Into the Hands of Sinners

[0:00] So a few weeks ago, I was watching this three-part series on George Washington.

[0:17] George Washington is one of my personal heroes. As one scholar has said, the United States exists for two reasons. One, the Constitution, and two, George Washington.

[0:33] So I enjoyed this series on the History Channel, and part of the story reminded me of a man named Benedict Arnold. Do you remember that name?

[0:45] It's a notorious name of a betrayer. One who betrayed George Washington and the Continental Army in their battle for independence from the tyranny of England.

[1:04] Benedict Arnold had been a faithful and heroic officer. In fact, had been the hero of the Battle of Saratoga.

[1:15] He had sacrificed much for his country. Like many who served their country was in great debt because he had sacrificed so much to serve his country.

[1:28] You know, they weren't paid in this army. They were barely clothed. And for his duty and sacrifice as a patriot, he was passed over for promotion again and again.

[1:51] A promotion that he felt he had earned and rightly deserved, and he probably did. But this led him, and because of his great debt, led him to turn to England and reveal secrets and put some money back in his pocket.

[2:17] Understandable. Tragic. So many had suffered so much as he had, but had not turned.

[2:31] So we understand why Benedict Arnold betrayed his country. Judas is another person entirely. He too is a name that is famous, not just famous, but notorious or infamous.

[2:50] As a betrayer, he betrayed Jesus into the hands of sinners. History records his treachery and his deceit, his dishonor, his unfaithfulness.

[3:04] And yet records no reason. We are left to speculation. But no reason. And this is how scripture wants us to remember him.

[3:21] Not for the reasons. Could have been any reason. Could have been multiple reasons. But we're not told, so that's not important. But he did betray Jesus, and it was part of the whole story.

[3:38] And we know that Jesus had already prepared the disciples for the fact that he would be betrayed. He had revealed that to them in the upper room during that Passover meal.

[3:51] We read at the beginning of the chapter how the Jews were conspiring, trying to get to Jesus and get hold of him and arrest him.

[4:03] And then in verses 10 and 11 in chapter 14 here, we're told that the way they were able to do that was because they had an inside man. Judas had come to them and had asked for money to betray Jesus.

[4:19] And would look for the opportunity to do it. Now we see in verses 41 and through 46, Jesus' actual treachery.

[4:33] A remarkable treachery. One that reveals who Judas was. Without question.

[4:44] But in contrast to that, we see Jesus. Not taken by surprise.

[4:58] Not arrested. But one who willingly lays down his life. There are two names that are prominent in this passage that we're looking at today from verse 41 through 52.

[5:18] Only two names that Mark gives us. He focuses on Judas. And he focuses on Jesus. And that's it.

[5:29] The others that are mentioned are mentioned without name. This quote unquote bystander who cuts off the ear. Not mentioned.

[5:41] Gee, who is that? And the streaker. At the end. Again.

[5:53] Unnamed. Why is it there? Is it the author cloaking himself, so to speak? As well as revealing he was also a deserter?

[6:07] Don't know. Don't know. It's not answered. It's just there. So we're going to focus on what is clear. Today. So he begins opening the scene in verses 41 through 44 by introducing us to a multitude, a crowd.

[6:27] Judas comes with a crowd. A mob, it seems like. A multitude. To whom Jesus will be betrayed into the hands of sinners.

[6:41] So notice in verse 43, the people involved. Immediately while Jesus was still speaking to the three, Judas came, one of the twelve.

[6:52] And with him a crowd with swords and clubs from the chief priests and scribes of the elders. So notice there's a couple of groups here. There's Judas with a crowd. And he mentions a crowd with swords and clubs.

[7:05] Now the swords, the gospel of John explains to us, are the swords of the Roman soldiers. Because in John 18, he mentions a very Roman term, a cohort.

[7:23] A cohort is a group of soldiers up to 600 men that have come with Judas to arrest Jesus.

[7:35] You see, Jesus had gotten away many times before. This wasn't the first time there was an attempt to kill Jesus. In his hometown, Nazareth, they attempted to stone him.

[7:48] Or excuse me, to throw him off a cliff. And somehow he slipped through the crowd. Later, they tried to stone him for using the divine name, I am.

[8:01] In John 6. And he, again, slipped away. So there is a focus that Mark makes clear from Judas' perspective.

[8:13] Who had seen him slip away before. Who says, when I identify him, grab him. Grab him. Quickly.

[8:24] And secure him. There's a very physicalness to this. He's slippery. So Judas comes with a cohort he had received from the Romans.

[8:40] And there are people with clubs. Well, that's probably the people that come from the priests and the scribes and the elders. Which, by the way, those three groups make up the Jewish Sanhedrin.

[8:53] The 70-person council that was the official ruling body of the Jews. So this was not a random mob.

[9:08] This was an officially sanctioned arrest. This was a posse with a warrant. So we see the people involved.

[9:23] There's a plot as well. Verse 44, we notice that there was a prearrangement. The betrayer had given them a sign saying, the one I will kiss is the man.

[9:36] See, the Roman soldiers wouldn't necessarily know who Jesus is. That wasn't any of their business. The Jews would know. Many Galileans would know. But the soldiers were busy about other things.

[9:48] They wouldn't know who this Jesus was from anybody. So Judas says, here's the signal. The one that I kiss. Grab him. So it's a prearranged signal to identify who to arrest.

[10:02] A contrived plan to capture this troublemaker. This pest. This blasphemer. So we see the multitude.

[10:14] And now, what I want to focus on today is, what do we discover as Jesus is betrayed and arrested? What we see is the master himself in full control.

[10:27] Laying down his life. In fact, we learn two discoveries. As I said, Mark highlights two people. He highlights Judas and he highlights Jesus.

[10:38] As he highlights Judas, we see one truth about Jesus' suffering. And in Jesus' response, in verses 48 and 49, we see another truth about God's plan.

[10:52] So I think we discover two things. First of all, we discover, first of all, that Jesus endured the deceitfulness of corrupt men.

[11:05] He endured it. He suffered it. He experienced it. He suffers a betrayal. He suffers a conspiracy. And he suffers a desertion of his closest followers.

[11:19] He endures the deceitfulness of corrupt men. First and foremost is the betrayer, Judas. Notice, Jesus is in control of this, though.

[11:31] He's not surprised. We go back to verse 41, where he's still in the garden of Gethsemane, where he's praying with the three men. He finds them the third time sleeping once again.

[11:44] And notice that he mentions betrayal twice before the betrayer gets there. He says in verse 41, he came to them the third time and said, are you still sleeping, taking a rest?

[11:55] It's enough. It's over. The hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Verse 41, rise, let us be going.

[12:07] See, my betrayer is here. He's at hand. So Jesus is not surprised. Judas thinks there's going to be a surprise. I'm going to go in.

[12:18] I'm going to kiss him. And you grab him. It'll be total shock and awe. But it's not.

[12:29] Not at all. Here he comes. And remember the context. He's just been praying. He's been praying intensely, remember.

[12:43] He had confessed to the disciples that his soul was grieving deeply to death, whatever that means.

[12:54] He was agitated in his soul. He was disturbed. Which shows us, remember, one of the things we learn from that is that it's not sinful to feel disturbed.

[13:08] It's not sinful for your soul to be in deep sorrow. Those are feelings. Feelings are natural. They're spontaneous. They are what they are.

[13:19] How we respond to them is important. And so Jesus responds by getting hold of them. By confessing them. By pouring them out to the Father. That's what we looked at last time.

[13:31] So remember that there's all of that intensity that's going on. And he goes to the Father and he, in his humanness, wants out. Let the cup pass.

[13:42] Please take it away. And then he resigns. But not my will but yours be done. And he has to do that three times.

[13:53] We're told he goes back again. Says the same. Goes back again. We know he goes back a third time because he comes back a third time. And they're sleeping. If it takes Jesus three times to resolve his soul, how long would it take us?

[14:11] Don't be discouraged that you're not quickly healed. Or quickly recovered. This is natural. We learn from Jesus how difficult it is.

[14:25] But here he comes having dealt with that. And now as he comes back the third time, I think the words where he says it is enough is a way of saying this has been resolved. I've got the answer.

[14:36] It is his will. We're going forward. He's not going to take it away. Here comes the betrayer. Here we go. Now Jesus announces the betrayer.

[14:50] The betrayer shows up in verse 44 and 45. He says, here's the sign, the one I will kiss. Why does Judas pick this sign?

[15:04] Why a kiss? A kiss was a normal greeting of friends in those days. It's still a normal greeting in many countries.

[15:20] It's a sign of honor and friendship and affection. Remember we had the other story of the sinful woman that had, remember, been crying on Jesus' feet and anointing his feet and wiping with her hair and kissing his feet.

[15:36] Affection, affection, affection. I just love for Jesus. Humility before him. So why does Judas pick a kiss to identify him?

[15:49] I think it shows his absolute mockery of Jesus. It's not honor.

[15:59] It's deceit. It's not affection. It's detestation. Something.

[16:12] It's an insult. It's the deceit of an enemy. So Jesus endures that. But he also endures the other crowd that comes, this group that comes from the priests and the scribes and the elders, the official delegation, the posse, sent by the Sanhedrin itself.

[16:39] An official delegation. A conspiracy he suffers. This has been plotted. We saw that at the beginning of chapter 14.

[16:50] They're plotting. They've been wanting to kill him. They've been wanting to get rid of him. He's a pest. He's an annoyance. He's disturbing the peace. And we don't like what he says about us.

[17:07] And Jesus exposes this by his response in verse 48. They lay hands on him in verse 46. They seize him.

[17:19] The bystander, verse 47, makes an attempt at physical resistance. Verse 48, Jesus said to them.

[17:30] So it's interesting. Mark isn't interested in Jesus's response to the guy cutting off the ear. One of the other gospels gives us that, but Mark doesn't record anything about that. Just kind of this anonymous little thing that goes on.

[17:44] We're going to skip that apparently. Verse 48, then Jesus's response to them, the ones who have come to arrest him. Have you come out against, come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to capture me?

[17:59] So he's exposing this bogus plot. You treat me like a criminal. You treat me like a robber.

[18:11] Yes, you would go out at night under darkness to look for a criminal who's hiding under the rocks. Is that what you think I am? And then he says, verse 49, I've been daily in the temple, daily, every day, out in the sunshine, out in the public.

[18:32] You didn't get me then. Why didn't you get me then? Nothing shady going on, perhaps. something not illegal, but certainly not kind of up to snuff.

[18:50] I mean, a righteous ruler and righteous rulers wouldn't be coming out at dark to get people who are truly criminals. King David didn't act like that.

[19:02] Solomon didn't act like that. But you guys are acting like that. Note the stealth that's late at night, under darkness, away from the public.

[19:18] We know from other scriptures that these men were afraid of Jesus. And they were afraid of the crowds. Oh, we can't do it in public because, you know, he's popular.

[19:30] So they're politicians, not leaders. So we see Jesus enduring the deceitfulness of the betrayer, the deceitfulness of the Sanhedrin.

[19:43] But he suffers as well from his own disciples who were told, desert him. Verse 50, and they all left him and fled.

[19:57] They all abandoned him and deserted. They all forsook him. Every one of them had promised, back in verse 31, to die with Jesus.

[20:14] They all had promised, just like Peter, I will never fall away. These might fall away, but I will never.

[20:25] And then they all said, no, no, no, not just Peter. I won't either. I'm with you. Jesus is grabbed. And there they go.

[20:38] There they go. Here are, please notice, these are faithful men. These are good, true followers of Jesus. These are not bad guys.

[20:51] These are believers. These are followers. They lose their courage. They lose their courage.

[21:06] They break their promise. They had meant that promise, and here it is just hours later, they break it. You know how that feels, don't you?

[21:20] You promise God. You make a sincere promise. I've done that. Walked the aisle so many times, you know. Oh, this time, I really mean it.

[21:31] Help me, help me, help me. And then so quickly, I fail. I fall. The next time makes you not want a promise.

[21:43] They fled. They deserted. They abandoned him. They deserted. They abandoned him. So please note that even the most dedicated of followers of Jesus will fall.

[22:00] Even the most loyal will fall. And so let us be charitable to our brothers and sisters when they fall.

[22:12] Because we fall too. Let us not be quick to judge. Let us be quick to understand. Though the enemies plot against Jesus, it's really Jesus who is in control.

[22:27] I want you to notice from John 18 how John, in his gospel, fills in the details of the same scene. John is writing many years later his gospel.

[22:39] Mark had been the earliest gospel written. Then Matthew, then Luke, and then John writes many years later and fills in a lot of the gaps that the other disciples, the other gospels had not related.

[22:52] That I'm sure questions had come up over time. Like, who's the guy that took the sword out? Who was that?

[23:04] And during the arrest, was that all that happened? What else happened? John fills in a lot of details. In fact, they're quite fascinating details. John says in John 18, 1 to 12, he says, Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place.

[23:20] Talking about the Gethsemane place. Not just the garden, but the Gethsemane, where they stayed. He knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas, having procured a band, literally a cohort, the Roman term, of soldiers, and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees.

[23:42] So he's got Romans and Jews with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus. Then Jesus.

[23:53] Then Jesus. Watch John's introduction here. Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him. How does John know that? Well, because Jesus already predicted it.

[24:06] Knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them. So in other words, Jesus takes charge. They don't come in and demand. Jesus steps forward and takes charge.

[24:17] And says to them, whom do you seek? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. And Jesus said to them, I am. I know your translation has, I am he.

[24:31] But technically he said, I am. The divine name of God. How do I know that?

[24:43] Because look what happens next. Judas who betrayed him was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, I am, they drew back and fell to the ground.

[24:55] Now I want you to picture Judas. A multitude of people, not just a few people, not five or six. A multitude, a crowd.

[25:07] Perhaps not 600 soldiers, but let's say it's even a third of that. 200 soldiers. 200 soldiers. Armed.

[25:21] Jesus simply says, I am. And they all fall to the ground. What's going on? God speaks.

[25:36] Things happen. Genesis 1. Let there be light. And what happened? There was light. Just like that. Jesus says, I am.

[25:50] Something happens. Pa-dum-pum. Is it simply a reminder of who's in control? Who has the real power?

[26:03] You come armed? I am. Boop. No, it didn't go like that. But here's the professional soldiers.

[26:14] And imagine. What happened? I don't know. Jesus asks them again.

[26:26] I said, who are you looking for? Who do you seek? Jesus of Nazareth. Not just any Jesus.

[26:37] The Jesus that's from Nazareth. Because there's a lot of Jesuses. Common Jewish name. Like John. Jesus.

[26:48] Jesus. Joshua. So not just any Jesus. We need Jesus of Nazareth. The one that came from Galilee. One that came from, you know, what good can come out of Galilee.

[27:01] That Nazarene. That one. The carpenter's son. The one that does all the miracles. And the one that's talking about our high priest as being a den of robbers.

[27:15] In the temple. They drew back and fell to the ground. So he asked them again. Whom do you seek? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered.

[27:26] I told you that I am. So if you seek me. What does he do next? Let these men go. He's thinking of that.

[27:38] Why did the others get away? Because Jesus said. Let them go. Because when Jesus says something. And means it. It happens.

[27:53] He says to Nazareth. Come forth. And the dead man comes forth. He speaks to the blind man. Behold.

[28:04] And he sees. He speaks to the deaf man. Hear. How do you speak to a deaf man? Jesus' words speak to a deaf man. And he hears. We're talking about the power of God's word.

[28:18] And so when he says. Let these men go. I think the 200. 300. Perhaps 600 soldiers say. I'm okay with that. I'm good. I don't want to go down again.

[28:28] We have not seen this kind of. This is no criminal. And then John tells us.

[28:39] This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken. Of those who gave me. I've lost not one. Then Simon Peter. Ah. John tells us who has the sword. Then Simon Peter.

[28:50] Having a sword. Drew and instruct the high priest. Servant. And cut off his right ear. Boy. He gives us details. Not just an ear. But the right ear. And by the way. The servant's name was Malchus.

[29:03] The apostle John knew the family. Of the high praise. That's how later. Peter gets into the courtyard. Of the high praise. Because John knows. People there. So just give in detail.

[29:15] Just showing us that it's. Not some made up story. So Jesus said to Peter. Now we have a response to Peter. Put the sword. Into its sheath. Shall I not drink the cup.

[29:26] That the father has given me. So once you notice. That Jesus. Is not taken by surprise. This is not shock and awe. He takes control.

[29:37] Who do you seek. Let these men go. Okay. I'll go. He had said another place. You know. No one takes my life from me.

[29:50] I lay it down. Of my own initiative. It's the only way it happens. I let it go. He refuses the physical defense. Of Peter. He meant well.

[30:02] Peter said he'd die for him. Right? All these soldiers come. There's probably only two. Of the apostles. That carried swords. Peter we know is one. And probably the zealot.

[30:13] The zealot was the other one. And all these men come. What does Peter do? Now most people think. That what Peter does. Is he takes out his sword. And he takes a wild swipe.

[30:25] And cuts off an ear. That'd be really hard to do. Really hard to do. And technically what Mark says is. Yeah he drew a sword. And then he did two actions.

[30:37] He struck the slave. And then cut off his ear. It was deliberate. Intentional. He knew what he was doing.

[30:50] It's kind of. You know. And who. Who. Who does he grab. He grabs.

[31:00] The high priest. Servant. The high priest isn't there. He sent his servant. So this is the high priest. Servant. Who's probably. In charge. So Peter takes the guy out front.

[31:15] Boom. Who's next. Come on. I don't. That's what I'm.

[31:26] Peter's not scared. And we'll see that later. Now Mark doesn't tell us.

[31:37] That it's Peter. He doesn't tell us. That Jesus had responded. To Peter. He doesn't tell us. Like Luke. That Jesus had picked up. The severed ear. And put it back on. You know.

[31:48] Another display. Of who's in control. Mark doesn't tell us. All that. He just says. Here's what Judas did. Now. I want you to see. What Jesus does. So Jesus.

[31:59] Willingly yields. To drink the cup. He says to Peter. Shall I not drink the cup. That the father. Has given me. He willingly yields. To drink the cup.

[32:09] It is the father's. Will. That I endure. This hostility. And that leads us. To the second point. That all this deceit. And corruption. Of these men. Is God's will.

[32:23] So we discover. Not only that Jesus. Endures. This deceitfulness. And the corruption. Of men. That he. That he. Experiences that.

[32:34] Suffers that. And just. Allows that to happen. But the other thing. We discover. Is that God. Intends. For evil acts. To fulfill his purpose. Did you get that?

[32:47] Let me say it again. God intends. For evil acts. To fulfill his purposes. He doesn't just.

[32:59] Allow evil. To happen. He intends it. He plans it. He predicts it. Ahead of time. What evil acts.

[33:11] Betrayal. Conspiracy. Desertion. Murder. Say God intends.

[33:23] I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. We got to protect God. A little bit. Don't we? Say no. God allows it. What kind of God. Do you have? Is he a doer.

[33:35] Or a responder? Is he sovereign. Or is he just kind of. Partly in control? My God's sovereign. My God declares.

[33:46] The end from the inning. From the beginning. He knows it all. Because he plans it all. He doesn't know it all. Because he peeks into the future. That's not what foreknowledge means.

[34:02] Remember Joseph? When he finally confronted his brothers. 20 years after they sold him into slavery. He said to them. Guys.

[34:13] I know you intended it for evil. Your plan and your intention was evil. You hated me. And I don't have a lot of great feelings for you either.

[34:26] He said you intended it for evil. But God intended it. The word is intended it. For good. He intended for me to be sold into slavery.

[34:36] He intended for me to suffer for 20 years. In prison. And in lowly positions. Before I was raised up. To do the good.

[34:49] We see it over and over again in scripture. God intends. For the evil acts. To be part of his fulfilling of things. So Jesus says.

[35:04] Let scripture be fulfilled. He calls them on their conspiracy. Says oh you're out here in darkness. Let scripture be fulfilled. In other words.

[35:15] This is how it's supposed to happen. This is how the father has planned it. That's why I knew from the beginning. The father had told me.

[35:25] So what scriptures are fulfilled? Well let me just give you three quickly here. There's the scripture that speaks of the betrayal of Jesus.

[35:37] Psalm 41. 9 to 13. It talks about. My close friend. Whom I trusted. The one who ate bread at my table. He lifts up his heel against me.

[35:51] But the Lord will be gracious to me. The Lord will raise me up. And my enemy will not triumph over me. Psalm 41. What about these Jews who are conspiring against Jesus?

[36:06] Was that also prophesied? Yes. Psalm 2. Psalm 2 describes the people who plot in vain. The rulers who take counsel. Literally against the Lord's Messiah.

[36:19] This was known ahead of time. They conspire. They say let us throw off their fetters. Let us do our own thing. And Psalm 2 goes on to say how the Lord who sits in heaven laughs.

[36:33] Really? You're going to rebel against me? Good luck with that. And then the Lord says I have set my king in Zion. My beloved son will rule them.

[36:48] In fact, kings and rulers be warned. Kiss the son. Lest he be angry. And blessed are all who take refuge in him.

[37:03] Psalm 2 is a marvelous description of both the fight against Jesus as well as the rescue of Jesus. And then thirdly, Zechariah 13, 7.

[37:15] We looked at this before when Jesus said, strike down the shepherd, the sheep will be scattered. When he said, you will all desert me. He was using the prophecy from Zechariah 13.

[37:25] It's described that. Let scripture be fulfilled. That there be a betrayal. That there be a conspiracy. That there be my own people who follow me who will desert me in the end.

[37:39] Remember, Zechariah talked about the sheep will be scattered. What's God's purpose in that? What is God's good in that? Why does he want the sheep of the shepherd scattered?

[37:51] And Zechariah, remember, goes on to tell us that he puts them through a fire. He's going to test them and refine them. So that they will come and call upon me and I will answer them. And they will be my people and I will be their God.

[38:06] That's the good. Why does God put us through trials? Why does God put us through difficult things? Yeah, Randy, why? Why do we go?

[38:18] Yeah, to sanctify us. To test us and to prove us. It shows what's there. It shows what do I really believe? When I'm going through darkness, what do I really believe?

[38:32] That's what's going to show. And you think, oh, boy, I don't look too good when the dark comes. How good are you supposed to look?

[38:46] It's dark. And it's a fire. You're going to get burned. You're going to get purged. It's going to come off. So, yeah, you're going to look a little messy.

[38:59] You're going to look a little like maybe you've been through a storm. It's not how you look. What's there? What's left?

[39:11] What's revealed? At the end of that day, do you still love the Lord Jesus? You might not understand what he's doing. Like all the psalmists that say, hey, how long?

[39:23] Why? But at the end of the day, do I say, but I trust you. I know you do what's good. I know you're with me, even though I don't feel you. I know you're with me. I know that whatever this is going on, and I don't like what's going on, but I know whatever's going on, you have a good purpose for it.

[39:42] It will come to good. It will come to good. God's greatest purpose was fulfilled through the most evil acts against Jesus.

[39:57] Perhaps the clearest prophecy of Jesus' death and resurrection, that he, as the servant of God, would bear the sin to make people right with God, is Isaiah 53.

[40:10] Listen to the words of Isaiah 53. This is part of what Jesus meant when he said, let scripture be fulfilled. Isaiah 53.3 says, he was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

[40:29] We just saw that in Gethsemane. He's grieving. And as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised and we esteemed him not. He was oppressed and he was afflicted.

[40:42] Yet he opened not his mouth. Like a lamb that is led to slaughter and like a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. We'll see that next week as he goes on trial.

[40:53] He opens not his mouth. By oppression and judgment, he was taken away. He's arrested. And as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living?

[41:05] In other words, killed. Stricken for the transgression of my people. Oh, killed for what reason? For the sins of others.

[41:18] And they made his grave with wicked, with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death. In other words, he died as a criminal. Although he had done no violence and there was no deceit in his mouth, yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him.

[41:34] There it is. God intends evil acts to fulfill his purpose. It was the will of the Lord to crush him.

[41:47] He, the Lord, has put him to grief. When his soul, Jesus' soul, excuse me, when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring.

[42:02] He shall prolong his days. The will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. In other words, he's going to die, and yet something lays beyond that. There's something after that.

[42:14] Something prospers after his death. Resurrection. Out of the anguish of his soul, he shall see and be satisfied by his knowledge, the righteous one.

[42:26] My servant will make many to be accounted righteous. There it is. His death will make people righteous. And he shall bear their iniquities.

[42:37] There we go again. He carries their iniquities. Not just their sins, not just their failures, but their iniquities. That's the word for twisted, perverted stuff. Okay?

[42:48] He doesn't just die for the, you know, kind of bad stuff we do. He dies for the really twisted stuff we do too. Okay? He will bear their iniquities.

[43:01] Therefore, I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoiled with the strong. In other words, there's a victory because he poured out his soul to death.

[43:11] He volunteered, and he was numbered with the transgressors. In other words, he's treated like a criminal. Yet he bore the sin of many, and he makes intercession for the transgressors.

[43:24] He's doing it for sinners. This was God's purpose. Christ was despised, rejected, suffered, and died.

[43:35] Why? To bear the iniquities of rebels. In order to make them right with God. It was the Lord's will to crush him.

[43:49] Yes. It was the Lord's will to crush him so that his sacrificial offering would be acceptable for guilty sinners.

[44:00] The innocent one suffers. The holy one is rejected. He's treated wickedly by evil acts of men. This was God's plan. This was God's intention.

[44:14] It was his, there it is. It was his purpose in order to declare the unworthy, the undeserving, right with God.

[44:30] Amazing love, isn't it? Amazing love. How can it be? How? That thou, my God, would die for me. You don't deserve it.

[44:42] I deserve it. Why would you do that? Love. Merciful. Well, why does God have to do it at all?

[44:59] Can he just let it go? No, no, because he's also holy and just. A holy and just God can't let sin go. It has to be dealt with.

[45:11] The debt must be paid. Otherwise, God wouldn't be God. He wouldn't be holy. He wouldn't be righteous. He wouldn't be just if he let it go. We cry out for justice, do we not?

[45:24] When innocents suffer, this young boy, we haven't found yet. Something happened bad. We all cry out for justice, Lord.

[45:38] It's not right. God is a God of justice. He will bring it to an end. He will reveal it.

[45:52] As we pray, the family might have peace so that we might find this boy. Jesus did all of this for undeserving rebels.

[46:05] He laid down his life so that we might be forgiven. You're forsaken, we're forgiven, we sing. So, let me meddle for just one minute if you haven't meddled with yourself yet.

[46:20] Do you see how serious your sin is? Do you see how serious sin is? That Jesus would endure what he endured.

[46:34] That God would do what he did to bring forgiveness. Have you turned to Jesus as your Lord?

[46:46] Is he your master? So you're able to look at him in this story and go, oh, yes. Thank you. That should be me.

[46:58] Thank you. That should be me they're hauling off. Not you. All who believe, all who call on him, he will answer.

[47:08] Let us pray. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for your son who had the grace and the humility and the dignity and the faith and the compassion to endure the hostility of corrupt men.

[47:34] And we thank you, oh God, that you are a sovereign God. who doesn't play with lives, who doesn't just let things happen. You have a plan and you have a purpose and we don't always get it but we know that you are a just God.

[47:50] We know that you are a merciful God. And so we know you do good out of all that happens. Encourage us today, oh Father, to walk with Jesus, to be willing to lay down our own lives, as He did.

[48:08] This we ask in Christ's name. Amen. Amen.