Who's Really on Trial?, Part 2

Bring up the name of Jesus public setting will be quick to discover the broad spectrum of personal opinions fewer undecided.

Many a very strong view today on Insight for living Chuck Swindoll wants us to meet the real Jesus, the one who's described in the timeless word of God.

When reading the authoritative first-hand account recorded in Matthew chapter 26, it's difficult to have anything but deep respect for the one who gave his life for us. Chuck titled his message who's really on trial and we begin your father for your faithful forgiveness for your compassionate understanding for meeting us where we are for realizing that we are but human flesh and we are given to figure and flawless when we see it live down the life of a man like Peter, we see ourselves and we realize by your grace. Everyone of us is able to go on and only by the grace thank you for that. Thank you for Christ who loved us and gave himself for us.

Thank you for his willingness to suffer unjustly and to deal with this sub punishment that was inflicted on him. Though it was not deserved for his death on our behalf. That made it possible for us to know you for him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf that we might be made the righteousness of God through him. Thank you for that first season of the year when we are first brought before you with thankful hearts and then filled with gratitude for your sleep for your son's death on our behalf. Thank you for bringing him to us as a baby born in the manger for the reminder every year as we come to the scene and relive it than we realize your great love for us in giving us your son that we might know you personally that we pray our father as we give today that we will do so by faith, knowing that you will use these offerings for your greater glory and for your purposes. Made a minister in a special way in places where we will never go and lives that we will never meet, so that your work will continue on here and beyond these walls around this world, we commit the offering to you as well as these words and prayer in the name of Jesus, our Savior. Everyone said amen study the book of Matthew Chuck Swindoll.

Be sure to download his searching the Scriptures. Studies by going to Insight world.or/studies. Another message from Chuck, titled who's really on trial by the Christ in our believing in Jesus, God graciously imputes to us his own righteousness in place of our unrighteous.

He who knew no sin became sin on our behalf that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. So the trade-off is magnificent when you look at it vertically. Without that vertical perspective, it's all the tragedy. It's all heartbreakingly cruel, but the moment of salvation. God grants the believing sinner, his righteousness because of what Christ did on our behalf.

He was as the baptizer put it, the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world and by doing that we are not then forced to pay for our own sins because Christ has done that on our behalf, and now we go from that good news back to the awful horizontal scene of the dark part of the story as we look at true man on trial actually one is Jesus whose trial is public, albeit all of them are illegal.

The other one on trial is Peter. Remember the words of Jesus to Peter before the rooster crows, this very night you will have denied me three times in Peter with great dogmatism, says though all these others made Doug did not desert you. I will never desert you and EE spoke too soon because it within a matter of the very short period of time as we will see in this study he denies him exactly as Jesus said he would not once, not twice but three times.

Let's pick up a trial in verse 757 here in Matthew 26 turn in your Bibles there and we will look at both men on trial. One of them hiding away. That's Peter.

The other was in public and that's Jesus. Verse 57 the people who had him arrested, leading to the home of Caiaphas, the high priest for the teachers of religious law and the elders together well if I figured correctly and I but I worked on it tediously.

This is about 3 o'clock in the morning. Think about it. 3 o'clock in the morning and there's a trial being held in the home of Caiaphas, the Jewish code states the members of the court may not alertly and intelligently hear the testimony against the accused during darkness. Clearly stated that there was to be no trial at night. Last time I checked 3 o'clock in the morning.

It's dark. I like the way Matthew eases into Peter setting. We read in verse 58. Meanwhile, Peter followed at a distance and came to the high priest courtyard. He went in and sat with the guards and waited to see how it would all end. Now you and I are looking at this 2000 years later, okay, we are we are therefore rather objective observers as this unfolds all kinds of things are happening in people's minds including Peter's Peter has fled in the darkness out of the garden of Gethsemane, along with all the other disciples, not wanting to be known as one of the followers of Jesus for fear of his own life and he is sort of blank out of his mind. We can do that easily.

When we panic. The prediction of Jesus that before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.

So Peter is simply sitting in the courtyard at a distance, watching to see what's going to happen. He does not want to be identified and John adds that there was a fire in no doubt that you were able to see the faces from the flickering of the fire in the this early morning hours. The only way they were able to identify as he's hiding over here in the shadows. He's over here Jesus is on trial there. Look at how the trial unfolds. So Matthew brings us back inside.

Verse 59 inside the leading priests in the entire high council that the supreme Council, the Supreme Court of the Jews were trying to find witnesses who would lie about Jesus so they could put him to death. They found false witnesses and realizes no way that's going to ever hold up. Finally, there were two men who came and testified we heard him say I am able to destroy this temple and rebuild it in three day they didn't get the symbolism of that Jesus referring to his own body that would die and ultimately be raised from the dead, they they took it as the literal temple that would be raised in three days that he was going to destroy their great temple about which they were so proud and so the high priest for 62 here is that stands up and says to Jesus, are you going to answer the charges. What you have to say for yourself. Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him I demand in the name of the living God is a management looking for liars who will testify in this trial and now demanding in the name of the living God, the Jesus speak. He says tell us if you're the Messiah, the son of God Jesus response is as much as saying you have just said so when he says you have said it in the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God's right hand coming in the clouds of heaven. At that point, the high priest tore his garments, he throws a fit and shows his harbor and screams blasphemy up. By the way, as will see next time that that's a charge that would never hold up in a Roman court.

The Romans were were were people of many God's wasn't such a thing as blasphemy in the Roman court. The verdict there would have to be treason, which is what they changed it to Woody stood before Pilate, but in a Jewish court, the ultimate verdict against the personal trial is blasphemy and that's what they charge them with what we need other witnesses you've heard this blasphemy what your verdict and they scream guilty, as if they are puppets ready to do exactly as told and then we read, they began to split in Jesus face and a beat him with their fists up and slapped him jeering prophesy to us you Messiah who hit you that time of Philip Keller has written a fine book years ago titled Redbone I the word for Rabbi and I in the book Redbone I he gives us vignettes along the way from his resources of the scene as it may have unfolded this in the Keller's words regarding the torture to celebrate. They decided to indulge in a ghastly game of terrible torture here were men who were supposed to protect the interests of their people, subjecting an innocent person to appalling abuse they turned Jesus over to the street ruffians for some horrible amusement. There's nothing so cruel as the beast showed behavior of unregenerate men who play with hapless victims and their clutch. It is a common practice with prisoners and we scarcely dared to look on the roughnecks blindfold the master they pummeled his weary body. They spat in his face until their foul-smelling saliva ran down over his flushed cheeks. They jeered at him, challenging him to prophesy. Who would last struck him a stinging blow. They sliced and smashed his face until it was purple and swollen with great welts. He the Christ was in a beer garden with beasts rights Philip Keller. Meanwhile, Peter is at a distance probably doesn't see this going on, but is curious about what's happening. We pick up his story in verse 69 Peter is sitting outside in the courtyard, and the servant girl came over and said to him you were one of those with Jesus, the Galilean out, how would she know that.

Remember, for over three years Peter has been in a group following Jesus, a group of disciples. Furthermore, he's been the leader of the group. Quite likely more often than not outfront. Maybe she heard him as he spoke.

She obviously had seen him and he had made an impression on her and she saw him and when she sees his face, she declares you you are one of them you followed with those disciples.

You're a follower of his peers.

The first of three denials for 70 Peter denied it in front of everyone. I don't know what you're talking about. He said this is why I added earlier, there is this ability to blank out of our minds.

Statements that have been made earlier. I I think Peter is if you will fighting for his life and in this moment of panic having been found out he has forgotten the words of Jesus regarding the denial so he does what you do when you're covering your own tail. The man, would you talking about. She lets it go but verse 71 tells us a little later out by the gate. Notice the change of location before he's in the courtyard.

But now is moved out by the gate another servant girl notices him probably had also seen him when he had been walking among the disciples in she said to those standing around this man was with Jesus of Nazareth and now Peter swears he's not one of he says with a note. I don't even know the man that you're referring to in a little later. Some of the other bystanders came over to Peter and said you must be one of them. We could tell about your Galilean accent. We find that curious because we are not Jewish. Most of us are not, and were not from Israel. So were not familiar with that but where most of us are from this country and we know that even in our country there are accents I I'm often standing down front meeting people following the service, and people from all over the country. In fact, often outside our country come by to see to greet say hello and to spend a few moments talking in your dozen doesn't take a scholar due to pickup and accent and I will often say what part of the South are you from, and they will laugh and developer may actually South Carolina could you tell and it's a dead giveaway. Reminds me of the phone call I got when I was in California all from a man I've never met before in pick up the phone, as this is jockeys that you brought gate tell it whatever object is it actually I can tell believer I can tell I said did you go to school. Yeah, what a hard train H ARD pain.

What a hard train really what you majoring split each and all I can tell your project I stands up people from New York. You could tell from Jersey, you could deliver there always surprise you could tell her from Jersey, or one of the part of maybe New England you can you can spot on your from Israel the land and your around those from Galilee, you know right away. It has that accident and he can't hide it in fact is not even you not aware that you speak with an accent when you have an end. He realizes they got it. It's true I'm Galilean and I've got to get out of this mess, so please observe what he does.

Your Bible says he swore a curse on me if I'm lying I want to be careful here list you think.

Out came a lot of profanity in the statement. What he uses is a word that is so severe, it's a term used of pronouncing death on oneself at the hand of God if he should be lying. In other words up may be damned before Almighty God. If I am not telling the truth that kind of swear that kind of old and that's about as extreme as you could get in his third denial. The first denial is verse 70 the second 72 and the third is in verse 74 and notice no one argues with him now. No more appointing of fingers at Peter, probably he wasn't know what it would say that that followed person like him.

Lisa didn't seem that he would people watch us hello bad, after the first morning service come by and tell me of his 17 years he spent in prison. He said I will love I will never forget. I I am a believer in Christ. I was a believer when I was a behind bars who 17 years and he said I want to tell you about. People aren't interested in a sermon. They aren't interested in your testimony or a lot of your words. The reader should in your life there watching your life said I learned that finally and then ultimately I learned it while I was behind bars that it isn't about me. This probably the most important lesson I could've word Peter hasn't learned that not yet.

He will fact, he later writes two letters to people who were going through dreadful times of pain in their lives. But that's later. Right now he is neckdeep backslidden walking in the flesh. Total denial and nobody else questioned by the way, you may not realize it, but three things happened at this point simultaneously to see them. You gotta go to Luke chapter 22 turnover there.

We Luke 22. Whether it is Luke 22 pick it up. The same story is seen through Luke's plan. Someone is mounted. Verse 59 of this must be one of them because he's a Galilean, said man I don't know what you're talking about here is the first of three things that occurred immediately while he was still speaking, the rooster. While that was coming out of his mouth progress if he didn't remember the words of Jesus. He certainly remembered the comment about the rooster bus trips to hear that sound in the distance you imagine the guilt, shame most of over computer. Deep down, Peter knew had failed his friend Jesus you're listening to a message delivered by pastor and Bible teacher Chuck Swindoll. He titled his message who's really on trial. Please keep listening to Insight for living because there's much more we need to learn about the final week. In Jesus life and learn more about this ministry. Please visit us online@insightworld.org just before our time is entirely gone for today I'm pleased to tell you, Chuck Swindoll writes a daily devotional sent by email.

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We provide ample opportunities to pause and let the wonder. Our goal is to create special moment when you deepen your love for the Bible and draw closer to your ward experience an unforgettable 12 day tour to Israel Chuck Swindoll Insight for living ministries March 6-17, 2022. To help you grasp the significance of each slight you will be accompanied by handpicked Israeli guidance and we choose the best, along with some of the retrained pastors and professors to enhance your spiritual journey, no organization I know of offers this level of exceptional in depth instruction and personal care for holy land travel, learn more, call 1-888-447-0444. Just imagine walking along sacred sites and watching the Bible come to life. Make your reservation by calling 1-888-447-0444 or go to insight.org/events Insight for living ministries tour to Israel is paid for and made possible by only those who choose to attend. Join us again tomorrow when Chuck Swindoll describes how God extended grace to Peter after his big blunder lesson Friday to Insight for living. The preceding message who's really on trial was copyrighted in 2017 and 2021 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles R. Swindoll.

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