I want to invite everybody to open up the bulletin that you received when you were coming in, and I'm excited to announce that for the next seven weeks we will be going through the conclusion of the Gospel of Mark. That means the next seven weeks we'll be studying Jesus, his suffering, his death, and his resurrection. And so, you can see if you've opened up your bulletin that on October 24th and 25th we will be having our second Easter of 2026. We will be celebrating that Jesus is alive. He is risen, we will say. And so, I want to encourage you to be prayerful of who you could invite to Easter in October. I've gone to church my whole life. I've never celebrated Easter in October before, but we will be as we get to the end of the Gospel of Mark. You can see we'll also have a weekend when we get to his death. It'll be like how we would do a Good Friday service, where we have special services to remember how he died on the cross for us. When you come in here on that weekend, it will be a unique opportunity to remember the death of Jesus.

And so, these would be great times for us to really talk about Jesus together as a church, and even great times for us to talk about Jesus with people outside the church, and to let them know what we're learning from the Gospel of Mark. And so, for seven weeks, I'm going to ask you, I'm going to challenge you here this morning. What if we all tried to think about Jesus more in the next seven weeks than we ever have before in our lives. If we really could commit to that as a congregation, as a church family, could we have the best seven weeks of our life focusing on Christ?

I invite you to open your Bible to Mark chapter 14, verse 53, and we're going to go through his trial with the Jewish religious leaders here together this morning, and we're going to continue to study here the sufferings of Christ. So, we're looking at Mark 14 and verse 53 all the way to 65. And so, this is part one of seven weeks in a row about Jesus, and we will see some things with other characters, other humans who are involved in the story as well. But the focus, the emphasis, will be on Jesus and what he was willing to do to pay for our sins. And so, out of respect for God's Word, I want to invite everybody to stand for the public reading of Scripture. If you don't have a Bible, these verses are printed on the handout there, and you could read along with us. Mark 14:53-65. Please follow along as I read because this is the Word of God.

And they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. And Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire. Now the chief priests and the whole council[a] were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree. And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’” Yet even about this their testimony did not agree. And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death. And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him with blows.

That's the reading of God's Word. Please go ahead and have your seat. I'd love for you to take notes on that handout as we go through these verses together. You can see verse 53 picks up this ongoing narrative that Mark has that's building to the climax of Jesus' death and resurrection. Well, they're leading him to this trial with all these religious leaders. We've been reading about the scribes and the elders and the chief priests. Throughout the Gospel of Mark, well, now they're all coming together in verse 53 to have this trial of Jesus. But notice in verse 54 how it also introduces Peter following at a distance, and it puts Peter in the courtyard, warming himself by the fire. So, that shows me that these two accounts of Jesus on trial, where he's compelled to give a witness, and then Peter out by the fire in the courtyard, where we know that he's going to deny Jesus three times before the rooster crows.

These two are an intentional contrast because they're both set up at the same time here in the gospel. So, you can see on the one hand, look at Jesus and his willingness to suffer. Look at Jesus, his faithful witness all the way to the end, and then look at Peter. Peter, the most rootable disciple. Right? You love how Peter goes for it, but here he is now, and he's going to deny Jesus. So, you can see that in this painting here. Here's Jesus being taken into the trial, and then here's Peter and the rooster out here. And so, it's kind of a two-part study: part one, witness here this morning, part two, denial will be coming next weekend if you come back. But you can see from the setup that we're supposed to consider both sides of the story because they're both set up at the same time. Now the key word, the reason the sermon is called witness, is because that's the key word in these verses. Look at verse 55 where it says that they're seeking testimony. Can you circle that word “testimony”? Because in Greek, it would be the idea of we need a witness.

We already know that we want to put Jesus to death. That's what they're thinking. This is an interesting trial. Okay, and regularly, I think throughout my time as an American, there are some trials that get the nation's attention, and sometimes we see so much injustice in a court case that you hear many people talking about how evil it all is. You want to talk about a trial that was unjust and not right and should get everybody offended and talking? Let's talk about the trial of Jesus Christ because it's like they start with the verdict, which is, we're going to put him to death. Now we’ve just got to figure out what crime he did so we can kill him. Now we just need to establish on the evidence of two or three witnesses that Jesus did something wrong, so that then we can do our plan, which is to kill him. And so, what a messed-up trial where we're trying to figure out what he did and find some witnesses because we already know what we want to do to him. So, the whole search of this trial is who can give the witness against Jesus, and if you go to the next verse, verse 56, circle where it says “false witness,” the pseudo witness, the lying witness. We're even bringing in people to lie about Jesus.

One of the things we want to observe about the life of Jesus is that Jesus lived in 100% righteousness. He established a perfect track record of obedience. He completely fulfilled the law and the prophets, and he also did his father's will. Jesus is above reproach. There is nothing you can accuse him of. There is nothing bad to bring against Jesus. So, we have to get liars to come. We have to get false witnesses, and then circle testimony again. Even though it's testimony here in English, it's the same idea of the “false witness.” But we can't get the witnesses to even agree about their lies. Even their lies don't come together to say the same thing about Jesus.

Now, it's going to give us an example of this. Verse 57. You can circle “false witness.” Now we're going to look at a specific one of the specific examples of the kind of false witnesses that were brought against Jesus at this trial, and they say we heard him say, "I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.” Now, next to verse 58, you could write down John 2:19, because Jesus did say something like that in John, chapter 2, verse 19, when he was interacting in the temple. But when Jesus was talking about something being destroyed and then in three days being raised up. What temple was he talking about, everybody? The temple of his body.

And so, they completely misunderstood and added to and twisted what Jesus said here. And even look in verse 59. Circle “testimony” again about this specific thing. They couldn't get the false witnesses to line up. So, these guys are liars, and they're bad at it. Like the whole thing is a rigged thing. We’ve got to kill this guy, and they can't even get the witnesses to the satisfaction of their own standard of injustice. So, this really speaks of the righteous living of Christ, that there was nothing bad to say about our Lord, and even the false witnesses can't agree in their witness. So then, in verse 60, the high priest stood up, and he tries to provoke Jesus to respond. Can you imagine Jesus? Jesus is really humbling himself. I hope everyone can really see how it is for Jesus going through this. Remember when Jesus is willing to drink the cup of God's wrath in the garden. Remember when Jesus is willing to go with men who are unjustly arresting him, and now Jesus is willing to hear all of these lies and false accusations, and he stands there. He's willing to suffer. He's willing to do this all for you, for me, to accomplish the Father's will.

And so, you can see, it's like, aren't you going to say anything against all these vile accusations against you? Don't you want an answer? You can circle “testify” again there in verse 60. They're coming against you. Don't you want to respond to all the anti witnesses? And notice what it says, verse 61, “He remained silent and made no answer.” And so, next to verse 61, you might want to write down Isaiah 53:7, and we'll put it up here on the screen, where it says, “He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth, like a lamb that is led to the slaughter.” Death is their whole intent, “like a sheep that before its shears is silent, so he opened not his mouth.” One of the great things to see in the trial of Jesus is that even though he was reviled, he did not revile in return. He did not answer evil with any kind of charge or defense of himself. So, that's one of the things that is noted, is the silence of Jesus, even though he's got liars and critics. I don't know how you feel when people say things about you that aren't true. Well, look at the example of Jesus and how he makes no answer. But then, see the high priest here. You can see he asked him. It says in verse 61, “And he gives him now a direct question: ‘Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?’” Now, what we mean is the “Son of God.” But I just want to know how Mark even highlights that he doesn't actually say “YHWH” or doesn't actually say “God,” he says, "Son of the Blessed.” So, right, the Jews sometimes have this thought that God's name is so holy and set apart, we're not even going to say God's name. That's how awesome God is.

So, can you see the fakeness of the religion here? Like, we're totally lying and we totally want to kill someone. That's the level of hatred that is in our hearts. But we're going to still act like we're honoring God at the same time by saying, "Son of the Blessed.” This is high-level hypocrisy among religious people, among people who have authority as rulers. Like this is the kind of stuff that makes your blood boil when we're acting like we're doing something for God, but actually we're acting 100% against God. That's what's happening here.

Now, I want to show you how Matthew puts it. In fact, next to verse 61, could you write down Matthew 26:63 because Matthew gives us a little detail that I find to be helpful, because as I'm studying this, I'm wondering why does Jesus say nothing, and then Jesus gives an answer that's like a whoa powerful response in verse 62. And so, why did Jesus go from saying nothing in response to all their evil witnesses? And I guess before we even get to this verse, let's back it up a little bit. Let's go back to the law. Let's go to Deuteronomy 19:18-19. Oka? What does the law say about the kinds of false witness that they're doing in this trial? Okay, and this is what should be happening. “The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.” So, if we have false witnesses accusing Jesus of things, saying that Jesus should die according to the law of Moses, what should happen to those false witnesses? They should be punished on the same level of the punishment they were asking for.

And Jesus knows all of this, and he sees this injustice, and he doesn't even answer it. But then, the high priest, look at this in Matthew 26:63. Let's go back to that. It says when Jesus is remaining silent, “the high priest said to him,” and this is an interesting word, “adjure”. I would encourage you to write that word down. “I adjure you.” We don't really use that word. The idea is like I'm forcing you to swear an oath. Right? Where like we think of in a court case, someone might raise their hand and they might swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God. Right? And so, now, the priest makes Jesus basically become a witness at this point by adjuring him, by forcing him to take an oath, and this also goes back to the law of Moses. Very interesting reference in Leviticus, chapter 5, verse 1. In Leviticus 5:1, it says, "If anyone sins, in that he hears a public adjuration.” So, in our English standard version, in our translation here, they use the word adjure in both of these passages. The high priest is forcing Jesus under oath to say something, and here you get that same idea. If there's a public adjuration to testify, to bear witness, and though he is a witness, whether he has seen or come to know the matter, yet does not speak, he shall bear his iniquity.
So, this might sound really different to us because, in America, we just think, "Oh, you plead the fifth and you don't have to say anything that could possibly incriminate yourself.” Well, here in Leviticus 5:1, if you're a witness and you know the truth of the matter, you could testify about the matter, and you don't say anything, you remain silent, well then, that is something an iniquity you're going to have to bear. That is a sin. So, you're compelled to witness if you are a witness. And now the high priest puts that on Jesus himself. So, Jesus says nothing in response to all the false witnesses, but now Jesus is forced through this oath that the high priest puts on him to bear witness of himself. And so, if you look back now at Mark 14:62, as Jesus giving that witness about himself, it is an epic verse of Scripture. And then, if you jump down to after that, verse 63, “The high priest tore his garments and said, ‘Circle it for the last time now. What further witnesses do we need?” So, now, we're going to put Jesus to death based on what witness, everybody? His own witness.

Let's consider that together. They can't find anything bad to say about him, even with people lying. They can't put it together to get an accusation that will stick even in their corrupt court in the middle of the night, so nobody can know about it. They can't even find a reason to kill Jesus. That says a lot about the righteous life of Jesus Christ. But there's no one there to defend Jesus. There's no one there to make a legal defense for him. None of his disciples are there to bear witness about him. So, who is forced to give his own witness at his own trial that leads to his own death? Wow, what a situation! Can you imagine? You're in court and everyone's accusing you, and you know the whole system's rigged against you, and there's no one standing there with you, and it's just you. That's what Jesus was willing to do for you, is to face all that injustice. And based on his own testimony of who he is, they accuse him of blasphemy. And the high priest tears his garments, and he's like, "It's blasphemy!” And blasphemy was punishable by death. When he says blasphemy, you could write down next to that Leviticus 24:16, “Whoever blasphemes in” the name of YHWH, “the name of the LORD, shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. And the sojourner,” so whether you're someone from somewhere else than Israel, or whether you're a native of Israel among God's people here in the law of Moses, no matter who you are, “when he blasphemes the name, shall be put to death.”

So, here's Jesus saying, "Yes, I am the Christ. Yes, I am the Son of the Blessed. And Jesus says two things about him that are epic that we want to focus on. And then they accuse him of blasphemy. And so, that is now the crime for which they are going to put him to death, is blasphemy, and then you can see just the evil of this whole occasion just creeps out in this twisted way in verse 65, where now some of these people, those who are supposed to be the religious leaders of God's people, some of them begin to spit on Jesus. Some of them begin to cover his face, like, hey, can you tell who it is? Prophesy! Mocking his ability to speak for God. And then the guards, they're rough with him. They're punching him. So now, after we get this mockery of a trial, we start to get the mocking shame that's going to get heaped on Jesus, and we start to enter into the physical beating that's going to get heaped on Jesus. So that starts to take us where we're going to go in the future. So, this is what Jesus was willing to do: stand there with no one to defend him, being falsely accused and forced in the end to say who he is, and then they use that as the evidence to put him to death. This is the trial of Jesus, and the key word is here: “witness”. So many people trying to say a witness against Jesus, and it is actually the witness of Jesus about himself.

Now turn with me to the Gospel of John, because Jesus had something to say about witness that I think is very helpful for us in John, chapter 5, and it was in one of his interactions with the religious leaders. Okay, one of the things that we need to take away from a study of the gospel of Jesus is that Jesus regularly had conflict with the hypocritical religious system of his day, and, in fact, Jesus did not shy away from this conflict. Sometimes Jesus instigated the conflict, and Jesus was willing to speak the truth in any circumstance. This is supposed to be one of the fundamental things about Christians is, we are willing to speak the truth in any circumstance. Here's Jesus speaking the truth about himself, even when he knows it will lead to his death. So, if you want to be like Christ, you have to be ready to speak the truth when the time comes. Now, of course, you want to say it with gentleness, with respect for the person you're talking to. You want to always speak the truth in love. If there's no love, it's not worth saying. But you need to be able to say what is true, and Jesus spoke the truth to these hypocrites, to these phony religious leaders. In fact, in the midst of one of those kind of conversations, he says this in John 5:39. John 5:39 is a verse I would recommend for everybody here to know, to memorize it, to put it on your list of verses. And he says to these religious people who think they know God but don't, he says to them, "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” See, there's a warning here. It's an accusation against the religious people of his day, and it's a warning for all of us church-going folks here this morning.

Sometimes the reason you come to church to hear a word from God, sometimes the reason you read the Bible is you have a thought in your head that's a natural thought. What's in it for me? What's the Bible going to say about me? How is this going to fill me up with life? How is this going to guide me in my life so I can be blessed? You have to be careful that you don't approach the Scripture as a book that is written for yourself, the Scripture is a book that testifies about Jesus. I'm here to tell you this morning that life is not about you. Life is about Jesus Christ. And if you want life, you don't just get it straight from being a religious person or straight even from the Word of God. You get Jesus from the Word of God, and Jesus is the one who is your life. Can I get an amen from anybody on that? So, when you approach church or you approach reading the Scripture, and you approach it like, hey, I need something for myself today. No, no, no. You need to see Jesus today. That's what it's saying. The Scripture is here to bear witness of the Christ, and even he gets more specific. Go back up a few verses to verse 36, where he says, "The testimony that I have is greater than that of John.” Now, he's going to say something about that John the Baptist bore witness to him. He bore witness to the truth, but I have a greater witness even than that. And he says, the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, “the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.” Here Jesus talks about the works.

And if you've been here through our study in the Gospel of Mark, we've seen Jesus do miraculous things. We've seen Jesus teach in such an authoritative way that people, their minds are blown. We've seen Jesus heal so many different diseases. We've seen Jesus cast out demons out of many. We even see Jesus feed thousands like the shepherd of God's people. We've seen Jesus pass by his own disciples on the water, revealing the very glory of God. And the works that Jesus did show that Jesus is from God. That's in John. He says, "I've written the signs that you could see, the miracles that you could see what Jesus did, because how could anyone do this unless he's from God? The things that Jesus did bear witness to who Jesus is, but that's not the most important thing. Look at verse 37, where he says, "And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent.”

See, Jesus claims that the witness he has about himself is not his own witness. Jesus is saying that the Scriptures have witnessed about me, the works that I do witness about me, and even the Father himself has borne witness about me. So, this idea, when Jesus is compelled, when he's adjured to give a witness, Jesus does give a witness, but guess what he says in his witness? He says what the Father says about him. He says what the Scripture says about him. Jesus is passing on the witness, passing on the prophecies, passing on the Father's Word. He's giving witness. Yes, but it's already been a witness about him that he is now quoting. It's not just a witness of himself; it's the witness of the Father through the Scripture that Jesus is giving. So, this idea of, are you just about trying to get some kind of life for yourself or are you really about the witness of Jesus and really wanting to know him?

This is the question I want to challenge our church with over the next seven weeks. Over the next seven weeks, we are unapologetically going to try to talk about Jesus more than we ever have before as a church. Which means we may not be talking about how we would think of my life. No, we're talking about him, and we're going to find that our life is in him. And are you okay with that? Are you ready to talk about Jesus with other people? Is Jesus so on your mind? Do you understand some of the key things about what Jesus has done, or who he is today, or what he's going to do? And you're like, yeah, I'd like to talk about Jesus. I’ve got no problem thinking about Jesus. I’ve got no problem talking about him.

I'll talk about Jesus with other people here in fellowship. I'll talk about Jesus with people outside the church. I understand that the whole purpose of life is not me; it's Jesus, and I want to be a witness to him. Or is it like, no, I don't really like that. What's in it for me? See, that's what I wonder when I preach a sermon here. Are you like, well, what am I going to get out of it, or is it like, let the name of Jesus be lifted high?

Let's put it down like this for number one. It's not really a point from the text. It's a question for our church: “Are you a boomerang or a baton?” That's my question for you. Does it always come back to you? Is it always about you getting the life, or is it something about Jesus that you receive and then you can share, you can pass on? See, there's a greater witness. The Father is witnessing of the Son. The Scriptures are witnessing of the Son. Even now in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is sharing the witness about himself. That's what we're here to talk about is him. And, yes, does that benefit our life 100%? But the emphasis is not on me and what I'm getting out of it. The emphasis is on him and how can we make much of his name? And so, does it come back to you, or do you have something to witness to about him? See, that's what I want to do is I want to go to our fellowship groups and I want to have a whole conversation about Jesus. And what I find sometimes is, if we ask you personal questions, sometimes you’ve got lots to say. If it's like, well, let's just talk about him, do we still have as much to say about him? Is he someone we really know and love? We have received his witness, and we want to share his witness with others. Are you keeping it to yourself, or are you like, yes, I know Jesus in such a way I can communicate what I'm learning about him to other people.

Now, go back to verse 62 of Mark 14, and let me show you how the witness that Jesus gives about himself is actually the Father's witness about him. It's actually the witness of Scripture because the two epic things that Jesus says about himself in Mark 1462, and these two things will become point number two and point number three for us to think about, the two good things about Jesus to think about. I mean, there is the whole suffering in this trial that we've already discussed that we could meditate on about Jesus this week, but now he's going to say two things that are very relevant for us. And look at the two things he says in verse 62. Jesus said, "I am,” or our other gospels, he kind of says, "You are right that when you say, 'I'm the Christ, the Son of the Blessed, or the Son of God. Yes, I am. I am who you are bringing up, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.” What an answer! Yeah, you're right. That is who I am. And you are going to see two things: One, that Jesus is seated at the right hand of Power in heaven, next to the throne of God. Two, that Jesus is coming on the clouds to reign as King in an epic kingdom. That's what he says. Yeah, I am, and let me take it even further because here's where I'm going, and here's where what I'm going to do.

Now, this idea that he would be seated at the right hand of Power above. Point number two. Can you write down Psalm 110, verse 1? And you should get two donuts after church if you were already thinking that verse. God bless you if you were thinking that, because we talked about that when we went through the Psalms, that “The LORD said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” Does anybody remember that? That's the most quoted psalm, Psalm 110. One of the reasons is because that line where Yahweh says to Adonai. So, you've got the Father saying to the Son, sit at my right hand. So, when they adjure Jesus and they force Jesus to give an oath, they compel Jesus to make a witness about himself. What is the witness Jesus gives of himself? It's the witness that the Father has said to him. So, I want you to see in the answer that Jesus gives about himself. Even Jesus is passing on witness that he has already received, and he's giving it. He says, well, this is what the Father says about me. One of the key reasons that you should believe in Jesus, that you should talk to everybody you know about Jesus, and that they should believe in Jesus is the Father in heaven has borne witness to the reality that Jesus is his Son, and he has exalted Jesus to the name that is above every name. And someday everybody's going to see Jesus for who he is. Every knee will be on the ground, every mouth will open up, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is the boss. Jesus is the Lord. And everyone will know that the Father has seated Jesus at the right hand of power. Everyone is going to see this. This is the fact of the universe that you were created in. That Jesus is the boss, and that's what he says. And he's not just saying it about himself, he's repeating the witness that the Father gave through the Scripture a thousand years before Christ. I'm going to be at the right hand of power. He's quoting Psalm 110, verse 1.

So, get this down for point number two. Here's what I want you to hear: “Hear the Father witness of his Son.” Hear the Father. Hear Heaven telling you what to think about Jesus here on earth. Heaven is telling you that Jesus is at the right hand of God, the place of all power and authority. And he's been saying this through the prophetic scripture, like Psalm 110:1. He also has been saying this in the Gospel of Mark out loud, so people could hear it. Go back to Mark, chapter 1, and let me show you here what the Father said about the Son. Do you remember this? There's so much witness of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark, going all the way back to chapter 1, verse 1, where it says that “He is the Christ, the Son of God.” Going all the way to the end, that we're going to see where the Roman centurion who oversees the crucifixion of Jesus says, "Truly, this man was the Son of God” from the beginning of the end of the Gospel of Mark. The point is that Jesus is God's Son. Even God claims him as his Son when Jesus gets baptized by John the Baptist, who bore witness to Jesus, and when the Spirit comes upon him, which is a powerful thing that occurs at the baptism of Jesus.

Yes, we think, well, Jesus is God. Why does he need the Spirit to come upon him? Yes, and Jesus is also 100% man, and he has God's Spirit come upon him. And it says in Mark 1:11, “A voice came from heaven: ‘You are my beloved son. With you I am” what, everybody? “I'm well pleased,” God says. Here's God announcing to anyone who was there at the baptism of Jesus, done by John the Baptist, to those witnesses, to those disciples who were there, who eventually could make sure that it would get recorded and written down, so now all of us could receive the witness that a voice from heaven said about Jesus, "This is my beloved Son.” And what do we need to know about Jesus? The Father in heaven is pleased with his Son, Jesus, and that's a big deal. See, this is a great example about how Jesus is your life, and if you really know Jesus, then you will receive life. Because if the Father is well pleased with his Son, Jesus, who died in your place, whose righteousness do you get? The righteousness of Jesus. So, now, the Father in heaven is pleased with his Son Jesus, but Jesus paid for your sin, and by grace through faith you get the righteousness of Jesus, so now the Father sees you in Christ, and if he's well pleased with his Son. How does the Father think about you right now? He's well pleased with you. He sees you in the righteousness of his Son, Jesus. The same way that the Father loves his Son and is pleased with the obedience of his Son, the same way that the father would let everybody from heaven know by the voice of his witness, I love my son. I'm pleased with him. That's how your Father in heaven thinks about you this very hour. But it's because that's how he thinks about Jesus, and you're now a new creation in Christ. Wow! What an amazing thing that a Father would speak from heaven about his Son just to let everyone know for all space and time that I'm pleased with him.

Go over to Mark, chapter 9, and there was a moment where God spoke about his Son Jesus again in the transfiguration of Mark, chapter 9. Remember this, where Peter and James and John went upon a high mountain with Jesus, and he was transfigured before them? It says in Mark, chapter 9, verse 3, “His clothes became radiant, intensely white as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents. One for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah.’” Like this is a great example of Peter, is it not? Like, what are you saying, bro? But I'm rooting for you, anyways, right? And I mean, it literally says verse 6. For he didn't know what to say “for they were terrified.” This is what happens when you actually have a real encounter with the living God. There is fear. It is awe-inspiring. People are trembling, and a cloud overshadowed them. Verse 7, “And a voice came out of the cloud, ‘This is my beloved son. Listen to him.’” Second time in Mark, we have the Father bearing witness to the Son, and what is the thing that the Father in heaven tells all of us now through this text that we should think about Jesus. Listen to what Jesus says. Why? Because Jesus has the words of eternal life. If you want to live, don't try to search the Scripture to get life yourself. Search the Scripture for Jesus. He's the one you're going to find life in. Listen to him.

And so, I just think it's so awesome that when Jesus is standing there by himself, being falsely accused, and they force Jesus by the going back to the law of Moses to have to give a witness, that Jesus gives the witness of his Father: “Sit at my right hand.” And go with me to Hebrews, chapter 1. That's there's a lot that we could say about Jesus at the right hand of power. That is who Jesus is today. You might want to write that down under point number two: “Jesus is where the Father said he's going to be today.” That's where He's at. He is at the right hand of Majesty, and Hebrews 1 is just one of the passages that give you more to think about Jesus being at the right hand. Jesus being at the right hand is something every Christian should know about, think about, be able to talk about. Even something so compelling you would go and share it with other people who don't know about Jesus Christ.

Do you know where Jesus is today? Because a lot of people know he was a baby in a manger in Bethlehem, and a lot of people know he was a man who died on a cross outside of Jerusalem. But do people know that Jesus is alive and at the ultimate place of Power, at the right hand of God in heaven right now? That's who Jesus is today, and we should all be thinking about it. People need to hear about it. Look at what it says in Hebrews, chapter 1. It says, " Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.”

What is Jesus doing at the right hand? I mean, we're running out of time to talk about it. Did the sun come up this morning? Thank you, Jesus. Did anybody pray today? Well, the only reason you could pray is Jesus is interceding for you at the right hand of the Father. Thank you, Jesus. Is he controlling all of the angels, both heavenly and demonic? Is he over all of them as the name that is above every name ruling in the spiritual realm? Is he over all the nations, ruling over all of his creation? What is Jesus not doing at the right hand of power? There's a lot to think about there. That Jesus sat down at the right hand of Majesty, that's where Jesus is right now.

Now go back to Mark 14:62 because that's the first half of what he says. The second half of what he says is that he's coming with “the clouds of heaven.” Now, if I were to ask you, dear Compass Bible Church, Huntington Beach, my brothers and sisters, my beloved, if I were to ask you, what is the verse where one like a son of man comes on the clouds? This son of man verse that Jesus has been referring to throughout the Gospel of Mark? You immediately know the reference, right, my beloved, my dear, my dear church family. You know the verse I'm talking about, right? Do you say what it is, everybody? Let me hear it. Oh wow! God bless you. Okay. Some of you think there's not going to be a quiz at the end of Mark. Some of you don't know me well enough yet. Okay. I'll give you this hint. We probably won't do the quiz on the second Easter, and we probably won't do it on the Good Friday. And if you look at your bulletin and see when those days are, you might be able to figure out when the quiz most definitely will be. And some of you don't think there will be a quiz. Okay, it's not supposed to be a pop quiz. It will be for many. Have I referred to this quiz before? Who's heard me refer to this quiz before? Right? Maybe I haven't said it enough. Daniel 7:13-14 will most definitely be on the quiz, and you should write that down above point number three because here again Jesus is quoting scripture. He's quoting again something people should know about the Son of Man, that “he went up to the Ancient of Days, and authority was given to him, dominion was given to him, a kingdom that will last forever was given to the one like a Son of Man who rides on the” what? He rides on “the clouds, and all that authority is given to him when he sits at the right hand of Power. But this idea of him coming on the clouds, see, I don't think that's just referring to his ascension when he went up on the clouds. I think it's also referring to when he's going to return on the clouds.

Go back to Mark 13. Remember, we recently discussed Jesus telling them that the temple would be destroyed, which happens like Jesus said, in 70 A.D. but some of the things here in Mark 13, I don't think happened in 70 A.D. For example, when he says in Mark 14:26-27, and then “they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.” There's going to be some kind of seeing the Son of Man on the clouds, and then all of God's people will be gathered together. I think they're going to be gathered together to be in his glorious kingdom. That when he returns, if you were to ask me is what's one of the main things I've learned from the Gospel of Mark that's changing the way that I'm thinking and the way that I'm talking. I would be telling you about the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. The whole emphasis, the whole anticipation in the Gospel of Mark is that a kingdom is coming, and you need to get ready immediately. You should get ready at once. Prepare the way of the Lord because the King is going to come. In fact, the whole reason that today you should repent and turn from your sins today you should put all your trust in Jesus and you should repent and believe in the gospel is why? Because the kingdom of God is at hand, it's coming near. It's hastening fast. Did we not sing already? Lord, haste the day!? Like there's something that's approaching us. It's the kingdom of Jesus, and when the kingdom comes, see, all of his people will be gathered together. That's what's going to happen when he comes in on the clouds. That's when you'll know the kingdom is now, and he's going to judge all the nations of the world.

Go to Revelation, chapter 1, verse 7. Let's just go to the book at the end when Jesus is unveiled. Notice how he says about both of these things: You will see. You're going to see the one who's seated at the right hand of power. You're going to see the one who's coming on the clouds. What we see by faith now someday will be unveiled. It will be revealed for everyone to behold the glory of the Lord. And in Revelation, chapter 1, when it describes the unveiling, the apocalypse of the Christ when he's made visible to everyone. It says in Revelation, chapter 1, verse 7, "Behold, he is coming with the clouds.” This is something you need to be prepared for. “Every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so, Amen.” So, you can see here this idea of one coming on the clouds that everyone is going to see.

Let's get that down for number three: You need to “Prepare to be an eyewitness yourself.” You're going to witness Jesus. You're going to behold his glory, his majesty. You're going to see him for who he is. Now, notice the responses here in Mark 13. It talked about the elect being gathered together from all over the earth. Well, here it gives some different responses. The response of those who pierced him. This is a reference to Zechariah 12:10. “They will look on the one that they have pierced.” These Jews who are having this trial, this mockery of a trial, because they want to kill Jesus, they're going to have him pierced. They're going to have him crushed. Well, I think someday, Jewish people are going to look on the King, and there's going to be this revival where they turn and embrace Jesus as the Messiah. I know some Jews who believe in Jesus. I think someday there's going to be a movement among the Jews to believe in Jesus. And then notice what it says, “It's not just going to affect Israel. All tribes of the earth, all the nations of people will wail on account of him. When Jesus comes back, all of those who are against him, all of those who deny him, they will realize, oh, we missed it. It's too late. Here he comes to judge, and there will be a mourning and a weeping for everyone who dared to oppose the lordship of Jesus Christ.

And so, a great day of judgment, but also a great day of gathering, and the beginning of the kingdom of our Lord is coming. And you and I should live with the expectation that our faith is going to become sight, and all that we hoped for will be revealed, and all that we can't see now, we will get to behold it together. What an amazing moment that will be for you, the first time you lay eyes on Jesus. When you're caught up, if you're dead in Christ, you'll rise first. Those who are left alive will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and there he will be, and we'll get to be with the Lord as his people. I really think we underestimate how good it's going to be in the kingdom. I hear a lot of Christians talk like, here's my life plan. I'm going to live for a long time. I'm going to die, and then I'll go to heaven. And yes, some of us may die before Jesus comes back. Some of us may die before he returns, but the ultimate anticipation of the Gospel of Mark is not our individual death and then to be absent from the body to be present with the Lord. The expectation is when does the kingdom come? Because the kingdom will bring all of God's people into this glorious time, and that's when we'll get to see the Lord, and we'll see he has a name for us. He's prepared a place for us. He has a reward for us. You think you know a company on earth that has good benefits? Wait till you see the benefit of being a servant of the King in his kingdom. It's going to be epic to be in the kingdom. It should be the longing of every Christian. What is Jesus going to do? He's going to come back and get me. I know who I want to take me home. I have never been there yet, but someday he's going to take me into his kingdom. What an amazing day that's going to be! We should all be able to talk about that. We should all have something to say about that, something to encourage our brother.

Man, can you imagine this person that you work with, this person that lives next door to you, this person that you regularly interact with in your life? Can you imagine that someday they see Jesus and they know you believed in Jesus and you never talked to them about Jesus and they end up seeing him and not hearing about it from you. That doesn't make sense. Even people who claim to believe in Jesus today don't act and live like you will see the one seated at the right hand, and you will see him coming on the clouds. Whether you believe it or not, these are the facts of the universe you've been created in. That he is the one. The Father bears witness to the Son. You have the Father speaking from heaven. It's been recorded. You have the prophets writing hundreds of years beforehand. It's been recorded. You have right here the most powerful witness in the history of planet Earth. It's not just meant for you to be impressed by it. It's meant for it to overflow out of your life. That your thoughts about Jesus are so awesome, so glorious, you couldn't possibly keep them to yourself. You've got to encourage your brother or sister in Christ, you've got to tell that other person. Don't you see? He's at the right hand of Power, and he's coming on the clouds of heaven. This is the witness of Jesus, and the only appropriate response for us right now would be to worship Jesus for who he really is, and to prepare ourselves again afresh to remind ourselves, I want Jesus to come. So let me pray for us, and then we will worship Jesus together.

Father in heaven, we come before you, and we just consider this trial, Father, and all the lies that they're bringing up, and how they can't even get their lies to agree together, and how Jesus just is so willing to suffer. He takes all these lies without giving an answer. But then, God, let us hear the words of Christ today, when they force him to testify in this mockery of a trial that He's willing to go through, let us hear Jesus say, "You will see,” and let us receive that witness. Let that witness be on our hearts that the glory has not yet been revealed, but we will see the one, the Risen Lord, the one who's at the right hand of power, the one who's upholding the universe by his words, the one who's interceding for the prayers of his people, the one who rules over all things in the nations, all things in the spiritual realm of angels. Let us see Jesus high and lifted up. Let us behold him and then let us see him coming on the clouds. Let us see what's going to happen. Let us rejoice that he's coming to get us, all of us who believe in him. Let us long for the day. Let us say, Lord, come, and then let us consider, Father, what about my brothers and sisters who are growing weary. What about those who are going through a hard time? How can I encourage them to see Jesus? How can I be a witness to him? I don't want it just to be Jesus. I don't want it just to be you speaking from the heavens or the prophets writing it of old. I want someone to say something about Jesus today. I want people to know Jesus now. God, let it be compelling within us that we have to speak about him. He's at the right hand of Power. He interceded for my prayer this morning, and then that he's coming on the clouds. And we all know people who are unprepared. We all know people who, if they saw Jesus on the clouds right now, they would wail because they would see him, but they didn't believe in him. God, over these next seven weeks, let there be Jesus. Let his Word be on all of our hearts. Let us be talking about him to one another, and then let us go and speak his name boldly. Let us be his witnesses here at the ends of the earth before he comes on the clouds. Let people hear from us that he's coming, and that now is the time. At once they should prepare the way. At once they should repent and believe in the gospel, because a kingdom greater than America is coming, and they could be a part of it if they look to the King. They will see him. God, please put Jesus on our hearts these seven weeks. We pray in his name. And let us worship him now in these songs.