of Man
is Jesus' favorite way of referring himself
to, yes, the Messiah
but the Messiah
and he certainly triumphs
but he triumphs through suffering
back in verse 2
is one of the many examples
where Jesus tells his disciples
right on the eve of his destruction
of his crucifixion
that the Son of Man
is going to be betrayed
into the hands of his enemies
and crucified
that's how Jesus wins
that's how he vanquishes his enemies
not by blasting them
but by dying for them
this kind of self-sacrifice
was incomprehensible
to these religious leaders
they were only interested
in self-preservation
keeping a hold of their own power
yes, I am that kind of Messiah
speaking the truth, Caiaphas
but I'm the Messiah who dies
and that's how I win
and hear the very real warning
in this powerful confession of Jesus
notice that he says
you will see the Son of Man
it's a y'all you
it's a plural you
y'all will see the Son of Man
see you at the right hand of God
and coming on the clouds of heaven
these leaders
motivated by pure hatred and envy
are standing over God's anointed one
in judgment
and they're ready to condemn him to death
and Jesus is saying
be careful
the tables are about to be turned
you are the judges now
sitting on your corrupt judgment seat
but very soon
you will be standing before me
as I sit at God's mighty right hand
and that judgment seat
knows nothing but pure justice
man, doesn't this put awe in your heart?
the steady resolve
of the Son of Man
to obey His Father's will
with the utmost perfect execution
and gritty determination
man, who is like this guy?
it should put awe in your hearts
it's this resolve, Christian
that won your freedom
it's His active determination
in every moment
when He could have called down
twelve leaders of angels
at any point of the whole proceeding
it's this resolve
that won your freedom
it's this resolve
to be beaten and shamed
and accused by hateful evil men
that purchased the forgiveness
of your hateful evil heart
it's His resolve
to do His Father's will
so faithfully
that He purchased your restoration
from fear-filled faithlessness
to do what is right
it's His resolve
to treasure His Father's glory
and His Father's will
above all else
the ransomed people
like you and me
who value God's glory
and His will cheaply
aren't you in awe
of this absolutely
unique person
who at any moment
could have stopped
the whole thing?
our response
should be quiet worship
who is like this man
and do you know why
we're reading Peter's story
two thousand years later?
this is the most encouraging
part of the whole sermon
hopefully
because Peter told it
he freely confessed
his massive failure
when he realized
what Jesus endured
so He could be healed
and restored
and put back together again
he told his story freely
he's like
oh yeah you think
your sin's bad?
I disowned Jesus
three times
the very night
He died for me
Peter was so familiar
with his failure
and he confessed it freely
do you know what God
is saying to us
in this passage?
because of Jesus'
true colors
of faithfulness
we could be totally
honest
about our faithlessness
stop hiding
your mess
stop pretending
you're fine
when you're not
confess that you're
just a massive failure
like Peter
you've got nothing
that you won't
do better
that you can't
do better
apart from Jesus
that's the whole point
of the gospel
that you're more
messed up
than you think you are
and you are more loved
than you could ever
dream
do you see how much
Jesus loves
colossal failures
and how much
he resolved
to do
for colossal
failures
like us
one author
from a previous
generation
said this
about Peter's
failure
isn't it kind
of God
that he would
see to it
that the most
prominent leader
in the church
would fail
so spectacularly
that
everyone
would fear
that none
may presume
that they can
stand
in the face
of temptation
and that all
may have hope
of restoration
if there's hope
for Peter
there's hope
for us
because of
Jesus'
true colors
lastly
we want to see
how this
human evil
and this
beautiful
resolve
of the
son of God
work together
in this passage
to fulfill
God's
written
will
all this
human junk
and all this
sparkling
obedience
of Jesus
was foreknown
and foretold
by God
in his word
it's a fulfillment
of his
gracious promise
to rescue
and redeem
people like us
if you look
back at
verse 54
and verse 56
of chapter 26
Jesus has this
on his mind
he's telling
Peter
calm down
man
how then
should the
scriptures
be fulfilled
that it
might be
so
verse 54
verse 56
all this
has taken
place
that the
scriptures
of the
prophets
might be
fulfilled
this is
all
according
to plan
nothing
is off
this passage
is just
heavy
with irony
the ones
who thought
they were
in control
who held
the power
were actually
playing perfectly
into God's
hands
Caiaphas
and his
crew
they knew
about the
triumphant
messiah
of Daniel
7
and Psalm
110
for sure
they knew
he would
come on
the clouds
and that he
would be
sitting at
God's right
hand
but they
had no
clue
that that
messiah
is the
same as
the
suffering
servant
in Isaiah
53
listen to
Isaiah
53
7
and think
about
Jesus
standing
on trial
he was
oppressed
and he
was afflicted
yet he
opened
not his
mouth
like a
lamb
that is
led
to the
slaughter
and like
a sheep
that before
its shearers
is silent
so he
opened
not
his mouth
he doesn't
resist
or defend
himself
he has
actively
submitted
himself
to the
will
of the
father
that was
ordained
hundreds
of years
before
listen to
verse 10
of Isaiah
53
it was
the
will
of the
lord
to crush
him
he has
put him
to grief
it was
not the
will of
the
council
only
the
will
of the
council
fulfilled
the
will
of the
father
to crush
his
son
on the
most
momentous
day
in history
to perform
the greatest
loss
which was
the greatest
victory
and not
only was
the father's
word
fulfilled
uttering
demonstrating
his utter
control
of the
situation
but so
was Jesus
word
at the
very moment
that his
adversaries
are slapping
him and
mocking him
that he
can't
prophesy
which one
of them
hit them
because they
have blindfolded
him
Luke tells
us
but one
of Jesus'
recent
most recent
prophecies
was being
fulfilled
at that
very moment
outside
in the
courtyard
with Peter
disowning
him
human
failure
woven
together
with the
son's
obedience
to fulfill
God's
perfect
word
Jesus
is in
perfect
control
of this
situation
and the
third
scene
Matthew
sees a
fulfillment
of God's
word
by making
a brief
reference
to a
prophetic
theme
that's found
in a
mashup
of passages
from Jeremiah
19 and
Zechariah
11
that's in
verse
9 and
10 of
chapter 27
he cites
Jeremiah
because Jeremiah
is the most
important
prophet
Matthew
if you
compare some
Old Testament
passages
prophecies
to the
fulfillment
in the
New
Testament
it's like
whoa
exact
matchup
sometimes
it's like
I'm not
really sure
if I
see it
this is
one of
those
I'm not
really sure
if I
see it
it's
because
there's
more than
one way
for prophecy
to be
fulfilled
one could
be just
a one
to one
oh
this
is
that
but
sometimes
it can
be a
fulfillment
of a
prophetic
theme
or a
pattern
and the
prophetic
theme
and pattern
in Jeremiah
19
and Zechariah
11
is that
they share
in common
that Israel
has rejected
God
as their
true leader
and their
shepherd
and therefore
judgment's
on the
way
in Zechariah
11
the flock
of God
rejects
the true
shepherd
and replaces
him with
false
shepherds
who value
the price
of the
true
shepherd
at 30
pieces
of silver
Matthew
isn't being
shy
with his
Jewish
audience
here
he's
saying
if you
despise
your true
shepherd
if you
don't value
him
you are
flirting
with judgment
and it
is written
it is
written
it is
written
friends
that's the
reason we
gather around
this book
every Sunday
it's not a
textbook on
moral living
or on
dead doctrine
this book
is breathing
it's living
God's word
has an authority
that cuts
through our
excuses
and our
pretenses
and God's
will
be
done
he
has
spoken
the question
is
are we
listening
do you
hear
the
authority
of God's
word
cutting to
the heart
of the
matter
of our
ugly
true
colors
do you
hear
the good
news
coming
forth
with
clarity
of Jesus
displaying
his
true
colors
do you
hear him
drawing you
with this
word of
authority
it's
greater
than you
does it
draw you
to worship
does it
draw you
to surrender
your life
to the
crucified
and risen
Christ
does it
draw you
with comfort
and encouragement
as you
fight the
fight of
faith to
believe that
he is
good and
he richly
rewards those
who earnestly
seek him
does this
word draw
you to
imitate
Jesus'
full
obedience
because we're
identified with
him
and we will
suffer
for the
sake of
the name
does it
draw you
to want to
imitate his
boldness
his resolve
to obey the
father no matter
what it costs
consider him
who endured
such hostility
from evil
men
the author
of Hebrews
tells us
you haven't
shed blood
yet in your
fight against
sin
imitate him
does God's
word have
such authority
to draw you
and enable you
by his spirit
to do that
yes it does
let me close
with these words
again from
Hebrews
therefore let us
lay aside
every weight
and the sin
which clings
so closely
and let us
run with
endurance
the race
that is set
before us
looking to
Jesus
the founder
and perfecter
of our faith
who for the
joy
for the joy
of redeeming
a people
for himself
set before him
endured the cross
despising the shame
and now
is seated
at the right hand
of the throne
of God
and one day
our eyes
will see him
every eye
will see him
exalted
vindicated
do not
despise him
but treasure him
press forward
in faith
not in fear
if you are here
today
and you are
aware
of your guilt
before God
and you are
seeking relief
from your despair
come to him
come to Jesus
the elders
will be down
here at the front
available for prayer
don't let the
authority of God's
word be deflected
off your heart
but respond
in obedience
and faith
let's pray
our one defense
our righteousness
oh God
how we need you
we are a bunch
of messy
people
we know
our own hearts
father you are
able
even at this
moment
by the work
of your spirit
in each heart
to draw forth
faith
worship
obedience
and joy
in the one
whose true colors
really shine
pray that you do it
now for the glory
of your name
for our great joy
for eternity
in Jesus name
amen
been