Keion Henderson - Beyond a reasonable DOUBT

I’m not sure if some of you know, but there was actually a connection between one of the most famous miracles of Jesus and the Passover, which was on Monday, six days prior to the day we are now celebrating. It’s found in John chapter 12. I want you to go to verse number one, and I will read a few verses to contribute to the brevity of time, but I’m going to cover the entire chapter in a quick synopsis and story. I’m going to start at verse one. If you’ve got it, say, „I’m ready.“ The Bible says, „Then Jesus, six days before Passover, came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, who had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.“ That sentence, in and of itself, is incredibly important because there was more than one Lazarus in the Bible. So, it goes through the trouble of connecting the links to let us know that this is the Lazarus who he raised from the dead. They were at supper, and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table. I want to stop right there because something’s wrong. Just one chapter ago, Lazarus was in a grave. Just one chapter ago, Jesus shows up to a tomb, and there is the report of a foul odor, the stench of decay. And one chapter later, the one who was in the tomb is now at the table. I wanted to talk about „From the Tomb to the Table.“ That 's what I wanted to discuss, but I changed it because this is the Easter season. I want to talk about „Beyond a Reasonable Doubt.“ I want you to touch everybody on your way down and say, „Jesus is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.“ You may be seated in the presence of the Lord. Most of you either know somebody or have been privy to that terminology of „reasonable doubt.“ It is a colloquialism, if you will; it’s a term connected to our judicial system. It simply states that every person under our jurisdiction is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Now, how many of you know that in the court of public opinion, that’s not how it is? As soon as you hear something, everybody automatically assumes that you did it. Therefore, in our terms, we are actually guilty, and then we have to prove our innocence. But according to the law, you are presumed innocent until proven guilty. If you are charged with something, the burden of proof is not on the defense; it’s on the prosecutor to prove that the person who has been charged is actually guilty of what they’ve been charged with. If there is just a sliver of doubt, if there is just a hint of doubt-in other words, all of the jurors have to come back and say „guilty“ or „not guilty"-if there is just a sliver of doubt, then they have to find you not guilty by reason of doubt. This doesn’t mean that you didn’t do it; it doesn’t mean that you are not guilty or that you did not commit a crime. But remember, when someone prosecutes you, when they bring you up on charges, they have to prove-somebody say they have to prove-that you are, in fact, guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. This is what is happening right now in the life of Jesus. He has spent the last 33 years going to and fro, telling everybody that in three days he was going to destroy the temple and that in three days he was going to build it back up again. He was going around telling everybody that he was the Son of God. They didn’t say it; he said it. He was telling everybody that it was him who raised a man and gave sight to the blind. Jesus was so smooth that when they would ask him a question, he wouldn’t answer them directly; he would say something like, «Well, who do you say that I am?» He would never give them any hard evidence because he would not incriminate himself. He knew he always had the right to plead the Fifth. Isn 't it amazing that you can plead grace? Because five is the number of grace. What he would do is plead grace, plead the Fifth Amendment. In other words, he was saying to them, «I don’t have to say anything that would incriminate myself, but I will let you know that if you ask me a question…» He would raise somebody from the dead, give somebody sight, or grant hearing. They would be so excited, and then they would go to tell someone, and Jesus would tell them, «Don 't tell them yet, don’t tell them yet.» Even when he turned water to wine, he told his mother, «Mama, don’t-don’t ask me to do this right now; my hour has not yet come.» In other words, «I have the ability to perform miracles, but I have to do miracles in season. You have to be careful that you never use your power out of season.» He says, «Mama, I have the power, but I don’t have the time.» In other words, «I have the power, but I don’t yet have the go-ahead because my Father has not released me to perform my miracles.» Well, he gets beyond that, and he goes ahead and starts healing.