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Whatsoever
Things Are True
by Dan Coburn Pastor, Emmanuel Baptist Church pastordan@mtida.net People love trials. Not only are there now successful shows beyond the occasional movie, but we actually have entire networks devoted to trials. ie - Court Tv? All of us remember watching the O.J. trial for what seemed like weeks running into months. Many of us remember the Watergate trial where President Nixon was forced out of office, while some of his cohorts were imprisoned. What about the Nazi war criminals, or even the Scopes monkey trial? Many of us have been involved in a trial on one side of the isle or the other. Some as jurors. We trust (most often) that the court will be fair. If we have been wronged, we want the court to lean in a very punitive direction, while if we are the defendant, we pray in our heart of hearts for leniency. Let’s turn the Spiritual Switch. Part of our celebration of Easter commemorates the most famous, most important, most significant trial of all time; that of Jesus the Christ. What kind of a trial was it? Have you ever scrutinized it? All four of the Gospels record it in whole or in part. The local court portion is found with great detail in Matt. 26:47-68. But it begs a few questions. Like,– Why did the religious leaders need Judas anyway? They had all the stroke, not to mention a “cohort” of Roman soldiers (up to 600). Why did Jesus ask the question: “Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?” The parallel Gospels may word it as “Whom seek ye?” or, “what are you looking for?” Again, the issue wasn’t whether or not Jesus knew Judas’ motives, but wanted to bring everything into the light. Adrian Rodgers said: “Judas kissed the Door of Heaven, and went to hell”. The name Judas meant praise, but who in the world would name their child Judas now? This trial had it all. Deceit, perjury, payoffs and bribes, violence, hidden agendas and conspiracies. And beyond that, it is really still raging. What? Here’s a Nugget for you. All that ever persecuted Him, then or now, will be recompensed. Are you denying Him? By your speech? Your lifestyle? On your court day, you will not be able to produce a glove that doesn’t fit. There will be no bribes. The only thing that will ultimately matter is who is your defense attorney. “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” The word we get “advocate” from in the Greek is parakletos. A helper, or defense attorney. A paraclete in England. Satan is the accuser of the brethren. Who is your attorney? God Bless. |
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