this morning, Matthew chapter 26, and we're going to conclude our study of this portion that deals with the trial of our Lord Jesus Christ. We'll be thinking particularly this afternoon to prepare our hearts to come to the table from verses 65 to 68, but I would like to read again the whole section just to refresh our memories. We'll read verse 57 to 68. So Matthew chapter 26, beginning to read at verse 57. Once again, this is the Word of God. 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. 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. 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? Amen. This is the reading of God's Word. May He be pleased to write its truth on our hearts today. Well, this morning we began looking at this shameful episode of Jesus on trial. You'll remember we considered together the prosecution. We saw it was made up of Caiaphas and the rest of the Sanhedrin, a who's who of Israel's top clergymen. And then secondly, we considered the witnesses at the trial, scoundrels hired for the purpose, but who cannot find any dirt on Jesus, except that he had declared an ability to raise up the destroyed temple in three days, which we saw was a reference to his death and then his resurrection. And then we also, of course, considered the accused himself. Jesus is sublimely silent, throughout all of this ordeal. He is the Lamb of God. He is going silently as a lamb to the slaughter, to the altar, on behalf of His people. But we left off our study this morning just as we're getting to the critical moment of the trial. Caiaphas has put our Lord under an oath to confess whether or not he is the Christ, the son of the living God. And Jesus' answer is stunning. He says, 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 clods of heaven." Here we have Jesus proclaiming to the horror of this court. His identity as the true High Priest, and soon to be Mediatorial King of Kings, who will be their judge one day from the right hand of power, the right hand of God. Now, no doubt, this statement will be like a red rag to a bull, and sure enough, that's what we find. So, this afternoon, we come to consider how they respond to Jesus' declaration that He is the Messiah, and how the trial concludes with the condemnation of Jesus. Now, the fact that Jesus Christ should be made the object of condemnation, and not the one issuing it, surely demands an explanation. The words of human mortals in verse 66, that are addressed to the Holy Son of God, should take our breath away. They say, He is deserving of death. And these words, too, demand an explanation. In what sense can we say that the sinless Savior is deserving of death? Well, the Bible does give us an answer to these paradoxes. In fact, its explanation for Jesus' condemnation that night in the judgment hall of Caiaphas is really the central message of the entire book. And so we do well to consider it together. Three things, again, I'd like us to think about. Three things we see this court of law doing. First thing we see them doing is charging the Savior. That's verse 65 and the first part of 66. Second thing we see them doing is sentencing the Savior, also verse 66. And then thirdly, we find them abusing the Savior in verse 67 and 68. So let's think about these three things. Charging the Savior, sentencing the Savior, abusing the Savior. Let's look again at verse 65 as we think first of charging the Savior. We read that 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. Now, I'll remind you what we said this morning. At the time of Jesus' arrest, there had been no charges. They didn't tell him why they were arresting him. But now, of course, they've come up with one. And the charge they have leveled against Jesus is that he has spoken blasphemy. And this is the moment where the final verdict, the formal verdict, I should say, is rendered from the Jews' perspective. And Caiaphas, you'll see, does three things. Number one, he charges Jesus with blasphemy for making himself equal with God. Now according to the law of God, if you go back to Leviticus 24 verse 14, we'll see that this is a capital crime. So Leviticus 24 14 reads, take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head and the entire assembly is to stone him. Say to the Israelites, if anyone curses his God, he will be held responsible. Anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him, whether an alien or native-born. When he blasphemes the name, he must be put to death. Now nothing could be clearer and obviously God's law requires that the perpetrator must be taken outside the camp and executed. Now according to John 18.31 we know the Jews were actually prohibited from carrying out executions. And so they were going to have to take it to the Roman authorities to execute their sentence. And that's why, of course, it would be in the Roman manner of crucifixion rather than stoning. Although it would still take place outside the camp. But the charge leveled against Jesus here was nevertheless not according to Roman law, but God's law. The Jews would later say to Pilate, John 19, 7, we have a law, and according to our law, he must die because he made himself the son of God. Now, I don't want you to miss this vital point. The Son of God is being charged by the standards of His own law. Right? The standards of His own law. Galatians 4.4, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law. And of course he did so by bearing the penalty of his own law. I wonder sometimes if maybe you think to yourself that the death penalty is a little bit OTT for every breach of God's law. Well, remember that God doesn't think it's over the top because he submitted to the death penalty himself. Caiaphas charges Jesus with blasphemy. The second thing he does is he expresses sham grief. Caiaphas expresses sham grief. We read the high priest tore his clothes, or he tore his robes. Now this traditional display of grief was actually forbidden to the high priest according to God's law. Once again, back in Leviticus, which of course gave Caiaphas his rules, his marching orders, Leviticus 21.10 reads, The high priest, the one among his brothers who has the anointing oil poured on his head, and who has been ordained to wear the priestly garments, must not tear his clothes. And it's particularly in the context of funerals, but expressions of grief. It's forbidden because he has been dedicated by the anointing oil of his God. I am the Lord. Now why was that in place, that law? Such was the dignity of this person, the high priest, this one man in Israel. He had an office of momentous symbolic significance. He was, of course, the preeminent type of the coming Messiah, who is called in Hebrews 3, 1, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Jesus Christ. He was also the Lord's anointed one, anointed with the holy oil, as we just read. And the high priest alone was ordained to be the wearer of the priestly robes, and so enter into the holy of holies to atone for the sins of the people. So because of this tremendous dignity this man had in his official capacity, He was held to a higher standard. He, of all people, was commanded by the law to refrain from expressions of mourning, such as the tearing of his robes. To do so, says one commentator, would serve to nullify his consecration. Well, that little background, I hope, helps shed some light on what we find Caiaphas doing here. By his deplorable actions he is nullifying his consecration. Here is the man with really the most dignified office in the world. He is God's anointed one. He is the high priest of Israel. And standing before him that night is the one he foreshadows. If I could put it theologically, the type has now met the anti-type. And instead of falling down before him as God's definitive final anointed one, Caiaphas instead conducts himself in the most undignified manner imaginable. He has him secretly arrested, tied up in the middle of the night. He bribes numerous scoundrels to bear false witness against him, and he charges him with blasphemy. And then in this pious act of, I suppose, play-acting, the high priest defies God's law and tears his robes. And I would submit to you that this tearing of his robe, like the tearing of the temple curtain, symbolically marked the end of this earthly priesthood. As we saw this morning, Caiaphas is the last of the Levitical priesthood. God was about to establish the Melchizedek order in its place with Jesus as the eternal High Priest. So Caiaphas, of course, is not the last to denounce Jesus in a pious way. Lots of people do this today. Lots of people act like Caiaphas, very religious on the outside, but in their hearts they reject the Savior and cut themselves off from salvation. How can you tell if you're one of them? Well, the answer is found in the third thing Caiaphas does here. We've seen he charges Jesus with blasphemy. He expresses this sham grief by tearing his robes. The third thing he does is he asks for a verdict. He says to the court, what do you think? In verse 66, what do you think? Here is an invitation to the assembly to make a judgment about Jesus. If Jesus is not who he claims to be, then he is guilty of blasphemy, and he's not to be simply ignored, he is to be reproved, and he is to be punished. But if Jesus is, in fact, who he claims to be, they are the ones who are guilty of blasphemy, and they are the ones that are deserving of death. Caiaphas says, what do you think? And my friends, that is also an invitation this morning to you to make a judgment about Jesus. God's Word says to you this morning, what do you think? What do you think about Jesus Christ? It's the great question again, isn't it? It's the question we thought about this morning. Who do you say that he is? That question Jesus has answered for us. He has declared that He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and 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. And again this afternoon, I want to put to you, as you come to this table, or perhaps you're not coming to the table, perhaps you know you're not a Christian this afternoon. What do you think? What do you think? What's your verdict? Is Jesus of Nazareth the Christ, the Son of the Living God? Is He, this afternoon, sitting at the right hand of power? And will you someday see Him coming on the clouds of heaven to judge you? And again, if Jesus is not who He claimed to be, then He is guilty of blasphemy, and He's a fraud, and you should avoid Him. But if Jesus is who he claims to be, my friends, then you must weigh carefully what Jesus says of himself in this passage. Because if he's right, then you this day are under his authority and jurisdiction, and his law is binding upon you, and you are under great obligation to him, and you have an appointment with him someday as your judge, and the clock is ticking. He's coming on the clouds of heaven. The Gospels give us his biography. They are wide open for your scrutiny. Consider who He is, His claims, His miracles, His teaching, His justice, His compassion, His truth. Surely you must concede with the temple officers in John 7, verse 46, no man ever spoke like that man. Surely we must agree with the voice of God from heaven. In Matthew 17, 5, this is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. We must conclude with Peter in Matthew 16, 16, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. However, that verdict has by no means been unanimous in history. And it certainly was not that night And so we find this court charging the Savior, and we find them in the second place this afternoon, sentencing the Savior. Sentencing the Savior. Verse 66 again, they answered and said, he is deserving of death. Now we saw in verse 59 that this court already had its mind made up on the matter. They're just waiting for Caiaphas to ask his question. So what are we to make, then, of the Savior's sentence? He is deserving of death. Well, for one thing, we must say, and particularly I think as we come to the table and examine ourselves, that this is a just sentence for us. This is a just sentence for us. He is deserving of death. She is deserving of death. We are, by nature, children of wrath. We sang already from Psalm 51, against you, you only have I sinned and done this evil in your sight, that you may be found just when you speak and blameless when you judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin. My mother conceived me. Jesus in His trial is found guilty of the sin of blasphemy, but friends, we are the ones who have blasphemed. Blasphemy is one of those basic sins that fester within our fallen hearts. Jesus tells us in Mark 7, 20, "...from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, and evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness." Blasphemy is native to our hearts. It's one of the basic ingredients of our human rebellion. In our native disobedience, we make ourselves like God, and we do not reverence Him as the Holy One that He is. And so the heavenly judge looks down from heaven upon earth, and what does he see? Psalm 14.2, the Lord looks down from heaven on the children of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. They have all turned aside. They have together become corrupt. There is none who does good. No, not one. Friends, if God looks down and He can't find anybody, trust me, there's not one righteous person to be found. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and the wages of sin is death. God looks upon you and I and he says he or she is deserving of death. Is there anyone in here that can dispute that with God? I don't deserve to die. I am not a sinner. None of us. None of us. Caiaphas' sentence is a just one for us. We stand self-condemned. But of course the question we need to ask is, is this a just sentence for Jesus? Isn't that the real question we want to ask? Where's the justice in this abominable mock trial? How can a just and righteous God possibly allow such a sentence to be passed on His own beloved Son? How can God be found just when He speaks and blameless when He judges on this occasion? Is this a just sentence for Jesus? Well, of course, we must immediately say, well, no, of course it isn't. Jesus is innocent of all crimes. He's not just a silent lamb. He is a spotless lamb. 1 Peter 2.22, who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth. And when he suffered, he didn't threaten. He committed himself to him who judges justly. Friends, Jesus was not brought forth in iniquity, nor in sin did His mother conceive Him. And yet, remember that behind this wicked courtroom scene, there is another invisible legal transaction taking place between God and sinners. Remember that since Gethsemane, Jesus is reckoned the sin-bearer, the cup. The cup of God's wrath against your sins and mine has been placed in His hands by the Father, and the Father now legally views His Son as a criminal, because this sentence had been pronounced upon us by divine justice. Friends, if it is certain that Jesus paid the penalty of sin, which is death, and if it is equally certain that he had committed no sins of his own, there can only be one conclusion. That he bore that penalty for the sins of others. Your justification is not a legal fiction. It is based upon a true legal process that takes place in the councils of eternity and which is visibly represented in history by Jesus' earthly trial. Your sins are real. The imputation of those sins to Jesus, the sin-bearer, is also real. His condemnation and execution are real facts of history, and your justification depends upon them. And so the Savior's sentence, He is deserving of death, that was pronounced by the wicked Caiaphas, echoes the sentence passed by a holy God upon His beloved Son for your sins and mine. Indeed, it is only by virtue of the Savior's sentence that God can be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus Christ. Romans 3.26, the only thing that can in any way vindicate God's permission of this otherwise unjust condemnation of His sinless Son is this, that the Lord has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. 1 Peter 3.18, Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. So friends, this Sanhedrin spoke better than they knew when they declared he is deserving of death. There are several points of application suggested by this profound theological truth. The first application has to do with salvation. Salvation. In his glorious self-revelation in verse 64, Jesus spoke of a day when these words, he is deserving of death, will be heard again. They'll be heard on the day of judgment, won't they? But then they will be uttered by the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power. the very one upon whom they were declared by Caiaphas' courtroom, will himself utter them on millions whom he will place on his left hand. He or she is deserving of death. And so the question that is incumbent on all of us here, young and old, to ask is how can I avoid hearing him pronounce this sentence on me on that day? That's the question we have to resolve, people. You must plead the Savior's sentence that was passed on Him by Caiaphas to be the sentence that is also passed on your sins. You must say, I am worthy of death. I am worthy of condemnation. But Jesus has been sentenced in my place. And you see, that's why the Apostle Paul can say in Romans 8.1, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Or as one commentator puts it, you must turn Jesus' condemnation to account personally, by faith, by grasping, wielding, pleading it for your own deliverance from all condemnation. If you're in Christ this afternoon by faith, then it is you that stands in Christ there before Caiaphas' court and are condemned by the law of God. Have you accepted Jesus' sentence as your own sentencing? Have you cast yourself into the divine plan and purpose of this condemnation of the Messiah? Do you have a share in His condemnation? And not just a share. Have you, by a personal act of faith, cast all the sins of your lifetime upon that condemned man? And have you said of Christ, the sin-bearer, the bearer of your sins, He is deserving of death, not in Himself, but by virtue of my own death-deserving sins being credited to His account by God? Or do you perhaps instead think that you can somehow stand before God on some other basis than Jesus' condemnation? No other way was found in the garden, though Jesus sought one. If it's possible, let this cup pass from me. But no, only by receiving the cup of condemnation could you stand as righteous before God and take up this cup of the new covenant, as you will in a few moments. Are you presumed to stand before God by some other means that even Jesus couldn't find in the Garden of Gethsemane? Hugh Martin writes, to bring all your guilt within the bond and compass of this condemnation which fell upon Jesus. Appeal to your God to reckon you condemned and sentenced, yea, crucified with Christ. Take your stand beside Christ at the bar. Take up your position in Christ. He is your cover, your refuge, your hiding place. Flee unto Him. It is the righteous sentence of God's law condemning you to death, which then goes out and issues in those words that fell on Jesus' ears, He is deserving of death. This is the first application. You must apply this text to yourself for salvation. But there's another application that has to do with sanctification. sanctification. Maybe you're sitting here today and you know in your heart you have embraced Christ and his condemnation in your place, but perhaps as a Christian you still find yourself condemning yourself. You hate your sins, you earnestly wrestle against them throughout your life, You find them to be so powerful, so great, so condemning, polluting, and you say, perhaps in your darker moments, I'm sure to be condemned. Maybe you're terrified about the day of judgment. Well, if that's true of you, this passage today offers you hope. It offers you hope. Apart from the cross, there was perhaps no darker moment than this in history. Condemnation of Christ. But if he is here condemned because your sins are condemning him, then there is therefore now no condemnation, because your sins were condemned in him. and you are thereby free to walk according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh." Either Jesus bore your condemnation or He didn't. He didn't sort of bear 90% of your condemnation, but you still have that 10% to try to make up to Him somehow. Absolutely not. You need to go back to the gallery of Caiaphas' palace and you need to see Christ the prisoner. You need to hear the sentence of God uttered through the unlikely lips of Caiaphas. He is deserving of death. His sentence of death is your acquittal. Stop laboring under the illusion that his sentence wasn't enough for you, enough for your sins, enough for your sanctification that follows, or that you must make up for the rest by acts of penance or spiritual disciplines that will somehow curry favor with God. You can come to the table this afternoon armed with this confidence, I am deserving of death. So Jesus received this sentence in my place, and so I come in faith to be nourished by him in my Christian walk. And then one more point of application, and that is for security. Security. I wonder as a Christian, do you ever fear future judgment? Are you ever afraid of the day of judgment? Maybe you read about it and you tremble. Well, if so, remember that it already happened 2,000 years ago in the courtroom of Caiaphas, the high priest. In other words, in a sense, you missed it. If you're afraid of your future judgment, you can read about your day of judgment by reading this passage. You can hear your sentence being read in history upon your substitute Jesus Christ. Isn't that good news? Isn't that awesome? Your sentence has already been heard audibly in history. She is deserving of death. He is deserving of death. The sentence has been pronounced. And that's why Paul says in Romans 8.33, who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is He that condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Charges were brought against this Jesus that night, and you were justified. Jesus was condemned and died in your place, and so you earned an advocate at the right hand of the Father, who will relentlessly argue the case of your defense against all enemies, all naysayers, against Satan, against God's law, against your own doubts, the sins you struggle with. Isn't that good news this afternoon? And Jesus' winning argument against them all is that He was arrested, He stood trial, He was condemned and sentenced, and He was crucified in your place. Are you living today with a fear or foreboding of the future judgment? The gospel bids us rather reflect on a past judgment, the judgment of Christ in our place. Hugh Martin again says, the deep shadow that loomed so drearily upon your future, he will throw back behind you into the past. merging it in the shadow of Calvary, and the darkness of His own woe, and the future He will unroll and disclose to you, bright with the riches of His grace, unsearchable and resplendent in the beauties of holiness." Don't be afraid of the Day of Judgment. You can read about your Day of Judgment, and that's what we've done together today. Well, we've considered the court charging the Savior, and sentencing the Savior. And briefly, as we close, we also have this court abusing the Savior. Verse 67 and 68, 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? These words don't really need any embellishment from the preacher. We all know what it is for someone to be beaten up. And with Jesus condemned, all semblance of dignity and decorum in the courtroom is lost. A high priest does nothing to prevent this abuse that is now hurled upon the prisoner who has now become their victim. Suffice it to say that Jesus endures physical abuse. There's a difference between the two Greek words used here, beat and strike. The second one refers to slapping with the palm of the hands. The first means punching with a clenched fist. And this is shockingly undignified behavior on the part of sober judges of Israel. One moment they're acting the part of judges with solemnity, tearing their robes at pious shock at such blasphemy, and the next they're degenerating into a mob of thugs. And Jesus also endures mental abuse. He endures their mockery. Mark tells us He was blindfolded first, and then we hear the cries, prophesy to us Christ. If He was a prophet, surely He knows who had punched Him. And the irony is, that they mock His alleged prophetic abilities when all the while they are doing what He had prophesied was going to happen all along. Did they but know it. Jesus endures abuse as the silent Lamb of God. The suffering servant says in 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. Friends, God will not allow any more indignity to fall upon Christ than he has already predicted and thus permitted, and yet they literally don't pull their punches, they lay into him. And Jesus endures. You know, when you think of what happened to Uzzah, remember Uzzah in the Old Testament, he reached out just to touch the ark? Remember what happened to him? Or the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh, and they opened up the Ark of the Covenant, take a little peek inside, struck dead on the spot. I mean, it's astonishing with what patience the Holy Son of God bears the punches and the slaps and the spittle of these wicked men on his sacred body. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return. And when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. 1 Peter 2, 23. Jesus endured, and He endured for us. He endured for us. It's we who deserve to suffer what our sins have brought upon us. But let us marvel today that Jesus Christ should stand in our way and take in His person the blows and contempt that our sins deserve. Let it suffice us to conjure the privilege when we are sometimes thought fools for his sake. And when the world abuses us as Christians, let it be to us a badge of honor as those who have been saved by an abused Savior. Amen. Let us pray. Oh Lord, we come and we worship you. We stand today on holy ground. This This portion of your Word should fill us with such awe. Surely the glorified saints who have gone before us are filled with wonder as they behold the face of the one who offered his cheeks to those who pulled out the beard, the one who heard the sentence of the high priest he is deserving of death, and in that heard the sentence of his father upon his sheep. Lord, we acknowledge that we deserve to hear that sentence. How we thank you that when we do come to stand before you on that great day of judgment, these are not words we will hear. That if we are in Jesus Christ, he has been condemned in our place. Our sins have been credited to him and his righteousness to us. And there is therefore now no condemnation. Lord, may we come to this table today with joy in our hearts. Would you turn away, O Lord, all things that would hinder us coming to your table. Would you forgive our sins and would you help us, O Lord, to bask in the glory of what Christ has done as our good shepherd who has laid down his life for the sheep. And we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.