The Only Innocent One
Luke 22:63–23:5
Main Point of the Sermon: We who are guilty are declared innocent because of Jesus.
Introduction
As a kid I often heard these words, “Daniel, can you come here for a minute,” having been caught in doing or saying something that I shouldn’t have. Slowly I made my way to my dad, trying to consider how to argue for my innocence. I usually didn’t a case, though I certainly tried.
Have you ever been caught? Maybe you were caught cheating on taxes or a test or maybe looking at something you shouldn’t have been. Perhaps you were caught at work cutting corners, or caught talking behind someone’s back. Unless you’ve lived under a rock until this day, it’s safe to say that we’ve all been there.
But today, we’re going to step into the shoes of the one human being who never got caught for doing something wrong. There was never anything to catch him for. His enemies tried him and led him before the Roman court, but unlike us, we’ll see that nobody had a legitimate case against Jesus. He was innocent, through and through. I want to show you why that matters so much for us today.
But before that, let’s talk about where we’ve been in Luke’s Gospel.
Context:
Jesus spent his last evening with his friends, around a table for a meal and then in his place of prayer, the garden of gethsemane. He prayed in anguish, surrendering his will to the Father just before he would was arrested in the night by a mob of Jewish leaders and officers led by one of his closest friends,
Judas. His disciples fled in fear and Peter outright denied that he even knew him (Mk 14:50). As Jesus said to his captors in verse 53, this was indeed the “hour, and the power of darkness.”
Though we’ll witness great darkness, Jesus will shine brightly.
Jesus Is Mocked
63 Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. 64 They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” 65 And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him.
The King of kings was mocked and beaten in the middle of the night. Who were these men? Verse 52 says that it was the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, and verse 54 says he was brought to the high priest’s home, which we know was Caiaphas (Mt 26:57). These men were supposed to be the people’s shepherds.
Yet they mocked Jesus as they beat him. He was blindfolded and bound. Doubtless they threw punches to the gut and face and anywhere else they could to inflict pain and shame. They also inflicted emotional pain as they shouted in mockery, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?”
Imagine being Jesus. Here you are, their Creator and Lord, who loves them and yet knows every sin, every detail about these men. And here they are beating you, mocking you, insulting you. And what do you do? Do you show them who they are messing with? Do you call them out and meet their challenge, "that was John. He just cheated on his wife.” That was Mathias, who is jealous of the High priest.” “That hit was Caiaphas, who is actually deeply insecure.”
But what does Jesus do? The Gospel accounts tell us that he just takes it. Silently.
Friends, this is not Jesus’ weakness on display. It is an all-powerful man under perfect control. He has authority to summon legions of angels to his aid, but chooses to stand under the abuse silently.
Mark’s Gospel account adds that though many stood up to testify about him, nothing stuck, none of their stories held true. They had nothing on him. They were beating an innocent man.
The scene gets darker, but Jesus shines even brighter.
Jesus Before the Council
66 When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their council,
After a night of abuse, Jesus was brought before the counsel of the Jewish Sanhedrin for further questioning. These were the most important Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, supposed to be the wisest and most careful judges among them. They should have helped Israel recognized their Messiah. But instead they looked for a way to kill him. Verse 67 says that they demanded:
67 “If you are the Christ, tell us.”
Why is this answer so important to them? They had no evidence by which to condemn him, so they try another route. If Jesus says that he is king, they could try him before Rome as a revolutionary.
But [Jesus] said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, 68 and if I ask you, you will not answer.
Jesus was right. In dozens of interactions with the religious leaders, Jesus openly claimed to be the Messiah, referring to himself regularly as the fulfillment of Messianic prophecies (e.g. Lk 4:18–19; 6:5; 20:41-44). Further, his life, his teachings, and the powerful signs that he performed only provided good reason to believe his word. He was prophesied to be king (1:32–33), he was born of a virgin (2:11), he received an affirmation and commission from the Father at baptism (3:21–22).[1] But they did not believe.
Likewise, when Jesus asked them questions, they would not answer because they were afraid of the people (Lk 20:5-7).
But listen to the rest of Jesus’s answer, verse 69:
69 But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”
He says, “from now on…” this is the reality. This is incredible! Jesus is telling his captors that regardless of their unbelief, regardless of their murderous efforts, Jesus was in control of the situation and reigning over them.
Jesus says that from this day on he would be seated at the right hand of God. In other words, his earthly ministry was coming to an end, but through his death and resurrection he would soon enter his glory.
Jesus is referencing two famous prophecies about the Messiah: Daniel 7, and Psalm 110. Look at Daniel 7 briefly:
13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days [that is, the Father] and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him (13-14).
This is a complex Scripture, but what Jesus is saying here is that he is the man from Daniel's vision. He was about to ascend to the level of God and take his seat next to God to reign over all creation.
His accusers, who doubtless knew these Scriptures by heart, knew exactly what Jesus was saying and pressed on to find a way to get him killed, asking him a follow up question.
70 “Are you the Son of God, then?”
Again, they want him to confess that he is a king. The Son of God is the title of Israel’s king found in Old Testament prophesies (e.g. 2 Samuel 7).
Verse 70. Jesus answered them, “You say that I am.”
Jesus answer seems kind of illusive, but it is simply an affirmation. He is basically saying, “you are right in saying I am”. He gives them what they want it speaks out his identity.
“What further testimony do we need?” they said. “We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.”
What should have been the greatest honor, to be in the presence of the king, and to hear his voice, what should have produced fear and reverence so that everyone in the room bowed the knee before their king, produced even more murderous slander and accusation.
Was he guilty of death simply for affirming his identity? Surely, they should have condemned him if he was phony and out for selfish gain. But Jesus had done nothing wrong. He was, in fact, the only one in Israel’s history, in the history of the world, who walked righteously before God.
But their hard hearts only allowed them to see Jesus as a threat to their religious system, to their power, and to their nation as they knew it.
How can something so clear be so twisted by men? We’ve seen this sort of blindness and rejection throughout Luke’s Gospel, and what it shows us is that humans are not inherently good and just judges. We are often so sure of ourselves, ready to cast the stone. But we don’t see the world, ourselves, or God rightly. Perhaps this is why Jesus said to the adulterous woman’s accusers, “he who is without sin throw the first stone.” We don’t see clearly at all. Why? Because our hearts are dark and sinful. It’s just as the Psalmist says:
2 God looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. 3 Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. Ps 53
The Bible is not full of stories of good men who just needed a good example to help keep them on the right path. No, it is full of stories of murderers, adulterers, liars, idolaters, and thieves who desperately need a rescuer. Even God’s people. They seem to be the most forgetful and corrupt of all.
And though we need a savior like a diseased man needs a doctor, we love our darkness and refuse to come to the light (Jn 3:19-20). Though we find ourselves again and again falling short, instead of turning to God, we turn to everything but him for help, to a new self-help scheme, to new religious regimen, to a new diet, a new haircut, a new relationship, a new medication, a new hobby, a new career, or substances.
This book is screaming from beginning to end, you need light to guide you out of the dark, and you and me are not the light.
But his name is Jesus. Come to him and live!
But these men would choose darkness like the rest of us. The scene gets even darker, but Jesus will shine brighter.
Look at 23:1.
Jesus Before Pilate
23 Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate.
Pilate was the ruling governor over Judea, including Jerusalem. It was against the Roman law for any Jewish leader to condemn someone to death, which is exactly why the leaders brought Jesus before Pilate, who alone could enact the death penalty in Judea. This was the fulfillment of what Jesus told his disciples: he was “delivered over to the Gentiles” (Lk 18:32).
2 And they began to accuse him [before Pilate], saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.
Notice how the focus of the charges change from religious grounds to political grounds. Their first statement is a claim that Jesus is disrupting their loyalty to the Roman empire. We see this more clearly in the second and third accusations, saying that Jesus was “forbidding them to give tribute (pay taxes) to Caesar, and that he claimed to be a king, which would clearly be in opposition to Roman rule. Pilate’s answer shows that this is what most concerned him.
3 [He] asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
And [Jesus] answered him, “You have said so.”
A second time, Jesus gives a guarded affirmation, saying, “yes, it is as you say.”
This is significant. Jesus knows what this affirmation would mean for, but he doesn’t shrink back.
Surprisingly, despite Jesus’s open confession, Pilate says in verse 4 to the chief priests and the crowds:
“I find no guilt in this man.”
His tone, his posture, everything about Jesus caused Pilate to give his verdict, innocent. He didn’t see Jesus as a threat despite his claim.
What kind of man could get away with that? Only this king. Though he was a king, his kingdom and his teaching did not oppose the Roman empire as the Jewish leaders wanted Pilate to believe. Jesus openly taught that Israel should pay taxes to Caesar, while also giving to God what rightly belonged to him (Lk 20:20-26). Further, we read in John’s Gospel that he confessed to Pilate: “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews” (Jn 18:36).
His kingdom was fundamentally different than the kingdoms of the world. Jesus held this dual identity perfectly in tension. He belonged to the world and submitted to its governing systems, while submitting completely under the Kingdom of his Father.
But verse 5 says that the people would not take no for an answer. They wanted him to be condemned as a revolutionary.
5 But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.” [2]
Jesus healed the sick, diseased, and lame; he fed the hungry; he gave sight to the blind and raised the dead; he delivered those tormented by evil Spirits; he taught a message of freedom and healing and rest to the weary, and liberation of captives.
Jesus certainly made waves wherever he went, but it was only waves of the kingdom of God breaking into the hearts and lives of weary men and women. The revolution was in people’s hearts.
They had nothing of legitimacy and Pilate knew it. Sadly, as we’ll see in next week’s sermon, though Pilate wanted to release Jesus (23:20), he feared man more than he feared God, which led him to make an utterly unjust judgment to have Jesus crucified.
Never, in the history of the world, has there been one wholly innocent like him, yet he was condemned to death. This is the epitome of injustice.
Why is Jesus’s innocence so important?
In my last few minutes, I want to answer an important question: Why does Jesus’s innocence matter so much to Luke? Why should it matter to you and I?
It matters because we need a sinless substitute.
Let me explain.
Friends, we are all guilty.
Knowing myself, knowing us, knowing our propensity to sin and quickly judge others without clarity on a situation, I know that any of us could have been in these accuser’s shoes, mocking and condemning this innocent man. We too would have put him to the cross.
Furthermore, if any one of us stood in his place at that trial, and our history was scraped for evidence against us, we would have been found guilty before God and man on many counts.
We are guilty of great sin before God, so we desperately need a Savior or we’re justly going to face his wrath.
Further, Jesus had to be innocent if he were going to be of any help to us. If he were sinful like us, if he was on the same sinking boat as the rest of us, what good could he provide? But he was not born like us with a sin nature. Though he was fully man, he was born of a virgin. He was like version 2 of Adam, the first man, see Romans 5.
We can send rescue boats all day to those who are perishing in sin, but we’re all sinking in the same way. Jesus alone is sufficient. Fully man, yet fully sinless. He is the rescue boat, the refuge, the healing.
But he wasn’t just our rescue, as if he could just come and lead us to safety without any cost to himself. He had to be our substitute. He had switch spots with us.
The Bible tells a story of God’s plan of salvation, to restore all creation to himself, like it was in the Garden of Eden.
But that reconciliation could not come by God just haphazardly saying, “Ok, I forgive you.” In order for it be just, there had to be a sacrifice.
So God provided a substitute. Just as the lamb was sacrificed year after year in the place of the guilty sinner and the people, Jesus was sent from heaven so that he could take upon himself the penalty for our sin. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He was slain on the cross so that anyone who believes in him would no longer be guilty before God but rather innocent like him.
Jesus is our substitute. Through faith our guilt is transferred to him, while his innocence is transferred to us. This is why Luke goes to such length to declare Jesus’s innocence.
He had to be innocent if he were going to take our place.
God is a just judge. But he loves you so much that he doesn’t want you to die, though it would be just, so he laid the burden of your sins on the innocent Lamb, so that you and I could be justified, that is declared righteous in his sight.
Praise be to God whose love is so rich and beyond our comprehension!
But death was not the end of the story. Justice wouldn’t allow Jesus to remain in the grave. Death can’t hold an innocent man!
How should we respond to this glorious Gospel today?
If you believe this message, then you should rejoice. Yes, it is right to grieve the reality that your sin drove an innocent man to his grave. But it is also right to rejoice that God rescued you!
And if you’re here today and do not believe and embrace this message, I want to invite you now to put your hope in Jesus. There is no other rescuer. You must take him at his word and bow to your king.
As promised, this Jesus, who looks so helpless in our story, is not in a grave anymore, but a risen and reigning king who will soon come again. He rose on the third day and is now seated at the right hand of God surrounded by myriads of angels and Christians who have passed into glory. Every knee will one day bow and every tongue will soon confess that he is Lord.
So, come to him. He is the only way to find forgiveness for your guilt and rescue from the death you deserve.
In a moment we will take the Lord’s Supper, remembering the life of Jesus poured out for us. And I want you to remember as you eat and drink that this body which was broken and this blood that was shed was innocent and that it was poured out for you, the guilty. And because of this great sacrifice, we are promised that death now has no dominion on you. No list of sins or guilt or shame that you feel today can stand against the pure and cleansing blood of Jesus. We who are guilty are declared innocent because of Jesus. Let’s worship him.
Benediction:
[1] Utley, R. J.
(2004). The Gospel according to Luke (Vol. Volume 3A, Lk
22:24). Marshall, TX: Bible Lessons International.
[2] The Holy Bible: English
Standard Version. (2016). (Jn 13:3–7). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
