The Doctrine of the Cross Must Be True

Sherry Character of Jesus, promises, salvation, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us… – John 1:14

And some began to spit on Him, and to cover His face, and to buffet Him, and to say unto Him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike Him with the palms of their hands. – Mark 14:65

We have pictures drawn from imagination; we have been enchanted along romantic pages, and we have marvelled at the creative flights of human genius; but where did you ever read such a thought as this? “God was made flesh and dwelt among us”-He was despised, scourged, mocked, treated as though He were the offscouring of all things, brutally treated, worse than a dog, and all out of pure love to His enemies. Why, the thought is such a great one, so God-like, the compassion in it is so divine, that it must be true. None but God could have thought of such a thing as this stoop from the highest throne in glory to the cross of deepest shame and woe. And do you think that if the doctrine of the cross were not true, such effects would follow from it? Would those South Sea Islands, once red with the blood of cannibalism, be now the abode of sacred song and peace? Would this island, once itself the place of naked savages, be what it is, through the influence of the benign gospel of God, if that gospel were a lie? Ah! hallowed mistake, indeed, to produce such peaceful, such blessed, such lasting, such divine results! Ah! He is God. The thing is not false. And that He is Messiah, who shall doubt? If God should send a prophet, what better prophet could you desire? What character would you seek to have exhibited more completely human and divine? What sort of a Savior would you wish for? What could better satisfy the cravings of conscience? Who could commend himself more fully to the affections of the heart? He must be, we feel at once, as we see Him, one alone by Himself, with no competitor; He must be the Messiah of God. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0495.cfm

He said, “I am”

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 Again the high priest asked Him, and said unto Him, Art Thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am; and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven. – Mark 14:61,62

Finding that their witness, even when tortured to the highest degree, was not strong enough, the high priest, to get matter of accusation, adjured Him by the Most High God to answer whether He was the Christ, “the Son of the Blessed.” Being thus adjured, our Master would not set us an example of cowardice; He spake to purpose; He said, “I am,” and then, to show how fully He knew this to be true, He added, “ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven.” …He bears open testimony before the herd of His accusers. “I am.” I am the Son of God, and I am the sent One of the Most High. Now, now the thing is done. They want no further evidence. The judge, forgetting the impartiality which becomes his station, pretends to be wonderfully struck with horror, rends his garments, turns round to ask his co-assessors whether they need any further witness, and they, all too ready, hold up their hands in token of unanimity, and He is at once condemned to die. Ah! brethren, and no sooner condemned, than the high priest, stepping down from his divan, spits in His face, and then the Sanhedrim follow, and smite Him on his cheek; and then they turn Him down to the rabble that had gathered in the court, and they buffet Him from one to the other, and spit upon His blessed cheeks, and smite Him, and then they play the old game again, which they had learned so well before the trial came on; they blindfold Him for a second time, place Him in the chair, and as they smite Him with their fists they cry. “Prophet! Prophet! Prophet! who is it that smote Thee? Prophesy unto us!” And thus, the Savior passed a second time through that most brutal and ignominious treatment. If we had tears, if we had sympathies, if we had hearts, we should prepare to shed those tears, to awake those sympathies, and break those hearts, now. O Thou Lord of life and glory! how shamefully wast Thou illtreated by those who pretended to be the curators of holy truth, the conservators of integrity, and the teachers of the law! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0495.cfm

Adversaries of Christ, Your Witness is Untrue

Sherry Character of Jesus 2 Comments

And when He had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest Thou the high priest so? – John 18:22

…they shall smite the Judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. – Micah 5:1

During this preliminary examination, our Lord suffered an outrage which needs a passing notice. When He had said, “Ask them that hear Me,” some over-officious person in the crowd struck Him in the face. The margin in John 18:22, very properly corrects our version, and renders the passage, “with a rod.” Now, considering that our blessed Lord suffered so much, this one little particular might seem unimportant, only it happens to be the subject of prophecy in the book of Micah (5:1), “They shall smite the Judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.” This smiting while under trial is peculiarly atrocious. To strike a man while he is pleading in his own defense, would surely be a violation of the laws even of barbarians.

But now the Court are all sitting; the members of the great Sanhedrim are all in their various places, and Christ is brought forth for the public trial before the highest ecclesiastical court; though it is, mark you, a foregone conclusion, that by hook or by crook they will find Him guilty. They scour the neighborhood for witnesses. There were fellows to be found in Jerusalem who were ready to be bought on either side; and, provided they were well paid, would swear to anything…Where men have made up their minds to hate Christ, they will hate Him without a cause. Oh! ye that are adversaries of Christ… know ye try to invent some excuse for your opposition to His holy religion; ye forge a hundred falsehoods; but ye know that your witness is not true, and your trial in conscience through which you pass the Savior, is but a mock one. Oh that ye were wise, and would understand Him to be what He is, and submit yourselves to Him now. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0495.cfm

God’s Thoughts of Peace, and Our Expected End 

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You who are King of kings and Lord of lords, we worship You. Before Jehovah’s awful throne we bow with sacred joy.

Sermon Text

This Deep Silence

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But Jesus held His peace. – Matthew 26:63

Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing. – John 18:20

The high priest asked Him concerning His doctrine-what it was that He taught-whether what He taught was not in contradiction to the original teachings of their great law-giver Moses-and whether He had not railed at the Pharisees, reviled the Scribes, and exposed the rulers. The Master gave a noble answer. Truth is never shamefaced; He boldly points to His public life as His best answer. “I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing. Why askest thou Me? ask them which heard Me, what I have said unto them: behold they know what I said.” No sophistries-no attempt at evasion-the best armor for truth is her own naked breast. He had preached in the market-places, on the mountain’s brow, and in the temple courts; nothing had been done in a corner. Happy is the man who can make so noble a defense. Little did that arch-knave Caiaphas gain by his crafty questioning. For the rest of the questioning, our Lord Jesus said not a word in self-defense; He knew that it availed not for a lamb to plead with wolves; He was well aware that whatever He said would be misconstrued and made a fresh source of accusation, and He willed, moreover, to fulfill the prophecy, “He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth.” But what power He exerted in thus remaining silent! Perhaps nothing displays more fully the omnipotence of Christ, than this power of self-control. Control the Deity? What power less than divine can attempt the task? Behold, my brethren, the Son of God does more than rule the winds and command the waves, He restrains Himself. And when a word, a whisper, would have refuted His foes, and swept them to their eternal destruction, He “openeth not His mouth.” If ever silence were more than golden, it is this deep silence under infinite provocation. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0495.cfm

Satan Slanders but Christ Pleads

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The high priest then asked Jesus of His disciples, and of His doctrine. – John 18:19

And the high priest arose, and said unto Him, Answerest Thou nothing? …But Jesus held His peace. – Matthew 26:62,63

Caiaphas, the high priest came in; he began at once to interrogate the Lord before the public trial doubtless with the view of catching Him in His speech. The high priest asked Him first of His disciples. We do not know what questions he asked; perhaps they were something like these: “What meanest Thou, to allow a rabble to follow Thee wherever Thou goest? Who art Thou, that Thou shouldst have twelve persons always attending Thee and calling Thee Master? Dost Thou intend to make these the leaders of a band of men? Are these to be Thy lieutenants, to raise a host on Thy behalf? Or dost Thou pretend to be a prophet, and are these the sons of the prophets who follow Thee, as Elisha did Elias Moreover, where are they? Where are Thy gallant followers? If Thou art a good man, why are they not here to bear witness to Thee? Where are they gone? Are they not ashamed of their folly, now that Thy promises of honor all end in shame?” The high priest “asked Him of His disciples.” Our Lord Jesus on this point said not a syllable. Why this silence? Because it is not for our Advocate to accuse His disciples. He might have answered, “Well dost thou ask, ‘Where are they?’ the cowards forsook Me; when one proved a traitor, the rest took to their heels. Thou sayest, ‘Where are My disciples?’ there is one yonder, sitting by the fire, warming his hands, the same who just now denied Me with an oath.” But no, He would not utter a word of accusation; He whose lips are mighty to intercede for His people, will never speak against them. Let Satan slander, but Christ pleads. The accuser of the brethren is the prince of this world: the Prince of peace is ever our Advocate before the eternal throne. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0495.cfm

The Day Shall Come

Sherry Character of Jesus, promises, prophecy, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

And they that had laid hold on Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. – Matthew 26:57

Come we to the hall of Caiaphas. After the mob had dragged our Lord from the house of Annas, they reached the palace of Caiaphas, and there a brief interval occurred before the High Priest came forth to question the prisoner. Luke shall tell the pitiful story: “And the men that held Jesus mocked Him and smote Him. And when they had blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face, and asked Him, saying, “‘Prophesy, who is it that smote thee?’ And many other things blasphemously spake they against Him.” Observe how they insult His claim to the Messiahship! In effect, they mock Him thus: “Thou claimest to be a prophet like unto Moses; Thou knowest things to come; if Thou be sent of God, prove it by discovering Thy foes; we will put Thee on trial, and test Thee, O Thou man of Nazareth.” They bind His eyes, and then, smiting Him one after another, they bid Him exercise His prophetic gift for their amusement, and prophesy who it was that smote Him. Oh, shameful question! How gracious was the silence, for an answer might have withered them for ever. The day shall come when all that smite Christ, shall find that He has seen them, though they thought His eyes were blinded. The day shall come, blasphemer, worldling, careless man, when everything that you have done against Christ’s cause and Christ’s people, shall be published before the eyes of men and angels, and Christ shall answer your question, and shall tell you who it is that smote Him. I speak to some this morning who have forgotten that Christ sees them; and they have ill-treated His people; they have spoken ill of His holy cause, saying, “How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the Most High?” I tell you, the Judge of men shall ere long, point you out, and make you, to your shame and confusion of face, confess that you smote the Savior when you smote His Church. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0495.cfm