Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. In a perfect world, the court system examines facts and determines guilt or innocence.
But this is not a perfect world. After Jesus was arrested, He went before several so-called courts in rapid succession. He did it for one reason, that He might give His life for us. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, the modern term is lawfare, using the courts to defame an innocent defendant. In the courts of Jesus' day, the deck was definitely stacked against Him. Dave, listening to your intro, two thoughts come immediately to mind. Was it not Stalin's police chief who said, show me the man and I will find the crime? Of course, it's always possible in a corrupt court system to find something that you can use against an opponent, whether or not it is just or unjust. That's the first thought that comes to mind.
And then there's a second. Isn't it interesting that God was able to use this great evil, the crucifixion of Jesus and the things that led up to it? God was able to use this for good. And my friend today, would you remember that whatever happens to you, just or unjust, God is able to use it for His glory and for His good?
Well, I know that many of you who listen to Running to Win have heard me ask this question before. Are you blessed as a result of this ministry? I hope that you answer yes. If so, it's because people just like you have made an investment in this ministry in helping us get the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world. Let me ask you, would you consider becoming an endurance partner? That's someone who prays for us and gives regularly to this ministry. Of course, the amount that you give is entirely your decision. Here's what you do. Would you investigate it? Go to RTWOffer.com.
That's RTWOffer.com and click on the endurance partner button or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Let us always remember that God is able to use all things for His glory. As you may know, this is part of a series of messages simply entitled, For Us.
Jesus in Agony for Us, Jesus Betrayed for Us, and Jesus on Trial for Us. Just yesterday, I spoke to a friend of mine and he has been going through a very difficult time of litigation. He believes that his company was unfair to him, that they broke a promise, that he has money coming to him that is not coming to him, at least until now. He's a man who is struggling with debts and struggling with all kinds of things as the result of being wronged.
Let me ask you something. What happens when we are wronged? What happens when people lie on the witness stand?
What happens when a member of a family chisels out someone else, a relative, and takes money that they themselves should have? How do we relate to injustice? That's today's topic. Because, you remember, Jesus was tried unjustly, as we shall see, in just a few moments. And it's not just that I hope to expound on the six trials of Jesus and the injustice that he endured. But rather, I want to answer another question, and that is, what do we learn from the way in which Jesus reacted to injustice?
What do we learn for ourselves? And how does injustice fit into the bigger picture of God's purposes? So if you've ever been treated unjustly, this message is for you. And if you have sometimes treated someone else unjustly, this message is for you as well, hopefully, to bring you to repentance.
Because all of us hurt one another, don't we? The amazing thing is, Jesus went through this series of trials in about twelve hours. The upper room discourse had been finished, and Jesus goes into the garden, and last time we stressed the way in which Judas betrayed him. And then he is led off to a series of trials, and he's crucified the next day. I'm going to ask you to turn to a passage of scripture, but let's do that in a few moments.
First of all, I want us to simply walk through these trials and point out what they were like. In many instances, I shall simply read the Bible, and you yourself will pick up on how unjustly Jesus was tried by the courts of his day. The first trial was actually before Annas, and I'm reading from the book of John.
You need not turn to it. The Bible says, so the band of soldiers and their captain and officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him, and first they led him to Annas, for he was father-in-law to Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. Actually, both are spoken of here in the text as being high priests.
But Annas was the older man, and Caiaphas was his son-in-law. So Jesus is dragged off to him, and the high priest, that's Annas, then questioned Jesus about his disciples, about his teaching. Jesus answered him, I have always spoken openly to the world.
I've always taught in the synagogue and in the temple where all the Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them.
They know what I've said. When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, is that how you answer the high priest? Jesus answered him, if what I said was wrong, bear witness about the wrong.
But if what I said is right, why are you hitting me? Now, what about that for a trial takes place at night? The Jewish trials were not to take place at night. And the three Jewish trials that we're going to talk about took place at that time. They were supposed to be tried in daylight. You have Jesus here.
The judge is acting as a prosecutor. There's violence against the accused. The man standing next to Jesus slaps him. And there are no witnesses, no one to contradict what Jesus has just said.
In other words, I'm teaching openly. Why don't you bring witnesses and hear through their mouths what I said? Well, after that, the Bible says that Annas took him and gave him to the Sanhedrin, which then was under the control of his son-in-law Caiaphas. So with that in mind, I turn to another text. This one happens to be there in the book of Matthew. Matthew chapter 26. And you'll notice in verse 57, we read, they seized Jesus. They led him to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. Now the chief priests, verse 59, and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death.
But they found none, though some false witnesses did come 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. That's very interesting because Jesus did say something like that. He did say, destroy this temple and I'll raise it up in three days.
But he was talking about the temple of his body and they related to the temple, the great Herodian temple that had been built. And so they take something that is true and they give it a half turn. They twist it in such a way that it can be used against Jesus. But this was false testimony. And the high priest stood up and said, have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you? Jesus remained silent and the high priest said to him, I adjure you by the living God. Tell us if you are the Christ, the son of God.
The accused was not to be put under witness for himself under oath. But Jesus said to him, you have said so, but I tell you that from now on you will see the son of man is seated at the right hand of power coming in the clouds of heaven. Now that that's remarkable. What Jesus is really saying is, you know, you're trying me now and you're bringing all these witnesses, but the day is going to come when I'm going to return and you're going to be accountable to me. That day is coming. Then the high priest tore his robes and says, he's uttered blasphemy.
What further need do we have? You've heard the blasphemy. What is your judgment?
And everybody answered. He deserves death. Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him saying, prophesy to us, you, the Christ, who is it that struck you? Did Jesus get justice in this trial?
I don't think so. Seeking false testimony, seeking reason against him, twisting what he had to say, slapping him and mocking him. And there's no evidence that the whole Sanhedrin even voted on whether he was guilty. Well, there's a third trial and that is before the Sanhedrin again. And this now is in Luke chapter 22. And that's the passage you can turn to in your Bibles. Luke chapter 22, if you're using a Bible there in the pew, it will be 883, 883. Luke chapter 22, because the rest of the trials are in this particular chapter and the chapter that follows.
All right, the whole council now gathers together. This is verse 66. When the day came, the assembly of the elders of the people, this is Luke 22, 66. They gathered together both the chief priests and the scribes and they led them away to their council and said, if you are the Christ, tell us. He said, if I tell you, you will not believe. And if I ask you, you will not answer. Jesus is saying something here.
He's saying in effect, look, because you're prejudiced, it really doesn't matter what I say. And furthermore, if I began to ask you questions that would lead you to the truth as to who I am, you wouldn't answer anyway. But from now on, the son of man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God. Again, Jesus is reminding them for a second time that I am going to be returning.
And at that time I will be your judge. And what does the text say? They all said, are you the son of God then? And he said, you say that I am. Then they said, what further testimony do we need?
We've heard it from his own lips. And again, Jesus is reviled and his testimony is taken and twisted and there is no impartial hearing of all of the evidence against him. Now, keep in mind that these were three Jewish trials.
All of them conducted very rapidly. All of them conducted some without witnesses, some with false witnesses, all of them involving Jesus Christ being humiliated and beaten and slapped. But now they have to turn him over to the Romans to get him put to death. So now we come to the Roman trials. And just like the Jewish trials have three phases in the very same way, the Roman trials also have three phases. Now we have to ask the question, will Jesus finally get justice with the Roman authorities? So chapter 23 of Luke now, 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.
Now that's very interesting. Did Jesus ever say that you should not give tribute to Caesar? The answer is no. In fact, he said the opposite when they brought him a coin and they said, should we give tribute to Caesar? Jesus says, give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God. But when you want to have a man condemned, facts do not matter. Rationality does not matter. A fair trial does not matter.
What you need to do is to get people to say whatever they want to say to get this man where you want him to be. Are you the king of the Jews? You'll notice that the charge now is not blasphemy. And the reason for that is because elsewhere, what Pilate said was, if he's guilty of blasphemy, you judge him according to your law, because the Romans were not interested in whether or not a man blasphemed. So that's why the charge is now treason. He's undercutting Caesar. He is undercutting our law. He claims he's going to be king.
And that might mean that he is going to supplant Caesar in ruling from somewhere, perhaps even Rome. And so are you the king of the Jews? He answered and said, you've said so. Pilate said to the chief priests in the crowds, I find no guilt in this man. Three times, Pilate is going to say this.
Just can't find guilt. But you'll notice it says, they were urgent, verse five, saying he stirs up the people teaching throughout all Judea and Galilee, even to this place. What they were saying is, it doesn't matter whether or not you're finding him guilty. We know that he is.
And even if he isn't guilty of the things that we want him to be guilty of, our hatred is going to rule the day. So the first phase is before Pilate. The second phase is before Herod, verse six. 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 himself was in Jerusalem at the time.
This is Herod Antipas. When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him because he had heard about him and was hoping to see some sign, some miracle. Oh, Jesus, I've heard you do miracles.
Now that you're in my presence, do something. As if Jesus would do that for that purpose. 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.
They raid him in splendid clothing. And then they 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 one another. You see all of the psychological lessons that are being learned as we go through this text here, you have two enemies, but when you have someone who's a problem and someone that you want to get rid of, and the crowds are chanting for vengeance, you become friends.
You suddenly become friends in your evil deed. So he's brought back to Pilate and he is brought to there. And this actually is the third phase of the Roman trial begins with Pilate. Pilate sends him to Herod. Herod sends him back to Pilate.
Well, you know this story well, but I want to read it again. Verse 13 then Pilate called together the chief priests and the rulers of 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 charges against him.
Neither did Herod for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving of death has been done by him. I will therefore punish him and release him.
I'll give you something. I'll have him whipped and beaten and then surely that will satisfy you. This is the second time Pilate is saying that Jesus Christ is not guilty. And then it says, verse 18, but they cried out together away with this man and released to us Barabbas. There was a custom among the Jews that on the Passover time some prisoner could be released. And Pilate was saying in effect, well, you want Jesus to be a prisoner.
Let me release Jesus to you. But the crowds kept saying Barabbas. It was a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection and started in the city and also for murder. Third time Pilate says to them, he is not guilty. Pilate addressed them once more desiring to release Jesus, but they kept shouting, crucify him, crucify him. A third time he said to them, why, what evil has he done?
I have found no guilt deserving of death. I will therefore punish him and release him onto you. They were urgent, demanding with a loud cry that he should be crucified and their voices prevailed. I have that underlined in my Bible, their voices prevailed. So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, but he delivered over Jesus to their will. And the Jews anxiously said his blood be upon us and upon our children. What was motivating the trials of Jesus. Pilate really understood human nature very well because elsewhere in another account, Pilate said this, he knew that it was for envy that they had delivered him. In other words, it was because Jesus made these teachers look bad.
He's the one who got all of the crowds. He's the one who was able to do the miracles. He was able to teach with authority and they weren't able to do that. And here was Jesus who was getting all of the tension and it galled the religious leaders of the day and made them angry. And then he was claiming to be God and he was proving it and it became too much for them.
And they wanted him out of the way no matter how unjust their trials were. What I'd like to do is to draw some lessons for us and let us remember that Jesus endured this for us. But also let us ask the question, how did Jesus react to all of this and how should we react to injustice?
Let me give you these lessons. First of all, it's very obvious if Jesus didn't get justice, why should we think that we are entitled to it? If Jesus didn't get justice, why should we think that we are entitled to justice? I read yesterday that someone said, if you think that the court system is going to be fair to you just because you happen to be a nice person, that's like believing that a raging bull will not come after you because you're a vegetarian.
The fact is the world is fallen, my friend. And I thank God for the laws of the United States. I thank God for the courts of the United States because oftentimes they do exactly what is right and human beings are frail and sometimes they make wrong decisions, but they make those wrong decisions without knowing that it's a wrong decision and we should be grateful. But oftentimes what you find governing decisions is greed and hatred and revenge and rage and bribes. All of that becomes a part of the judicial process. And in this fallen world, what we find today is that oftentimes it is these things that govern the courts.
Now, I don't mean to be pessimistic. We should do all that we can to use the court systems to help people, to intercede for them, to become advocates for them. In the Holocaust Museum in Washington, I understand it says these words, thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator.
And above all, thou shalt not be a bystander. We should be willing to indeed become involved in the lives of others and do whatever we possibly can to help them. But at the same time, we recognize that in our fallen world is sometimes perfect justice is impossible.
And the only point that I'm trying to stress here is that Jesus himself did not receive justice. Therefore, we should not think that we are entitled to it. We do the best we can.
But at the same time, we know that oftentimes it is other forces that are at work. Isn't it wonderful to know indeed that God is able to work all things toward our good if we are his people? If you were to ask me, Pastor Lutzer, what is it that blesses you the most about the ministry of Running to Win?
Well, I can tell you. It's when we hear from other countries, people who speak a different language about the impact of this ministry. I'm holding in my hands a letter from a Russian speaking listener because Running to Win is also heard in Russia. He writes, we serve the Lord in a Muslim region and it is very difficult. Your program provides us an incentive to sacrifice for the Lord and to pray for Christians in persecution. Why is Running to Win able to touch so many people, seven different languages, 50 different countries?
Well, it's because of people just like you. Would you take a moment to write this down? Go to RTWOffer.com. That's RTWOffer.com. Of course, RTWOffers is all one word.
RTWOffer.com. And when you're there, you click on the endurance partner button. I want you to pray about the possibility of becoming an endurance partner. That's someone who stands with us regularly with their prayers and their gifts. Or if you prefer, you can call us at 1-888-218-9337.
Listeners in Russia, all throughout the Middle East, in Turkey, they are grateful for the fact that this ministry continues to reach them by means of radio. Consider becoming an endurance partner. Once again, that info, go to RTWOffer.com, click on the endurance partner button, or call us at 1-888-218-9337. You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60614. Erwin Lutzer introducing Jesus on Trial for Us, the third message in a series marking the events of the last week of Jesus' life on earth. Next time, more about the trials Jesus had to endure. This is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.
