Friday - The Innocent One Is Condemned, Crucified, And Buried Series

A. “I stand before the cross and wonder. I stand before the cross and fear.

I kneel before the cross and weep. I pray before the cross and rejoice.

To know the cross is to know Christ. To feel the cross is to feel Christ.

To gaze at the cross is to gaze at Christ. To carry the cross is to be a Christian, and not until then.”

B. Today as we come to the events of that Friday in the last week of Jesus’ earthly life, I want to help us to stand before the cross in wonder and fear, and to kneel before the cross with sorrow and joy.

C. Our sermon ended last week having seen Jesus be betrayed by Judas, be arrested and bound by the soldiers, and having been deserted by all His disciples.

1. As we pick up the story of what happened to Jesus on that Friday, keep in mind it was the middle of the night, early on that Friday.

2. John tells us: 12 Then the company of soldiers, the commander, and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus and tied him up. 13 First they led him to Annas, since he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. 14 Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be better for one man to die for the people. (John 18:12-14)

3. The appearance before Annas was short and accomplished no meaningful purpose.

4. The questions asked by Annas were strictly for show and Jesus refused to be a part of the charade.

6. Then realizing that he was getting nowhere with Jesus, Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas.

7. Caiaphas had already begun to assemble some of the members of the Sanhedrin who he knew would be sympathetic to his position against Jesus.

D. Mark tells us: 53 They led Jesus away to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes assembled. 54 Peter followed him at a distance, right into the high priest’s courtyard. He was sitting with the servants, warming himself by the fire. (Mk. 14:53-54)

1. So while Jesus was brought to Caiaphas’ house, Peter followed along.

2. John’s gospel tells us that another disciple (probably John himself) followed along also, and this disciple was known to the high priest, which allowed them to get them into the high priest’s courtyard.

E. Mark continues: 55 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they could not find any. 56 For many were giving false testimony against him, and the testimonies did not agree. 57 Some stood up and gave false testimony against him, stating, 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands, and in three days I will build another not made by hands.’” 59 Yet their testimony did not agree even on this.

60 Then the high priest stood up before them all and questioned Jesus, “Don’t you have an answer to what these men are testifying against you?” 61 But he kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest questioned him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”

62 “I am,” said Jesus, “and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

63 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “Why do we still need witnesses? 64 You have heard the blasphemy. What is your decision?” They all condemned him as deserving death. 65 Then some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, and to beat him, saying, “Prophesy!” The temple servants also took him and slapped him. (Mk. 14:55-65)

1. What was happening here at the high priest’s house was technically an inquiry not a trial, because Jewish law prohibited a trial from being conducted at night.

2. What Caiaphas was doing was laying the groundwork for the charges that would be brought against Jesus when they were able to convene the Sanhedrin for a formal trial after daybreak.

3. Caiaphas had two challenges to overcome in order to get Jesus sentenced to death.

a. The first challenge was the Sanhedrin – before them Caiaphas had to bring charges supported by witnesses, or he had to get Jesus to confess, so no witnesses were necessary.

b. The second challenge was to bring charges which would be accepted by Pilate, who was the only one who could pronounce the death sentence.

4. It is very hard to see our Lord and Savior Jesus was treated so terribly and abusively.

a. How sad that these soldiers believed they had the right to brutalize and humiliate a prisoner.

b. Imagine how it would have blown their minds if while they had blinded Jesus and hit Him, asking “who hit you?,” He named them by name and mentioned who their parents were.