Dwelling Place

Guest (Male): Today, on The Dwelling Place.

Al Pittman: And God delivered me. That's my past testimony, but he will deliver me. Amen. In other words, I'm not worried about the future, because the same God who delivered me in the past will deliver me in the future.

Guest (Male): Thank you for listening to The Dwelling Place, a radio ministry from Pastor Al Pittman of Al Pittman Ministries. The purpose of this radio program is to encourage you, strengthen your walk with the Lord, and grow. To support this ministry financially or learn more about the ministry, visit us online at alpitmanministries.com. That's alpitmanministries.com. Your donations keep this radio ministry going. Thank you for partnering with us. Now, here's Pastor Al.

Al Pittman: So the rooster would crow at 12 round 12:30 a.m. And then the rooster would crow just right before dawn. And that's the when Jesus said you will have denied me three times. Mark just makes the point that the rooster crowed twice. And he does crow twice, but when he crowed that just before the dawn, as we see here at the moment, verse 28, that it was just before the dawn, that's when Peter was reminded what Jesus said, and he ran out and he wept bitterly. In verses 28, we go back here to John chapter 18.

Peter hearing the rooster crow goes out and we and John tells us what time of the morning it was when this happened, because he says in verse 28, then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium. And it was early morning, that's at dawn. But they themselves did not go into the praetorium, because they should be uh unless they should be defiled, but uh that they might eat the Passover. Pilate then came out to them and said, what accusations uh do you bring against this man? And they answered and said to him, if we if he were not an evil doer, we would not have delivered him up to you.

In other words, if he wasn't an evil person, we wouldn't deliver him up to you. You know, what do you think we're here for, Pilate? And Pilate said to them, you take him and you judge him according to your law. And therefore, the Jews said to him, it is not lawful for us to put anyone to death. That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spoke, signifying by what death he would die. So now we come to the death, from the denial to the death. Just a few explanations here. The praetorium, and many of you Bible students know this is old hat for you, but the praetorium um was a judgment hall or a courtyard that existed was connected to the the uh residence of the Roman governor, who at this time is Pilate.

They're in Jerusalem. It was on the north west side of the Temple Mount uh on the north west side of the uh the the Temple Mount, the north west side of the city. It was in close proximity to the Temple Mount. The reason why is because there the praetorium uh which was also called the Antonio Fortress, um they housed the praetorium guard. Praetorium guard were elite Roman troops. And they had kept them there because just in case things got out of hand on the in the temple court area, whatever, uh they could send the Romans in to to put down any riot or or whatever uh would might flare up, especially around the time of Passover, Jewish Passover Passover.

The going to Pilate early in the morning is significant, because uh Roman officials uh usually started public hearings very early in the morning. This is really early in the morning. I mean, Pilate hadn't had his coffee yet, his latte or anything. I mean, this is But he was used to that, because they would deal with folks uh whole public office uh early in the morning like that. And um uh but it gives us an idea uh look inside into the hatred these they had for Jesus, because they wanted to get rid of Jesus first thing in the morning.

First thing on their bucket list for that day was to kill Jesus, to get rid of him. The Jews did not go into the courtyard of the praetorium. So in between the Temple Mount and and the uh Antonio Fortress was an area where they could stand, talk to Pilate. Pilate would come out and talk to them. But when he went back in on the in in the inner court was the praetorium. That's where Jesus was. And he would talk to Jesus, as we'll see here in a moment, but he would come back out and talk to them.

They wouldn't enter in, because according to Leviticus chapter 15, they did not want to want to to defile themselves, because they believed and what they did is they actually took Leviticus 15 about the laws of purification, and they took them to the extreme. And they believed that if they would touch a Gentile, they would be defiled. And so it's kind of a perversion of what God meant. He was talking about purification, and of course, they went to the extreme and and you know, and all of that. But that's why they didn't go into the praetorium, because they thought if I go in, if we go in, we will not will be defiled and we will not be able to partake of the Passover.

Some of you may be ahead of me and say, wait a minute, didn't Jesus just eat the Passover Thursday night? Well, he did. And the reason why they have not eaten the Passover themselves, because they were obsessed with Jesus to kill him. The Jewish leaders in that day, according to Josephus and and some others, uh record that they had actually given the people permission to extend the Passover celebration beginning Thursday night all the way until Friday. And why is that? Because of the immense number of lambs that had to be slaughtered. Remember, Jerusalem ballooned, exploded to a probably was a city of maybe around 100,000 there about, and exploded to a city of about a million people round Passover.

And one report I read and and one account I read uh estimated the number of lambs that needed to be slaughtered, one lamb maybe for every 10 people was 256,500 lambs. So it wasn't like they were all slaughtered and they were they just kind of sit down and say grace and eat, you know. It was an all kind of all day event and it took a long time. So they didn't have to eat it that night. They could eat it going into Friday if they wanted to. So they had not partaken of the Passover lamb at this particular time.

And if you know, many of you know this already, but the Jewish day does not start in the morning like ours day our days do. The Jewish day starts at sundown at night. So remember when Jesus was on the cross, they took him down. Why? Because the Sabbath was starting. When does the Sabbath start? Sun Saturday morning? No, Friday night sundown. So they were you know, they hadn't even partaken of the the uh the Passovers to point. And so that's what he is eluding to here when they say we we don't want to defile ourselves, we're not even going to the praetorium, because you might touch a Gentile and get the cooties, Gentile cooties.

And so we don't want to defile ourselves, because we need to go eat the Passover anyway. In verses 31 to 32, then Pilate said to them, you take him and you judge him and according to say, well, we can't we can't kill him, because it was against Roman law for the Jews to carry out any execution. So we're bringing him to you. They weren't bringing him, because Pilate thought if you want to punish the guy, go punish him according to your law, you know, whipping or whatever. You know, he said, no, we're not here to punish Jesus, we're here to kill him.

Again, shows us that their their clear hatred and vitriol uh for the Lord. And then verse uh uh excuse me, verse 30 uh 32 the Bible says that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spoke signifying by what death he would die. In other words, Jesus knew he would go to the cross. A cruel Roman cross. Now think about that for a moment. Jesus knew how he would die. And yet he still went to the cross. He knew how he was going to die. What if someone came up to you and told you how you were going to die?

Someone said, hey, you're going to die in a car crash. You never drive your car again. Jesus knew exactly how he was going to die. He knew that them taking him to the Romans was according to the prophecy, that he would die on a cross. In fact, he eludes to it in in John chapter 12 verses 32 and 33. Remember, there Jesus said, if I be lifted up, I will draw all men to myself. He was talking about crucifixion the cross. And I just wonder during the course of his life here on earth, how many times cuz the Romans when they would crucify people, they would crucify them down by the road, so that you would see them coming into the city, those people hanging on crosses, and it would be a warning to you.

Don't you mess up either. Don't you violate the Roman law. How many times he's walked by maybe and saw someone hanging on a cross and realized that that was his destiny. And yet here he is still willing to go to the cross for you and me. For unfaithful disciples, for unworthy men and women while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Amen. The love of God, don't miss that as we go through this, how much he loves you. He could have stopped this at any time. Knowing the brutality he would undergo, yet he still went forward.

I love what Isaiah 53 verses 5 and 6 says and and I was reading it the other day in the New Living Translation has a little bit more bite to it. New Living Translation speaking of the brutality Jesus would suffer for us on the on that cross. The Bible says, but he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us like sheep have gone have have strayed away. We have left God's path to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.

Amen. That's what he was doing. That's what he knew he came to do, to die, lay his life down as a ransom for many. His death on the cross resulted in our deliverance. Knew what he was facing, and still he faced it for you and for me. Here's the last thing section that I find here and that is the debate from the denial to his death. And now the debate in verses 33 to 40. Read then Pilate entered the praetorium. Remember, he's outside talking to the Jews outside the praetorium. Then he goes back inside where the courtyard area is, the judgment hall is, and where Jesus is probably there standing with Roman guards at this time.

And he entered the praetorium again, and he called Jesus and said to him, are you the king of the Jews? Jesus answered him, are you speaking for yourself about this or did others tell you this concerning me? And Pilate answered, am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priest have delivered you to me. What have you done? You must be wrong. What have you done here? I'm not a Jew. I don't care if you're a king or not, he's saying. And Jesus answered, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight so that I should not be delivered to the Jews.

But now my kingdom is not from here. Amen. And Pilate therefore said to him, are you a king? And Jesus said, show you right. No, he didn't say that. He said, you say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born and for this cause I have come into the world that I should bear witness to the truth. Two debates here. He's talking about the kingdom and he's talking about truth. Everyone who is of the truth, Jesus said, hears my voice. And Pilate said to him, what is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again, going back out of the praetorium, back out to the Jews again.

And he said, I find no fault in him at all. Find no fault in this man. But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at Passover at the Passover. This is the Passover time. Do you therefore want me to release to you the king of the Jews? Then all cried again, saying, not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber. The great debate is only the kingdom and the truth. Jesus answers Pilate's question with a question. Are you the king of the Jews? Pilate said. And Jesus said, are you asking for yourself or for other people?

I love that answer, because the Lord calls each one of us to give an account, calls each one of us to be responsible and accountable to him and even Pilate. And Jesus wanted to know if his inquiry was authentic or was he just going through the motions. Are you asking for yourself, Pilate? Or for others? Of course, Pilate didn't like his answer. And went on to interrogate the Lord. And Jesus went on to say that my kingdom is not of this world. Mark that in your Bibles. My kingdom is not of this world. Because it's a sentiment that's often lost upon even the church.

Because sometimes as believers, if we're not careful, we start living as if this is his kingdom and this world is not his kingdom. We are sojourners. We are just passing through this world. Amen. That's what the Bible says. Now we say that we say amen, but then we live as if this is our only home. And there's nothing wrong in possessing things and having things, but then we get all tied up in knots and mad and angry and full of bitterness at people, because you know, because of our possessions and things we have here. But this is not the final stop.

As a believer in Jesus Christ, this is not my home. We are kingdom people. And left And if we don't have a kingdom mentality, we are in danger of fighting the wrong fight and wasting our energy on the wrong thing. Be careful. We have a lot of that in the church today. A lot of that where Christians are fighting each other and squabbles and divisions and all these things over worldly things as if this is their home, this this world. Over buildings and budgets and butts. That's what usually pastors are talking about at pastors conference.

How many you got coming? How much money you have? How big is your facility? We are kingdom people. So many churches are divided, devouring one another today as if this is the final stop. Be careful that you don't do that. I was reading an article the other day and listen, full disclosure, there's no ulterior motive here. But I want to share this with you, because you know, it's it's a fact. It's an article entitled, why do churches wound their pastors? Oh, Pastor Al's got a motive here. No, no. I'm a blessed pastor. I'm blessed to be your pastor as long as God will have me here.

Thank God. Why do churches wound their pastors? And this is this is why does the church freely cruelly criticize its pastors for falling short of perfection? Why do we forget that Jesus alone is perfect, that Jesus alone redeems? To demand perfect skill, holiness, and every effective labor from anyone is akin to idolatry. Did you hear that? Expecting your wife or husband to be perfect or other people to be perfect in your life is the practice of idolatry. Grace centered churches must know this, but churches idolize their pastors one day and savage them the next. Americans can't bear disappointment in silence and all too often we behave like Americans then disciples.

Close quote. All too often in the church I find people acting like Americans rather than disciples. What's the difference? Hey, I'm proud to be an American. I have rights as a citizen of this nation, and I will if someone violates those rights, I have a right to speak out. Paul the apostle had his rights violated as a Roman citizen and he spoke out and avoided a beat down one time. Amen. It's in the book of Acts. He said, you can't scourge me. I'm a Roman citizen. And they go, whoa, didn't know you're a Roman citizen.

He was exercising his rights as a Roman citizen. You can exercise your rights as an American citizen, but when it comes to the kingdom of God, we give up our rights for the glory of God. We esteem others higher than ourselves, but far too often people come to church thinking they have rights, when only right we have is to lay our lives down for Jesus Christ. That's the right we have. And we need to be careful that we don't bring in, cuz I know you listen to the news like I do all week, and you go through things all week and all this kind of stuff and we sometimes, not intentionally, but we can bring in spirits and things that are not of the kingdom of God.

And we get in fights and skirmishes and have thoughts and ideas that are not consistent with his kingdom. Because we're living in this world. We're to be in the world, but not of it. Amen. Be careful. That's not happening in your home that you are living according to the principles of God's word, because you are a kingdom man or a kingdom woman. And if so, we need to live according to it. Now you don't know how to live in the kingdom if you don't know the words of the kingdom. That's why I encourage you to be in the word.

We need to know what his word declares. Listen. We forget sometimes the church is not a democracy and it's not a dictatorship. It's a theocracy. God is in charge. Amen. And his vote overrules everyone of our wants, everyone of our votes. Lord, it's not my will, but that thy will be done. Amen. We are a theocracy run by the Holy Spirit, whereby we are the body and Jesus Christ is the head of the church. Amen. We are a royal priesthood also. Did you know you Pastor Al's he's a priest, he's a pastor. No, you are too.

Did you know that? Husbands that you're a priest in your own home. That we are all called to a royal priesthood unto the Lord for the glory of Jesus Christ. That's what Peter says in 1 Peter chapter 2 verses 9 and 10. We live in other words by values and standards reflective of another kingdom, not this world. I don't care what the Kardashians are doing or or what Washington is doing or anything else. Amen. You are kingdom people to live according to the word of God and the principles and standards of his kingdom. Not this world.

Jesus tells Pilate, you can have this, cuz I'm not fighting for this. My kingdom is not of this world. Make sure you're fighting the right battles and not devouring one another. In verses 37 to 40, Jesus shifts the conversation from the kingdom to to the truth as he says. In verse 39 he said, you say rightly that I am a a king. For this cause I was born and for this cause I have come into the world that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. Wow. How do you know you have the truth?

You listen to the words of Jesus. You listen to the word to God's word. You listen to the word of God. And then of course, Pilate responds, oh, what is truth? It's not what a lot of people are saying today and and the sages and the so-called wise people of our time claim to have the truth, but listen, it is not really truth unless it has eternal value. If truth ends at the grave, it is not truth. The truth of Jesus is eternal and it is liberating. It liberates the soul of mankind. And in fact, Jesus said, here's the truth in John chapter 14 verse 6 that I am the way, the truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me. Truth is only found in Jesus Christ. He's not a piece of the truth. He is the truth and whole he is truth. Not a piece of the truth. I was reading this story the other day about the devil said once the devil was walking along with one of his homies. And they saw a man ahead ahead of them pick up something shiny. What did he find? Asked the devil's friend. A piece of truth, the devil replied. Doesn't it bother you that he found a piece of truth?

Asked the devil's companion. No, said the devil. I will see to it that he makes it make a religion out of it. For a lot of people who call themselves Christians, Christianity is nothing more than a shiny object that they show up once a week to polish that never changes and admire it their object and then they tuck it away until the next week or the next month that they come to church. Christ did not die to give us a piece of truth, but he is the truth. And the truth that he gives you, the Bible says, will make you free.

You see, we have to be careful the day of this idolatry that says, let me shine up and polish up my idea of what Christianity is and come and admire it every week. Because we'll just tuck it away, because that mentality, that kind of practice of idolatry will not sustain you in an age where there is a war on truth. Have you noticed it lately? People have lost their minds.

Guest (Male): Learn more about Pastor Al and his ministry by visiting alpitmanministries.com. Also consider supporting us financially. You can send a check to Al Pittman Ministries at P.O. Box 50584, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80949 or visit us online. Thank you for your prayers and your support. Your generosity keeps this radio ministry going. Lastly, we would love to hear from you. You can contact us by emailing info@alpitmanministries.com. That's info@alpitmanministries.com. We look forward to hearing from you. Again, thank you for joining us and we'll see you next time on The Dwelling Place. God bless.