The thought of injustice irks us. We hate corruption and when something is perceived to be unfair we get vocal about it. This week at The Journey we studied the moment when Jesus stood before the High Priest Caiaphas and his council on trial. Jesus was wrongfully arrested and taken before this council where they actively sought out false testimony to charge Jesus with a crime that would be punishable by death.
Can you imagine being on trial with a judge and jury that were hellbent on trying to convict you of a crime you didn’t commit? I’d fight tooth and nail to defend myself. No matter what web of lies were used against me I’d use every last breath trying to untangle them. Jesus, despite being in that precise predicament, remained sovereignly silent. Like a “lamb that is led to the slaughter” Jesus didn’t even recognize their corruption with a response. His face was set. He was there to sacrifice Himself for us.
As if being wrongfully charged with a crime wasn’t enough they went on to spit in the face of our King and slapped him repeatedly. They didn’t just want Him dead, they wanted to humiliate Him. In this moment of Matthew’s gospel we see the Savior of God’s people being beaten and treated like trash. Is this the lowest man ever stooped in Human History? I don’t think it is.
Mankind has a legacy of disrespecting God going all the way back to Adam and continues on to this day. Every time we sin our lack of respect for God and His ways is exposed. Our sin may never be as infamous as Caiaphas and his council but make no mistake it’s known. All sin, no matter who it is against or who knows about it, is ultimately against God. Sinning is our way of turning away from God Himself and thinking we have a better way of doing life. We see King David express this realization as he confesses his own sin in Psalm 51:4 when he proclaims “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight…”
Understanding that each and every sin is against God Himself changes the gravity of our sin. Let us keep in mind while we’re studying Jesus’ brutal moments before His death that it’s our sin that necessitated all of it. No, you and I weren’t the ones who literally spit on His face and nailed Him to a tree. However, we ARE the ones who contributed to the sin that necessitated these events to secure our salvation.
One day you and I will stand before God on trial and we too will be silent, but not like Jesus was silent. We’ll be silent because we’re guilty of sin and we know it. Yet the Christian will have hope in that moment before God because the wrath we deserved for our sin was satisfied in Jesus on the cross. The punishment that we earned was given to a man who didn’t deserve it. God’s wrath for the sins of His people was exhausted on Jesus. In the words of the apostle Paul, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
The humiliation that this sinless man endured for us is what leads us to exalt Him.
For the King,
Cody Parman
We apologize, but this week's sermon was not recorded due to technical issues. If you want to go back and catch up on previous messages from our series on Matthew, follow the link below to listen. Or subscribe to our podcast in iTunes.
Matthew Sermon Series
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