Untitled Sermon

LAST WEEK

WE LOOKED AT THE DETAILS OF THE ARREST OF JESUS

WE LOOKED AT PETER’S REACTION

WE SAW HOW THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS TRIED TO FIND SOME WHO WOULD BEAR FALSE WITNESS

WE LOOKED AT THE CONVERSATION BETWEEN CAIPHAS AND JESUS, WHERE JESUS WAS PLAINLY ASKED IF HE WAS THE SON OF GOD

MATTHEW 26:

Matthew 26:64 NKJV

64 Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

THIS WAS THE SPIRITUAL SIDE OF THE STORY

THIS WEEK

WE WILL LOOK AT THE POLITICAL SIDE OF THE STORY

ONE THING THAT CANNOT GO UNNOTICED IS THIS

THE JEWS HAD BEEN AT ODDS WITH THE ROMAN GOVERNMENT FOR YEARS

THE ROMAN GOVERNMENT GOVERNED THEIR LAND

THEY TAXED THE JEWS

IN LOOKING AT HISTORY, THEIR IS NO REASON WHY THESE TWO GROUPS OF PEOPLE SHOULD BE JOINING FORCES FOR ANY CAUSE WHATSOEVER.

HOWEVER, WHEN IT COMES TO JESUS

WE SEE A VOLATILE RELATIONSHIP TURN CIVIL

WE SEE THE JEWS AND THE ROMANS ALMOST WORKING TOGETHER FOR ONE CAUSE

THAT CAUSE WAS NONE OTHER THAN SEEING JESUS BEING PUT TO DEATH

LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT THE TEXT

Matthew 27:1–26 NKJV

1 When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death. 2 And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor. 3 Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” 5 Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. 6 But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood.” 7 And they consulted together and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. 8 Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, 10 and gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.” 11 Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.” 12 And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing. 13 Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” 14 But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly. 15 Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. 16 And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy. 19 While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.” 20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” They said, “Barabbas!” 22 Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!” 23 Then the governor said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified!” 24 When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.” 25 And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.” 26 Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.

MATTHEW 27

PRAY

Matthew 27:1–2 NKJV

1 When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death. 2 And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor.

AFTER BEING ARRESTED

THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND THE ELDERS OF THE PEOPLE CAME TOGETHER TO PUT A PLOT TOGETHER TO PUT JESUS TO DEATH.

HAVE YOU EVER ASKED YOURSELF WHY THE RELIGIOUS OF THE DAY WOULD COME TOGETHER TO TRY TO KILL SOMEONE?

THINK ABOUT IT FOR A SECOND

THESE AREN’T PEOPLE WHO ARE CLUELESS ABOUT THE SCRIPTURES

THESE TWO GROUPS OF PEOPLE WHERE THE ONES THAT WERE ENTRUSTED WITH THE SCRIPTURES

THEY WERE THE ONES THAT INTERPRETED THE SCRIPTURES FOR THE PEOPLE

WHO GOVERNED THE PEOPLE WITH THE WORD OF GOD

YET WHEN THE WORD BECAME FLESH AND DWELT AMONGST THEM

They saw it as Blasphemy

They saw it as illegitimate

They saw it as unbiblical

WHY?

Because it didn’t meet their spiritual needs

In fact they were not looking for a Spiritual Messiah

But, someone to free them from the Roman Oppression.

Someone to free them from the Roman Oppression.

Someone to remove the pressure that was put on by the Roman Government

They wanted a Messiah that brought temporal comfort instead of an eternal comfort.

Sometimes we want to follow Jesus only when it benefits us in the moment

We come to church only when it is convenient

We read our bibles when their is nothing else to do

We share the Gospel when we get around to it.

In most of my counseling sessions

The reason why I am there is to bring people back to Jesus

To restate why He is so important

To make him primary and everything else secondary

Here we have two very educated groups of people allowing their agenda to dictate the role of the Messiah

For the Chief Priests and Elders there was no reason to follow the Messiah that they studied so much about.

He didn’t meet their needs

He had nothing to offer them

So they bound Him

Led Him away

Delivered Him to Pontius Pilate

Their was no hesitation

They knew exactly what they were doing by bringing in Roman Authority

By bringing in Roman Authority

The Jews were proclaiming that they were absolutely sure what they wanted to happen

Most of the time, like today in the Hassidic Community

They handle all the drama within their Spiritual Community

But here, it seems like they wanted the whole world to know about their Full Rejection of the Messiah.

WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO CHANGE YOUR MIND?

IF THE WORD OF GOD CAN’T CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE, WHAT CAN?

Matthew 27:3–10 NKJV

3 Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” 5 Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. 6 But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood.” 7 And they consulted together and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. 8 Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, 10 and gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.”

Matthew 27:3

MANY PEOPLE WONDER IF JUDAS IS IN HEAVEN

In this text we have some evidence of repentance

We also have a picture of what it looks like to betray the Lord after being loved by the Lord

Judas had walked with Jesus for 3 years.

Seen Him do the Miraculous for 3 years

Been at His side

Handled the Money

All to in the end betray him?

No.

That’s not where the story ends

In this text we see Judas repenting

He said:

“I have sinned by betraying Innocent Blood”

Noticed how the natural man does not give a rip when you repent

They will never understand

1 Corinthians 2:14 NKJV

14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Until they understand what Jesus was doing, they will never understand what Jesus is capable of doing

1 John 1:9 NKJV

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

AFTER THROWING THE MONEY AT THEM

Judas was so overwhelmed and convicted by what he did, that He went to a place and hung himself

This has been a reality for a lot of christians

Where sometimes the spiritual and the secular communities lack comfort

Sometimes what we have done acts as a gavel that sentences us

We flee to the secular only to find that after the drunkeness, and the promiscuity, we are still unfulfilled

Judas didnt feel comfortable going to the disicples, so he went to the Chief Priests and Elders

Only to find that they wanted nothing to do with him

They had used him for their purposes and had no need of him anymore

Church, we should learn from this example

We should always be a safe place to come back to

We should be the first place people think of when it comes to reconciliation and healing

We should be the place where people who have walked away from Jesus come to first.

HOWEVER, ONE THING STANDS IN THE WAY OF THIS HAPPENING

HAVING A SELF RIGHTEOUS HEART

THIS IS THE GREATEST PICTURE OF THE HEART OF THE SELF-RIGHTEOUS

They will do whatever it takes to make sure they stay righteous

A HEART THAT IS NOT TEACHEABLE

A HEART THAT DOES NOT ACCEPT THAT PEOPLE MAKE MISTAKES

WE HAVE THIS CAPACITY WHEN WE LOOK AT OTHER PEOPLES SIN AS GREATER THAN OURS

Isn’t it crazy that these guys went and picked up the money

Nothing can prove them wrong

Not even the textbooks that they so fervently studied

They thought, hmm, its not right that we bring it into the treasury

Let’s buy a field with it to bury strangers.

Lets buy a field for Gentiles to be buried in

This will surely go well amongst the Gentile Community

“Come check out the beautiful field we purchased for you.”

All while neglecting that the textbook they so often studied spoke to what they would do with that money

Matthew 27:11–14 NKJV

11 Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.” 12 And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing. 13 Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” 14 But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.

Matthew 27:11-

WHY WOULD JESUS SATY SILENT?

REMEMBER, LIFE GOALS FOR JESUS WERE SATURATED IN ONE THING

FULFILLING EVERYTHING THAT PERTAINED TO THE WORD OF GOD

John 4:34 NKJV

34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.

SPECIFICALLY, JESUS WAS FULFILLING WHAT THE PROPHET ISAIAH HAD SAID:

Isaiah 53:7 NKJV

7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.