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September 7, 2022 6:00 am
Pastor Rick has a topical message
The third day he rose again from the dead and ascended into heaven and sits in the right hand of God the father Almighty. Thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead every time we read that creep his name spelled out. But again, I think a shortcoming to the creed is the Sanhedrin guilty.
Maybe the oversight is wise and intentional, not oversight. So the world will never forget the Christ suffered under Pontius Pilate. This is cross reference radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Genesis. Please stay with us after today's message here. More information about cross reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching today. Pastor Rick will continue the study called Pontius Pilate Caesar's friend will begin today in acts chapter 2, a man attested by God to you by miracles and wonders and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves also know they were there. They knew about the crucifixion they knew about the life of Christ. He continues him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands have crucified and put to death powerful God cut the channel. He directed the course of anything that was going to move and he used the dark and hearts of the human beings who were willing to be dark in their actions, to do it. He never violated anyone's free will pilot had made his decision that Caesar was his man. The Sanhedrin had made the decision that power was what they were about. And God just honored their decision and used it to fulfill the prophecy that he knew was going to happen long before time began. That's how far back it goes further than that. If you will, because God is never learned anything he doesn't need to. And so it was this group of sinister clerics pilot allowed himself to be entangled with because of his friendship with Caesar it backfired.
That's our text where again the Jews cried out, saying, if you let this man go you are not Caesar's friend and he's gotta be saying. How did I let myself lead these crazy zealots corner me like this.
He knows that got him. He knows Christ is innocent. He wants to execute justice or the Sanhedrin. It would love to crucify them instead of Jesus, but is cornered and he's done it all himself is cornered because of his own ambitions. Again, John 19 verse 12. From then on pilot sought to release him. But the Jews cried out, saying, if you let this man go you are not Caesar's friend.
Whoever makes himself King speaks against Caesar didn't see that coming. When he got out of bed that morning and that's how it is for the wickedness of how it is for all of us at times when especially when you're not right with God because the difference between pilot being a corrupt judge which I'm not at the present time, accusing him of being though in the end that's what it is.
The difference between him being pilot and some other judge somewhere else being corrupt. Would somebody else's. This happens to be God the son and the whole world should've known whole world not want to know.
And so now we move from our discussion of pilot in the Sanhedrin and we discussed pilot and his judgment because I think that this is still how the impenitent man thinks the person who is not right with Christ and let me tell you there are Christians who are inching away from God and they are becoming again.
Worse, they are becoming that that backslide is leading to an apostasy. And when someone has fallen away from Christ as an apostate, they turn on him is to just abandon him.
They turn spiritual when you turn away from things that you nice like that restaurant like it anymore. But you nothing but burning it down and I think that speaks of the spiritual nature of what we are engaged in as Christians. The greatest power to crucify among men came from pilot God in control all the time but when Pilate made those words to Jesus again verse 10 do you not know that I have power to crucify you the power to release you.
He missed the sermon that was recently preached by the Lord on this very thing. John chapter 10 verse 18 no one takes him takes it from me.
Speaking of his life.
The Lord Jesus speaking. I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay down and I have power to take it again this command I have received from my father and that was fulfilled because when he died he gave up the spirit.
No one killed him. They could've stabbed him and poked him and nailed him all day long if he wasn't ready to go to grotesque picture but it makes the point. No man killed him. And that's why Pilate was amazed when word came back that he's already dead issue he just died at will command none of us can do this God in his genius is made, how are the critical organs function involuntarily the hard beats without us helping me. Of course we can messed that all up but got to know if if I let them controls thing and be like a bad puppeteer. I'm just brew would last a minute and that would be it, so no one takes his life a message Pilate missed. Well, what about our I don't sell neighbors because it makes it for you see that those guilt onto you that you're preaching to your neighbors. They don't want to hear it, but when the opportunity does come for us to preach to anybody and I've used preach in the sense of the Greek the Herald to say make way for the king.
He's coming again. Are you going to me the way you will stand before him, how message is got to be like this would gotta get the message to the impenitent before they entangle themselves in a situation where they cannot get out of. Would've been nice if someone could've gotten to pilot these words. No one takes his life from it from him but he lays it down of the cell. He's gotten this is got this power and is nothing you can do about it.
Pilot and so in the midst of this dialogue between he and pilot at one moment of Jesus has been abused throughout the night. Unfortunately, the apostles Creed which we should get to shortly. It it does speak that he suffered under Pontius Pilate, but he also suffered under the Sanhedrin and Herod do suffer there in the garden of Gethsemane when Judas Iscariot, who was entrusted with so much through it all away for a few pieces of silver. He was convinced that the Lord who claim to be king in the realm of truth was no threat to Caesar pilot knew this and that should've been the end of it all. Verse 37 of John 18, Pilate therefore said to him, are you a king, then the words are you a king then as you been, is, as has been said about you.
Jesus answered you say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born and for this cause I have come into the world that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice was Pilate doing with that. What was he thinking at that time I get to that moment three separate times this night Pilate will pronounce the Lord innocent.
These are official verdicts of a judge empowered by Caesar in verse 38.
I find no fault in him. In verse four, I find no fault in him. In verse six, I find no fault in him the strength of two or three witnesses.
And there it is, but he underestimated the bloodlust of the religious the religious Jews and that's all they were. They had no relationship with Christ. Yet Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea and perhaps others were not in this group.
The ones that were they had bloodlust. John chapter 19 verse five then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and a purple robe and Pilate said, behold, the man they had beaten him already. Verse 19 again.
Pilate left the crown on him with the blood are not going to try to dramatize this is unnecessary. Apostles don't do it. I'm not either. The idea behind this was look. Is this enough for you, hasn't he suffered enough. He's harmless, let it go. That's why he parades the Lord before them, but he miscalculated.
They weren't interested in mercy, kindness. They wanted full blown power.
They were in Satan's care. It took this one time for Pilate to violate his conscience to cause the shameful reputation that he has forever.
He did violate his own Connie pronounce them innocent. When Jesus said that they had come for truth.
What is Pilate's response what is truth become jaded. Listen to all of the philosophers. It was common discussion at the Roman gatherings with the wind and the servants, and all the grapes you know you can have Romans without grapes and he had heard it all made up his mind was better for him to look out for himself, be a friend of Caesar. Caesar in that sense, it become his God. Innocence took second seat to that justice. These things that happened long ago, the Caesars, the Romans who boasted about such a civility and truth in order that was only for them it wasn't for the people they conquered wasn't for their slaves and to this day, the court systems in the aristocracy of the world applaud the Romans are many people who go around for the Roman army was awesome. I wish I could live back then on what side the people whom they came to conquer and enslave or is one of the enslaved soldiers was no way to live.
History romanticize is this the stuff was awful. So what it comes down to this one violation. This critical moment of violation of conscience was. He is innocent as my official decision not kill. That's, you know, the cut and dry that you Jesus was that way you not for me or against me you is who's not flu so I was on for me is against me.
You don't get any more cut and dry than that in here that I don't oversimplify that order or make overly complex either. But that is what it comes down to is innocent. Now you can kill him, and there are terrible consequences to violating your own conscience. One thing is you get better at it each time until after a while you don't have a conscience it's seared as Paul wrote to Timothy with a hot iron. We all have to guard against this being having a conscience pecked to death by her own weakness by her own flesh.
One of the lessons that we get out of the lug would take three of them and maybe you think one more as we go on, but responsibility can't be transferred because were for conscience sake.
And that's what he was trying to do is trying to transfer the responsibility of this night to the Sanhedrin. He wanted no part of it. He wanted to give it all to them.
Verse 31 John chapter 18 then Pilate said to them you take him and judge him according to your law.
Is he saying to himself well. They can't kill him. So I've saved his life and visit an easy way out of this. Therefore, the Jews said to him is not lawful for us to put anyone to death. Liars is unlawful, yes. But that's not what you mean you mean is you want to kill him in front of Rome in front of the Jews in front of the Greeks in front of anybody in a shameless way you want the whole world to know that you've prevail, which it didn't think did you that men like Matthew and Mark and Luke and John would be writing this stuff down and that for all the ages while you are more than likely judge to an eternal hell. Others are working to avoid others from going to the same place you are by telling these lessons. I don't know about you but when I was beginning Christian and I'm going to the Gospels. I was so in tune to this. I was so sensitive to anything that had to do with eternity. Hell, heaven I was.
I mean you just read these verses. When Jesus talks about weeping and gnashing of teeth. I'm not on that team.
I am with Jesus now and never going anywhere else and I don't want to ever forget the things I want them to become old news to me or lame information. I they need to be real and alive to me all the time. That's my whole my goal when I worked for, and I'm not paranoid about it because I have blessed assurance. I know Jesus did not die for me for nothing. I know you did not receive my confession and my conversion just so that I could lose one of the great stories of God's care for his people is from the Jews and in in the wilderness with them. You know, God has let us out into the wilderness to kill us. Although he has not. That's not how God I will kill you where you are.
If he wants to do it doesn't have to waste time get you into his sights were never out of his sights, and I love those lessons you know you do in life you get a victory and then some catastrophe. It's the first one of the first things that the devil wants to get you to say is God is doing this to you is looking to destroy you is not.
It is a lie and so he attempted to transfer the responsibility but he was also a victim of compromise. You know when it comes to conviction. There can be no compromise in why Paul was persecuted as a man of conviction. He was convinced and nothing took that from him. That irritates those who don't agree with you they call you stubborn bullheaded wrong everything they can think of because you convicted them. I'm doing this because I believe this is true, I believe it is right not moving away from it to know what you take the jury order. You note to make salads one tune is one person that's in the jury going to different direction. All right, maybe you like it late maybe don't like tuna and egg salad.
I don't know but people who stand by their convictions, even when the right become the outcast problem is where people stand by false convictions, knowing that their false convictions in the Sanhedrin, they illustrate this for us tonight versus 39 and 40 bring out the compromise is all through the pages of the story, but it is what you have a custom pilot speaking to the Sanhedrin that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Do you therefore want me to release you to you the king of the Jews. Then they all cried again saying not this man, but Barabbas.
Now Barabbas was a robber. Luke tells us more about Barabbas is not only a robbery was an insurrectionist rebel against Rome. He was also a murderer and assassin likely part of the scarry or maybe just an outlaw would be it as it may Pilate thought at this point before the bringing Christ out and having an scourge of the crown of thorns before he got to that point, he felt well you know what they got distinguished surely don't want Barabbas miscalculated again was trying to compromise is not thinking straight. He's not remember.
He knows who these people are but yet he's behaving as though he's forgotten that he's trying to wiggle out.
How do we know that when he says the king of the Jews. Hey Pilate this is a need to come and whisper in his ear. They hate that they don't see him as their king. They despise him is going to figure it out at the end of course that's with the placard over the cross comes in Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews.
He was sticking it to them they don't like Nazarenes put it on and make him their king. He knew that would create on them but still all failure and then, in addition to his attempt to transfer responsibility as being a victim of compromise. He was also a victim of neutrality all at the same time trying to you know make everybody happy for that. We have to go to Matthew chapter 27 to see it illustrated I'm neutral. I'm not really in this.
I'm a government official in their button on. I'm really not part of this.
Matthew 27 verse 24 when Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a two multiples rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying I am innocent of the blood of this just person you see to it meant you into it, but this was your son and the judge was doing that you wouldn't think the judge was innocent is pronounced him guilty. Now let's kill him. What kind of world are you living in why don't you just ring the bell and those soldiers at that Antonio fortress will swoop down on the Kabbalah and get the stuff cleared up with doesn't do it from Rome's perspective. I guess they could say you know Pilate maintain the peace in Israel because after Pilate.
That was the first great revolt that cost them the temple and the city. There were two other revolts.
After that, not counting Masada was a disaster for everyone.
So we've covered his failure to hold responsibility.
His attempt to compromise and then his attempt to be neutral trying to do good and bad at the same time a come back to that in a minute but I just want to comment on that useless gesture of washing his hands before everybody is though that this makes it all okay see I've done this and now I'm free from you cannot wash guilt off with water only the blood of Christ Pilate Thruway's chances opportunity to do the right thing to be a noble man and because he did not. His memory is not sweet it is bitter is captured for us in the apostles Creed, which is not written by the apostles, but it is built on their teachings and it is accurate and it is good. It says every I believe in God the father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ his only son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate see forever. His memory, the memory of Pontius Pilate is not sweet, it can say that about Mary, she can say that about Pontius. It's bitter.
It says suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried.
He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead and ascended into heaven and sits on the right hand of God the father Almighty.
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead every time we read the Creed.
His name is bellowed out, but again I think a shortcoming to the Creed is the Sanhedrin were more guilty maybe the oversight is wise and intentional and not an oversight. Therefore, so the world will never forget the Christ suffered under Pontius Pilate. But listen Peter giving another sermon in acts chapter 10 verse 38 God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power who went about doing good healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
No one could stand up and objected that not even the Sanhedrin. No one could object to those words even though they were spoken much after all these put into print from that time it was already circulating in the time of of Jesus day about him staying the could not wash out Luke 23 verse 12 that very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other for previously they had been at enmity with each other. Pilate patting himself on the back.
In the midst of this disastrous court system because politically, he had gained an ally in the treacherous Herod Antipas would want him for friend. His father wouldn't would not even take the idea of another king being around him.
Incidentally, if they had said this is Jesus, king of Rome.
Then Pilate would've wasted no time acting on but that never was the way it was presented he was presented as the King of the Jews and they help the Jews in the can in contempt as the Jews that held back at them and to this day there are those Jews that have great animosity and distrust and discussed in contempt for Gentiles in their Gentiles. On the other side throwing it right back Adam and neither one has adjust course. But such is life, such as the world and here we the Christians come along were supposed to straighten it out. And how do we do that by bringing truth and not being afraid of the truth in the record of the Scripture.
And so we move now to Pilate and Caesar, which is lot which largely explains the failure of Pilate through the whole thing on the significant thing about this to me is that as I'm looking at Pilate I'm seeing other people traces of Pilate's behavior in the lives of other people I know, maybe even myself.
And so what I'm interested in is how does the Lord want me to respond to these findings and once I discover them and begin to address them in my own life. If I can't get the victory am I willing to plow forward nonetheless. You see our victory in Christ doesn't is not predicated on our victory in the flesh is victory in Christ.
I may never be able to defeat some of the things about me that I detest but that does not knock me out. The does not take me out of following the Lord, and that is one of the most beautiful things about Christianity is that it never applauds the wrong we do sin we have. It never says less okay but it always deals with it and it deals with it in such a way that I survive I'm treated as nobility. I'm still loved just talking about the power of God's mercy always feel I need to bring this up breaking some other biblical character over the coals so that we don't have an recited to us in somebody else's story will be removed and is therefore not pertinent is very much part of life move you've been listening to cross reference radio daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Pastor Rick is teaching from God's word. Each time you tune as we mentioned at the beginning of today's broadcast is teaching is available free of charge at our website.
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