Fraudulent Information; Defrauded Souls
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
For nearly two and a half year, Qantas Airways, an Australian airline, was misleading its customers by selling them tickets to flights that they had already cancelled—some of them for weeks. The average time that it took Qantas to take cancelled flights off reservations was eleven days. The customers did not get a refund until the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found them guilty and forced them to pay the refund, plus damages. They were fined A$100 million on top of that—all because of false advertising.
Airborn dietary supplements were caught making unsubstantiated claims that its product would “ward off” germs and boost the immune system. It turns out that the clinical trial that Airborn used to tout their product, was from a “two man operation started up just to do the Airborn study.” In the end, Airborn was forced to pay $23 million to their customers for false advertising.
It’s hard to believe, I know, that companies would make false claims and put out false advertisements just to make a buck, but they do! What often happens is that those who bought into some product are not only out of their hard-earned money, but also lose respect for those who lied to them and sold them a bill of goods. The company might continue on, but it loses customers—not only those who were swindled but those who heard about the swindling. They either stop doing business or vow never to do business. But what happens, when the product being sold is Jesus and the customers are the souls of individuals? You say, Chris, we don’t sell Jesus. And you’re correct; at least we ought not. But when our focus is more on the number of converts and less on discipleship, Jesus can easily become a commodity and souls become customers.
In the text this morning, the Sanhedrin Council is seen taking Jesus to Pontius Pilate to have him condemned to death. And while they give him partial truth, they say whatever is needed for him to buy into their murderous plan. And we find three responses to Jesus as a result of these falsified claims. First, Jesus was dismissed. This actually led to an excited Herod who desired for Jesus to come, only to find he was not what was expected and so in the end Jesus was despised by everyone.
The Dismissed Jesus
The Desired Jesus
The Despised Jesus
Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate.
And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.”
And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.”
Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.”
But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.”
When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean.
And when he learned that he belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time.
When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him.
So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer.
The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him.
And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate.
And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other.
Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people,
and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him.
Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him.
I will therefore punish and release him.”
The Dismissed Jesus
The Dismissed Jesus
The first response that comes before us in this text is when Pilate dismisses Jesus and the claims made about him.
Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate.
And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.”
And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.”
Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.”
Now, the Sanhedrin had brought Jesus to Pilate for the express purpose of having him killed. They wanted him dead and out of the way. But they had no power and no authority—something Luke loves to talk about throughout his book—to do this. Instead, they rely upon the Romans government to take care of their dirty work. The problem is that they first must convince those in power to do what they want. Thus, when they bring Jesus before Pilate, they present him as a self-proclaimed king.
To be sure, Jesus was and is Christ—King of the Jews. We saw that last week. But that isn’t really how the chief priests and others really meant it when they took him before Pilate. These leaders certainly did not believe that Jesus was their Lord, but they did not present him as a lunatic to be put away or as a liar to be ignored. Instead, they presented him as a rebel—an insurgent—against Rome. “He forbids us to give tribute to Caesar and claims to be a king.” In other words, Jesus tells us not to pay our taxes and that he is to be followed as our king.
This hearkens back to the time Jesus was asked if it was lawful—or better yet, authorized—to pay taxes to Caesar. We all remember what Jesus said to that. “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.” The original questions was to get him into trouble and discredit him. He’d either be in trouble with the Pharisees who said the poll tax was not a legitimate tax to be paid or with the Herodians and Romans who obviously were in favor of it being paid. When Jesus was presented to Pilate, the Sanhedrin falsified the truth about what he had said in order to get Pilate to buy into their deadly scheme.
It’s interesting that Pilate ignored the whole taxation accusation and when straight to the question of Jesus being king. He asked him directly if he was the King of the Jews to which Jesus responded in the same way that he did when asked if he was the Son of God. Those are your words, not mine. Pilate was no fool. He knew exactly what was happening here. Jesus was being presented as one thing to him—an insurgent against Rome—and yet did not act like an insurgent. There was no claim that Rome was illegitimate. Jesus didn’t denounce Pilate’s authority or rightful place. A true insurgent would have used this opportunity to give a political speech. Jesus, however, said very little. And what he did say was rather cryptic. Pilate then, dismissed him.
Beloved, I understand the draw to present Jesus as being one “against the man.” I’ve heard of people using Jesus’s rebuke of the religious leaders as opportunities for evangelism. Jesus was a rebel. He went against tradition. He stuck it to the religious bigots and old muckety mucks. You and he have a lot in common. Why don’t you give him a chance? But much like the religious leaders here, that’s only partial truth. I typically have not heard anyone immediately present Jesus as rebel and then actually tell the one being evangelized that Jesus was calling for even greater holiness than what the Pharisees and Sadducees could muster. We need to be careful about how we present Jesus. When we present half-truths to get a lost person on our side, we end up being like the Sanhedrin giving half truths to get Pilate on its side. We risk the same result: A Dismissed Jesus.
The Desired Jesus
The Desired Jesus
Jesus was not only dismissed, but for a moment he was desired. In protest to Pilate’s dismissal, the Sanhedrin then mentioned that he had been leading people astray from Galilee to Judea.
When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean.
And when he learned that he belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time.
When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him.
So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer.
This is Herod the Tetrarch. We’ve encountered him before. He is one of the sons of Herod the Great—the Idumean, the Greek term for an Edomite. Herod the Tetrarch was one of four children to whom Herod had dispersed his puppet-kingdom. Here is the son of the man who tried to kill the seed of a woman in his infancy but failed. Now his very son, who bears his father’s name, has the opportunity to kill him as an adult. Of course, he has no idea that the baby and the adult are the same person. All he knows is that he’s famous for his signs and wonders.
Now, this was not a problem of the Sanhedrin. Herod’s desire to see Jesus was not because the Sanhedrin had misrepresented Jesus, but that Herod completely misunderstood who Jesus was. At one point in time, Herod was a bit concerned about Jesus. At first, he thought Jesus was some reincarnation of John the Baptist—perhaps coming back to seek vengeance on him for putting him to death. But by now, the tetrarch had gotten over his fears, excited to see this miracle-worker.
But that was all he was excited to see: a miracle-worker. When John the Baptist was around, Herod was intrigued by his message. That’s not the case with Jesus. In fact, there is no indication that Herod knew much about Jesus’s message in the first place. He was someone able to do miracles like Elijah and some of the other prophets. Whatever it was that Herod had heard, it was clear that he wanted his miracles, but not his message.
And what we see then is that Herod peppers Jesus with a bunch of questions. We’re not told exactly what those questions are. But we are told that Jesus said nothing to him. Perhaps his questions were not even worthy of an answer. Perhaps Jesus chose not to incriminate himself. Or perhaps,
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.
Church family, again I understand the desire to put our best foot forward when it comes to Jesus. But we must be careful of overemphasizing one part of Jesus over another to make Jesus desirable. There is a campaign out there that you’ve probably heard or seen. It’s the “He Gets Us,” campaign. It’s everywhere. I’ve kept my mouth shut about it over the last couple of years because I was giving the people behind it that benefit of the doubt. But lately, I’ve seen flat out lies and misrepresentations—false advertising, if you will—about who Jesus is. And it is all done to make Jesus more desirable.
I want Jesus to be desirable, but I want the whole Jesus to be desirable, not just a part of him. Jesus is not just the guy who was a social justice warrior. He certainly included the fringe of society—the poor, the hurting, the sick, the rejected. But that wasn’t all he was. He wasn’t just a “love your neighbor” preacher who gets our struggles. He certainly does. He is our great High Priest who has been tempted in every way, yet without sin, interceding on our behalf, but he is more than that. He is also the one who will come to judge the living and the dead for the works they have done. He is the one who is our life—the one for whom we live and breathe and have our being. He is very God of very God. Yet that is not presented in these advertisements.
And when/if those seeing these advertisements probe like Herod, they very well may find that he is not the exciting, cool guy they once thought he was. They will not find the answers that they thought they’d get from him.
The Despised Jesus
The Despised Jesus
In fact, they may be like Herod and come to despise the real Jesus. This is the third response we find in this passage. First he was dismissed, then desired, but now when Jesus doesn’t live up to the hype, he is despised.
The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him.
And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate.
And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other.
When Herod would not get the answers he wanted from Jesus and did get the accusation from his enemies, he despised him to the point of mockery. Again, we aren’t told how they mocked him or treated him with contempt. Matthew Henry though gave a couple of options that I think bear repeating. One is that he had performed all these miracles for the good of others. He had healed the sick and lame. He had raised the dead, turned water into wine, and restored sight to the blind. Yet, when the opportunity to perform a miracle to save his own skin was given, Jesus did nothing. He said nothing. What kind of fool would do so much for so many and do nothing for himself? If he just proved himself to be the Son of God to Herod, he could be released and continue on with his helping of others.
Or maybe it was because he had the opportunity to fight back. Why wouldn’t he fight back against all the attacks? Was Jesus a coward—one who was unwilling or too scared to defend himself against his enemies? Why wouldn’t he finish this fight? Isn’t that our mindset? I didn’t start this fight, but I sure will finish it. Or was it as Peter said,
For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.
He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.
When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
Brothers and sisters, when the world has nothing except half-truths and wicked accusations upon which to base Jesus upon, the people can have no true understanding of who he is. As Isaiah pointed out,
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
That’s the starting point for every single one of us. We are born with this despicable view of the Son of God. We do not understand him because we cannot understand him. It is only by the Spirit’s work in our dead hearts to make us alive, and only through the preaching of the word that we come to know the true Jesus.
We don’t need to make Jesus more palpable, more tangible, more relatable. We need to make the truth of Jesus known. That is is King of kings and Lord of lords. We either love him or hate him. We either gather or scatter. We either join him or reject him. But the gospel of Jesus must go forth.
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
The enemies of the cross join forces and ally themselves together just as Pilate and Herod did that day against Jesus. They will ally themselves against us, his followers as well. But we cannot waver. We have the truth and hope that this world needs.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Pilate then confronted the Sanhedrin and told the men that their accusations were unfounded. Jesus was not who they claimed him to be. And even though he dismissed the charges, he still had him punished. Now we know that by God’s sovereign plan, Jesus was brought to Pilate and condemned to die. Luke tells us of Peter’s words in Acts 2:22-23, who stated that all this happened according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. Yet, it was all through human agency and God’s sovereignty does not absolve people of their responsibility. Had not the Sanhedrin acted in such a way, neither Pilate nor Herod would have entered into the picture. Their rejection and mockery, brutality and unjust condemnation came as a result of half-truths and full-on lies brought by the Sanhedrin Council.
Beloved, we don’t want people to reject Jesus. We don’t want them to mock Jesus. We certainly don’t want them to condemn Jesus. Our motives are different than those of the Sanhedrin, but if our tactics are the same, we risk the same outcome: the dismissing and despising of Christ.
Jesus, being fully God, is fully love. It is not wrong to say so. But the flip side of that is that he does hate sin. He hates what it does to us. Many here despise alcohol because of its devastating effects on those whom you love. You love and so you hate that which harms the one you love. As much as you may hate alcohol or drugs or some other harm that effects those you love, Jesus hates sin all the more. He hates it enough to die so that in the end, sin would be destroyed. It is not enough to say Jesus loves you. We must let it be known that Jesus hates the sin that is against you. It is not true to say that Jesus accepts you just as you are. It is true to say that Jesus receives you just as you are, but he loves you too much to let you stay that way.
Let us never be accused of presenting half-truths and false advertising when it comes to Jesus. People are not just defrauded of money; it could be that they are defrauded out of their eternal souls.
Prayer
Our heavenly Father,
Help us to share Jesus to others and do so rightly. For we want people to know the true Jesus, not only a portion of him. Let us not be afraid of what the truth about Jesus can do in people’s lives, but may we fear presenting a false narrative of him just to win people to our side.