Sunday Sermon

"Truth and Deception"
[Mark 14:53-15:5]
November 12, 2006 Second Reformed Church

Are we followers of the Truth or of the deceiver? It is popular today to say that there is no True Truth, but truth is whatever one wants to believe -- that believing makes a thing true. And there are things that are a matter of opinion: Rocky Road is the best ice cream in the world. Well, that may be true for me and not true for you. But when we are talking about Truth True -- about Absolute Truth -- there are no such options. For example, if I were to say oxygen is necessary for human beings to live -- for our physical bodies to live on earth -- someone may claim that that is true for me, but not for him, but a simple experiment of putting a plastic bag over someone's head will prove that oxygen for human life is a True Truth.

We remember last week, we saw Jesus tell the disciples that they would all fall away, but Peter jumped up and said, "Even if they all fall away, I will never fall away." And Jesus explained to Peter that he didn't realize his own weakness -- that Peter would deny Jesus three times before the second crow of the rooster that morning. And Peter swore an oath, that even if he had to die with Jesus, he would never deny Him. Shortly, thereafter, Jesus was arrested, and the disciples all fled.

Then we have this morning's Scripture, which recounts the "trial" of Jesus before the Sanhedrin -- the ecclesiastical court -- and the first meeting of Jesus and the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, as well as the fulfillment of the prophecy concerning Peter. Here we see deception and truth.

Jesus was led away by the high priests and the scribes and the elders to the court of the Sanhedrin, and throughout the night, they sought witnesses to witness against Jesus, because God's Law required two or three witnesses -- who agreed on their testimony -- to bring about a conviction. And many people came forward to testify against Jesus -- to bear false witness against Him, as we are told -- to lie and give false testimony. And one by one, these deceivers gave their false testimony, but they couldn't find two people to agree on their false testimony, so it was all for naught.

In frustration, the high priest asked Jesus, "Are you the Christ, the son of the Blessed [God] Who is worthy of praise?" Are You the Christ -- the Messiah -- the Savior? Are You the Son of the Blessed God? Are You the Son of the Blessed [God] Who is worthy of praise -- which would make You worthy of praise as well?

And Jesus answered, "Yes, I am." "I am the Christ, the Savior, the Messiah. I am the Son of the Blessed God, and I am worthy of praise just as He is." And that might be shocking enough to cause the high priest to tear his garments and proclaim a judgment of blasphemy, but what put it over the top and secured Jesus' condemnation by them is something that is lost in English:

When Moses spoke with God in the burning bush, Moses asked God for a name by which he could tell the people of Israel that he was sent, and God said that His Name is YHWH. That is, in English, "I am." It is the most holy and personal Name of God given in the Scripture. And what we don't realize in English, is that Jesus doesn't merely say, "I am," He uses a double entendre, proclaiming that He is the God Whom Moses met in the bush -- "I am YHWH," is what Jesus effectively said. Here was the ultimate blasphemy -- Jesus claimed, plainly before them, that He is their God. And not only that, He told them that the day would come when they would see Him seated on the Throne of God, with the authority and power and glory of God, coming in the clouds. So the high priest tore his clothes and proclaimed blasphemy on Him and called for the death penalty, which was appropriate in cases of blasphemy.

Here's where it makes a difference where we consider truth. If Jesus is the Truth -- True Truth was spoken -- and just because the Sanhedrin didn't want to believe it doesn't change the fact that it is truth: Jesus is YHWH. Jesus is God. In personhood, Jesus is the Savior, the Christ, the Son of God. And He, as a member of the Godhead, as the One, True God, He is worthy of all praise.

This is not a case where we can say, as we moderns would like, "Well, Jesus may be God for you, but He's not God for me." No, that can't be. Either Jesus was telling the truth, Absolute Truth, True Truth, or He was the most evil and deceptive liar who ever lived. We are not given the opportunity to waffle, or to be tolerant, or to allow relativism, the Scripture is clear in it's claim that Jesus is God, the Son and Savior. He either is, or He is not. He either is the Only Salvation, or He is from the devil, the father of lies. Either I am deceived, or I am not.

The Sanhedrin had what it needed, a confession, and they could stack the trial so enough people who didn't believe Jesus' claims would condemn Him. So they spit on Him and put something over His Face, and began to circle Him and punch Him, yelling at Him to "prophecy!" who had hit Him. And they abused Him until the morning.

Were they deceived, or were they right? There is no third option in this case.

In the meantime, Peter was warming himself in the courtyard, and one of the young servant girls came out and saw him, and announced, "You were with the Nazarene, Jesus." And Peter denied it, "I neither know him nor do I understand what you are saying." And the rooster crowed. And the little girl said, "This man is one of them." And again he denied it. And a little while later, those standing around, after having looked at him and listened to his accent, said, "Surely you were with him, [and] you are a Galilean." And Peter swore an oath swearing that he never knew this Jesus that they were talking about. And the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered. Oh, he remembered Jesus' Words. He remembered how he swore to Jesus that he would die before he ever denied him. And here, he had been shaken and shattered, and lied to a few servants, including a little girl.

How quickly will you and I deny Jesus when our lives are at stake? Will we stand for Him, no matter what happens to us, no matter who accuses us, not matter what is threatened us? It's easier to swear than to stand. Jesus said, "Pray that you do not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" (Mark 14:38b-c). And we may not let that become an excuse, "Couldn't help it, 'the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.'" No, if we live prepared to fail Jesus, then we will. Oscar Wilde said, "I can resist anything except temptation." We cannot live like that. We have been given the Holy Spirit -- God Himself lives in us. And He will lead us out of temptation, away from sin. And yet, there will be occasions when we still sin, and as we grow in the faith, those occasions will become all the more foul to us, so, as the hymn writer wrote, "foul, I to the fountain fly."

Immediately, when the rooster crowed, Peter broke down and wept. After he realized his sin, he immediately broke down and confessed his sin and asked for forgiveness and mourned what deception he had put forth against his God and Savior. And we do well to repent quickly. Until we reach glory, we will not do all things perfectly, so as we strive to live perfectly, when we give into sin, let us quickly, truly, turn to God and repent, pick ourselves up and fight again against the wiles of the devil.

Immediately when morning came, the Sanhedrin stopped beating and insulting Jesus, and they tied Him up and brought Him to the governor -- you see, Israel was occupied by Rome and was not allowed to carry out the death penalty -- they had to go to Rome for approval. So they brought Jesus to Pilate and accused Him of many things, including claiming to be God -- none of which impressed Pilate. So, they then told him that Jesus claimed to be the King of the Jews -- that was something Pilate could not allow. If Jesus was raising up a rebellion to replace Caesar as king, he had to quell it.

So Pilate asked Jesus directly, "Are you the king of the Jews?" And Jesus answered him directly, "You said it." And some have taken Jesus' response and said, "Well, Jesus was only saying that it is Pilate's opinion." But that is not what Jesus meant -- this is an idiomatic expression -- we even have it in English. If we just had a great meal together, and someone said, "Boy, that was a great meal," and someone else said, "You said it." What would we understand? We would understand, "You're absolutely correct. That's exactly what I would have said. Of course, what you are saying is completely true." That's how Jesus responded, "Are you the king of the Jews?" "You're absolutely correct. Of course. What you are saying is completely true. You said it."

Understanding Jesus' claim, Pilate then asked why He was not refuting the false charges that were bring brought against Him. But Jesus remained silent. And Pilate was amazed.

C. S. Lewis, of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe fame, said that the one thing we cannot say about Jesus is that He was a good teacher -- a good rabbi -- he doesn't leave us with the choice, because He claimed to be God Almighty and the King of the Jews. So, our only options are that Jesus was a liar or a lunatic, or He truly is the Lord -- exactly as He said He was.

Is Jesus True Truth, or is He the deceiver?

Our text this morning shows us that humans lie, deceive, and act with cowardice. But the portrait we are given of Jesus is that of Truth, Christ, Savior, Son of God, worthy of praise, the King of the Jews.

If Jesus is Truth -- True Truth -- Absolute Truth -- He changes everything. But if He is not, you can't hold to some middle ground.

Let us pray:
Almighty God, we thank You for sending Your Son, God Incarnate, to come and speak and live and be the Truth among us. If any among us have doubts this morning, we ask that You would make the case and the choice clear. And we ask that we would find our strength in You, and when we sin against You, then we would fly back into You Arms, asking forgiveness, knowing that we shall receive it from You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.