JOHN 18 LEARNING FROM JESUS ON THE WITNESS STAND2020 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: John 18 Learning From Jesus On The Witness Stand

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2020. Well, as we look at John chapter 18 this evening, I've titled the message, Learning from Jesus and

on the witness stand. Learning from Jesus on the witness stand. We're jumping into the trials of Jesus. And he went through a variety of trials leading up to the crucifixion and the final hours of his life. And so we're seeing bits and pieces here in the Gospel of John as you combine all of the four Gospels, you get a fuller picture of those final hours of

And so I just want to walk through a little bit of a run through here, a quick timeline of those final hours of Jesus with you to give you an idea and to help you think about where Jesus is at and the things that are going on.

And so it really began around 6 p.m. when Jesus enjoyed the Last Supper with his disciples. And you might remember Jesus washing the feet of the disciples, instituting communion. All of those things took place as they partook of the Passover meal there at the Last Supper at about 6 p.m. And then as they head out from there, they went to the Garden of Gethsemane.

And there Jesus spent some time in prayer and with the disciples and Peter, James, and John a little bit closer than the others and spending that time in prayer. But the disciples were falling asleep while Jesus was praying. It was soon after that that Judas Iscariot led the soldiers into the Garden of Gethsemane and Jesus was arrested there.

And then it began the trials. And so there was a couple trials that happened before the Jewish leaders. The trial before Annas, who was the father-in-law to the high priest. Then the trial before Caiaphas, who was the current high priest. And then Jesus was held all night. And in the morning, he was brought before the Sanhedrin or the elders around 5 a.m.,

And the third trial then happened with the Jews. And after that, they took Jesus down to Pontius Pilate, and he was on trial permanently.

before Pontius Pilate. And then Pilate sends him over to Herod, and he's on trial before Herod. And then Herod sends him back to Pilate. So he's on trial before Pilate again. And then, of course, he is sentenced to be crucified. He's mocked. He's beaten. He's scourged. He's nailed to the cross around 9 a.m. that morning or the next morning, and then breathed his last around 3 p.m.,

Soon after, Jesus had his side pierced by the Roman soldiers, and then around 5 p.m., he would have been buried in Joseph's tomb. And so that's a quick look at, trying to see if I can, there we go, hey, there I am. So that's a quick look at the rundown of the time of Jesus as he went through these trials. Now, as we begin here in chapter 18, verse 19, we're in that first trial. So it's just beginning, and he's talking, uh,

before, standing before, standing on trial before Annas, who was the previous high priest, and he's the still esteemed leader. Caiaphas is the current high priest, and so he'll go before Caiaphas later. But here is Jesus as he stands before them, and what's interesting about this is

As Jesus was on trial for all of these hours and all of these various trials, one of the things that was noteworthy and that stood out was how little he said. I want to read to you real quickly from Mark chapter 15, verse 3 and 4. It's later on in the event when Jesus is standing before Pontius Pilate. It tells us in verse 3 of Mark 15, the chief priest accused him of many things, but he answered nothing.

And then in verse 4, then Pilate asked him, saying, Do you answer nothing? See how many things they testify against you? But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled. When Jesus stood before Herod, he didn't have words to say. He spoke very little, even though he was on trial for these things.

Well, no crimes, but accused of so many crimes, and yet Jesus answered nothing or said very little. As Isaiah says in Isaiah 53, he was silent as a sheep is before its shearers. He opened not his mouth.

And so with the silence of Jesus being such a noteworthy part of his trials, what I find interesting here in John chapter 18 is the things that he does say.

And so we want to focus on some of those things. And again, learning from Jesus on the witness stand. There's five lessons from five words that Jesus gives, not really in defense, but in the process of the trial that he's undergoing. And so the first lesson we'll find in verses 20 and 21. It's the first time Jesus speaks in this passage. And the point here to consider, the lesson to consider, is that Jesus does not have a secret message.

Jesus does not have a secret message. Again, verse 20 says, Jesus here makes a clear statement that

He has not a secret message. He doesn't have a message that would have to be uncovered, you know, if they would investigate into him and his disciples. Of course, he had private times with his disciples. They had opportunities that perhaps other people didn't have, but the message was never a secret. The message was not some, you know, secret thing that wasn't shared openly as well as privately with others.

his disciples. And so as Jesus here stands trial, they begin to question him. They begin to ask him, which really was a violation of his rights because the order for Jewish law was for them to bring witnesses for charges to be established before these kind of questions could be brought to the accused. But here he is questioning Jesus, and Jesus says, look, I spoke openly.

You don't have to question me. There is many witnesses available to you because what I said, I said openly. And I think that's an important thing for us to consider because, well, you could think of a secret message as a bit of a warning sign. Whenever there is a group meeting,

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should be for us a bit of a red flag, a warning sign. There's the makings of deception in that. Jesus does not have a secret message. He doesn't have a message that only the select few can uncover or that only you can find out if you're in the inner, inner circle. He doesn't have a secret message that's hidden from others. What he said, he said,

openly. He spoke before the people. He spoke some hard things, some hard truths, but he spoke them openly before the leaders, before the people, before his disciples. He says, I didn't say anything in secret. Now, there is room in the life and the ministry of Jesus, of course, for maturity.

And that is that there are some things that, well, are spoken openly, but are not clearly understood until we develop a little bit and have some maturity. Here's the way that you can think about Jesus's approach. Jesus essentially said, I'm going to tell you now and you're not going to understand it. But then later on, you'll be able to understand it. Think about this, John chapter 2, verse 22 says,

It says, therefore, when he had risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this to them, and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had said.

There was a lot of things throughout the ministry of Jesus and the life of Jesus as he was speaking to his disciples and speaking to the people. He spoke openly. It wasn't a secret, but it also at the same time wasn't understood. But later, when he rose from the dead, then all of the things started to make sense. And they began to understand. And then they remembered what it was that Jesus said. And they were able to put together the message and the picture.

Even here in this chapter, in chapter 18, we see the denial of Jesus by Peter. And that was something that Jesus foretold and said openly, right? Before all the disciples, he said, Peter, before the rooster crows, you're going to deny me three times. And it tells us in Luke chapter 22, verse 61, it says,

that when that rooster crowed, then Peter had just denied the Lord. And the Lord looked at Peter. They made eye contact. Their eyes met, and Peter remembered that Jesus had told him in advance. Jesus spoke openly, and it may not have always been understood, but the message is not a secret. It's not a hidden message only for some. It's a message available to all,

But we don't always understand it. It falls on our level of maturity and our ability to comprehend what the Lord is saying. Over the past few weeks, we've seen a couple occasions here in the Gospel of John where Jesus specifically says, I'm telling you in advance so that when it happens, you will believe.

He always had this open message, even the prophetic things, the things that were to come. And yet, even when the disciples didn't understand it, later on, they would, and they would believe. And so Jesus does have a message for the mature, but it's never a secret message. I was thinking about the words of the Apostle Paul here in 1 Corinthians 3. Recalling his time with them, he says, "'Brethren, I could not speak to you as spiritual people.'"

but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not solid food, for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able. I think here there's an important lesson for us, an important reminder. There is not a secret message that the Lord has, but there is a message that is received by the mature.

that is received by those who are seeking the Lord and walking with the Lord and growing with the Lord, those who are spiritual-minded and filled with the Holy Spirit.

It's not a secret message, but it's a message that cannot be understood if we are not seeking the Lord. Maybe you could think about it this way. Algebra is not a secret message, right? The books are available, the message is clear, but it does require some effort and some maturity to be able to work through it, to digest it, to understand it in a similar way

The message of the Lord, there's no secret message. There's not a secret, just learn this one verse, just learn this one thing, and then all life's problems will be resolved. There's not a secret message. There's a message for the mature. There's a message for those who will hear and listen. The author of Hebrews tells us this in Hebrews chapter 5.

talking about Melchizedek. He says, of whom we have much to say, and it's hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God. And you've come to need milk and not solid food. A strong exhortation there, again, but it's an open message. And he says to the Hebrews, you've become dull of hearing. Have you noticed in your life that

You do not hear from the Lord like you once did? Have you become dull of hearing? Have you noticed in your life that maybe others around you seem to be hearing from the Lord and you're not hearing those things or you're not hearing from the Lord like they are? It's not because it's a secret message, but there is the need for us to mature. There is the need for us to grow and to draw near to the Lord that we would continue to develop and to hear from him. It's not a secret message.

But it's a message for the mature. And again, when those come who would suggest that there is a secret message, you have to walk with them. You have to reach this level. You have to uncover these things and achieve these secret things. Let those all be red flags, warning signs for you. Stay away. Those are the makings of deception. You stay close to the message of the Lord, the things that he said and he made available for all.

Well, jumping now to verse 23, it's the second time Jesus speaks here in this passage, and he gives us the second lesson for us this evening, and that is that Jesus sees value in challenging injustice. Jesus sees value in challenging injustice. Look at verse 23. It says, Jesus answered him, if I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil, but if well, why do you strike me? Now, what happened here is,

When Jesus responds this way to the high priest and says, hey, I haven't spoken anything in secret. I didn't have anything, you know, hidden. You can bring forth the witnesses. One of the officers of the court was offended by what Jesus said. And so he slapped Jesus. He smacked him. He struck him with the palm of his hand. And so then in response to that, Jesus says in verse 23, if I have spoken evil, I will

then bear witness of the evil. He responds because he's been attacked, he's been smacked, he's been hurt, he's been harmed. But Jesus here challenges this behavior. He challenges this injustice. And he says, what evil have I done? If I have spoken evil, why do you strike me? Or bear witness of the evil. If I've spoken well, then why do you strike me? Now, I would encourage you to consider this.

Why does Jesus ask questions? It's something I bring up from time to time whenever we see these because, well, it's an important thing to note. Jesus does not ask questions because he's trying to gather information. He's not getting intel. He's not investigating. He's asking questions not for his own benefit, but for the benefit of the one he's asking the question of. And as I read through this here, I see that Jesus here asks,

has care and concern for this officer. And he could have just taken the smack. Again, as I noted before, one of the things that is common about Jesus through this trial process, things that was, you know, considered and taken note of several times, is how little Jesus spoke, how he was silent before his accusers. And yet here, on this occasion, he chooses to speak. I would suggest it's

the value that Jesus saw in this opportunity to challenge this behavior, to challenge what it was that was going on. Pastor David Guzik says, in saying this, Jesus wasn't being uncooperative, only asserting his legal right. There has to be a formal charge, or there was to be no formal charge until witnesses had been heard and been found to be truthful. When Jesus says, hey, why don't you ask the witnesses,

Again, it was part of their legal system, part of the system that had been established, that they would not bring charges before the witnesses had brought forth their testimony. And so here, asking Jesus to testify against himself was violating their own laws, right?

And so as Jesus challenges that and is smacked for it, again, he responds to it. But again, think about the value here that he sees. He's not trying to escape, right? He's not trying to get a, you know, charges dropped scenario. He's not trying to get out of it or say this wasn't fair. So, you know, you should let me go. He's not trying to have any kind of argument like that. He speaks not to get away, right?

But he speaks to address this officer, to challenge his heart, to cause him to think. The commentator F.B. Meyer puts it this way, Jesus did not resist evil, but endeavored to bring his accusers and judges calmly to face their own consciences.

He wanted this. He saw the value in causing this officer, causing this court to stop and consider what it was and to allow, well, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the conviction of the Holy Spirit to be at work within them and their conscience to be at work within them. And so here Jesus responds because he sees value in challenging injustice.

Now, that is not to offer a blanket statement of approval of every kind of challenge and against every kind of injustice and every kind of behavior, but a principle to consider and something to think about. It's worthwhile, perhaps, to challenge injustice and to allow there to be this kind of conviction of the conscience of those who are behaving unfairly and unjustly in this way.

Well, moving on to verse 34, we get the third lesson for tonight. And that is that Jesus wants you to make your own conclusions. We're jumping forward now in the account. He is now standing before Pontius Pilate. And the Jewish leaders have met. Again, he was on trial before Annas and then Caiaphas and then the Sanhedrin all night long held. And then now it's in the morning. He's brought before Pontius Pilate.

And they're introducing Pilate to Jesus and bringing forth all of their accusations and letting them know who he is and his claims or what they claim that he claims. And so Pilate begins to have a dialogue with Jesus. And as he's talking with Jesus, we'll rewind, I guess, a little bit to verse 33 here of John chapter 18. It says, Then Pilate entered the praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to him, Are you the king of the Jews? Yes.

Then Jesus answered him, are you speaking for yourself about this? Or did others tell you this concerning me? The Jewish leaders brought Jesus before Pilate and accused him of claiming to be a king and trying to throw off the authority of the Roman Empire. And so Pilate asked Jesus the question, are you a king? Is that your claim? Is that who you say you are? And Jesus doesn't answer that question directly right now. He will in a few minutes.

But again, he asks a question now of Pilate. He says, are you speaking for yourself about this? Or did others tell you? Is this your idea? Or is this somebody else's idea? This is something to consider. Jesus looks at Pilate. He says, look, Pilate, you have these thoughts in your head. You have these questions that you're asking. Where did you get those questions? Where did you get those thoughts? Where did they come from? This is a good question to ask yourself.

You and I, we have information in our head. We have thoughts, we have conclusions, we have questions. How did those get there? Where did they come from? And you can think about that in regard to who Jesus is and your thoughts and your questions and your conclusions about him.

You can also think about that in regard to many other subjects and aspects of your life. How did you get there? How did you get to that behavior? How did you get to the conclusion that this is the way to live your life and this is the goal to pursue and this is the life to have and the things to desire, the things to work for and to build towards? How did you get to that place where those are the priorities that you have? Here Jesus asks Pilate,

Did you think of this? Is that your thoughts? Are you speaking for yourself about this? Or did somebody else put those words in your mouth? Now again, why does Jesus ask questions? It's not to find out information. It's not to figure out the story, to figure out what's going on. He's challenging Pilate to think for himself, to stop and realize, yeah, where did that come from? Why am I asking that question? Why am I believing this story?

claim of these religious leaders. Jesus here challenges Pilate so that he has the opportunity to make his own conclusions, to come to his own decision, not to just believe what somebody else told him, but to find out for himself, to think for himself, and to understand with his own understanding what the truth is.

And so here, I think it's an interesting thing to consider. Jesus wants you to make your own conclusions. And most importantly, that comes to faith in Christ. That when it comes to Jesus, don't just rely upon what other people tell you. Don't just rely upon what somebody else has said. Don't just doubt according to somebody else's doubts. Don't just question or rage against according to someone else's questions or their rage. But you come to your own conclusions.

The Bereans are commended in the book of Acts chapter 17 because they heard the message of the apostle Paul, but then they searched the scriptures daily to find out if those things were true. They didn't just believe and receive. It was important for them to hear, to receive, and to consider the message that was given. But at the same time, they searched the scriptures themselves so they could come to their own conclusions about what the Lord was saying and what the truth was.

Jesus wants you to make your own conclusions. He wanted Pilate to make his own conclusions. That's why he asked him, why do you say this? Are you speaking this for yourself? Or did somebody else tell you this concerning me? Well, moving to verse 36, we get the fourth point to consider, the fourth lesson from the Lord this evening. And that is that Jesus's kingdom is not of this world. And this is an important lesson to grasp hold of. As Jesus is on trial still before Pilate,

And Pilate is again challenging him and questioning him about his kingship and his kingdom. Jesus says in verse 36, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight so that I should not be delivered to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from here. My kingdom is not from here, Jesus says. His kingdom is not of this world. Now,

Pilate was assessing the threat of Jesus. If Jesus claims to be a king, does that mean he's a threat to, well, my own authority, Pilate would say, to the authority of the Roman Empire? And here Jesus is relieving that question, saying, look, my kingdom is not of this world. I'm not a threat to the Roman Empire in that way. I'm not trying to establish my kingdom here and now.

Now, of course, we know that Jesus will establish his kingdom. He will set up a kingdom and rule and reign right here on the earth. It's not something that he was seeking to establish at that time. Notice he says, but now my kingdom is not from here. This is not where my kingdom comes from, and my kingdom is not going to be here right now. I'm going to come back later on and establish my kingdom, but that's not for right now. And so Jesus says, my kingdom is not here.

of this world. His ways are different and his objectives are different. Everything is different because his kingdom is not of this world. But one thing to kind of key in and to focus on in this statement that Jesus makes is, if my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight.

If I was establishing a kingdom here, well then all of my disciples, my servants, you know, my warriors, they would be here fighting to deliver me from this situation. But my kingdom is not of this world. Therefore, my servants are not here to fight. They're not here to battle against this situation. They're not here to fight because my kingdom is not of this world.

As we think about, and even jumping back a little bit, you know, Jesus sees value in challenging injustice, and of course we do see a lot of that happening in the world around us at this time. At the same time, at the same time as there's value in that, there's also this very important reminder that we need to grasp hold of, that his kingdom is not of this world. His objectives are not like the world's objectives, and it's different. It's different.

If his kingdom were of this world, then yes, we would fight in a different way. We would fight with different objectives and with different weapons because, well, the kingdom is of this world, but the kingdom is not of this world. It's a spiritual kingdom and it makes all of the roles different. It makes all of the objectives different. The focus is different. The apostle Paul puts it this way in Ephesians chapter 6.

He says, This is a familiar verse to us, but one that needs to be familiar to us and we need to be reminded of because we so often get caught up in the wrestling against flesh and blood. It's so easy for us to get caught up in the wrestling against flesh and blood. But that's not the real battle.

That that's not really what the kingdom of the Lord is fighting against. He says, if my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight. Now, does that mean that his servants don't fight or shouldn't fight or never fight? Now, sometimes we need to fight, but at the same time, we need to make sure that we don't forget who our enemy is. Because if we're fighting, but we've forgotten who our enemy is,

well, now we're fighting the wrong people or the wrong thing. In fact, this would be a very effective tactic in war. If you, in the midst of battle, could get your enemy to be convinced that somebody else is their enemy or something else is their enemy,

You can imagine how effective that would be, right? Because then all of the warriors, all of the soldiers would be fighting the wrong thing. Meanwhile, the real enemy could swoop in and accomplish their objectives. I think that actually is a very good picture of what happens to us many times. We get thrown out of the ring, not by some use of great force, but by a tactic of the enemy. Can the enemy throw you out of the ring? No.

of the battle that we are in, the battle that we're supposed to be fighting? Can the enemy throw you out of the ring by getting someone to call you names? Someone calls you a name, all of a sudden you forget we don't wrestle against flesh and blood. And now the battle is against flesh and blood. And you've forgotten the objective, you've forgotten the mission of reaching the world with the gospel, you've forgotten the message of the love of God and the forgiveness of God,

Because, well, the enemy has distracted you from the real battle. And now you're fighting the person and you're not fighting the spiritual war. Can the enemy throw you out of the ring by getting someone to call you names? Can the enemy throw you out of the ring by getting your boss to be a jerk? And now all of a sudden...

You're not walking in the spirit. You don't have joy and peace and love and patience and goodness and kindness and gentleness and self-control. Now, you're in the midst of a whole different battle because, man, that boss is such a jerk. And you've forgotten the mission. You've forgotten the message. You've forgotten the objective. You've forgotten the scriptures and the instruction. You've forgotten what the real battle is. And you've begun to wrestle with flesh and blood.

Can the enemy throw you out of the ring by getting someone to scratch your car? And now, oh man, that person, that you're just fuming, you're steaming, you're, you know, smoke's coming out of your ears because you're so upset and you're wrestling against flesh and blood.

Can the enemy throw you out of the ring by getting the neighbor's dog to bark all night? And now all of a sudden you hate your neighbor. You have no interest in reaching your neighbor with the gospel or expressing the love of God to your neighbor or showing them anything or teaching them or encouraging them or helping them, loving your neighbor as yourself. That's out the window. You know, if they didn't let their dog bark all night, then I would do that. But nope, nope. Wrestle against flesh and blood. That's what I'm all about right now because they kept me up all night and I'm grumpy. Can the enemy throw you out of the ring by distracting you?

from what the real battle is or by stirring up your covetousness. Remember what James says in James chapter four, verse one, where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure, that war within your members? Maybe the enemy just has to stoke the fire of pleasure, the desire for pleasure within you. And now you're off course. There is a battle. The servants of the Lord do fight, but we don't fight against flesh and blood.

And so Jesus said, my servants aren't here to fight because this isn't the battle. This isn't the war. This isn't the battlefield. This isn't what we're concerned about. In fact, in the midst of this, Jesus here is reaching out to Pilate and he's ministering to those who are accusing him. And he's able to stay on course to fight the real battle and accomplish the purposes of the Father.

Pastor David Guzik gives us this encouragement. He says, Christians must take care that they live and serve with the power demonstrated by the cross, not the power of Rome. The key to living in Jesus' kingdom is not found in trying to rule over others or things, but in being more fully ruled by God. Rome ruled with power and might and strength. That's what Rome was all about. That's what Pilate was all about.

It's not what Jesus was about. And we must be careful that we don't get distracted from the real battle, that we don't get caught up in the ways of this world because his kingdom is not of this world. His ways are not our ways. His objectives are not our objectives. We need to reorient ourselves to what really matters and let the Lord dictate what it is that really matters to us.

Well, the final lesson to consider as we look at the things that Jesus said while on trial, it's found in verse 37. Here's the lesson. Jesus invites everyone to hear the truth. He invites everyone to hear the truth. Verse 37, Pilate therefore said to him, "'Are you a king then?' 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 everyone should bear witness to the truth.'"

Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. Here Jesus and Pilate, as they continue to interact, again, Pilate's pressing for the answer to the question, are you a king? And Jesus has not directly answered the question yet because, well, not because he's evading it, not because he's trying to get out of it, not because he's trying to, you know, call the trial unfair or to get out of, you know, the conclusion or the verdict. He's been working his way through this and

as a means of reaching out ministering and standing fast in the path that the father had set before him so now pilate again says are you a king then and jesus says you say rightly that i am a king notice he keeps his eye on the course the mission for this cause i was born and it's for this reason that i've come into the world that i should bear witness to the truth the objective of jesus was not to escape not to get away but to bear witness to the truth

to speak the truth, to live in the truth, and to show by contrast the deception, the falsehoods that were spoken, that were held to, that were lived out by all around him. But Jesus says, everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. I came to speak the truth, to bear witness of the truth, and now everybody has a decision. Everybody has the opportunity. If you have

are of the truth, if you want the truth, then you hear my voice. If you want what's real, then you listen to me. If you really do seek the truth, then you will hear the voice of Jesus. If you really do seek out the things that are true and desire to grasp hold of what is real, the Lord's going to speak to you. And those who reject Jesus are not interested in the truth, despite whatever claims might be there.

Throughout the scriptures, God gave the promise, if you seek me, you will find me. When you seek me with all your heart. Those who want the truth will find Jesus. They will hear Jesus. Jesus, in that, invites everyone to hear the truth. He came and brought forth his message. He came and lived out his life.

As a testimony to the truth, as a testimony to the Father, as a testimony to the love of God. And so here, as he stands on trial to give his testimony, he continues that path. He says, for this cause I was born. This is why I've come into the world, that I might declare the truth and to say what's true. Earlier, John chapter 14, verse 6, Jesus made the declaration, I am the way, the truth, and the life. I am the truth. I reveal the truth. Those who want the truth,

will hear Jesus. Pastor Thomas Constable says that Jesus's words were an invitation for Pilate to listen to him and to learn the truth. Jesus showed more interest in appealing to Pilate than in defending himself. This desire for the welfare of others marks all of Jesus's interviews in the fourth gospel. He's saying, look, in the gospel of John, we see in all the interactions that Jesus has with people, you can always see that interest that he has in their welfare.

Again, going back to the one who smacked him. Why did he choose that moment to speak when he was so silent for the rest of the time? Because he was interested in the one who smacked him, cared for him, wanted him to have an opportunity to be convicted, to be challenged, to be changed. But why is he engaging this interaction in this dialogue with Pilate? It's an uncovering of the truth. It's in consideration of those who would hear, those who would listen, those

It's opportunity for people to hear. Jesus invites everyone to hear the truth. Again, going back to the first point, it's not a secret message that's only for some. It's not, you know, a limited thing only a few can find out. The invitation is to all whosoever will may come, and whoever wants the truth will find Jesus. And so here, as Jesus stands trial, we get some powerful lessons from his example.

We're learning from Jesus while he is there on the witness stand. He doesn't say much while he's on trial. We've gone through more than 12 hours of trial just in this portion tonight, but there's only a few things recorded, only a few things that Jesus said. Predominantly, Jesus was known for his silence during this time. But here in these few things, he does say. He speaks with purpose. He speaks powerful truths.

He doesn't have a secret message. Let secret messages be a warning flag, a red flag, a warning signal, a warning sign. There's danger there. There's deception there. There's definitely a message for the mature. And so if it seems like there's secrecy, well, learn to draw near to the Lord and grow in the Lord and you will develop. But the message is not a secret. It's there. Even if you don't understand it, it's there. And the Lord will help you understand it as you grow and walk with him.

Jesus sees value in challenging injustice. He challenges this officer, giving him a moment, giving him an opportunity to reflect and stop and consider the behavior, the action, the decisions, the things that he's doing. Jesus wants you to make your own conclusions. Don't just believe what others say. Don't just listen and adopt what others, you know, believe or what others reject, especially when it comes to the Lord. You seek him out. You find him.

and come to your own conclusions about Jesus, but also consider many other aspects of life. There's a lot of things that are just, you know, kind of were brainwashed into by society. This is okay. This is what's right. This is what we should be looking for. This should be our priorities. Don't just accept what others try to plant within you. Make your own conclusions. Search the scriptures. Find out what God wants for you, and allow him to lead you in the path and the course that he has for you.

Jesus' kingdom is not of this world, and so we should not operate like this world, as his servants. We're not here to fight, at least not flesh and blood. It's a spiritual battle. It's a spiritual war. Let Jesus remind you where the real battle is, what the course is that is set before us. And finally, Jesus invites everyone to hear the truth. It's the most important thing. He wants everyone to know and have the opportunity to receive the forgiveness, the love, and the grace of Jesus.

that he offers to us. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for your few words. Lord, you didn't speak a lot during this time, but Lord, you spoke a few things. And Lord, we take note of them. They speak volumes. They speak powerfully. I pray, Lord, that you would help us to follow your example, to follow the pattern that you have set, to learn these lessons from you. Lord, that we would be effective as your agents to the world around us.

God, I pray that you would protect our hearts and our minds. We do fall prey to the tactics of the enemy so easily. We're thrown off course. We're chasing a different enemy. We're chasing something else completely off the path of what you have for us. Help us, Lord, to see clearly the mission, the objective, the course that you've set before us. Lord, that we might walk with you, that we might know you.

And that we might enter into eternity, enter into your kingdom in victory because of our relationship with you. We pray this in Jesus' name.