Jesus On Trial Series

Introduction

A. I’m sure you are aware that jury trials can be conducted with great precision and the highest ethical standards or they can be conducted otherwise.

1. For instance, in one Massachusetts trial, and lawyer was cross examining the medical examiner with this line of questioning:

2. Question: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse? Answer: No.

3. Question: Did you check for blood pressure? Answer: No.

4. Question: Did you check for breathing? Answer: No

5. Question: Then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy? Ans: No

6. Question: Doctor, how can you be so sure? Answer: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.

7. Question: Finally, the lawyer asked: But couldn’t the patient have been alive nevertheless?

8. Answer: It is possible that the patient could still have been alive and practicing law somewhere.

B. Sadly and tragically, there are no perfect legal systems, because there are no perfect people – no perfect judges, lawyers, or juries.

1. Any of those individuals, judges, lawyers, and jury members, can succumb to extortion, bribery, perjury, bias, nepotism, evidence suppression, obstruction of justice, or just human frailty.

2. Justice systems aren’t always just, but they are better than the alternatives.

C. Which trials come to your mind when I ask: What are the most famous trials of history?

1. Perhaps you thought of Martin Luther’s Trial of 1521 or the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.

2. How about the Lincoln Conspiracy Trial of 1865 or the Scopes “Monkey” Trial of 1925?

3. Did you think about the Nuremberg Trials of 1945-49 or the O.J. Simpson Trial of 1995?

4. I would say that the most important trial in history was the Trial of Jesus in A.D. 30.

D. We have been in a sermon series from the Gospel of Mark and I decided to stay in that series for today’s sermon on Family and Friend’s Day.

1. We have arrived at the point in the life and ministry of Jesus where He was betrayed, arrested and tried.

2. Earlier in this sermon, I mentioned that justice systems are not always just, and as we will see today, that was certainly the case when Jesus was on trial.

3. But God knew that would be the case for Jesus and so God used that as part of the plan for bringing about the salvation of all people.

4. Whether a person is aware of it or not, every one of us on this side of the cross of Jesus have been affected to some degree by Jesus’ trial, crucifixion and resurrection.

5. Let’s spend some time on the events surrounding the arrest and trial of Jesus and hopefully realize the impact that they can have on us.

E. We will be picking up the story where we left off last week.

1. Last week we watched Jesus share the Passover meal with His apostles and institute the Lord’s Supper during that meal.

2. After leaving the upper room, Jesus and His apostles walked out of Jerusalem, across the Kidron Valley toward the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives.

3. During that journey, Jesus announced that they would all desert Him and as you would expect they all promised that that would not happen.

4. After arriving in Gethsemane, Jesus spent time in prayer with His Heavenly Father praying three times that there might be another way other than the cross, but Jesus concluded not His will but the Father’s will be done.

5. After His time of prayer, Jesus awoke His disciples saying that the betrayer had arrived.

I. Scene #1: The Betrayal of Jesus (Mk. 14:43-52)

A. Mark wrote: 43 While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, suddenly arrived. With him was a mob, with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. 44 His betrayer had given them a signal. “The one I kiss,” he said, “he’s the one; arrest him and take him away under guard.” 45 So when he came, immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. 46 They took hold of him and arrested him. 47 One of those who stood by drew his sword, struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his ear.

48 Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs, as if I were a criminal, to capture me? 49 Every day I was among you, teaching in the temple, and you didn’t arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.”

50 Then they all deserted him and ran away. 51 Now a certain young man, wearing nothing but a linen cloth, was following him. They caught hold of him, 52 but he left the linen cloth behind and ran away naked.