In this sermon titled 'Deserving of Death,' Jason Dohm discusses the events surrounding Jesus' trial before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin, as described in Matthew 26:57-68. The sermon emphasizes that Jesus' trial was a mock trial, highlighting the injustice and false accusations leveled against Him. Dohm draws parallels between the Old Testament sacrificial system and Jesus' crucifixion, noting that Jesus, like the innocent lambs, was without blemish and yet made to bear the sins of humanity. The sermon underscores the idea that Jesus' death was part of God's redemptive plan, with Jesus willingly serving as a substitute for sinners. The speaker also references Old Testament prophecies from Psalm 110 and Daniel 7 to affirm Jesus' identity as the Messiah and the Son of God. Despite being falsely accused of blasphemy, Jesus' silence during the trial fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy and demonstrated His commitment to God's plan for salvation. The sermon concludes with reflections on the holiness of God, the seriousness of sin, and the transformative power of the gospel.

Sermon text for today is Matthew 26, 57 to 68. And those who had laid hold of Jesus led him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. But Peter followed him at a distance to the high priest courtyard and He went in and sat with the servants to see the end Now the chief priests and the elders and all the council sought false testimony again Jesus to put him to death But found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last, two false witnesses came forward and said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.

And the high priest arose and said to him, do you answer nothing? What is it this man testify against you? But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to him, I put you under oath by the living God. Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.

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." Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, he has spoken blasphemy. What further need do we have of witnesses? Look now, you have heard his blasphemy. What do you think?

They answered and said, He is deserving of death. Then they spat in His face and bit Him, and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying, prophesy to us, Christ, who is the one who struck you. Well guys, we strike you every time we sin. We pray that we may fear you, that we don't dare to strike the Son of God, the Son of the Majesty on high, the Living God. Thank you for this test.

We pray you, blessed intention, as he brings the revelation of your Word. Amen. The title of the sermon is Deserving of Death and it comes directly from the text, at the end of the text where Jesus is actually condemned at the conclusion of this mock trial. Last week is summarized by something that we find in Isaiah 55, in Isaiah 55, 8 and 9, God through the prophet says that God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways are higher than our ways. As far as the heavens are above the earth, so far are His thoughts above our thoughts and His ways above our ways.

Nowhere else is this more on display than in the crucifixion account. The crucifixion account does not reflect our thoughts and it does not reflect our ways. It reflects God's thoughts whose thoughts are higher than the heavens are above the earth from our thoughts. So our text this week is just an extension of that. We continue to see that God's ways are nothing like our ways.

We would not have conceived what we have before us, But there it is. God's chosen way to redeem the people unfolding before us. In order to set the scene for our text this week, I want to take us to the ceremonial law. There are any number of places in the Old Testament where we could go to make the same point. But I'm thinking particularly of Numbers 28 where the morning and evening sacrifices are described.

And for hundreds of years every single morning and every single evening the same thing would happen. And that is that a lamb in the first year completely without defect, completely without blemish, would be brought to the altar. And its throat would be cut and it would bleed to death. And you're dealing here with this little fuzzy creature that has never done anything to deserve this. And that's on purpose.

That's on purpose. Completely innocent. Completely without defect. And blameless. And it's coming and it's being offered as a sacrifice because people have sinned.

That's why it's being done every single morning, every single evening. And it's on purpose that there's no connection between this little creature who never did anything to deserve this and the sins. That's on purpose. There's no logical connection between the two. There's nothing inherent in this fuzzy little lamb in the first year that doesn't have a defect.

And the sins of the people that are causing its life to drain away every morning and every evening. Today and tomorrow and next week and next month. Lamb after lamb after lamb. No connection. And it takes us where Gary has already taken us, to Hebrews 10.

I'll read Hebrews 10 verse 4 again. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. In other words, there was nothing inherent to what was happening all those mornings and all those evenings with this lamb in the first year and the actual forgiveness of sins. It was a picture. It was a shadow in the law of the things that would come.

And the bleeding out, the dying of these little lambs wasn't what in itself would cause the forgiveness of sins. It was that it pointed forward to Christ who would die once and for all, and whose death actually would be effective to take away sins. But At least the people had a picture for all those days, months, years, centuries, at least the people would have a picture of three things. First, the sinfulness of sin. We get so cavalier about our sin, but when you have to bring this innocent thing that has no connection to your sin and watch him die again and again and another one and another one And another one, your sin stops being so cheap.

Do you understand that? If we get nothing, no value from the ceremonial law, at least we can get this. Our sins aren't as small as we think they are. And it at least raises in our consciousness the sinfulness of sin. Secondly, it makes clear the penalty for sin, the wages of sin is death.

If there is going to be remission of sins, there is going to have to be the shedding of blood. And finally, that God will permit the innocent to die for the guilty. The truly innocent to die for the truly guilty. So that there is actually hope for sinners. So that sinners don't have to just give up and say that's the end of the story when there is sin because God in His justice will allow for the substitution of an innocent to stand in the place of the guilty.

And so in our text last week, in this week, and for a few weeks to come, we're going to have the details of Jesus being treated unfairly as a common criminal. But that's just what man is doing. And so every week I'm going to be saying, come up, come up above the details of what man is doing and look through the lenses of redemptive history to see what God is doing. Because you don't want to just get tangled up on the details of what man is doing and not see that this is the fulfillment of what God decided to do before he ever made the first thing in the world. God the Father is providing an acceptable sacrifice.

That's all we are seeing in the text today. We are seeing the innocent being treated like he is guilty of the most vile sins and it is just a substitution that is happening. So at one level these men are guilty, these are rascals, these men are doing things that are despicable. But on the most fundamental level, it's your guilt. It's all the things that you've done that are despicable and that I have done that are despicable that are the cause of these things.

And these men are just playing their role in redemptive history. They are just playing their part. So they are guilty. It doesn't exonerate any of the things that these men are doing. But it's your guilt that is taking Jesus to the cross and causing him to be treated as a common criminal.

And so when we see Jesus pronounced by these men, these leaders as deserving of death, He is deserving of death. He is deserving of your death if he is going to come and stand as a substitute for you. So we are seeing God work out redemption for a people. Let's go to the text and Let's begin with verses 57 and 58 where Jesus is taken to the Sanhedrin and Peter follows at a distance. Let's read the verses.

Matthew 26 verse 57. And those who had laid hold of Jesus led him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. But Peter followed him at a distance to the high priest's courtyard, and he went in and sat with the servants to see the end. Jesus has been arrested and he's taken back into Jerusalem where the Last Supper had taken place. They had gone out to Mount of Olives to Gethsemane to pray.

He had been arrested there and now he is brought back into Jerusalem. And Matthew has actually compressed this account. There is more that is happening here than serves Matthew's purposes as an inspired gospel writer. So I want to ask you to turn to John 18. Because John 18 gives a fuller account of what is happening here.

And while you turn to John 18, I just want to read Luke 3 verse 22. So you are turning to John 18 and I am reading Luke 3 verse 22. While Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, The word of the Lord came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness." So this is about John the Baptist and it actually names two high priests. Luke 3 verse 22 names two high priests. There is only supposed to be one high priest.

But Luke chapter 3 verse 22 names too. Annas and Caiaphas. Here's why. Annas had been the high priest. Quirinius the governor of Syria appointed Annas high priest.

So you have a Roman appointing a high priest. This is not good but this is what was happening. So this governor of Syria, Quirinius, appoints Annas as high priest in AD 6 or 7. Jesus is 6 or 7 years old and Annas becomes high priest. Annas is actually deposed in AD 15 by another Roman.

So the Romans are raising up and the Romans are putting down high priests. So Annas is no longer high priest and there are a series of other high priests that are appointed by other Roman governors subsequent to Annas. In AD 18, Caiaphas, the son-in-law of Annas, is made high priest and he will actually remain as high priest for about 18 years, which is the longest tenure of any high priest in the first century. So Jesus is a boy, six or seven years old, and Annas becomes high priest. Then he is deposed around when Jesus is fifteen.

And then when Jesus is around eighteen years old, this man's son-in-law, Caiaphas, is raised up to be high priest by a Roman governor. And Caiaphas will remain as the official high priest all throughout Jesus' ministry. John the Baptist's ministry, Jesus' ministry, through Jesus' death. The last time we'll see Caiaphas is in Acts chapter 4 where he and Annas again are presiding over Peter and John's trial when they're in trouble for preaching the gospel in the temple. Both of these men are still considered called high priests.

Annas has influence ongoing, but Caiaphas is officially the high priest who has been put in place by the Roman governor. So that's why you see both of these names. That's why you see high priest attached to both of them. Caiaphas is the son-in-law. He's the official high priest.

But Annas is the former high priest who continues to have an extreme amount of influence in all of these things. So now we are in John 18. I am going to read beginning in John 18 verse 12 and we get an expanded view of the things that are happening. John 18 verse 12. Then the detachment of troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him.

And they led him away to Annas first, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was high priest that year. Now it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. Now we haven't been studying John, but if we had been going through the Gospel of John, we would have hit this account in John 11. If you would like you can go back and read later John 11 beginning in verse 50 where Caiaphas actually prophesies that a man will die for the nation. So the Holy Spirit gives this wicked man a prophecy that he doesn't understand.

And the word that is used here in John 18 is that it is expedient that one man die for the nation. That is exactly the word that is used in John 11 verse 50. It is expedient. The Holy Spirit gives this wicked man a prophecy and he understands it as political expedience. Well, it is actually the will of God to redeem a people that one man would die for the nation.

Now skip down to verse 19. John 18 verse 19. Then the high priest, We are talking about Annas who is still called the High Priest. The High Priest then asked Jesus about his disciples and his doctrine. Jesus answered him, I spoke openly to the world.

I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where the Jews always met, and in secret I have said nothing. Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them. Indeed, they know what I said." In other words, Jesus is inviting witnesses. Jesus is declaring that His teachings haven't been private teachings.

He's been teaching in public. He sought out the public places to teach. He said, I was always teaching in synagogues and in the simple where the Jews always gather. So he is inviting them to call witnesses to see about his disciples and what he has been teaching. Verse 22, And When he had said these things, one of the officers who stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand saying, Do you answer the high priest like that?

Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, Bear witness of the evil, but if well, why do you strike me?" Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest. And that's where we actually pick up in Matthew's account. With Jesus, it sounds in Matthew like he goes directly to Caiaphas, but there's a stop before Caiaphas. And that is at the home of Annas, which was probably right there also with the home of Caiaphas. They probably live one door down maybe.

And so there's a preliminary interrogation by the former high priest who still has all kinds of influence in the process. And then Annas sends Jesus to Caiaphas and to the Sanhedrin where they are gathered. Now Jesus is before the current high priest, Caiaphas, and the Sanhedrin. Now you don't see the word Sanhedrin there, although you sort of do. In verse 59, we're back in Matthew now, in verse 59 you see the word council.

The actual Greek word there, transliterated, is Sanhedrin. And the Sanhedrin is the high court of the land and it's 70 plus 1. It's 70 men made up of scribes and chief priests and the elders of the people plus one, the high priest who is part of the Sanhedrin and presides over this council. As the high court of the land, they can pass the sentence of death, but their sentences of death can only be carried out if it is validated by the Romans. So this is exactly what we are going to see now and in the coming chapters, isn't it?

They are going to pass the sentence of death in our text today and then They're going to send Jesus on to Pontius Pilate so that their death Sentence can be validated by the Romans so that it then can be can be executed Peter follows at a distance and he comes into the high priest's courtyard, and he's situated there with the servants, or some of the translations actually say officers or guards. Either servants or officers or guards is an appropriate translation of the Greek word. And it says that he is there to see the end. Jesus has said repeatedly exactly what is going to happen. He is going to be betrayed into the hands of man, and he is going to be crucified, and he is going to be raised from the dead.

So Peter knows from the lips of Jesus how this is going to end, but he follows Jesus and he has come to see the end or the outcome. John 18 again expands on what Matthew has given us. In John 18 verses 15 and 16 we read that Peter is accompanied by another disciple, one who is known to the high priest, and that actually gets Peter access into the courtyard. So the high priest courtyard is not somewhere where just you and I or any old Joe can walk into. It's actually a private area and access has to be granted.

So another disciple, And the way that word is used in the New Testament, that does not have to be one of the twelve. It could be one of the twelve, but it doesn't have to be one of the twelve. Jesus had many disciples who were not one of the twelve. And so, in either case, another disciple has accompanied Peter actually knows the high priest and so is able to gain access to the high priest's courtyard for Peter. Back to our text.

Okay, back to our text. In verses 59 through 64, Jesus is falsely accused and then he finally responds to Caiaphas. So let's read the verses. John 26 starting at 59. Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but found none.

Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward and said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days. The high priest arose and said to him, Do you answer nothing? What is it these men testify against you? But Jesus kept silent.

And the high priest answered and said to him, I put you under oath by the living God. Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." 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. Israel is supposed to be a theocracy, one nation under God. And yet the text says that the leaders sought false testimony.

They went looking for it. They solicited false testimony. So here are these men who are leading a theocracy, who are leading one nation under God, and whose job it is to know the mind of God because of the revealed Word of God. They know this Word down to the minutia of it. They've been given authority, all authority is derived by God.

How much more so in a theocracy based on the Old Testament. So they have been given a duty to discharge by God, given authority by God to lead the Lord's people into righteousness. That's their job, to lead the Lord's people into righteousness. And they should tremble at the authority that God has given them. But instead there is this completely presumptuous, willful, luring men into the most flagrant violation of the ninth commandment.

Listen to the ninth commandment, you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." And these men are seeking false testimony. Verse 59 gives us their objective to put Jesus to death. And we've known that since the beginning of the chapter in verses 3 and 4. These same men gathered together and plotted against Jesus to put him to death. Verse 60, we see the result.

They found none. They sought false testimony and they found none. Mark 14 is our parallel passage where Mark, this other gospel writer, is recording the same things that is in Matthew 26. Mark 14 gives us a little more detail here. Mark 14 verse 56.

For many bore false witness against him, but their testimonies did not agree. Here's the problem. Here's why they can't find false testimony against Jesus because they have different people giving different testimony and none of it matches up. And so they are being restrained by the law of God. You see what is happening here?

Deuteronomy 19.15 requires that matters be established by the mouth of two or three witnesses. So you can't have conflicting testimony and that's all they have here is conflicting testimony. So these men are desperate to arrive at their predetermined outcome. You see that? I mean that's all that they're aiming for.

This is no trial. This is a predetermined outcome. And they're trying to find a way to get there. But they can't get men whose testimonies match up. And so they can't be in compliance to Deuteronomy 1915, which requires that things be established by the mouth of two or three witnesses.

And they're completely trampling on their own system of justice. The Old Testament law absolutely, but also things outside of the Old Testament law that were requirements of their law system. For instance, no trials at night. That was the rule of the day, no trials at night. All this is happening before the rooster crows.

In fact, in Luke 22, the parallel account in Luke, Luke 22, it says, as soon as it was day, they pronounce the verdict. So they're going to do all this under cover of darkness illegally according to their own system of justice and they're going to wait until daybreak and then pronounce the verdict so they can be sort of in compliance with their own laws. Or for instance, capital trials, trials for the death penalty, It was required that they be public trials and that they be held in the temple. This is not held in the temple. This is not a public trial.

So they are trampling not only the Old Testament, which of course they are trampling, but also many other elements of their own system of judgment. In modern vernacular this is known as a kangaroo court. Have you ever heard that term before? A kangaroo court is one in which you have all the trappings of justice. You have all the outward things associated with justice.

You have a judge, and you have a jury, and you have testimony, and you have witnesses. But it's all just a show. The judge is a show, the jury is a show, the testimony is a show, the witnesses are a show to get you to the predetermined outcome. That's what a kangaroo court is. And that's what this is.

This is a mock trial. It's a mockery of judgment. This mock trial actually establishes the blamelessness of Jesus' life. Do you see what we have in our text? They have to resort to a mock trial because Jesus has led a blameless life.

He's had a completely public ministry for three years. Everything in the open. Jesus has been having to sneak away to pray. Almost completely unable to get away from the eyes of the multitude. Everything has been seen.

Everything has been said and open. Just what Jesus said to Annas has been a summary of his life. I sought out the synagogues. I've been teaching in the temple. If you want to know about my disciples, you want to know about my doctrine, just ask the people who have seen my public ministry.

And so this mock trial, the fact that it is a mockery of justice, establishes the blamelessness of Jesus. Now an application of this for those of us who are being conformed into the image of Jesus Christ. God does this when he disciples people. When people sit at his feet and they become his learners, that's all disciples mean is a learner. When you become a learner of Jesus Christ, over time you become more and more blameless.

You grow in grace. And it gets harder and harder and harder to find real things, legitimate things to accuse you of. So Jesus of course is the perfect example putting before us something that we'll never attain. And yet, for those who sit at His feet and become His learners, His disciples, Jesus does this in your life. He addresses those sins.

He keeps heating up the alloy so that the dross comes to the top and he skims off some dross. And then he heats it up again and he skims more dross off the top. And it gets harder and harder and harder to find things, legitimate things to accuse you of. Consider Daniel. In Daniel chapter 6, Daniel has been elevated above the men who were his peers.

And now he's over them and they don't like it. And they want to get him. Listen to Daniel chapter 6 verse 4. So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom. They could find no charge or fault because he was faithful, nor was there any error or fault found in him.

This is a disciple of Jesus before Jesus was called Jesus. Daniel was one who had been discipled by God and who had been brought to maturity. So when guys want to get him and accuse him of things and charge him with crimes, they have to make it up. So Jesus is the ultimate example of that and we see this in Matthew 26, but this isn't isolated to Jesus. This is becoming an increasing reality in the lives of those who are being discipled by God.

Being made like this. So I should ask you and I should ask myself, if somebody wanted to get us, would they have to make stuff up? With Jesus, they had to make stuff up. If somebody knew everything about you, they would have to make things up. I can honestly say that if people knew everything about me right now, they wouldn't have to make things up.

But I am being discipled by Jesus. So five years from now that needs to be more true of me and it needs to be more true of you. Finally, two witnesses accused Jesus of speaking against the temple which was a crime. Verse 61, this fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days. Almost certainly They have misunderstood and are mischaracterizing what Jesus says in John 2.

In John 2 the Jews are asking him for a sign. So listen to John 2 verses 18-21. So Jesus answered, excuse me, this is John 2, 18-21. So the Jews answered and said to Jesus, what sign do you show us since you do these things? Jesus answered and said to them, �Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.� Then the Jews said, �It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, And will you raise it up in three days?" But he was speaking of the temple of his body.

So Jesus is actually speaking to these Jews who are asking for a sign of what they will do to his body, not what he will do to some building, let alone the temple. The point Jesus is making there is you are going to destroy my body, not I am going to destroy the temple, although he is going to destroy the temple. That's not what he is saying there. So it's a misunderstanding of what he has said in John 2 and a mischaracterization of it. And it becomes the accusation and this is going to stick in the minds of the Jews when he is on the cross.

This is going to be what they use to mock him or one of the things that they use to mock him. They say, oh, you who build the temple in three days come down off that cross. Jesus keeps silent. It's a misunderstanding and a mischaracterization of his words, and yet he keeps silent. The High Priest marvels at this.

What Jesus is doing is fulfilling Isaiah 53 verse 7. Isaiah 53 verse 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 it shears a silent sow, he opened not his mouth." He's fulfilling Isaiah 53, this great messianic prophecy. He's like a lamb led to the slaughter.

He is like a sheep before it shears. What we have to take away from this text is that Jesus is not looking for a way out. Don't you see that in the text? He's not looking for a way out. He is accomplishing our redemption.

He has ordered every little bit of the circumstances. And He's not about to wiggle out of a misunderstanding and a mischaracterization of his words, though He can mount an honest defense. Caiaphas has had it at this point and he gets right to the point. Jesus, Do you or do you not claim to be the Messiah, the Son of God? This is right at the crux of what has always bothered these men, the identity of Jesus Christ.

Are you or are you not from your own mouth the Messiah, the Son of God? And he puts Jesus under an oath by the living God. And he is demanding sworn testimony from Jesus. Not just so that Jesus will tell the truth, but in order to compel him to answer, because Jesus isn't answering. So this is what's happening.

The High Priest is compelling Jesus to answer a simple question. And the answer that Jesus gives is totally and completely unambiguous. It is crystal clear. It cannot be misunderstood. And he states the answer a couple of different ways so that it won't possibly be misunderstood.

Yes to all. Yes to all. Yes I am the Messiah. Yes I am the Son of God. And he says to Caiaphas words that must have been infuriating to Caiaphas, You have said it.

You have said it. It is as you say. In Mark 14, 62, Jesus says, I am. Are you the Messiah? Are you the Son of God?

I am. Ego and me. I am. The same words that Jesus said just a couple of hours earlier in Gethsemane when He is being arrested and they come to Jesus and He says, who are you seeking? And they say Jesus of Nazareth, are you Jesus of Nazareth?

I am. And something supernatural happens in the garden. And John 18 verse 6 says, They drew back and fell to the ground. These are all the men who are coming to arrest Jesus when they say, Are you Jesus of Nazareth? And he says, I am Jehovah, the existing one, the I am from Genesis.

When Moses is before the burning bush and he says, who should I say sent? I am sent. Tell them I am sent you. Jesus says this again when he is asked this question by Caiaphas. So he says, it is as you said and he says I am, which has already knocked down the people who came to arrest him in the garden.

This is not a new revelation. Jesus isn't just now springing this on the high priest or on the Sanhedrin. He has not been ducking this question. In John chapter 10 verse 24 and following it says that the Jews had surrounded Jesus and asked Him, ìHow long do you keep us in doubt? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.î So thatís John 10, now weíre in John 18 chronologically.

Itís the same question. ÌTell us plainly if you are the Christ. What does he do in John 10? He gives them an answer that has them taking up stones to stone him for what? Blasphemy.

John 18 or in this case Matthew 26 is a replay of John 10 where they say, tell us plainly, are you the Christ? He tells them plainly that they take up stones to stone Him for blasphemy. And Jesus says, for which of these good works are you stoning me? They say, we're not stoning you for one of those good works. We're stoning you because you make yourself God.

Any ambiguity in John 10, any misunderstanding about Jesus' claim to be God, There was no question in their mind and they try to lay their hands on him and it says that he escaped out of their hands. This is one of these instances in the gospel accounts where it's just not his time yet. It's not his time to die, so he doesn't die. But they wanted to kill him in John 10 for the exact same reason. He claimed to be the Messiah and he made himself God.

Now, he also lays claim to being the fulfillment of Psalm 110 and Daniel 7. Again, this is crystal clear that he is claiming to be God and that he is claiming to be the promised Messiah. And it is impossible that any of these men could have missed what Jesus is saying in the second half of verse 64. When he says that from now on that they would see him seated at the right hand of the power coming in the clouds. He's laying claim to being the fulfillment of Psalm 110 and Daniel 7.

Listen to the second half of verse 64. 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." There are three phrases here that are hyperlinks to the Old Testament. You know what a hyperlink is? When you go on the internet, it's those blue things. When you click on the blue thing, it immediately takes you away to somewhere else.

There are three phrases here in what Jesus says that are hyperlinks. It's going to immediately transport these 70 plus 1 men to the Old Testament, to Psalm 110 and to Daniel 7. Here are the three phrases. Son of man, sitting at the right hand, coming on the clouds of heaven. When he says those three things, Immediately these Jewish leaders, these experts in the law are going to be transported to Psalm 110 and to Daniel 7.

Why don't you start turning to Daniel 7 and I'll start talking about Psalm 110. So head to Daniel 7. In the meantime I'll talk about Psalm 1.10. Psalm 1.10 universally recognized as messianic about the Messiah, about the Redeemer that God has promised to send to His people. Listen to Psalm 110 verses 1 and 2.

A Psalm of David. The LORD said to my LORD, Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of your strength out of Zion, rule in the midst of your enemies." Any connection with what Jesus says here in Matthew 26? The LORD said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. Jesus used this in Matthew 22.

Remember Him using this? The Pharisees have been attacking Him and testing Him in Matthew 22. And in Matthew 22 beginning in verse 41 and following it's Jesus' turn to ask the question. And he asks the Pharisees, whose son is the Christ? And they have to answer right on their lips, he's the son of David.

That's who the Christ is. And so then Jesus says, well then how can this be? And he quotes Psalm 110 verse 1, the Lord said to my Lord. In other words, Wait a minute, if this is just the son of David, how can David, the patriarch of this progeny, of this one who is downstream in his genealogy, how can David call him Lord? It should be the other way around.

This one downstream in the genealogy should be calling Him Lord, not David calling this Son Lord. And the answer is found in this Psalm of David, Psalm 110. The Lord said to my Lord, and the force of it is Jehovah the existing one. Capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, you remember seeing that all throughout the Old Testament. Lord all caps is Jehovah the existing one, the most holy name of God that the Jews wouldn't even take up on their lips because it was such a holy name.

The Lord Jehovah, the existing one, says to Adonai, another name for God, God says to God, sit at my right hand. That's what you get in Psalm 110. That's the force of Psalm 110. God says to God, one name for God says to another name for God, you sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. That's the answer.

That's why the one downstream in the genealogy is being called Lord and not the other way around. So Jesus is hyperlinking In his comments before the Sanhedrin back to Psalm 110, the existing one says to the Lord of lords, sit at my right hand. Now to Daniel. Daniel 7 verses 13 and 14. Daniel says, ìI was watching in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Manî, hereís your hyperlink.

One like the Son of Man. Coming with the clouds of heaven. Is there any way in the world these experts in the law can miss the tight, unbreakable connection between what Jesus is saying in Daniel 7. Coming with the clouds of heaven, He came to the Ancient of Days and they brought him near before him. Then to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples nations and languages should serve him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away and his kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed. This is not some man king. It's an everlasting dominion. It's over all peoples and nations and languages. And by the way, this takes us right to Matthew 28, 19 and 20, the great commission.

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given me. This is no king like David who would die. This is a king with everlasting kingdom, an almighty king who will reign over all nations, all peoples, all languages will serve him. One man at men's Bible study on Monday called this gasoline on the fire this goes back to the point that Jesus is Not trying to wiggle out of anything He's willingly laying down his life. He has the power to lay it down, he has the power to take it up again.

And he really is throwing gasoline on the fire. They are looking for a way to condemn him and he is saying, bring it on. Am I ever the Messiah? Am I ever the Son of God? Am I ever deserving to sit in the place of honor at the right hand of the power and dominion forever and ever?

Jesus is on trial for his life, but he came to lose his life. He has no interest at all in an innocent verdict. Because he's redeeming a people. Back to Matthew. Back to Matthew.

And verses 65 through 68. Where Jesus is condemned as deserving death. Let's read the verses. Matthew 26 verse 65, then the high priest tore his clothes saying he has spoken blasphemy. What further need do we have of witnesses?

Look, now you have heard his blasphemy, what do you think? They answered and said, He is deserving of death. Then they spat in his face and beat him, and others struck him with the palms of their hands saying, prophesy to us Christ who is the one who struck you. Caiaphas is incensed at what Jesus has said and He rends His garments. And He declares Jesus to be guilty of blasphemy.

And Jesus has been in trouble for this for a long time. We saw it in verse John 10 where they were taking up stones to kill him for blasphemy. And we've already seen it actually in Matthew 2. You'll remember back to the first verses of Matthew chapter 9. Jesus encounters a paralytic man and he forgets his sins.

And the grumbling starts. And he says, oh, which is easier, to say your sins are forgiven or to say rise up and walk? And he tells this paralytic to rise up and walk. And he takes his mat and he goes home. And then they understood.

Back in Matthew 9, how long ago was that in Sovereign Redeemer years? That was a long time ago, Matthew 9. I remember Matthew 9 sort of. But Jesus was being accused of blasphemy, of making himself equal with God even then. Leviticus 24 verse 16 says, Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death.

So blasphemy is a death penalty offense and this was the predetermined outcome of this mock trial all along. Jesus has given them all the ammunition they need but they've been brought to the place where truth equals blasphemy. Back in John 10 when he is accused of blasphemy, Jesus says, if you don't believe me, believe the works. The blind see, the deaf hear, the dead are raised. But these are natural men and natural men can't receive the things of God.

They are not able to receive the things of God. And So, truth equals blasphemy. The high priest can't unilaterally condemn it's a real council. So he puts it to the Sanhedrin. They agree that truth equals blasphemy.

And they say that he is deserving of death. And they begin to abuse him. They spit in his face. And they blindfold him. That's not in Matthew, but it is in the parallel text in Mark 14 verse 65 says they blindfold him and they beat him and they slap him and they mock him by saying, who hit you Christ?

Prophesy. And This is the fulfillment of Isaiah 50 verse 6. Isaiah 50 verse 6, I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who plucked out the beard, I did not hide my face from shame and spitting." He is being made sin so that we would be made the righteousness of God. This exchange is beginning to take place. The innocent Jesus is being treated like the most vile criminal.

And they're spitting in his face. And they're slapping him. And they're beating him. And they're mocking him. Go back to the ceremonial log, go back to Numbers 28.

The lamb without spot or blemish, no defects, who has no connection to your sins. This little lamb is being treated like the most vile criminal. That's what it was always pointing to. That this innocent one who has no connection to your sin. None!

No connection, No liability for your sins. They are yours. You own them You own every last ounce of the guilt and The wages of sin is death and the only thing left is for you to be paid your wages. But God has allowed for an innocent substitute to stand in the place of the guilty. And there is a lamb slain before the foundation of the world.

He knew about all your sins. Every single one of them. I was thinking about this this morning. Once or twice a year this happens to me. Early Sunday morning, it's almost early Sunday morning, and just the beauty of the gospel will become apparent to me in an unusual way.

I'll just sit at my desk and weep. That happened to me this morning. The gospel is beautiful. He had no liability for my sins. There's no connection between the innocent Jesus Christ and my sins.

But God has a system of justice that will allow the innocent to come and take the place of the guilty. And every once in a while, if we see it right, we'll weep. And before us, the clouds will clear away and we'll see the pearl of great price and we'll say, I'll sell everything to have that. Not to earn that, but to have that. But to have that, we see what man is doing and just this righteous indignation rises up within us.

Injustice! When you read these texts, doesn't that make you say that? Injustice! Why? Because Jesus is innocent.

He didn't do anything. Exactly. This is God's justice being worked out. This is God being willing to accept an innocent sacrifice in place of a guilty sinner. Of a guilty sinner.

In Romans chapter 1, Paul says in Romans 1 verse 4, Paul says that Jesus was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of Holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Jesus Christ was declared to be the Son of God with power by what? By the resurrection. What does that mean? That means that God has accepted the sacrifice.

It's already been said multiple times today, without the resurrection there is no hope. The resurrection is the declaration of God that He has accepted the sacrifice. He has declared Jesus to be the Son of God with power. And because of His resurrection there is hope for those who trusted Him that they will be resurrected as well. A few concluding remarks.

Three actually. Three concluding remarks. Number one, everything that we are seeing in the text is rooted in the character of God. That God cannot overlook sin. That's what we're seeing in all these texts.

God cannot overlook sin. If for one second of your life you've ever thought that the Gospel means that God is willing to overlook sin, No, no, a thousand times no. God is a holy God. He can never, He will never overlook our sin. The gospel in no way compromises the holiness of God, but God isn't just holy and just.

He is also loving and merciful. And so He has made this way in His justice where it can be satisfied for someone standing in your place. A God who overlooks sin takes you to the cheap grace that is offered for nothing out there in 10, 000 churches. It's happening right now in so many different places. Cheap grace.

God overlooking sin. No. Number two. This being so, how should we live? If an innocent one who has no connection to your sin, would go and stand in your place.

How would you live? Would you allow yourself to be entangled again? Would you huff and sigh at the requirements of the religion? Your faith? As if it was some great burden.

You don't understand the gospel. If your faith is a burden. If one has stood in your place no you'd be free and you'd want to stay free and not be re-entangled and you'd live out of this reservoir of thankfulness that you just could never get to the bottom of if one who had no connection for your sin would die for you and be spat in the face for you and be slapped for you and be beat for you and be crucified for you. You'd have a reservoir of thankfulness that you'd never be able to hit the bottom of and it would make your faith and the exercise of your faith So light. So light.

Number three, you're not above your master. It goes without saying that the prosperity Gospel isn't true. God very well may not want you to be rich. He very well may not want you to be healthy. He might send poverty and sickness to you for his own purposes.

And if you are rooted in the gospel, that will not be crushingly heavy to you either. You're not above your master. If the world has treated him this way, we're likely to have a taste of it. We're promised to have a taste of it. Those who desire to live godly will suffer persecution.

Let's pray. God we thank you for the gospel. We thank you for a gospel that's worthy of weeping over every once in a while. It's so beautiful that when we see it and recognize the depths of our own sin, All we can do is to be overwhelmed with your goodness and your kindness towards a sinful people. You have no connection to our guilt.

And yet you made it your business in order to redeem a people from the north and the south and the east and the west, to call together enemies and make them your children and bring them together in a family and faithfully bring them to heaven without losing one. We praise you for the work of the cross. It is sufficient and more than sufficient to cover the debt of all of our many sins that are great. But the worth of Christ is greater still. We thank you for your plan.

We thank you that we can look on through the gospels and see it worked out. Oh God, press this upon us every day we pray. In Jesus' name, Amen.