To Love is to Speak about Sin

It is not fashionable to confront others about their sins. It can even be dangerous as two street preachers recently learned as they preached sin at a gay pride event in Seattle.

Consequently, many want to keep the message positive – sanitized of anything negative. Sin is negative, but sin is inseparable from the Gospel. The Gospel of salvation is not complete without mention of what we have been saved from! Without an understanding of sin and punishment, the Gospel will seem meaningless, perhaps even foolish. Grace has no meaning apart from an awareness of our need for grace. Besides, if we don’t see our need for forgiveness, the idea that God will forgive us is offensive.

When the church was most Spirit-empowered, there was no hesitation to confront the sinner with his sin. In his first evangelistic sermon, Peter pulled no punches:

• “Therefore let all Israel be assured [in light of the miraculous and biblical attestation] and of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

Why didn’t Peter keep the message positive? Why did he have to mention “Jesus, whom you crucified?” That would only turn off his audience or even send them into a violent rage, wouldn’t it? No! Instead, they were convicted of their sin, as Peter’s next words indicate:

• When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

I think that we have a distorted view of love. Perhaps instead of enabling, the most loving thing we can do is to “cut [them] to the heart?” The results argue in favor of this.

Peter also informed his “cut” audience that they had to “Repent and be baptized.” However, people tend to think that they are good and deserving. Therefore, they think that there is nothing they need to repent from. Oprah claims:

• A mistake we humans make is believing that there is only one way…There are many paths to what you call God…There couldn’t possibly be just one way…Do you think that if you never heard the name of Jesus but lived with a loving heart…you wouldn’t get to heaven?...Does God care about the heart or if you call His Son ‘Jesus?’”  

Oprah, as do many other Western gurus, believes that God knows that we are basically good people who possess a “loving heart.” Result – the loving heart enters heaven!

Therefore, our preaching has to first demonstrate that we are not entitled by our allegedly “loving heart” to any of God’s blessings. As long as we think we are entitled, grace can no longer be grace but a payment that we deserve from God by virtue of our goodness (Rom. 4:1-12).

In his next sermon, Peter once again pounds his listeners about their sin:

• The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go.  You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.  You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. (Acts 3:13-15)

Quite a heavy indictment! We don’t know the fruitage of this sermon, because Peter was immediately whisked away to court. However, before he was grabbed, he preached the only solution for their sin and guilt:

• Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. (Acts 3:19)

Peter understood faith (3:16). However, it seems that he wanted to emphasize the flip side of the faith coin – repentance. Faith and repentance are inseparable. In order to turn to the Savior – our new life - in faith, we automatically turn from the old life of sin. It is impossible to turn to God without also turning away from something else at the same time! Peter understood that in order to turn to the light, it was imperative to turn from the darkness, and the Jewish people needed to know that they were in darkness, even though they were children of the covenant.

Even before the Sanhedrin, he confronted the leadership with their sin:

• “It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone (Psalm 118:22).’” (Acts 4:10-11)

Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. Consequently, he feared God and not men. I think that we need to always pray and examine ourselves. We need to ask God to reveal to us whether we are unduly concerned about the opinions of others at the expense of the opinions of our Lord. Peter brought this message home on his next visit to the Sanhedrin:

• “We must obey God rather than human beings!  The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross.  God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. (Acts 5:29-31)

According to Peter, even the Sanhedrin had to repent in order to receive the mercy of God. One pastor told me that Israel had their own covenant and therefore didn’t need Jesus. However, the entire New Testament demises such a notion. According to Peter, Jesus’ death and resurrection are essential to the forgiveness of all sins, not simply Gentile sins!

Stephen was also filled with the Spirit, but this didn’t lead him to preach a kinder and gentler gospel. He devoted a lengthy sermon (Acts 6 and 7) to show his self-righteous opposition what great sinners they were:

• “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.” (Acts 7:51-53)

In order to make his point, Stephen rehearsed the rebellious history of Israel, made plain by Scripture. With this he was preaching to the choir and the choir was listening. He was building a bridge to his ultimate point – that his protagonists were “just like your ancestors!”

All of this doesn’t mean I’m ready to wade into the midst of a gay pride event with a bullhorn. However, it does mean that preaching sin cannot be separated from the Gospel. Stephen’s sermon also suggests that it might be difficult to preach sin and repentance without first having established a beachhead – areas of agreement.

Peter’s and Stephen’s listeners all shared the same Scriptures. This made the accusation of sin easier than it would be at the gay pride rally. I think that this means that we must be in prayer about how and when we speak about sin, but not whether we will speak about it.

The Arrest and Trial of Jesus and how it Reveals the Hand of God

Each Gospel presents a slightly different perspective on Jesus’ arrest and trial. Consequently, to some, they seem to contradict one another in certain places. One atheist wrote:

• These irreconcilable problems with the arrest and trial of Jesus show that the Gospel accounts cannot be trusted with the truth of the matter. With the mystique and misunderstanding surrounding Jesus' arrest, coupled with the legend and myth attached to the accounts at later times, the truth may never be fully known. (James Still)

While we can attempt to reconcile the “irreconcilable problems,” as many have ably done, I’d instead like to point out some amazing commonalities among the Gospel accounts – the obvious fact that the Jewish authorities so badly bungled this affair and, therefore, needed Jesus’ assistance in order to secure the “conviction.”

It is remarkable that my highly educated Jewish people had violated every one of their own legal principles in regards to Jesus’ arrest and trial. The arrest had resulted from a bribe (to Judas) – something forbidden by Jewish law. (I am deriving this information about Jewish legal procedure from a teaching given by Arnold Fruchtenbaum.) 

Perhaps because it was dark, the arresting party seemed to be confused about which one in the garden was Jesus. He therefore helped them by declaring “I am He” (John 18:5, 8). At some point, Judas kissed Him to identify that He was truly the one they sought.

In order to maintain neutrality, judges and members of the Sanhedrin were not allowed to participate in an arrest. However, in this case, they were clearly part of the arrest battalion:

• Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, "Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour--when darkness reigns." (Luke 22:52-53)

Instead of making a defense for Himself, Jesus consistently provoked his accusers, inciting them to even greater anger.

Because public trials lesson the possibility of conspiracy, Jewish law forbade secret trials. Besides, they were not supposed to take place after sunset – something that might contribute to foul-play. However, at night He was brought before Annas who questioned Him (John 18:20-21).

The NIV Study Bible notes add:

• “Not legal, since witnesses were supposed to be brought in first to establish guilt. The accused was not required to prove his innocence.”

In order to enable public viewing, the Sanhedrin trials could only be held in the hall of Judgment of the Temple. After Annas, they brought Jesus to a closed session of the high priest Caiaphas (John 18:24; Luke 22:54).

Everything had to be established by two or three witnesses (Deut. 19:15). The defendant had to have an advocate, and the defense had to precede the prosecution. However, none of these things happened. The Jewish authorities hastily attempted to produce witnesses – any witnesses, but they contradicted one another:

• The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward and declared, "This fellow said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.' " (Matthew 26:59-61)

Finally agreement! However, this charge must have been laughable. Clearly, Jesus must have been talking figuratively. Certainly He couldn’t destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. Besides, no one would even have allowed Him to remove one of its stones! Therefore, in exasperation and desperation, Caiaphas asked Jesus to testify against Himself:

• Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?" But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?" "He is worthy of death," they answered. (Matthew 26:62-66)

The leadership was desperate, and so Jesus helped them to bring about His own conviction. He not only admitted that He was the Messiah, He also quoted two messianic verses (Dan., 7:13-14; Psalm 110:1-2), claiming that He would fulfill them!

For the leadership, this was enough! However, this wasn’t enough to satisfy Jewish legal procedure! For one thing, the accusation of “blasphemy” was valid only if the name of God was pronounced, and Jesus didn’t mention God’s name here.

For another thing, the accused might be suicidal or protecting another. Therefore, he couldn’t testify against himself. The defendant couldn’t be condemned on the basis of his words alone.

The High Priest had to be dispassionate and neutral. This meant that he was forbidden to rent his clothing and that the charges could not originate with him or the judges. They could only investigate charges brought to them. However, these guidelines were also violated.

In order to avoid the possibility of a hasty judgment, the verdict couldn’t be announced at night. In the case of capital punishment, in order too allow time for evidence to surface that might favor the accused, the trial and the guilty verdict could not occur at the same time, but had to be separated by at least 24 hours. All of these were disregarded in regards to Jesus.

The high priest then wanted to close the deal:

• "You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?" They all condemned him as worthy of death. Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, "Prophesy!" And the guards took him and beat him. (Mark 14:64-65; )

However, to further protect the convicted, the sentence could only be announced after three days of the guilty verdict. A person condemned to death wasn’t to be beaten or scourged beforehand. Besides, no trials were allowed on the eve of the Sabbath or on a feast day. However, in the case of Jesus, all of these regulations were forgotten.

It seems that, most of the time, according to the four Gospels, Jesus remained silent. And when He spoke, it was never to defend Himself but to aid in His conviction. The four Gospels provide a consistent portrait of Jesus. He was a Man with a mission – to live sinlessly and to die a sinner for sinners!

However, the religious leadership is more perplexing. How is it that such highly educated and legalistic people could behave in such an illegal manner? Scripture is entirely consistent in this matter.

The leadership had definite plans for the arrest and trial of Jesus. However, this would have to take place after the Passover:

• Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him. "But not during the Feast," they said, "or the people may riot." (Mark 14:1-2; Mat. 26:5; Luke 22:2)

Why then did they have Jesus crucified at the precise time that He had intended and not when they had intended? Jesus was in control!

• Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. "What you are about to do, do quickly," Jesus told him, but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. (John 13:26-28; Mat. 26:21-23; Luke 22:21; Mark 14:18).

Although the Apostles were blinded to the fact that Judas would betray Jesus, Judas now understood that his cover was blown. He could no longer return to his former brethren. He was therefore coerced by this exposure to go to the high priest and explain that if he was going to betray Jesus, it would have to be now!

Evidently, the leadership decided to go forward despite their plan to wait until Passover was over. Everything was transacted in haste. Consequently, the pre-arrest and the trial preparations could no longer be put in place. A proper arresting party could not be constituted, the witnesses wouldn’t be vetted – nothing would be conducted lawfully. However, they wanted their man and pressed forward.

What we see here is an amazing display of Divine providence. Jesus would soon become the Crucified – the Passover Lamb – according to a plan set in eternity:

• So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. Say to the owner of the house he enters, 'The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there." (Mark 14:13-15; Mat. 26:17-30; Luke 22:7-23)

Jesus demonstrated that He was providentially in control of all the details. He timed His arrival and prayer in the garden of Gethsemane to coincide perfectly with the arrival of His captors.

The four Gospels don’t toot their horns about this, but they all show us that when Jesus was at His most vulnerable, broken and humiliated, He was also in His glory. Clearly, it was Jesus giving His life and not the nations taking it from Him. It was His moment of glory (John 7:39; 12:23; 13:31; 17:1-4), although it seemed to a life ending in dishonor. He was fulfilling all righteousness – the very climax of all history, bringing love and righteousness to kiss together. The moment of the greatest darkness and sin became the moment of the greatest expression of love and the greatest victory.

The contrasts were never so severe. As the religious leadership was driven by hate, sin and jealousy, Jesus was stirred by a vision that they could barely imagine. While the leadership broke all of their laws, Jesus kept every one of them, even to the end. The “victors” would ultimately go to their death and destruction and the Victimized would earn life for the world. Praise be His Name for ever and ever!