24 Hours: Condemned by the Righteous Mark 14:53-65

Sermon 3-7-2010 condemned by the righteous Mark 14:53-65rrrr

53They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, elders and teachers of the law came together. 54Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire. 55The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. 56Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree. 57Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: 58"We heard him say, 'I will destroy this man-made temple and in three days will build another, not made by man.' " 59Yet even then their testimony did not agree.
60Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?" 61But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.
Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ,[f] the Son of the Blessed One?"
62"I am," said Jesus. "And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." 63The high priest tore his clothes. "Why do we need any more witnesses?" he asked. 64"You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?" They all condemned him as worthy of death. 65Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, "Prophesy!" And the guards took him and beat him.

Series on the last 24 hours of jesus life
1. last supper. 2. garden of Gethsemane 3. before the Sanhedrin

What are the themes?

Lets get peter out of the way….Human nature, peter
The rock, a leader, who do you say that I am? The Christ.
Get thee behind me, satan.
He wanted to build shelters on the mount of transfiguration

At the last supper he predicts - Mt. 26 31Then Jesus told them, "This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: " 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'[c] 32But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee." 33Peter replied, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will." 34"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times."

Though others fall away, I will never
Tonight you will deny me 3 times
Later that night He draws his sword in the garden
But now it is time for the three denials
This is the place where that happens
Let him who thinks he stands, take heed, lest he falls 1 cor 10:12
Everyone has a dark side
Sometimes you are never available to god until you are broken

Sanhedrin
Group of about 70 top religious leaders-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanhedrin
All the Sanhedrin, all the teachers of the law. All of the folks that are in these stories, they are all there tonight. Late in the night….

They have been looking for their chance
We have him where we want him

In the garden he says, I was in the temple courts teaching everyday, you could have taken me there, but you come sneaking around in the garden at night.

Who are these people?
He is in the den of thieves. He is among those who hate him. He is in the fiery furnace.
They are evil, angry, consumed by the passion of self.
Not bad people……why do you say this…..
We have all been like this….. we are none too different.
Jesus dies on the cross for them too.
What do I mean, that I think he should die for us, but not for those who are really bad?

He is betrayed in the garden
and now- He is put into the hands of sinners. The self righteous.
Can you imagine, that you are surrounded by your worst detractors. Those who have thrown you away.
And they are going finally get to hurt you.
Jesus response: Do your worst. I trust in god.

Something odd happens when Love and power collide
They saw jesus as a dangerous upstart, a threat to their way of thinking, love and human power do not go together .

God gives us power to do good
It’s the old weakness and strength thing

what is jesus trying to accomplish.
He is going to the cross to redeem all, even these men,
There is no time for arguments.

False testimony- commandment
It is one of the top 10- exodus 20
God hates this lying
Falsely accusing others
The marker on the carpet
It can be very hard to live with
We do this when we insinuate something about another that we don’t know to be true- gossip

He is accused of Blasphemy
You have displaced God
They are doing exactly what they accuse him of doing
Confusing their doctrine with the purpose and will of God
No fights with people over doctrines of baptism and such-
Misses the point, gets in the way of love

Conclusion- Son of God, son of man
Where do we go with this?
I really am the one from god, God’s son, sent to redeem the world

I am also the Son of Man
Son of Man, is Jesus’ favorite title for Himself. In the Gospels we find it used almost 80 times. it is also a title of power. He quotes from the book of Daniel, 7:13(-14):

"In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”

I really am the one from god, God’s son, sent to redeem the world
I am also the son of man, the one who will be victorious and reign forever.
If you are looking for someone to trust, look no further.
In a world where everything is transient, His kingdom will not pass away.

Lets pray.