Now please come back with me to John's Gospel, chapter 18. John's Gospel, chapter 18. We'll be looking essentially at verses 13 and 14, and then 19 to 24. 13 and 14, and 19 to 24. And this evening, God willing, if you could please read 1 Kings 17, verses 1 to 16, that would be very helpful. 1 Kings 17, verses 1 to 16. So for this morning, we'll be looking at Christ before the high priest. Christ before the high priest. Remember Peter had struck one of the high priest's servants, and cut off his right ear. The high priest's servant, we know his name. Name is Malchus, given to us by John. This Malchus had tried, as it were, to arrest our Lord Jesus Christ in verse 10, and Peter had reached out and cut off his right ear. In verse 11, then said to Jesus, Unto Peter, put out thy sword into the ship. Shall I not drink the cup which my father has given me? He stops Peter, and we know from Luke 22 and verse 51 that our Lord Jesus Christ actually reached out, touched the ear of Malchus, and healed him there and then. So he was healed. Now, having rebuked Peter for resisting constituted authority at this point in time, our Lord Jesus Christ now bows as it were. He's rebuked Peter. He is not to resist constituted authority. So he himself, our Lord Jesus Christ, now bows to the Father's will and submitted himself to those who had come to arrest him. And of course, like wild beasts, they just pounced on him. They would just eat him to get him. And as we've seen before, they had seen all that had happened, the miracle of them falling down when they sought to arrest him, the miracle of his healing, of Marcus's ear. They've seen all that, but they still went ahead to arrest him. So we read in verse 12, therefore the detachment of troops, the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him. They arrested him and bound him. So as we think of Christ before the high priest this morning, I want us to consider one, father-in-law of Caiaphas, two, disciples and doctrine, And then three, violation and violence. These are the three things I want us to consider this morning. So first of all, Father-in-law of Caiaphas. Father-in-law of Caiaphas. John tells us here in verse 13, He says, and they led him away to Annas first, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. They bound him, and they led him away to Annas first. The prophet Isaiah was given to see almost 800 years earlier, when he prophesied and he said in Isaiah 53 and there in verse seven, there where he was speaking of the suffering servant of God, even the son of God himself. He wrote in Isaiah 53 verse seven, he was led as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before his shearers is silent. So he opened not his mouth. So he was bound and he was led first to Annas. In verse 14 here we read, now it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. And we've already been told that Caiaphas, at the end of verse 13, was actually the high priest at the time. But they led him first to Annas. And having led him first to Annas, we are now told and reminded of what Caiaphas had already done, what he had said, and how he had led the Sanhedrin, the leaders, the Jewish leaders, to make a decision. So that here in verse 14, the reference is to chapter 11 and verses 49 to 53. When Caiaphas, being the high priest, unwittingly, he unwittingly prophesied. And he prophesied that the Lord Jesus Christ will die for the nation. And he told, as it were, in that place, how the Lord Jesus Christ was going to die and why he was going to die. So in chapter 11 of John's Gospel, and there reading from verse 49, this is what happened. And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, you know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people and not that the whole nation should perish. Now, this is John now speaking. John says, now this he did not say on his own authority, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus will die for the nation and not for that nation only. but also that he will gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad. And in verse 53, then from that day on, they plotted to put him to death. So from that day on, they plotted, they planned, they decided, they made up their minds to put our Lord Jesus Christ to death. Now you can see the reason that Caiaphas had given. He had given a political reason. But in giving that political reason, there was something he was revealing. He was revealing his selfishness. Because he only wanted to retain his position and to retain the Roman favors that came to the leaders of the Jews. He did not care about the nation or about the people. He cared only for himself and for the leaders and for what they were getting in their position. But he used the nation as an excuse, because it's pediant for one man to die and for the nation to perish. When his actual excuse was, if there is trouble, At this time of the feast, the Romans will come and take over. We'll lose our positions. We'll lose everything that we get. All he was interested in was the favors and the position that he got, along with the leaders, even from the Roman authorities. Now, here in chapter 18, John reminds us, and John mentions this prophecy, as it were, that Caiaphas had made on Wittenden. And he mentions it here to show the type of trial that Caiaphas, being the high priest, would preside over. He is reminding us of what they had decided already, so that we can know, even before the start of the trial, how the trial was going to proceed. so that we'll know exactly what is going to take place in this trial. They had already resolved to kill our Lord Jesus Christ before they even got him, before they even had him. So John is saying to us, remember the decision they've already made based on what Caiaphas had said. Don't forget that because that is what is going to affect everything else that is going to take place at the trial of our Lord Jesus Christ. So that it is here to show that in what follows, in everything that was going to follow, we must not expect to find any favors shown to our Lord Jesus Christ, never. We are not to expect that in any way. No, are we to be surprised of the outcome at the end? We shouldn't be surprised. They've already made up their minds. They've already decided. Father-in-law of Caiaphas. Secondly, disciples and doctrine. Disciples and doctrine. Now, the Jewish leaders had not planned to arrest our Lord Jesus Christ at the Paschal, but they had made it clear that if they arrested him at the Paschal, that they were afraid. that the common people might rise up and that there may be at that point in time demonstrations against the Roman authorities. And they were afraid that if that happened, the Romans will clamp down on them. So they were not prepared to arrest him at the Passover. But they had to change their plans, and they had to act suddenly because of the message that was brought to them by Judas, the traitor. Judas is carried. It brought them this news. This is what the Lord has said. And he knew it was for him to go and finish and execute whatever he was planning to execute. And he took them to where he knew that the Lord Jesus Christ was going to be, even though it wasn't a secret. But he brought them this great news, this good news, at this point in time. And so they were unprepared, but they went ahead anyway. And they went and arrested the Lord Jesus Christ. But they could not, as the judges themselves, the members of the Sanhedrin, the leaders of the Jewish people, they could not, as the judges themselves, be witnesses against the accused. They couldn't be, as we saw even last Thursday. They could not be the accusers. And they could not find any to provide lawful evidence against the Lord Jesus Christ at that time of the night. It was difficult. They couldn't find any to provide them with that kind of evidence that they needed. So Annas now decided perhaps to find a way around it. to make our Lord Jesus Christ incriminate himself as it were. And so we read here in verse 19, the high priest then asked Jesus about his disciples and his doctrine. And the reason is simple. So that as he speaks and as he talks, he might incriminate himself and they can use that against him. and bring an indictment against him. That was the plan. That was the desire, at least of the high priest and those in his position. Our Lord Jesus Christ answers. He answers in verses 20 and 21. But in the answer, of course, they will see clearly that he understood the law very well. He showed them his knowledge of the law. And in that answer, what our Lord Jesus Christ is doing, as you can see, yes, He didn't answer concerning the disciples, but He answered concerning His doctrine. And He wasn't being evasive. Our Lord Jesus Christ was not being evasive in this answer that He gives, no. He was merely demanding to be tried properly by the laws of Israel. That was what He was saying to them. He says in verses 20 and 21, I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple where the Jews always meet. 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. The Lord knows the Jewish law far better than the high priest would ever know it. But the high priest thought he could perhaps corner him and trip him using the law. And the Lord Jesus, first of all, said nothing concerning his disciples. He wasn't going to be used to bring anything against his disciples. And concerning the doctrines, he said, well, I spoke open. The people heard me. Why don't you simply ask them? They will tell you exactly what I taught. And what we have here is the very religious head of Israel. who was the head when it came to the law and justice in Israel. Here he was acting against the law and without the law, outside of the law. He knew the law clearly, but he was working as it were outside it and against the law. They have not drawn up any indictment. There was no evidence brought. So that in reality, they should never have arrested the Lord Jesus Christ in the first place, because you must draw up the evidence before you're given permission to go and arrest the person. And the law made it very clear, but they went against that anyway, and arrested our Lord Jesus Christ. So here that they've got him, what do they do? How do they go about this? Anna sought to go around the law and find a way of making the Lord Jesus Christ incriminate himself. And when the high priest asks our Lord Jesus Christ about his disciples, it's not as if he wanted to know about his disciples. He knows what has happened to them. That's not what he's interested in. What Annas is actually saying to him, is saying to our Lord Jesus Christ, where are your disciples now? Now that we've got you, where are they? In other words, can't you see? They've gone. They have abandoned you. You are all alone. you are before us." In other words, there's nothing they can or will do for you. He was in essence trying to tease our Lord Jesus Christ and to see if perhaps through that he might get him angry and cause him to say something that would incriminate him. And when he asks concerning the doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ, The Jewish law provided that when there was a new teacher and a rabbi, that the authorities were to check whatever he was teaching to find out whether it was a novelty, to find out again whether it was a heresy and the danger that it poses to the people of God. So in essence, he was saying to him, tell us your doctrine. If it's not a novelty, if there's no heresy contained in it, and if it is not dangerous to the people, because that is what they were implying. His teaching was a novelty, it was a heresy, it was dangerous to the children of God, and it needed to be stamped out, and the leader needed to be killed. This is the essence of his interrogation of our Lord and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And both of them, if you like, these accusations or the question concerning his disciples and his doctrine, both of them point to the two charges that were later given by the Jewish authorities. Insurrection against the Roman power. was a new man trying to bring the people and raise them against the Roman authorities. And the second charge that was given was clearly the fact that he was teaching error, and it was blasphemy against the Jewish law. And for these two reasons, the Roman authorities should convict him, condemn him, and have him executed. That was the charge essentially brought against our Lord and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And when our Lord Jesus Christ answered, and avoided talking about the disciples, but speaking about his doctrine, he said, I spoke openly. When the Lord Jesus Christ said to Annas, I spoke, openly. He was actually indirectly rebuking the high priest. He was rebuking him. He was saying to him and all those who were with him, the system is unjust. You're not being fair. You're not following the rules of the Jewish You're being very unjust in the way that you're handling everything. Why are you not trying me in a proper, open court, in a general way, as everybody is trying? Why are you doing everything secretly and bringing me now at this time of the night and charging me in secret? Why are you doing all that? I spoke openly. I taught openly and the people know everything I taught. Why are you afraid of doing yours openly? Why are you being secretive? Why the secret? Why not try me openly in an open court? And the way he gives the answer, when he says, I spoke openly in the world, I always taught in the synagogues and in the temple where the Jews always meet. When he says that, he was proving the fact that he was not against the law. He was not lawless. He was not bringing something new. It wasn't a novelty in that respect. Our Lord Jesus Christ was saying, here is the proof. I honored all the institutions of God and I've acted as a true prophet of our Lord Jehovah shall act. I taught openly in the synagogues, in the temple. That was where I taught. That's where the people of God meet. I did nothing. secretly or against the law, and I never dishonored God's institutions. I honored them all. I did everything according to the word of God. So why don't you? Why don't you do the same? Disciples and Dr. Ferdinand, Violation and violence. Violation and violence. Far from being intimidated by Annas and those who were with him, the Jewish leaders, our Lord Jesus Christ, as we have seen, he turns with that quiet dignity of his. He looks at Annas and all those who were around him And he challenges Annas. And he challenges him, as we have seen with that second part of his statement, which is a question. And it is a question that pierces the heart. In verse 21, the Lord said to him, why do you ask me? He said to Annas, why do you ask me? In other words, he's saying to Annas, you know you shouldn't be asking me this question. But he says to him anyway, why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me, what I said to them. Indeed, they know what I said. And the Lord Jesus Christ is saying here to Annas, why the pretense? Why the pretense? You know, you have been following me. You have been sending people to spy and to find out all that I was teaching. Some of you have even heard me. You came, you disguised yourself, you did everything, but you were there, I know. Why are you pretending? Why are you pretending ignorance to what is common knowledge? I talk about openly, people know, people have heard, you have heard as well. You know what I've been teaching. So why are you pretending to be ignorant at this point in time of something that is common knowledge in the community? When in fact, you have expelled those who believe in me from the synagogue. You are the ones that have certain judgment against all who believe in me and you've expelled them from, so you know. Exactly what I've taught. That's why you have expelled them. So why are you pretending innocence? And here our Lord Jesus Christ was condemning the high priest for trying to make a prisoner to incriminate himself, which the high priest knew shouldn't be doing. He knew he shouldn't be doing that. He knew you don't make the accused, as it were, produce the evidence that you will use against him. especially without warning him. Today, they will warn you when they arrest you. Anything you say may be used against you and the rest of them. But the Jewish judge was not in any way allowed to get anything to incriminate the accused person from the accused person. He was not allowed to do that. And our Lord Jesus Christ was simply saying to him, you know you shouldn't be doing that. Why are you doing that? Why are you trying to do that? And although our Lord Jesus Christ spoke very, you know, he spoke correctly, and he spoke according to his right under the Jewish law, because he had the right to do that. One of the court officers, we are told, turned and struck the Lord Jesus Christ in 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? In other words, he slapped the Lord Jesus Christ, saying that to him. Anytime I read that. and never ceased to shudder. He slapped the Lord. A criminal under the Jewish law, when he's brought before the high priest, you have no right to hit him. Here was a perfectly innocent man brought before the high priest, and this man hits him. He slaps him. He slaps the Lord Jesus on his face. In Acts 23, the high priest then, Ananias, commanded those who stood near to strike the prisoner. And the prisoner at this time was the apostle Paul. He commanded that they should strike the apostle Paul in Acts chapter 23. Well, the apostle Paul did not wait for them to strike him. He responded immediately. In Acts 23, verses 1 to 5, that's where we find it. Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, saying, men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. And the high priest, this time the high priest was even the high priest, Ananias, who commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, God will strike you, you whitewashed woe, for you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law? You are sitting to judge me in the name of the law, and you're commanding people to strike me contrary to the law? How dare you do that? In other words, the apostle Paul was saying to him, I know the law. I know my rights under the law. How dare you go against the law that you promised to defend? And you're sitting there in judgment against me upon the law. How dare you tell somebody to strike me contrary to the provisions of the law? In verse 4 of Acts 23, and those who stood by said, do you revile God's high priest? And then in verse five, then Paul said, I did not know brethren that he was the high priest. For it is written, you shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people. Having rebuked the high priest for saying and commanding his people contrary to the law, apostle Paul was told that he is the high priest. And immediately he apologized. I didn't know he was the high priest. Because I know what the Word of God says. The Word of God says very clearly, you shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people. I knew he was the high priest, I would not have spoken that way. But that doesn't nullify the fact that he was acting contrary to the law. If he wasn't acting contrary to the law, that wouldn't have been necessary. He was acting against the law. But here in John's gospel, before Annas, the high priest, what do we see? We see our Lord Jesus Christ, who knows the law perfectly, far more than Paul could ever know. Here, the Lord Jesus Christ did not react that angrily. He didn't react in anger. He didn't burst out in anger, even though what was done was he was slapped. when he should never have been touched. But he did not react angrily, nor he simply said, if I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil. But if well, why do you strike me? Look at it again in verse 23. The Lord Jesus answered him, This is the person who struck him and said to him, do you answer the high priest like that? The Lord said to him, if I have spoken evil, then bear witness of the evil. But if I have spoken well, why do you strike me? Why do you strike me if I have spoken well? And at this point, of course, Anas was out of ideas. He knew he couldn't get any more from the Lord Jesus Christ. So in verse 24, then Anas sent him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest. He finds he's unable to treat our Lord Jesus Christ. He's unable to, as it were, go against the law and get something from our Lord Jesus Christ to use against him. So he sends him now to the serving high priest that is high of us. Now, having looked at this, let's make one or two applications as we conclude this morning. The first thing I want to mention is this. God made it so that Israel's legal head, the one who is the very head of the legal system of the nation, God made it so that he testified to the purpose and the character of the death of the Son of God, even our Lord and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And here, John reminds us, where he reminds us of the fact that Caiaphas, who was the high priest, was the one who advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people, in verse 14. So John is reminding us, and is showing very clearly, this is what the Lord has done. God has made it so that the very head of the legal system of the Jewish people, the Jewish nation, was the one who actually testified to the purpose and to the character of the death of the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. He came to save sinners. and he was going to die in order that he might deliver and save his people. And it is all contained there in the unwitting prophecy of Caiaphas, who was the high priest at the time. And as John made clear, he did not know that he was prophesied. what God had intended to do in and through his son, our Lord and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. So John tells us here that when Christ was brought before Annas, it was the first place that the arresting team brought our Lord Jesus Christ. Having arrested him, it's John alone that tells us that they brought him to Annas. And then he reminds us of Caiaphas' words, the words that he uttered in chapter 11 and verse 50. That unwitting prophecy that he made. He tells us, he's the only one that tells us, it's not there in the other gospels, that the Lord was taken first to Annas. And then he tells us and reminds us of that prophecy that Caiaphas made, so that we know that these people, the Jewish leaders, had already made up their minds, even before they got our old Jesus Christ. They had decided, chapter 11, verse 53, they had decided they were going to kill our old Jesus. And even before they got him, before they had a plan for it, They had men of their minds that they were going to kill him. And John wants us to know even before the trial proper begins, so that we know what to expect. Now, these leaders, even as they did, the Jewish leaders, whoever were there, when the Lord Jesus Christ was born, they were there with Herod, remember? A wise man from the West came, inquired of him who has been born King of the Jews. They knew where it was prophesied that that will happen, but they didn't care. They didn't act on it. They didn't bother to check. They didn't bother to find out, even though they had all the information. Here we have the Jewish leaders again. after they had decided that they were going to kill our Lord and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He said to them, why don't you ask the people? If they were not hardworking enough to check the scriptures and see for themselves, if they were lazy, if they didn't want to check for themselves, he said, why don't you ask the people? Because if they had checked, They will have found out that the Lord Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, just as Micah chapter five and verse two said that the Messiah was going to be born in Bethlehem. They will have seen it, they will have found out. They had the scriptures, it's there in the scriptures. If they had brother to check, they will have found that out. If they had brother to check, they will have found out that he was born of the virgin. Isaiah chapter seven, verse 14. If they had checked, they would have found out that he was born of the house of David, Jeremiah 23, verses five to six, because that's how the Messiah was going to be born. He claimed to be the Messiah, and they accused him of being poor. But if they had only checked, they would have confirmed from their own scripture that he was truly who he said he was. If they had bothered to check, they will have found out that John the Baptist was actually the forerunner that was prophesied by Malachi in Malachi chapter three and verse one. And that when John the Baptist saw the Lord Jesus Christ, he declared, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. If they had only checked, they will have found that out. If they had checked, they will have found out and they knew the miracles that our Lord Jesus Christ made, but they will have found out of the miracle that the Messiah was to perform, even as prophesied again by Isaiah, in Isaiah chapter 61, verses one and two. If they had checked, they would have found that out easily. And if they had bothered to check, they would have found out that he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, just as Zechariah chapter nine, verse nine said he will. He did exactly that. And again, Zechariah 11 verse 12 says, he was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. If they had checked, they would have found out that that was exactly what they were doing with Judas Iscariot. They were giving him 30 pieces of silver to betray his Lord and his master, the Lord Jesus Christ. And if they had checked very carefully their scriptures, if they wanted to, they would have found out again, Isaiah said in Isaiah 53 verse three, that there he was despised and rejected of men, including the Jewish leaders. He was despised and rejected by them. But if it came to his claim to be the unique son of God, If only they had checked Isaiah chapter nine and verse six, they will have found out there again that Isaiah prophesied that he was going to be the mighty God. This one who was going to be born by the virtue. He will be the mighty God. In addition, in Psalm 27, there it tells us, that He was truly coming to be the mighty God, begotten of God. And if they had bothered and tried to check Isaiah 7 verse 14, they will see that it speaks there of the incarnation, the coming of the Son of God, of Him born into this world. But then they will have also found out that He was going to be Emmanuel, that is God with us, God in human flesh. It may have sounded extraordinary to their ears, but if they had only searched their scriptures, they would have found it there, because it was all there in the scriptures for them. And when they look at passages like Genesis 16, verse 7, and Genesis 18, verses 1 to 3, where those passages speak of God's appearance on earth in human form, especially in 18, verses 1 to 3, where he appeared to Abraham. This is God appearing in human form here on earth. And that's not to say that even if they had checked, or if somebody had brought all that to the defense of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they will have spared him, no. They had made up their minds. They had decided as we saw, because we know the heart of man, the heart of man, is desperately wicked. It is deceitful above every other. They had decided, he had come against them, he had proved to be against them. Annas in particular, with all his interest, there in the temple, because all the proceeds from all that were being sold in the temple came to the high priest. And there, we remember, the Lord Jesus went and scattered And he exposed them to the people. He met the people to see and to understand that they were hypocrites. And they didn't like him. And they hated him. And they had decided that he must die. And they were going to finish that, no matter what the evidence in his support. But in the second place, If the Jewish leaders were guilty of not considering the evidence that was available to them, how much more are people guilty today of not considering the evidence? Are they guilty of not looking and considering the evidence? People today, those today who do not believe the Lord Jesus Christ are more guilty than the Jewish leaders were. Because the greatest evidence of Christ's divinity, his resurrection from the dead was not available to them at the time. For they had not killed the Lord Jesus Christ yet. He had not risen from the dead yet. And they did not have the New Testament testaments that we have all put together by the Lord for us. They didn't have that. That evidence is available to us today. We have the New Testament scriptures today. And if anybody refuses to consider them, then he is worse than these leaders. because they didn't have this evidence. We have them today. To refuse to consider them is to be more guilty than they were. But if you will honestly consider the evidence, if you honestly search the scriptures, as our Lord says, if you will sincerely look at all that is given to us here, then you will know the truth. And it is the truth concerning the Son of God that will set you free. Because when you know the truth, then you will know the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Christ. You will believe in him. You will know him as the Son of the living God, the one John is proclaiming to us here. You will know that he came, he suffered, and he died in order to save sinners like you and me. And if you believe in him, He will forgive you your sins. He will cleanse you from all unrighteousness. He will save you, and he will give you everlasting life. The apostle writing to the Romans, he says in Romans chapter 10, and there in verse nine of Romans chapter 10, he says that if you confess with your mouth to the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, then you will. We learn from this, don't we? We learn from all we have seen that God uses even the wrath of man. God uses the wrath of man to accomplish his own purposes. Remember how Joseph said that to his brethren in Genesis chapter 50. And there in verse 20 of Genesis chapter 50, but as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring it about as it is this day to save many people alive. In Psalm 76, there in verse 10, there we have the direct reference to what I have just said. Psalm 76 verse 10, surely, the psalmist says, the wrath of man shall praise you. Even the wrath of man shall praise the Lord. Surely the wrath of man shall praise you with the remainder of wrath you shall gird yourself. The leaders truly meant it for evil, didn't they? They meant it for evil. They were wicked. They meant everything for evil against our Lord and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. But God meant it for good. In order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people. To save many people. They meant it for evil. Satan meant it for evil. God of the world. and through the death of his son, millions, billions, come to the saving image of our Lord Jesus Christ. May I reconcile to you, Father. We pray that the Lord will grant us true and genuine understanding so that what was meant for evil may become good for us, both now and forever. Amen. Let us pray.