United Against Christ – Easter Sunday

Thank you for reading this sermon from Christ Fellowship. I hope and pray that this sermon will be a blessing of grace and truth to you. With that said, let me encourage you not to use this sermon as a replacement for your local church. Christ Jesus did not establish his Church simply for us to consume content. Instead, He calls us to be part of a real, covenant family. 

I want to start by telling you about one of the strangest alliances in American history.

In 1989, the crack epidemic was ravaging the neighborhoods in Lakeland, Florida. The violence was out of control. Families were being torn apart. And in a move that stunned the country and made national headlines, the local chapter of the NAACP joined forces with the Ku Klux Klan—two groups with a long and bitter history of hatred and violence.

Why? Because they had found a common enemy. The crack problem was so big, so destructive, that even sworn enemies were willing to stand side-by-side to fight it.

It’s a shocking story. But it’s true and it’s not a new one.

In our text today, two political enemies become friends. These men couldn’t stand each other, until one thing brought them together: Jesus.

Not love for Him. Not belief in Him. But rejection of Him.

The Son of God stands before them—innocent, silent, majestic in His weakness. They mock Him, dismiss Him, and pass Him around like a joke. And in doing so, they become allies.

That’s one of the unsettling truths of the Gospel. The world can find unity in rejecting Jesus.

And that begs a question for us: Have we made peace with the world at the cost of loyalty to Christ? Luke 23, beginning in verse 1:

1 Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate.

The Jewish Council has decided that Jesus is guilty of blasphemy, but they don’t have the power to do anything about it. So, they take Jesus to their sworn enemy – the Roman governor.

2 And they began to accuse him, 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.”

The first accusation is a lie. The second is true.

3 And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.”
Pilate interrogates Jesus to determine if He is really a political threat. Pilate doesn’t want to do any favors for the Jewish Council.

Again, Jesus gives a guarded affirmation, just as He had with the Council. “You have said so” in Greek means something like this: “Yes, but not the kind of king you are thinking.”

4 Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.”

Pilate decides that Jesus is innocent of the charges. He makes a public declaration, trying to dismiss the case.

5 But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.”

6 When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean.

Realizing that their first tactic didn’t work, the Jewish Council tries a different approach. They accuse Jesus of causing social unrest. But Pilate sees a way out of this mess. If Jesus is from Galilee, he can pass the case over to Herod.

7 And when he learned that he belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time.

Herod was the governor of the region where Jesus lived. He was neither a Roman nor a Jew, ethnically. He was an Edomite. But for political purposes, he pretended to be a Jew. This was also the same man who had John the Baptist arrested and killed.

8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him.

Herod sees entertainment value in meeting Jesus. He’s heard about the miracles and wants to see if the rumors are true.

9 So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer.

10 The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him.

11 And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate.

Herod doesn’t get the entertainment he was looking for, so he created his own.

12 And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other.
And that’s as far as we will read today.

Pilate, Herod, and the Jewish Council all have something in common… their rejection of Jesus. One of them is playing political chess, one of them is looking for a magic show, and the rest are trying to preserve their way of life.

These three entities should have been enemies and otherwise would have been. But their rejection of Jesus brought them together. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Together, they mock and condemn the One who came to earth to bring lasting peace.

Even within the Jewish Council, there were four groups who fought amongst themselves constantly. Their hatred for Jesus was the only thing they seemed to agree on.

But this was another fulfillment of prophecy. Psalm 2:2 –

The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed.

Jesus Himself spoke often about the world’s hatred of Him. He knew the world was going to reject Him.

But, for just a moment, I want you to put yourself in their shoes. What do they see? They see an average-looking man from a small town. They see a carpenter’s son. There was nothing about His appearance that made people think – “He’s going to be a king one day.”

He’s not even trying to defend Himself. If this man was really sent by God, He had an excellent opportunity to prove it. That’s what everyone there was thinking. And if you and I were there, we would be thinking the same thing. There’s no way this guy is the “Lord’s Anointed.” He’s weak…

And people are still rejecting Jesus today for the same reason. They believe He is weak.

When the Vikings attacked Britian, they often targeted monasteries because they were easy targets. They were isolated, wealthy, and poorly defended. The Vikings believed in gods of strength, war, and honor.

When they conquered a monastery, the Vikings would often find a crucifix hanging in the chapel and they would mock the Christian God because Jesus looked weak and dead. “What good is a dead god”, they would say.

And they were right! If Jesus died in custody of the Romans, then they are exactly right.

And I believe, at a heart level, people who refuse to follow Jesus believe the same thing about Him. He’s weak.
You may think to yourself, what good is a god who can’t fix my problems? I haven’t seen any of these so-called miracles… I haven’t seen the power of God in my life…

I don’t know how many days I have left on this earth. I’m not going to waste my time going to church or following Jesus. I’m going to have as much fun as I can while I can, and church just isn’t worth my time.

Christ Fellowship, most of the people we want to reach no longer think church is worth their time. They have heard no compelling vision to explain why they should give up their time, energy, and money to the ghost of a weak god. They’d rather stay home.

There are others who see value in the church, but not because of Jesus. Like Pilate, some use the church for political reasons or networking. Like Herod, some use the church for entertainment. Like the Jewish Council, some use the church to preserve their cultural values. If Jesus can help with those things, then maybe He’s worth my time.

There are plenty of people like that in churches and here’s the thing… they also believe in a weak Jesus. They may not realize it, but their faith is not in God. They aren’t trusting Jesus. They are using Him.

And that’s what the world thinks of Jesus. Ignore him or use him. Either way, he’s weak.

And if not for the resurrection, I would agree. We have no use for a dead god…

But my God is not dead! Not only that, He chooses to manifest His power in weakness. It’s all over the Bible.

He chose Israel, the weakest and smallest of nations to reveal His power in the Old Testament.

He used a man named Gideon, from the weakest clan, to save Israel from the Midianites.

He used a teenage boy named David to save Israel from the Philistines.

Paul writes in Corinthians that God’s power is made perfect in weakness.

Now, return to the scene in Luke 23. Jesus is surrounded by enemies. He’s facing some of the worst torture imaginable followed by a humiliating death.

And it’s a complex moment, because part of what is happening here is that Jesus is becoming like us. He has already assumed the shame and guilt of His people. He’s taking it with Him to the cross.

But please don’t mistake it for weakness. It took a tremendous amount of strength to endure all of this for people who clearly don’t deserve it. And I’m including myself.

It took divine strength. It was more than whips and nails and thorns. Jesus shielded His people from the holy wrath of God. And three days after His death, long enough for everyone to agree he was dead, Jesus rose again!

So, here’s the question I want to leave you with:

What do you see when you look at Jesus?

Do you see weakness—or do you see the strength of God, willingly wrapped in flesh, willingly walking into the mockery and madness of men, willingly embracing the wrath that we deserved?

Because here’s the truth—you can’t stand neutral. Pilate tried that. Herod tried that. The Council tried to manipulate it. But in the end, everyone must choose what to do with Jesus.

And the world still unites in rejecting Him.

But here’s the good news: there is another kind of unity available to us.

Not the unity of rebellion… but the unity of redemption.

The cross doesn’t just expose the world’s rejection—it creates a new community: one built not on ethnicity, politics, culture, or power—but on the grace of God. A new humanity, born through weakness, made strong in Christ.

And this new community is what Jesus died to create.

This is the Jesus we worship… the King who was silent before His accusers. The Lamb who was mocked by kings. The Savior who was passed around like a joke.

But He is not weak. He is willing.

Willing to be misunderstood. Willing to be mocked. Willing to be crucified. Willing to be rejected by men—so that we could be accepted by God.

Do not make peace with the world and forsake its only Savior. Stand with Jesus—even when it costs us. Follow Him—even when it looks like weakness.

Because the cross always looks like weakness… right up until the stone rolls away.