The Trial Of Jesus -- (V)
One significant aspect of the trial of Jesus, often overlooked, is the fact that the very ones who judged him are destined, in time, to be judged by him. No doubt it would have helped both the Roman and the Jewish courts considerably in reaching their verdict if they had been aware that the prisoner before them would one day sit in eternal judgment over the whole race of men. For those judges to have recognized who their prisoner was would certainly have had a tremendous bearing on the kind of treatment they gave him. Not only so, but if they could have understood that the very conduct of the trial they were now carrying through would itself be a part of the evidence to be used by their prisoner when he came to sit in judgment on them, it would have caused them to be indeed more honest and fair and just in their conduct of his examination.
There is coming a time in which Jesus will judge the world. The Bible teaches that Jesus, who was judged by men, will one day be the judge of every man. To the idol worshipping Athenians Paul declared that "The times of ignorance therefore God over-looked; but now he commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent: inasmuch as he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness, by the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." (Acts 17:30,31.) This is the very "man" who stood a helpless and defenseless prisoner before Annas and Caiaphas and Pilate, and who was illegally tried and condemned by the Sanhedrin, with Nicodemus and Joseph, and all the other officers of that high tribunal participating.
The Bible teaches that Jesus is the "advocate" now of all who are obedient to him, and that he can plead their case in heaven. But there is coming a time when Christ will sit in judgment. He cannot be both priest and judge, both an advocate and a judge at the same time. When he comes again, in glory, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory, and before him shall be gathered all the nations of the earth; and he shall separate the righteous from the unrighteous as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
The very decision that men make now concerning Jesus will itself determine the decision that Jesus then, as judge, will make concerning men. Annas, Caiaphas, Pilate, Herod, and all others who had a part in the great fraudulent trial, the illegal and unjust verdict and execution, will stand in the final great day, that day toward which all other days are pointing, and will themselves be judged on the very conduct of the trial in which they took part. But as this fact holds true for all those men who had part in that illegal procedure so many centuries ago, it is equally true for all men today. The judgment that men today render concerning Christ, and the verdict which they reach, will become the basis for the judgment Christ renders, and the verdict he reaches, concerning these men.
Nothing is more definitely taught in the Bible than that men shall be judged according to their works. There are many preachers and many creeds teaching that works have nothing to do with a man's salvation. But these creeds and these preachers are mistaken. Paul declares, "For we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad." (II Cor. 5:10.) In that final day every man shall be judged and rewarded according to his works. "To them that patiently continue in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life; but unto them that are factious, and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, shall be wrath and indignation, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that worketh evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek." (Rom. 2:7.)
The Apostle John gives a vivid picture of that final judgment scene in Revelation, chapter 20: "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works." Men may go through this life with their sham, their professed and pretended piety, with their hypocritical attitudes, their lives being filled meanwhile with ungodliness and unrighteousness; but they deceive God not for a moment. And in that final judgment every bit of sham and hypocrisy shall be stripped away, and all shall stand before Christ for the verdict.
The eternal destiny of our souls will depend upon our attitude toward Christ, and the judgment we now render about him. This was something that those who tried him in Jerusalem so long ago never understood or believed. Had they believed it, how different their verdict would have been! We today are in a position of great advantage over him. They tried Christ without comprehending at all the enormity of what they are doing. But you and I, every day that we live, can be sure with an absolute certainty that we are now trying Christ — and that Christ will one day try us. What are the verdicts men are giving today? Some, like Peter, are following "afar off"; others have even gone all the way with Peter and have denied the Lord completely when the opportunity came to "stand up and be counted." Some have secretly believed in him, but have held their peace, wishing his cause well, to be sure, but not willing themselves to suffer for him nor to get into the work and make the sacrifices necessary.
What would Annas and Caiaphas and Pilate and Herod have given to have known, as we know, the identity of their prisoner? If they had known as you and I know, that the prisoner at the bar was God's only Son, what do you think their verdict would have been?
And, having that knowledge, what is your verdict? Every day that you live you are writing down a line of the final decision. What sort of judgment are you rendering?