Amen. Well, good morning. Open your Bibles with me, beloved, to the Gospel of Mark. Overwhelming gratitude to Brady and Diana for leading us in worship. What a blessing last week as well to host the Hamiltons, missionaries from Singapore. What an encouragement that was from them and really a challenge set before the church when it comes to missions, when it comes to the Great Commission. What a glorious reminder, even as a small body in Lanesville, Indiana, that we have a calling and a command from our Lord. Begging the question, where does the faithfulness to that commission begin? Well, it begins here when we take up our word. If the word is neglected or if it's minimized in our pulpits or in our homes, we are a destitute people. And since the Lord determined to reveal his will to us in the written word, it has been the continual call to take it up, to take up and read. And I was reminded of that this week. I was reading about Puritan pastor Thomas Goodwin. And Thomas was a, well, he's a brilliant mind, not only as a minister, but Thomas famously held the post of chaplain to British leader, Oliver Cromwell. But to read about people like Goodwin, we must know what shaped their hearts. What drives men and women like this? To be passionate lovers of Christ and of his word. People that you and I look up to as giants in the faith. Thomas Goodwin described one such formative experience when he was a young lad in college and during this time there was another prominent Puritan that name that was coming to prominence by the name of John Rogers. Some of you may know that name, as Rogers was famously the first martyr that was killed under Queen Mary, also known as Bloody Mary. Any book you can get your hands on about John Rogers and his life or his ministry, I would commend to you. But Rogers, while preaching, of course, he also gave weekly lectures. And a young Thomas Goodwin decided to go hear this passionate Puritan. John Howe in his book, The Principles of the Oracles of God in 1835, he wrote about this very meeting. Writing, quote, Rogers was at that time discussing the subject of the scriptures. And on this occasion, admonishing his hearers on their neglect of the Bible. And he represented God as addressing them, meaning Rogers was speaking to them as if speaking as God, saying, quote, I have trusted you so long with my Bible. You've slighted it. It lies in your houses covered with dust and cobwebs. You care not to look into it. Do you use my Bible so? Well, you shall have my Bible no longer. And he then took up the Bible from the cushion where they used to lay them, and seemed as if he were going away with it, and to carry it with him. But immediately he turned again, and impersonating the people, answering God, he fell down on his knees, and he wept, and he pleaded, most earnestly, O Lord, whatever thou dost to us, take not thy Bible from us. Kill our children, burn our houses, destroy our goods, only spare us the Bible. Then once more, he addressed the people as from God. Say you so? Well, I will try you a little longer. Here is my Bible for you. I will yet see how you will use it. whether you will love it more, whether you will observe it more, whether you will practice it more and live more according to it. Goodwin himself, when he left, he said that he wept on the neck of his horse for a quarter of an hour before he had the power to mount. So great was the conviction. Those alarms are even more potent for us today, aren't they? As every fascinating stream of entertainment screams for our attention and our affection, every form of digital escapism is at our fingertips. So what is the answer? How do I have a heart like John Rogers for the scriptures? When honestly, sometimes I don't, or perhaps never have. Because you can't manufacture that love. You can't conjure it up. Now, perhaps we mentally assent to all the truths that are within it, but how do we create that genuine love to take it up, that we all struggle with at times in our life, through seasons of dryness? Well, the answer is simple. It's not easy, but it's simple. We know from Scripture that two forces are continually at work in our life, the flesh and the spirit. The flesh and its desires that bring death, and the spirit that brings life. One is always winning, one is always losing, every day. The flesh and the spirit are both active forces that are pushing on each other. So if that is so, what does that mean for our desire to take up and read? If both are active forces, the flesh and the spirit, understand that they both carry inertia. Inertia, they both carry momentum. So guess how momentum works for reading scripture. The more you read Scripture, the more you will desire to read Scripture. The less you read the Word, the less you will desire to read the Word. Both have momentum. And conversely, the flesh is the same, killing it or not killing it. Both have momentum. Keep killing it, and it will keep dying more each day, further each day, greater victory over temptation each day, greater fruit in your life, greater reliance on God for the details of your life. That's momentum. And on the other side of that flesh, not killing it is the momentum of sin. And we all know how that works when that ball starts rolling. So how do we pursue a John Rogers heart towards scripture? Today as we sit here, as we are all residing at various degrees of perhaps dryness in our life. Maybe you're a desert, maybe you're a rainforest. Most of us are somewhere in between. Seasons of maybe ambivalence or laziness toward his word, or perhaps ravenous hunger for it, you cherish it. The answer is not in willpower or in conjuring or manufacturing love. In whatever season you are in, momentum has a hold on you, good or bad. Do you want to have John Rogers' heart for scripture? Here it is. Pick it up and read it once. Listen to me, saints, and I mean read it, meaning don't set it down until God has been made magnificent in your eyes through it. Now that may take 10 minutes, maybe 30, but I promise you, by the time you are done, you will want more. That's momentum. The more you read, the more you will want to read. The less you read, the less you will want to read. If your season is dry, if you struggle with every other distraction vying for your attention, that carries momentum. If the spirit is winning, the flesh is losing. If the spirit is alive, the flesh is dying. Each day, every day carries a momentum. So today, we want to love our scriptures more. Take it up once, read it, and don't set it down until Christ has sparkled before you. And by the time you set it down, you will want more. Momentum of the spirit. Saints, this principle is as sure as the sun rises in the east. The more you read, the more you will want to read. The less you read, the less you will want to read. Momentum is a factual force in our spiritual life. We don't get to opt out. The only question is which direction we're heading. So this morning, beloved, if a shift needs to be made, we have the simple tool right in our hands to shift the tide. So make it so even today. Amen? Amen. Well, two weeks ago, we began our dive into the religious and the secular trials of Jesus during our march down the awful glory of Passion Week. The final week that will accumulate with our ransom from death and hell as God raises Jesus from the grave, symbolizing, of course, his acceptance of such a perfect sacrifice on our behalf, living and dying as our substitute. Now we've titled this two-part series, A Fitting Trial, which is really meant to convey the irony of these show trials, the hypocrisy of these kangaroo courts, the insincerity of these kabuki theaters that's before us. So we use the word trial in the very loosest sense of the word, of course. While wicked men seek to do wicked things, they aim to do so under the cover of night, with most of these show trials taking place in the very early pre-dawn hours. Now, by way of reminder, Jesus' trials are broken up into both the religious trials and the secular, the Roman trials. And each one of those kind of have sub-trials within them, right? Beginning with our religious trials, recall that Jesus has been arrested in Gethsemane, And he'll first be brought to Annas, which we covered in part one, then to Caiaphas in his palace, in his home, and of course, the Sanhedrin. And on the Roman or secular trial, first will be to Pilate, then to Herod, back to Pilate, right? So again, for those that like a sense of the big picture, we have Annas, Caiaphas, Sanhedrin, Pilate, Herod, Pilate. You got that? So that's six show trials within the span of about four hours. And we took great pains in part one to demonstrate the illegality and the wickedness of this entire process from start to finish. And still we labor in our time of Passion Week to demonstrate, to demonstrate the role of the wicked in the plan of God. From the moment a serpent tempted in the garden, God has used the depravity of free men's will to accomplish his plans to redeem a people for himself. And nowhere is that more defined in a high definition than in the arrest, trial, and execution of the perfect Lamb of God. Today, we continue our scene in the house or the palace of Caiaphas, the current high priest. Luke's account tells us of that location. And you'll recall that while Mark's account doesn't show us this, as we learn, Jesus was first sent to the chief mob boss, Annas, to move their plot along. Of course, Jesus only a few days earlier had trashed the entire marketplace in the temple that bore the very name of Annas. So we can guess how friendly that exchange was. Yet they've arrested Jesus. Now they need to find a crime. They know they want to kill him. Now they need to find a pretext for doing so. How backwards is that? Well, it is a fitting trial, isn't it? An evil trial to precipitate an evil act. That's why every accusation against Jesus just happened to be a capital offense, didn't it? What are the odds? Insurrection? Death. Blasphemy? Death. Claiming a king higher than Caesar? Death. So with numerous false testimonies having been brought against Jesus at this point, which by the way is a capital offense by Jewish law, but that doesn't matter here because this whole charade is a scam and a sham. It's now time for Caiaphas to stand and make a showing. And what an exchange this is about to be. So with that, let us look to our text this morning. Mark 14, 60 through 65. Mark 14, 60 through 65. And the high priest stood up in their midst and questioned Jesus saying, you answer nothing. What are these men testifying against you? But he kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest was questioning him and said to him, are you the Christ, the son of the blessed one? And Jesus said, I am. And you shall see the son of man sitting at the right hand of the power and coming with the clouds of heaven. And tearing his tunics, the high priest said, what further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. How does it seem to you? And they all condemned him to be deserving of death. And some began to spit at him and to blindfold him and to beat him with their fists and to say to him, prophesy. and the officers received him with slaps in the face. Let us pray. Oh Father, every step toward Calvary, it seems gets heavier in our heart and in our feet as we walk. Every step up that hill, Lord, requires the Holy Spirit to abide with us, to allow our hearts to see it, to be guided through it, Lord, that we might be changed, that we might walk out of here different than what we came. Holy Spirit, you are capable and able, and we ask that you would meet every need that has come here this morning in Jesus' mighty name. Well, in 2019, the Smithsonian published an article detailing the archeological find and the excavation of one of the oldest and well-known Christian churches in the Sub-Saharan Africa, in Sub-Saharan Africa, otherwise known as Ethiopia. Now, this seemed to help confirm what many Ethiopian churches had claimed for centuries, that the Ethiopian church was one of the first and oldest established. Now while tradition and legend certainly play certain roles in this, there are a few things that we can know for certain. If we look to Acts 8, as the church is growing and spreading to the known ends of the earth, we read the well-known account of the Ethiopian eunuch. Now listen to this telling once again. But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, rise up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert road. So he rose up and went, and behold, there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of Ethiopians, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. And he had come to Jerusalem to worship. And he was returning and sitting in his chariot and was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the spirit said to Philip, go over and join this chariot. And Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, do you understand what you're reading? I said, well, how could I, unless someone guides me? And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of scripture which he was reading was this. As a sheep is led to slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he does not open his mouth. In humiliation, his judgment was taken away. Who will recount his generation, for his life is removed from the earth? And the eunuch answered Philip and said, I ask you earnestly, Of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself? Or of someone else? Then Philip opened his mouth. And beginning from this scripture, he proclaimed the good news about Jesus to him. And of course, we know that the eunuch believed then and there, didn't he? And he was baptized then and there. And then what did he do? Well, scripture tells us that he went on his way rejoicing. Early church father, Irenaeus, around the year 180 AD, he summarized this account of Acts 8, writing this, quote, this man was also sent into the regions of Ethiopia to preach what he had himself believed, close quote. So what would have been the testimony of this eunuch to his people? Well, no doubt part of his preaching were these very words. As a sheep is led to slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth in humiliation His judgment was taken away. Well, we know who this lamb is. Today in our text, light is shed on this prophecy and is fulfilled in our hearing. So let us begin with our opening verse, 60 through 61a, that's 60 through 61a. And the high priest stood up in their midst and questioned Jesus. Now pause there for just a brief moment. If in Isaiah we are told, in humiliation, his judgment has been taken away, we are obliged to show this occurring. And so it is. Now, considering all, there should be no high priest standing up right now, because there can be no trial held in the dark by Jewish law. There should be no high priest standing to speak right now, because there can be no trial held in Caiaphas' personal home. That was to be held in the Hall of Judgment. There should be no high priest standing up right now because there were no corroborating witnesses. There was no presumption of innocence. There were no defense witnesses. This is street justice under the guise of officiality. Being reminded that part of Jesus' humiliation is the show trial itself. Part one of our series demonstrated that most of the legal protections that we enjoy in Western law did not originate with us. Many of these laws and protections were part of Jewish practice as well. Meaning not a single question should have been levied against Jesus without counsel present for him. With one injustice after another, Caiaphas says what? You answer nothing. What are these men testifying against you? But he kept silent and did not answer. Beloved, if Isaiah prophesied about this attribute of our Savior during his humiliation, his silence, and here we see it demonstrated, ought we to understand it? Might Jesus' silence be important? Immensely so. Well, what has been spoken thus far against Jesus? Lies. All lies. Jesus has said all he's going to say to these hard-hearted people. And Jesus knows every thought and every intention of every heart in there. He knows the hairs on the head of every false witness standing up to perjure themselves. He knows it all. Three years he has preached to these hard hearts, and they only wax worse. And coming even before Jesus, the voice crying out in the wilderness called them to repent, and they would not. The time is over. The task has been set. The plan of the Father will be accomplished. Jesus' jaw is set like a flint toward Calvary. He does not need to defend himself against lies. To what end? His heart is set on the will of the Father. The agony of Gethsemane is over, meaning he is strengthened for the task ahead. There's nothing left to say. about the wickedness of man. I'm going to the cross. It was prophesied of old that Jesus would be silent, and so he shall, fulfilling every prophecy about himself with complete perfection. Over 400 Messianic prophecies in scripture fulfilled by one man, and so it is here. Now, setting prophecy aside for a moment, though, We know that some things in life don't deserve a response, do they? Right? To even respond at all with a rebuttal or a refutation is to lend credibility or legitimacy to the claims. Sometimes the appropriate response is no response at all. Yet how many of us feel the need in our life to continually defend ourself? If you are maligned, or lied about, or someone speaks evil of you, how many of us are Johnny on the spot to defend ourself? If that's your instinct, Scripture puts its finger right on that sore, and it's called pride. That insidious sin that most other sins flow out of. Say, yeah, pastor, that's me. I do rush to defend myself. Consider, beloved. But besides Judas, who was, of course, fueled by pride, which other disciple was the most boastful, the most proud, the most head sure, the most ready to fight? It was Peter, wasn't it? And yet, if we look at Peter's first epistle, we have remarkable insight into Peter's growth, don't we? We see the answer on why Peter is no longer the way that he was. Consider 1 Peter 2, verse 23. Peter is writing about this very trial in our text here today, where Peter followed at a distance. Listen and grab hold of this, saints. Peter writes, when he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten. Okay, that's great. That's what I need to do. How did Jesus do it? Peter tells us. Next line. Peter gives us the golden key. But continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. Whoa. Did you catch that, saints? If we want a golden key to tuck away in our growth in Christ, here's a big one. How and why did Jesus stand silent and not defend himself? Because he knew the judge of all the earth would do right. And Jesus entrusted himself to him who judges justly. And now here we stand in Lanesville, 2023. And not only can we entrust ourself to Him who judges justly, just as Jesus did, but it gets even better. Now we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Beloved, rest in God. You have a perfect judge and a perfect advocate. If you are in a courtroom where you're falsely accused and your father is the judge and your lawyer is the most beloved person of that judge, how much do you really need to say in that courtroom? How much do you really need to say? What else does Jesus not need to answer here? What else? Well, it's a simple truth that needs reminding. All the way from Gethsemane, it's because he's in control. He's in control. Legions of angels sit at his beck and call. He could blow them over with a word, as he did in Gethsemane. Yet the wicked serve a redemptive purpose, don't they? Don't echoes of Joseph ring in our ears here from Genesis 50? You intended harm to me, but God intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done. Oh, listen to this, the saving of many lives. What a foretaste to come. But watch what happens next. Caiaphas is a devious man. He thinks he's about to trap Jesus, Look back to our text now, verse 61b, 61b now. And the high priest was questioning him and said to him, are you the Christ, the son of the blessed one? Ah, now we have a question. Now we have something worth responding to. Jesus will respond to truth. Jesus came to testify of the truth. Even if spoken from the mouth of a devil like Caiaphas. Now we're getting to the meat of the matter, aren't we? And by the way, Matthew's account of this shows that Caiaphas actually put Jesus under an oath. The heaviest of oaths when he asked him this, said, I adjure you by the name of the living God, Caiaphas says. And by the way, that was massively illegal in Jewish prudence to do that. Today, you'd hear something like, objection, your honor, badgering the witness. Objection, your honor, leading the witness. So what is the question? Are you the Christ, the son of the blessed one? Can we pause for a moment to soak in the irony? Now first, we note that those with perhaps the most intimate roles in Jesus's death make the most complete Christological statements about Jesus in the New Testament. How about Caiaphas calling Jesus the Christ, the son of the blessed one? How about the centurion who drove the spikes into Jesus? When he breathed his last, what did he say? Truly, this man was the son of God. What irony. This whole scene is laced with irony. Calling Yahweh, God, son of the blessed one. By the way, that's the only place in scripture we see this usage. In fact, you have to go to the Mishneh Baruch Hoth to find it. Its usage is something like Adonai, right? It's a name that we use to avoid using the actual name of God. Isn't that something? Isn't that something? Behold the mind of the religious legalist. Wow. I will simultaneously attack the son of God. I will oversee his face being slapped and punched before me while careful to not improperly use his name. I'll perform this religious ritual and that religious ceremony, I'll keep this rule and that rule, yet I'll show love to none, compassion to none. I actually like the new living translation, you won't hear me say that very often, of this sentiment. Jesus calls the religious elite blind guides. You strain your water so you won't accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel. Don't say the name of Yahweh, son of the blessed one, just strike him in the face. Back to our text. Jesus would not respond to lies. All right, he will stay silent because it's false accusers. He's under no obligation to answer. But if you wanna start speaking the truth, now you're in Jesus' territory. Bold, clear, sharp territory. From a beautiful, righteous, majestic silence to pure rocket fuel in a moment. Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One? Verse 62, verse 62. And Jesus said, I am. And You shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power and coming with the clouds of heaven. Some time ago, I was watching a debate with a Muslim scholar. And his assertion in the debate was that Jesus never actually claimed to be God. Every Christian in there was kind of scratching their heads in that debate hall. Of course, all over the Gospels, Jesus claims to be God. He's killed for this very offense. He was killed for blasphemy, for claiming to be God. He received worship as God. He said, I am. Tetragrammaton, name of God. I am the first and the last. I am the beginning and the end. I'm the Messiah. I'm the Son of Man. and I'm sitting at the right hand of power. Capital P. Notice that? Capital P, meaning I'm your judge. You think you're judging me in your kangaroo court, but I will judge you for eternity. What did we read in Psalm 110 this morning? The Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. And listen, Sanhedrin. How's this, Caiaphas? You shall see me coming with the clouds of heaven. He's dropping Daniel 7 right in their lap. And behold, with the clouds of heaven, one like a son of man was coming. And he came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away. And his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. Glory to God. That's what he just dropped right in their lap. Truth is declared over this mockery of a court. And there is no doubt. It is a devastating testimony, is it not? This will seal Jesus' death. There's no mincing words, there's no intimation, there's no hinting. Jesus blasts Caiaphas right between the eyes. Not only am I Messiah, not only am I the great I am, But it will be this very face that sentences you on that day. Take a good look, Caiaphas, because the next time the whole world sees me, I will have eyes that are a flame of fire, and on my head will be many crowns, and I'll have a name written on me which no one knows except me. And I'll be clothed with a robe dipped in blood, where my name is called the word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, will follow me on white horses. And from my mouth will come a sharp sword, so that with it I may strike down the nations. And I will rule them with a rod of iron and tread the winepress of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty. That's who stands before you, Caiaphas. I am the Christ. I am the Son of the Blessed One. I am God. And there at the right hand of God Almighty, from the great white throne judgment, every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess that I am the Lord to the glory of God the Father. And oh, the gasps in that room. The religious are about to clutch their pearls now, aren't they? Here comes the drama, bathed in hypocrisy. Back to our text now, look, verse 63. Verse 63. And tearing his tunics, the high priest said, what further need do we have of witnesses? Now, why is the word for this hypocrisy? Why is the word for this hypocrisy? Because inside, Caiaphas is jumping up and down with glee. And outside, he's ripping his garments. Jesus just gave me exactly what I was looking for. For joy, for joy, I've got him. But let's put on a little show first, right? Tear my robe in some feigned indignation. In truth, Jesus just bailed him out, right? Because his witnesses thus far have been a complete flop. Certainly not good enough to warrant death with their inconsistencies. But now, from his own mouth, the richest of ironies continues. As Caiaphas goes on here in verse 64, look with me to verse 64. You have heard the blasphemy. How does it seem to you? and they all condemned him to be deserving of death. Oh, there's blasphemy happening here, all right. You are more guilty of blasphemy at this moment, Caiaphas, than any other devil in history. At least the demons knew who Jesus was and declared who Jesus was. Scripture says even the demons believe and tremble. I think it was Paul Washer who said, at least the demons have the good sense to bow and tremble. If the demons who believe and tremble are not saved, what does it say about those who profess to believe and don't even tremble? Caiaphas stands in judgment, accusing God incarnate of blasphemy. For Caiaphas, it seems fitting to attach Judas' judgment here. It would have been better if he had never been born. Look back to our text. How here is Jesus condemned? How is he condemned? Is it in accordance with Jewish law? Meaning that each member voted and all those votes were counted and tabulated? Not at all. This is conviction by clamoring. This is prosecution by pitchfork. In hubris and underhanded pride, they proclaim death upon the giver of life. Caiaphas said, you have heard the blasphemy. Yes, we have. And it's in your mouth. Every false witness in that room, every blasphemer in that room by Jewish law deserved death. Let that not be lost on us as we look to our final verse. Beloved with great reverence, let us be reminded as we always are that Jesus was our substitute. in life and in death. If we read of Christ's humiliation, apart from the glory of substitution, we miss the full mark. We fail to capture the beauty amidst the incredible ugliness of this hour. Look with me to verse 65. And some began to spit at him. and to blindfold him, and to beat him with their fists, and to say to him, prophesy. And the officers received him with slaps in the face. I must confess, when considering this final verse, I stared at a blank page for a good long while. Nothing quite seemed to capture the humiliation that was being born on my behalf. Of course, to first be spit on, particularly in Jewish culture, that was the highest disrespect and humiliation that could be expressed toward a person. It was the utmost of disdain and loathing. You were lower than the low. You were worthy of nothing but our scorn. Our mock trial is quickly turned from sham to shameful. Nothing like this would ever have occurred in an official trial of the Sanhedrin. From the moment the first spit flew at our Savior's face, we see the momentum of sin take over in this room. Given speed by wicked hearts and demonic inertia, as this kangaroo court really descends into a debauched chaos. Our Greek shows us that all four activities here, meaning the spitting, the beating, the slapping, and the mocking to prophesy, all are written in the present tense, meaning they didn't do it just once. It was continual and continual. The punches and the slaps, done mostly by the guards, by the officers, and beloved, they knew how to land a punch. Closed fist. How to make it hurt. Of course, the question of the blindfold is often puzzling to some, isn't it? Why do that? Why blindfold him? Was it so Jesus could not identify or testify about his illegal treatment? Oh no, that ship has long sailed. We are in debauched chaos at this point. We are in full mocking and humiliation at this point. So how does a blindfold mock and humiliate. Well, by itself, it really doesn't, unless you understand Jewish tradition. Rabbis had a very peculiar way of reading Isaiah 11. Now, those looking for extra credit, you can actually find this teaching in the Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 93b. Look that up later. Speaking of Messiah, Verses two and three of Isaiah 11 says this, the spirit of the Lord will rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, and he will delight in the fear of the Lord, and he will not judge by what his eyes see, nor make a decision by what his ears hear. What are our three senses? Seeing, hearing, and smelling. Well, how's this for a bad hermeneutic? Rabbinic tradition based on Isaiah 11 was that Messiah won't judge by seeing or hearing. So that must mean that Messiah will judge by smelling. He can judge by the scent. That's why they blindfolded Jesus. They thought they were mocking him by throwing their wrong understanding of Isaiah 11 in Jesus' face. Prophesy. Who hit you, Jesus? The true Messiah doesn't need to see or hear to know. What do you smell? Who hit you, Jesus? Thinking they are discrediting Jesus' claim. You're only proving your own depravity and your own ignorance of the scriptures. Beloved of God, what do we do with this awful final scene? What heart change is called for? What new conviction or love or truth here is meant to propel us toward a deeper affection for Christ, for a greater longing for eternity? How many ways ought we to be different seeing the humiliation of our Savior on our behalf. Well, a list will not do. It would be unending, just like His love. Now, I read a few days ago, a fellow congregant told me about, some may have seen this story, about a man who was shot while sharing the gospel on a street corner this week. He was shot in the head. And last I saw, he remains in critical condition. Yet how many of us fear even the cruel words or ridicule of the world? How many of us fear the mocking of a coworker or a family member? Do we wish to only identify with Christ in his glories and not in his suffering? The words of Charles Spurgeon come rushing to mind asking, quote, how ready should we be to hear slander and ridicule for Jesus' sake? Do not get into a huff and think it a strange thing that people should mock you. Who are you, dear sir? Who are you, dear madam? What can you be if compared with Christ? If they spat on him, why should they not spit upon you? If they buffeted him, Why should they not buffet you? Shall your master have all the rough of it? Shall he have all the bitter and you all the sweet? A pretty soldier you to demand better fare than your captain. That stings the heart. Only with the aid of the Holy Spirit can we digest such truths. Now it looks like chaos here at about 2.30 in the morning. Wicked inertia, the momentum of sin running wild. If one were to walk into this scene, how could you ever see victory? Your eyes would lie to you. A higher truth reigns over even what is seen, that all is in hand, the Father's hand. Turn with me very quickly just a few pages back in your Bibles, beloved, to Mark 10. Very quickly, Mark 10. Just a few pages back. Look with me to Mark 10, verse 33 and 34. Mark 10, 33 and 34. Saying, behold, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes. And they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. They will mock Him and spit on Him, ultiplan, and scourge Him and kill Him. And three days later, he will rise again. And so he has. That is the truth in the midst of the chaos that we serve a risen savior. One who took our scorn, took our punches, absorbed our blows, taking our shame upon himself. For our sake, God made Jesus to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. That's the good news of the Gospel. That justice has been satisfied in Christ. Our sin caused a debt that we could never pay. And Jesus took that debt upon Himself. He paid it in His life's blood. If any will come in repentance and faith, He will forgive those sins. He'll redeem your life. He'll give you a new heart and an eternity with Him. That's good news. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, in the midst of the chaos of this early morning, Lord, when darkness seemed to triumph, when evil and wicked men seemed to have their way, it is not so. It was never so, and Lord, it is not so today. You are God Almighty, and Lord, you are seated at the right hand, and Lord, you are coming soon. Lord, we are encouraged by these words today. We are humbled, awestruck, silenced by the humiliation taken on our behalf. Lord, this is a message that will take all week and all month and indeed the rest of our life to absorb. We ask that you would help us. Help us know what is the height and the length and the depth and the width of the love of Christ, or that we may know you, that we may know you in your sufferings and your glory. In Jesus' mighty name, amen.