Pontius Pilate-Caesars Friend (Part C)

The media's single person Corporation is a bunch of people that make this bunch of people that feed there are bunch of people that enjoy want to be so. So were not so far removed so you live in a world that was dominated by lies to large extent and so do we, but also the wrong allegiances that we have in life dull our ability to do right even when were staring right right in the face of 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 more information about cross reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching today is part three Pastor Rick's message called Pontius Pilate Caesar's friend today he'll begin in John chapter 18. 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 prevailed, 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 judged 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 I'm never going anywhere else and I don't want to ever forget the say that 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 is not.

That's not how God I will kill you where you are. If he wants to do it. 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 hits 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.

You know 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. I don't know what you take the jury order you note 10 egg salads one tune is one person that's in the jury going to different direction. All right, maybe you'll 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's 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 pilot thought at this point before the bringing Christ out and having an scourge of the crown of thorns before we got to that point, he felt well you know what they got this thing. They surely don't want Barabbas miscalculated again was trying to compromise. He's not thinking straight. He's not remember. He knows who these people are but yet he's behaving as though he's forgotten that because he trying to wiggle out.

How do we know that when he says the king of the Jews. Hey pilot nurses aid 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 placket 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 there and make him their king.

He knew that would create them but it was still all failure and then, in addition to his attempt to transfer responsibility is 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 you live 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 pilot maintain the peace in Israel because after pilot that was the first great revolt that cost them the temple in 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 you see I've done this and now I'm free from it. You cannot wash guilt off with water only the blood of Christ pilot 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, you can say that about Mary, she can say that about Pontius. It's bitter is 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 that 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, not an oversight. Therefore, so the world will never forget that 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 back held back at them and to this day there are those Jews that have great animosity and distrust and disgust and contempt for Gentiles and 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 the 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 a need to bring this up when we are raking some other biblical character over the coals so that we don't have it recited to us somebody else's story is the were removed and it is therefore not pertinent. It is very much a part of life long ago before this day happened.

Pilate had decided that he was going to be a friend, would Caesar that this was important to him that it had offered him great opportunity that perhaps maybe he came from a farm somewhere may be raised up in the palace where we had come from.

He felt that friendship was with Caesar was the right thing to do and and and up to that point, I'm not so sure we can fault him, but that's not the whole story, of course, but the Caesars that he wanted to be friends with. They had no true sense of justice or honor only when it came to their own writings of their own selves really a lot of people would've loved to have been without them, and it is dangerous when we try to be friends with Caesar and friends with Jesus Christ. At the same time. Not only is it dangerous is not possible. Thus, the teaching of Paul. If any man is in Christ, he must become a new creation old things passed away behold all things become new.

That includes the relationships that we should get away from this unfortunate how many Christians want to hold on to a relationship that they need to let go. It's as though they fear that they not gonna find any more friends that God can bring more friends for them that something that we should never encourage that people be panic stricken. This Christians about anything doesn't mean were pleased with a lot of things that were not to be panic stricken about it okay that those points are, I always feel a need to save them.

But when we seek to do right and wrong at the same time we get confused when we get confused we begin to compromise and when we get once the compromise of course, then the Christ likeness breaks down in his name is ashamed of, not our own.

Also, when we seek to honestly do right then we see very clearly in this was what was happening with Pilate. He was trying to do right and wrong at the same time he was trying to please the Sanhedrin is trying to get out of that all these other things resented that is trying to uphold justice and be the judge in and that pillar of the legal system of Rome and he failed miserably in every area. Now, on the surface. None of this came back to bite him.

Rome never said hey we are and how you handled that that was bad. We probably got a promotion. They probably ended his life very comfortably. As a as a Roman politician. I don't know many of them poison themselves or someone else poison them or who knows what happened to him as it is mentioned in the beginning he dropped out of sight. But his position here in Judea was not a minor one. Jerusalem is a land bridge to Egypt and at that time, Rome's grain fields were in the Nile Delta and so is the part of any of the Persians. They were always a threat people from that part of the world of just swooping on down and the only land way by land they could really get there was through Israel onto Egypt and so the 10th Legion in Syria with Pilate there in Judea was a critical part of this whole process. Yeah, the Rome could send ships across the Mediterranean to Egypt but that's not that was in all the time that was not enough was not sufficient. Armies could come to the land and stop all of that move very quickly, so with this came this distinction.

The sense of honor for Pilate even though he probably hated serving in Judea. He loved the importance of his position, it gave him a sense of meaning and unfortunately not a sense of eternal light. Uncle Billy Sunday here is this has to do with friendship again a Titleist Pontius Pilate sees his friend Billy Sunday a man who lets the devil chooses friends for him will soon do anything the devil wants him to do. How many people are in jail because of different some point. At some point in their life. It was a friend that got them involved friendship with Caesar cost Pilate everything I prefer saying I am not is eloquent is Billy Sunday is I like to say this with stupid friend is worse than an enemy. By that I mean in NRC you know those the those friends that have no desire to do good. That's this stupid friend in this picture the one that is jail bound the one that has no respect for anything, but is always trying to get wood belongs to somebody else.

We worry that our children will somehow buddy up with someone like this in life and things go bad for them and so I think it very appropriate to teach our children and to instill in them the importance of surrounding themselves with people who are good.

Ideally Christians, of course, that's not always an option, you can go into the workplace and there are no Christians there and you certainly have to know how to balance that, but very important to the whole thing is eliminate those friends who will zoom you and Pilate was not able to do that he was bound by the Roman superstition in her religions and all the things that went along with this is a saying show me your friends and I'll show you your future could you say that about Pilate friend of Caesar had the ring on his finger.

Big honking ring that I am I been given this ring by Caesar.

I am a friend of Caesar.

This even Latin words for that.

Show me your friends or show your future. And so there's Pilate in Christ is Pilate and Caesar is Pilate in Christ this man Pilate. As I mentioned earlier, when he mentions what is truth was telling us that you know, I know little bit about the subject.

I discussed it at length that read-out our philosophers.

I been around a while myself and my conclusion is what is truth with several responses that first he was aware that he lived in a world that was largely dominated by that which is untrue, so I can identify with. Same for me. We call it that, you know, the mainstream media there. The biggest lie mill on the planet. Nobody prints more lies Mills moralized forges more lies have JoJo call the forges of lies, then the media but the media is not a single person like a corporation is a bunch of people that make it as a bunch of people that feed it.

There are bunch of people that enjoy it wanted to be so. So were not so far removed, so he lived in a world that was dominated by lies to large extent and so do we, but also the wrong allegiances that we have in life dull our ability to do right even when were staring right right in the face.

I think this is clear from again versus 37 and 38 Pilate therefore said to him, are you a king then Jesus answered you rightly say 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 truth, staring him right in the face and he couldn't recognize one day just one day before this encounter Jesus said these words. I am the way the truth and the life no man comes to the father except me, but he missed that sermon to two sermons that had everything to do with his future and is present. He wasn't there for them.

How about the people we know what sermon are they going to get that's going to help them. How we going to reach them if they don't get the word of God, deep into their hearts. When he nailed the placket over the head of Christ Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. He was doing what the lost people do selling God short. Seeing God for less than who he is king of Jesus of Nazareth. How about creation, king of the Jews is far greater, far bigger than anything you could could ever imagine. Revelation 1714. These will make war with the Lamb and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords and King of Kings and those who are with him are called, chosen and faithful. That's us.

Psalm 24 seven. Lift up your heads OU gates and be lifted up you everlasting doors and the king of glory shall come in is the King of glory is the King of Kings is not Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews that he is that to you so much.

So our message when Pilate after he presents Christ and pronounces three times I find no fault with him after he has him scourged the Jews come to Pilate and they answered verse seven, John 19 we have a law, and according to our law he ought to die because he made himself son of God.

Therefore when Pilate heard that saying, he was more afraid walk is a superstitious. That's why wasn't having his wife and sent him that I had a dream concerning this man back off.

She was superstitious to Romans deified made her saying we don't even know her name histories has something about her named of the stuff we don't know from the Bible. I should add and win again into the praetorian verse nine and said to Jesus, where you from, but Jesus gave him no answer. Now he's going to answer him.

The Lord is going to answer him. In this dialogue that they're having but not right away and I think part of the message.

I know part of the message is this. When our only response to truth is discourage the truth then the truth goes silent. You cannot beat friendship out of Christ. Look at verse one of chapter 19. John's Gospel so then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him so our Lord standing there bleeding dehydrated in pain-and-suffering and Pilate wants to continue dialogue is so there's this moment of silence Lord is not going to answer him within verse 10 then Pilate said to him, are you not speaking to me. I would love to just bid like they are in the room but you couldn't really hurt me see you know you talking to.

Do you not know I have how to crucify you encounter relation Jesus answered him at that point is not to let that go. When Herod was doing his interrogation Jesus docket what you say you done what for Pilate. The Lord sees something in the man enough to say I'm going to give you something else she could have no power at all against me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore, the one who is delivered me to you. His greatest and so far only response alive is to shut our eyes in the light does not get in and I think that is a message that we take to the world that you cannot discourage the truth out of Jesus you cannot attack him and expect to find the light by yielding to him, but is going to cost you self James chapter 4 close with this verse do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God. Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God is not a friend of Caesar who was poster boy for the Caesars again Caesar's like King Roman empires. None just let this time various decadent man friendship 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. Just visit cross reference radio.com that's cross reference radio.com would also like to encourage you to subscribe to the cross reference radio podcast subscribing ensures that you stay current with all the latest teachings from Pastor Rick you can do so@crossreferenceradio.com or search for cross reference in your favorite podcast app store. That's all for today.

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