God's Sovereignty
Even when evil leaders engage in
terrible acts of violence in order to
achieve their own selfish goals,
we are to acknowledge God's overall
sovereign control over events in history.
Here's Dr. Gene Getz:
This Principle actually comes,
not only from the biblical story,
but it comes from world history.
Because as you study world history,
again and again, you will see evil leaders.
That's the story of world history.
Evil leaders who engage in terrible acts of
violence in order to achieve their own selfish goals.
And you know, I can make that
statement ten years ago.
I can make that statement fifty years from now.
If life still existed here as it does today.
And that Principle would still be true
because of sin that exists in the world.
Now what we have here is an event exclusively
by the way, again written by Luke.
You don't find this in the other Gospels.
And once again this event, this story,
relates directly to God's sovereignty.
And Luke recorded events that relate to
God's sovereignty as did all the other Gospel writers.
And this particular event involves
two world leaders, Herod and Pilate.
And Luke recorded about these two men:
When Pilate heard this, he asked if the
man was a Galilean. ...
Now, what this is referring to is "when
Pilate heard this,"
that is the Jews were accusing Jesus of
actually creating a rebellion against the
Roman government. Jesus did not do that.
Jesus said: Render to Caesar what is Caesar's,
but to God what is God.
And so consequently, there was this
accusation against Jesus Christ. And so it says:
...When Pilate heard this, he asked if
the man was a Galilean. ...
Now there's a reason he asked if he was a Galilean.
Because in the next section of what he said,
it relates to another world leader at that time.
...Finding that he was under Herod's jurisdiction,
he sent him to Herod, who was also in
Jerusalem during those days.
Herod was very glad to see Jesus;
for a long time he had wanted to see him
because he had heard about him and
was hoping to see some miracle
performed by him. ...
Now, let me simply give you historical perspective.
Pilate was the governor of Judea under
the authority of Rome.
This Herod was actually the Tetrarch of Galilee.
He was the son of Herod the Great.
Herod the Great was the Herod that
wanted to kill Jesus when he told the
wise men to report.
And had babies, young children, killed.
That was Herod the Great. But this is his son.
This is the Herod who is ruler now of Galilee.
Pilate of course, Judea, governor.
Herod, Tetrarch of Galilee, they called him king.
This is the Herod, by the way,
that actually had John the Baptist beheaded.
And you remember that horrible story?
John had accused him of this adulterous relationship,
which he [Herod] did have with Herodias.
She was angry and she set the stage to
have him beheaded. It's a horrible story.
But it indicates how evil this man really was.
By the way, Jesus at one time called him the fox.
And I think by calling him the fox,
he was referring to the fact that he was very shrewd.
But he was also a very evil man.
As far as I know, Jesus didn't accuse him of that.
But here was this event now that is
taking place between these two world leaders.
So [we read] he, [that is Herod]
kept asking him [that is Jesus] questions,
but Jesus did not answer him. ...
We don't know what those questions were.
But Jesus did not enter into a discussion.
He was not vulnerable to being
set up for a trap.
...The chief priests and the scribes stood by...
These now are the religious leaders.
Particularly, in the Judean area:
...vehemently accusing him [that is Jesus].
[And] then Herod, with his soldiers,
treated him with contempt...
And I think that happened, primarily
because Jesus wouldn't answer him.
That was an affront to Herod. It made him angry.
...[And so they] mocked him, dressed him
in bright clothing, and sent him back to Pilate.
[And] that very day Herod and Pilate became friends.
Previously, they had been enemies.
Now what happened here is that this event
actually pulled these two men together
with a common cause.
And their decision was politically motivated.
They both knew that Jesus was innocent.
Because when Herod really sent him
back to Pilate, he did not send him with evidence
that he should be crucified.
Pilate of course, had no evidence.
And that's why he washed his
hands of the whole situation.
You remember, before he authorized his crucifixion.
But politically these two men decided
to "sight in" with those who are accusing Jesus.
And obviously, we know what happened.
The evil that happened.
One of the most wicked things that
happened in terms of their behavior.
And that is authorizing the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Now, when you look at this story.
When you look at this event.
Not only do you see the evil. You see the politics.
Because, by the way, another thing we
know from history is that Pilate,
at one point in time, was under
incredible pressure from Caesar to get things
in order in Judea because of a rebellion.
So he was under pressure.
He almost lost his life at one point in time.
And he did not want another revolt.
And so he was motivated by
all of these selfish concerns.
Now when you look at these two men,
you see also God's sovereignty involved here.
In fact, Luke later on, after Jesus was crucified,
rose again, the Holy Spirit came,
the church was born.
And there was persecution.
Persecution continued in Jerusalem
against the church and against the apostles.
Who now, of course, were really
following Jesus Christ.
And so we see here what happened.
Now let me repeat the Principle before
we take a look at what Luke recorded
in the book of Acts. Here's the Principle:
Even when evil leaders engage
in terrible acts of violence...
And let me simply say: These two men
engaged in one of the most horrible,
terrific acts of violence when they crucified
or authorized the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
[And they did it] in order to achieve their
own selfish goals...
When we see that:
...we are to acknowledge God's overall sovereign
control over events in history.
And that's what Luke records in the book of Acts.
Because Peter and John were
preaching in the temple.
In the temple courts. They healed a man
who was inquiring about Jesus.
And they were taken into custody
by the Roman government.
Well I should say by the Jewish Sanhedrin.
Not by the Roman governor but by the
Jewish Sanhedrin, who had been given a great
deal of control and political power over Judea.
This was given by the Roman government.
But basically, what happened is that
they punished these men.
They threatened these men.
Later they beat these men. They scourged them.
And really, as I said, persecuted them.
But what Luke records is once that Peter
and John came back to meet with
the believers after they were freed.
They were threatened and then freed.
The church heard the report and
we have a corporate prayer.
And part of that corporate prayer is
recorded in Acts 4, verse 27.
And let me just read that. I've called this
God's sovereign control
because it relates back to our Principle.
For, in fact, in this city both Herod and Pontius Pilate...
That's significant.
Luke now is recording history after
Christ's death, resurrection, ascension.
The Holy Spirit came, the church was born,
persecution existed.
...For, in fact, in this city [with] both
Herod and Pontius Pilate...
Now remember these are the prayers of the Christians:
...with the Gentiles and the people of Israel,
assembled together against your
holy servant Jesus...
They're praying and notice what they prayed:
...whom you anointed, to do whatever
your hand and your will had
predestined to take place.
And so we see in the midst of this
horrible criminal evil, God was still in control.
Now that introduces us, obviously,
to this great mystery in relationship to
God's sovereignty and human responsibility.
Well let me just read the question:
Can you think of a past event that
seemed totally evil at the time,
but later the gracious hand of God became evident?
Well, one thing that really comes to mind.
And I'm sure that many of you are
thinking about the story.
Is the story of Joseph who was
sold into Egypt by his brothers. Very evil act.
They hated him so much they wanted to kill him.
But they did sell him as a slave.
You know what happened when he went to Egypt.
The evil that existed there.
The false accusations. His imprisonment.
But ultimately, he was elevated to the
highest place next to the Pharaoh and
the king of Egypt.
And later, after he saved his brothers and his family.
And his father died. The brothers were scared.
They thought, Joseph's going to get even
now that dad's died.
But notice what we read, Genesis 50:
But Joseph said to them, Don't be afraid.
Am I in the place of God?
You planned evil against me;
God planned it for good to bring about
the present result[s]--the survival of many people.
And there we have an illustration,
really of God's sovereignty as it relates
to human responsibility.
God did not cause those brothers to do evil.
They did that of their own choice.
But ultimately, God was in control.
I can't explain that but it is a biblical truth.
Romans 8:28 is another reflection of that.
We know that all things work together
for the good of those who love God,
who are called according to his purpose.
I cannot explain how all evil can work
together for good.
But by faith, I take this as a very
real truth in Scripture.
And I think we Illustrated it.
We see it illustrated in these biblical
passages we've looked at today.
In terms of a personal experience,
yes, I remember the conspiracy against
me on one occasion.
And it was an evil conspiracy.
Ultimately the man who was right in the
middle of that went to prison because of it.
It was a very painful experience and I had
appointed him to a very significant
position because I trusted him.
And he betrayed me.
And he engaged in a lot of evil.
By the way, ultimately he was--
came out of prison and we've been reconciled
because he asked forgiveness.
And I forgave him for what he did.
But the fact the matter is, when I look back
on that experience, I did not make a
good decision in recommending him for the position.
God did not make me make that decision.
I made a decision in my own free will
and there were elements of mistake involved in it.
Now, I don't want to blame myself overly.
And the fact is, God did not make this man
to do what he did in evil ways.
I was responsible. He was responsible.
But ultimately, ultimately God is in control.
And there were some significant lessons
that came out of that.
One, I learned to be more discretionate.
I learned to have more new insights
through this painful experience.
But you know when all is said and done,
and this relates to the Principle.
When all is said and done,
it's very comforting to know that
God is sovereign and in control.