Last week, we left Jesus being betrayed by Judas and arrested by the Temple guards. The disciples were scattering, trying to escape arrest. A bystander was grabbed in the foray, but pulled away. We pick up the story today with Mark’s record of the second trial of Jesus. There were six trials; Three religious (Jewish Sanhedrin) and three political (Roman) trials.
We miss the first hearing in Mark’s story because it is actually Peter’s record. Peter was a little slower at catching up with Jesus than John was. (Pray)
Mar 14:53 And they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together.
John records that they took Jesus to Annas first, and then the house of Caiaphas.
This being late at night, we can understand that the chief priests, elders and scribes (basically the Sanhedrin Court) had planned for this and were meeting at odd hours ready for this to happen. We know that they had already determined to put Jesus to death if they could do it without the common people, the followers of Jesus, resisting.
Mar 14:54 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.
Peter turned back to follow Jesus after he escaped to a safe distance. John’s description informs us that John had already turned back and was actually inside the trial (John 18:15). As a matter of fact, Peter may not have not gotten in if John had not signaled to the guards that it was OK.
Whereas John went inside where the trial took place, Peter stayed in the courtyard of the chief priest’s palace. It seems that while John was concerned with what was said in this mock trial, Peter was simply concerned about the outcome.
Mar 14:55-56 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.
You can imagine with me that the Sanhedrin Court had put out the word that they needed witnesses to testify against Jesus. Many came forward, and in the haste of getting this trial completed, they were not briefed, nor did they corroborate their stories.
Two things were wrong with this approach. First, it was against the Sanhedrin’s policies and practice for a capital case. In T. Bab’s book on the Sanhedrin, he cites documents that state the court was supposed to hear criminating charges in common cases first and rebuttals second. However, in capital cases, they were supposed to hear the proof of innocence first, and accusations second. This failure of following policy didn’t seem to bother them in the haste of this trial.
One rule that they did obey was that the multiple testimonies had to be one in story. The stories from multiple witnesses had to agree fully, or they were probably from the source of gossip, not eye witness accounts.
Mar 14:57-59 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.
Not every testimony was recorded by the gospel writers, but this is one that they related to us. Jesus was talking about His own body when He said, “Destroy this temple and in three days, I will raise it up” (John 2:19). He never said He would destroy the temple.
However, the witnesses distorted what Jesus said so that He would be found guilty of something. It was a capital offense to destroy anything in a temple of worship, even under Roman law. However, since they were misquoting Jesus, they couldn’t agree on exactly how He said it.
Mar 14:60 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?"
Even though the testimony was worthless and harmless, Caiaphus had the nerve to ask Jesus to answer the charges, just in case He might say something that would incriminate Himself.
Mar 14:61 But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?"
Jesus did not answer the false charges, for He needed not answer. He was not there to die for false accusation. That was not His purpose.
So the high priest, Caiaphas, asked the key question. “Are you the Christ, the Messiah, the promised one?” He added, “The Son of the Blessed?” Matthew records it as “The Son of God”.
This was a common word to describe God the Father, as it says in the Torah, “"the holy blessed he"; who is blessed in himself, and the fountain of all blessedness to his creatures, and who is blessed and praised by angels and saints.”
Mar 14:62 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."
There you have it!
Jesus not only answered in the affirmative (I am), but He used a title of God (I am that I am, Exodus 3:14). He also said He was equal with God, sitting in the position of authority at God’s right hand as part of the godhead. And finally, he said, “You will see me coming back with all my power and glory.”
For those who say Jesus never said He was God, this is a difficult passage. There you have it! As a matter of fact, it was heard clearly by the Sanhedrin Court.
Mar 14:63-64 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.
It was unanimous. The high priest was compelled to tear his garments if he heard blasphemy. It was to be an automatic response. But this was not blasphemy on Jesus’ part. It was lack of belief on the Jewish leaders’ part.
“There you have it,” Caiphas told the court. “The prosecution rests.”
And there we have it, the claims of Jesus Christ, open, clear and understood. We see Jesus as the central point in history. We see Jesus as God clothed in human flesh. We see Jesus as the returning King.
What do our lives tell about Jesus? When the community hears the testimony of our lives, our reputation, our ministry and say, “There you have it”, what will we have said?
I read something this week that was sent to me that has stuck in my mind. It said, “This Church isn’t about what you think. It’s all about what you do.” That is never more true that our message in the community; the message of my life and our fellowship in the community.
Church members, it is also true about your life. When the world around you looks at you and your witness and say, “There you have it”, what will they be saying?
I want my grave marker to say, “He trusted in Christ”. More than that, I want my life every day to say, “He trusted in Christ.”
That is not to say that everyone in the community, or everyone in our families, will accept this message. They didn’t accept Jesus message. But history validates His claims, and so does eternity.
No one every changed history as much as the one, Jesus Christ. I want to borrow some thoughts from Troy Hillman who has worded it very well.
“The secular encyclopedia, Britannica, devoted 21,000 words to Jesus Christ, holding as the largest of the biographies, surpassing that of former US President Bill Clinton - his was a mere 2,511 words. The story of a young carpenter from a small village who would later go on to become the single most influential person in all of human history, even to this day, nearly 2,000 years after his death by crucifixion, is not one crafted by creative minds.
“Millions of churches across the world have been build and carried out in his name, thousands of charities and foundations, hospitals, colleges and universities, many lives have been improved by the teachings of Jesus. The calendar we typically use is based around his birth - BC means Before Christ, AD means Anno Domini (In the Year of our Lord).”
In a real way, 95 cents out of every dollar of private contributions to crisis stricken parts of the country, such as New Orleans after Katrina, parts of Texas and Lousianna after Hurricane Rita, were given in the name of Jesus Christ. They came through Christian organizations. This pattern holds true for all great modern disasters.
Many works of art, literature, music, films, plays, and other such things have been influenced by Jesus. The holidays of Christmas and Easter are based on the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Most of the world in the last 2,000 years has at least once heard of Jesus.
Scholars have often found the teachings of Jesus to be most wise and astute. At the very least, they hold Jesus in regard as a great teacher. Jesus was only in the public eye for around three years, and is more well-known and influential than even the big three philosophers: Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato. Those three philosophers had a total of something near 150 years in the public eye.
We take a look at magazines. The three leading magazines in the United States have been Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News & World Report. In the last decade alone, Jesus Christ has been featured on the covers of these magazines more than 21 times, more than anyone else in history, alive or dead. In the last seventy years, Christianity itself has been featured on the cover of Time magazine more than sixty-five times. So why is this simple Jewish carpenter from a small village so popular and influential?
Mat 16:13-17 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven."
The question can be asked of us, "Who do men say I am?" Men tend to say that Jesus was nothing more than a historical figure, but history proves otherwise. "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, sent from Heaven to pay the penalty for all of the past, present, and future sins of humanity, leading a humble life of a carpenter, and then having a serving ministry that lasted for three years.
If we were to take a look at each and every way that Jesus Christ has influenced history, culture, religion, society, life in general, politics, economics, and all other areas, I suppose we would be sitting here for quite a while indeed, for no one man can determine what a major impact Jesus Christ has had upon the lives of billions of people in history - and the effect that he had continues on us today.
That is because no one ever impacted mankind in Heaven in any way, except Jesus. And He impacted the standing of His followers completely. We stood guilty and hopeless before a holy, righteous God. Jesus brought us forgiveness. He brought us adoption into God’s family. He brought us acceptance, not based on our goodness our worth, but based upon His sacrifice alone.
He did more than split time in two. He bridged a gap; the immeasurable gap between us and God. This same Jesus, this same power, this same influential life, wants to live in you so that He can live through you. He wants to use you to impact your world through the power that He impacted eternity.
And there you have it!
