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Open your Bibles to Mark 14:53-65.
•We are continuing our study of the Gospel of Mark.
•This morning we will be looking at Mark’s account of Jesus’ trial before the Sanhedrin.
The justice system is fascinating to many.
•But as fascinating as it can be, it can likewise be horrifying at times.
•It can be truly terrifying when INJUSTICE reigns instead of justice as defined by God.
•We hear stories and watch movies and documentaries about miscarriages of justice.
We hear of men and women found guilty, imprisoned, and even executed for crimes they did not commit.
•And it makes us sick to our stomachs.
Especially when the evidence seems to clearly indicate that someone was bearing false witness or that the trial was fixed against the defendant to ensure a guilty verdict.
I mention this because today we are considering the Jewish trial of our Lord Jesus Christ.
•And it was ANYTHING BUT a just trial.
•We will witness our Lord suffer many, many injustices and violations of Jewish court law and standards.
•We will see how Jesus was tried by sinful men and unjustly and blasphemously condemned for blasphemy.
•And we will see Jesus, the True and Faithful Witness, give a true testimony about Himself in the midst of a den of lying witnesses.
And from the text this morning, I hope to point out some things to encourage you in the Lord and also exhort you to live godly lives in a wicked world.
•As we see Jesus suffer, we will see His example for us as we suffer at the hands of sinners.
•As we see Him bear witness to Himself, we will be reminded that we also must bear witness to Him.
•And as we see Him voluntarily submit to condemnation and death, we will come face to face with His love for us.
•May God help us to see His love and take it to heart, so that we might be transformed more into people who live for the glory of the crucified Christ.
If you would, and are able, please stand with me for the reading of the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God.
Mark 14:53-65
[53] And they led Jesus to the high priest.
And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together.
[54] And Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest.
And he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire.
[55] Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none.
[56] For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree.
[57] And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying,
[58] “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’”
[59] Yet even about this their testimony did not agree.
[60] And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make?
What is it that these men testify against you?”
[61] But he remained silent and made no answer.
Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”
[62] And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
[63] And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need?
[64] You have heard his blasphemy.
What is your decision?”
And they all condemned him as deserving death.
[65] And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!”
And the guards received him with blows.
(PRAY)
Our Heavenly Father,
Your Word is glorious.
For in it we see the glory of God.
In your Word, we hear your promises, learn of your character, see your works, and behold your great love for your People demonstrated most clearly in the life, death, and resurrection of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so we ask that you might help us this morning to understand, believe, and receive your Word with faith.
By your Holy Spirit, work in us today and transform us as we sit under the ministry of your Word.
Grant us eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to believe.
Grant that we would see Christ today.
And seeing Him, that we would be forever changed.
Glorify yourself in us through the preaching of your Word.
We ask these things in Jesus’ Name and for His sake.
Amen.
1.)
In this text our Lord Jesus is taken to trial.
•It’s a Jewish trial before the highest Jewish court in Israel, the Sanhedrin.
•The Sanhedrin was made up of seventy men (scribes, elders, and chief priests) and was headed by the high priest to make a total of 71 members.
•Though Israel was under Roman occupation, the Romans permitted the Sanhedrin to hear religious law cases and minor civil cases for Jews.
•But only the Roman government had the power to exercise capital punishment.
•So this is a religious trial for Jesus.
The Sanhedrin will look for a capital case against Jesus so that they can then take Him before the governor Pontius Pilate to have Him tried again for execution according to Roman law.
Mark tells us that the crowd that arrested Jesus took Him to the high priest’s home.
And there the Sanhedrin assembled to put Jesus on trial.
•The high priest at that time was a man named Caiaphas.
And he had long been desiring the death of Jesus.
•Mark also tells us that Peter had followed Jesus “at a distance right into the courtyard of the high priest.”
•And then Mark leaves Peter behind in the narrative.
We’ll pick back up with him next week, Lord willing.
Our Lord’s trial then begins in the high priest’s house.
•And it is anything but fair and just.
It’s a kangaroo court and a mockery of all that is good and right.
Mark begins the account of the trial by telling us that “the chief priests and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but they found none.”
(v55)
•Hear that: They were looking for witnesses to testify AGAINST JESUS.
•That’s not what a court does.
A court exists to hear accusations and weigh them against the law and use proper legal processes to come to a verdict.
•But this court is LOOKING for witnesses against Jesus.
•They had already made their decision.
The verdict was already in: Jesus was guilty of a capital crime.
•All that remained for them was to find the proof of His guilt.
•In this trial, our Lord was guilty until proven innocent.
And He would never be proven innocent in their eyes.
•Mark 14:1 reminds us, “And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest Him by stealth and kill Him.”
•This was not about justice.
These men, except for one named Joseph of Arimathea, hated Jesus and wanted Him dead.
And now their opportunity to “legally” convict Him to death had come.
And to this end, they found lying witnesses.
[56] For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree.
[57] And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying,
[58] “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’”
[59] Yet even about this their testimony did not agree.
•NOTE: That they had “many” witnesses ready to testify against Jesus after MIDNIGHT indicates to me that they had these liars ready and on standby.
•Again, this was not a real trial.
Many were found by the Sanhedrin who were willing to lie about Jesus and falsely accuse Him of crimes.
•But their testimony did not agree.
•The OT Law says, “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed.
Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.”
(Deuteronomy 19:15)
•That portion of Deuteronomy goes on to say that if a false witness is found to be intentionally lying, that he must suffer the exact same penalty that the defendant would’ve suffered if he would’ve been convicted.
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