KEY PLAYERS IN THE CRUCIFIXION:
THE CHIEF PRIEST:
DESTROYED BY ENVY
TEXT: Mark 14:53-65
INTRODUCTION: We see here Jesus being brought before the high priest Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin immediately after His arrest.
The chief priest, the elders, and the teachers of the law have assembled to look for evidence against Jesus. Witness after witness is brought in to testify falsely against Jesus, but they contradict each other.
In the center stands Jesus, silent, unmoving, calm. As it becomes clear that no two witnesses can agree, Caiaphas grows increasingly agitated and finally calls a halt to the farce.
Standing in front of Jesus, he asks, “Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?”
Silence. Impatiently Caiaphas rephrases his question, “Art thou the Christ, the Son of the blessed?”
This time Jesus answers, Verse 62. Jesus says, “I am.” Jesus claims to be the Messiah, the Son of God, and if that were not enough, He goes on to associate Himself with God sitting in judgement.
Now the Sanhedrin knew the Bible and they knew that Jesus was making reference to Daniel, 7:13-14.
Dan 7:13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
Dan 7:14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
They realize that Jesus is saying that those who are judging Him will see Him on the seat of judgement with the Almighty at the last day.
Caiaphas recognizes his cue and, playing to the gallery, tears his clothes in horror. Verse 63-64
Blasphemy! Condemn Him! Put Him to death! Some are spitting on Jesus; someone else blindfolds Him; others are hitting and taunting Him. Taking their cue from Caiaphas, the guards close in and begin to beat Him.
What turned the Sanhedrin, the supreme court of the Jews, into a scene of near riot and travesty of justice? When the priest and the guards had finished beating Jesus, they bound Him, and dragged Him before Pilate, who called it as he saw it: Verse 15:10
Envy! Not some violation of an obscure Jewish law, not insurrection against the Roman government, not even the official charge of blasphemy against God, but the envy of Caiaphas and the priest sent Jesus to the cross.
I. ENVY: GOOD OR BAD?
The NT has two words for envy. The first has both a good and a bad meaning. It can mean; to have warmth of feeling for or against; zealous or jealous. DJ at college.
Paul uses the good sense in; 2 Cor 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy:
And it is used of Jesus to describe His zeal for righteousness as He drove out the money changers and pigeon sellers out of the temple courts.
John 2:17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
So envy can be a good thing in the right way. But in it’s bad sense it means an envious jealousy or rivalry as when Paul says in,
1 Cor 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
Zeal, even rivalry, is not a bad thing in itself, but it can go too far or used for the wrong reasons. Then it becomes possessive, clutching, thing called jealousy.
The second NT word for envy is never used in a good sense. It means; ill-will; jealousy; spite. A vindictive, resentful rivalry.
Look at what it is associated with in; Rom 1:29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
It is no longer concerned just to have what the other person has. It wants prevent the other person from having it also. This is the word Pilate used in Mark 15:10 when he said that the chief priest brought Jesus before him out of envy.
What provoked envy in the chief priest?
II. PRINCIPLE CLASHED WITH PROFIT
Look at Mark 11:15-18
Jesus cleanses the Temple, He drives out the money changers, overturning the benches of those selling pigeons and doves.
The chief priest had a religious racket going on. They were making big money selling the sacrificial animals to the people for the Passover. Only the rich could afford to buy the sacrificial animals at the exorbitant prices the priest set.
Religion is a money making business to many. There are so many people who are only interested in making money in the name of religion.
Many so called “preachers” are not concerned for the soul. They are concerned with how much money they can bilk out of people. They use God and the Bible to line their pockets with money.
2 Cor 2:17 For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God:
The word corrupt means; to retail. Many today do not want anything to do with Jesus because they are only interested in the money.
The chief priest were using the house of God to rip people off. If they were doing an honest business in the Temple, selling the animals at the right price, Jesus wouldn’t have thrown them out. He didn’t condemn them for selling anything, He condemned them for being thieves.
There are churches that will not allow an evangelist to sell tapes, books, preaching tapes, T-shirts ect. because they think Jesus was forbidding selling anything in church. If that’s their conviction that’s fine, but that is not what Jesus was doing, He was condemning them for being thieves.
Jesus’ stand on principle provoked the chief priest’ envy, and they reacted in fear. His goodness threatened them and they began to look for a way to kill Him.
III. THE POISON OF JEALOUSY
Envy is always stirred up against the man who cannot be bribed, and against the one who will not compromise his principles.
People are envious of the person who has the good qualities they should have but don’t. Popularity also provokes envy. “They feared Him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine.” They were amazed at his teaching because; Mat 7:29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
They liked to listen to Jesus; Mark 12:37 the common people heard him gladly.
Jesus clearly had the people on His side. All during that week He was drawing the big crowds, and the chief priest were reduced to spectators instead of being the focus of attention as they were accustomed to being.
Popularity with a group or an important individual always angers the envious person. When someone new gains the acceptance that he once had or cannot win, then envy takes over.
Performance provokes envy. Not only was Jesus drawing the crowds, but He was beating the teachers of the law at their own game.
Look at Mark 12:13-17 When they heard the answer they marvelled at Him.
Look at Mark 12:18-27 Jesus again answered showing them their ignorance.
IV. ALL THAT THEY WERE NOT
Now look at Mark 12:28-31 And then the last part of verse 24, “And no man after that durst ask him any question.”
It was a remarkable teaching performance, a demonstration of insight, wisdom, knowledge of the Scriptures, clear convictions, skillful debate, and gracious speech.
In short, He was all that they as priest and leaders of the people should have been but were not. Jesus even points out the discrepancy between their profession and their performance in Mark 12:38-40.
Like an arrow at a target, envy shoots straight for the person who is doing what we ought to be doing but are not.
V. INEVITABLE CONSEQUENCES
In my study on envy I came across an interesting illustration on what envy does to a person. I have not seen this but this is how it is described.
In the Chapel of the Arena at Padua stands a significant fresco of Envy by Giotto. A fresco is a method of painting with mineral and earthly pigments on walls of which the plaster is not quite dry.
It pictures a mean, misshapen man, with crouching shoulder and craning neck, lean sunken, averted eyes. One hand clutches a wallet of gold; the other stretches out with fingers shaped into claws.
The ears are large, unshapely, stretched out. Out of the mouth winds a serpent whose fangs are striking Envy himself on the brow. Around the feet leap up flames of fire.
This allegorical masterpiece depicts both the methods and the consequences of envy. The large stretched out ears signify that envy is alert for every bit of slander or gossip.
The serpent in the mouth points to the poisonous insinuations and fabricated stories which the tongue of envy eagerly tells.
The hands clawed like a vulture’s suggest the clutching greed and the violent, tearing motion of the envious spirit.
The serpent striking Envy’s own brow shows that envy really harms only itself, and the flames of fire around the feet mark the self-torture in which envy lives.
The chief priest used all of these methods in their treatment of Jesus and suffered the inevitable consequences of envy.
VI. TRICKERY AND TREACHERY
First the chief priest tried to trap Jesus in His talk. Pretending to be interested in what He had to say they asked insincere questions, hoping to trick Him.
Look at Mark 11:27-28
But Jesus sprung the trap on them by refusing to answer their question until they answered His. Verses 29-30. They were in between the preverbal rock and a hard place. Verses 31-33. He trapped them.
No matter how hard they tried, Jesus was too wise for them.
When the chief priest couldn’t trap Him in the daylight by their skills, they decided to try at night by force.
Mark 14:1 They found a way. Verse 10-11 Bribery, secrecy, violence – envy stops at nothing to achieve its end.
VII. BREAKING ALL THE RULES
When they arrested Jesus by force at night and brought Him to the Sanhedrin, they didn’t hesitate to break the laws of the Jewish judicial procedure.
Before there could be a case to answer in a Jewish court, two witnesses had to come forward independently and agree in their evidence. On the basis that their testimonies agreed with each other a case was then formulated and tried.
The first witness was brought in to give his testimony and to be interrogated. When he left, the next one was brought in. The court was looking for agreement between the witnesses testimonies, and until they could get it, there was no case against Jesus.
As the Sanhedrin tried Jesus, the chief priest brought in many witnesses, even false witnesses, looking for evidence on which to base a case against Him. Verse 55 but they found none Vs 56-59
Up to that point in the trial, according to Jewish law, there was no case against Jesus. Even so, Caiaphas began to question Jesus directly. Vs 60 Quite within His legal rights, Jesus answers nothing. Vs 61.
Again Caiaphas broke the law by interrogating Jesus directly and convicting Him on His own evidence. According to Jewish law no man could be convicted on His own testimony, yet when Jesus said that He was the Messiah, He was convicted of blasphemy based on His own testimony.
Caiaphas also ignored the special form of trial for cases of blasphemy, asked for an immediate verdict and found Jesus guilty.
The stretched ears of envy also thrive on gossip, slander, and discord. When they brought Jesus to Pilate look at Mark 15:3
Those accusations ranged from hearsay and gossip to outright slander. And when the crowd arrived to ask for the customary release of a prisoner Vs 6. And the chief priest stir up the people to have Barabbas released. Vs. 7-11
The poison of envy, like the venom of a snake, infest everyone it strikes.
VIII. DESTRUCTION: THE FINAL OUTCOME
Finally, envy revels in the defeat of it’s enemy, but in the end realizes only self-defeat and inner torture. As Jesus hung on the cross we read in vs 31.
Ironically, their mocking words simply condemned themselves and revealed the self-torture of envy. Jesus had saved others.
He saved Peter, Andrew, James and John from a life lived for self. He had saved Matthew from a shady dishonest business.
He had saved Peter’s mother-in-law from a fever that had her down and out. He had saved a leper from a disease that ostracized him from society. He had saved a paralytic from guilt that had paralyzed his limbs.
Ha had saved the daughter Jairus from an early death in girlhood.
He had saved the epileptic boy and his father, distraught by his son’s terrible fits. He had saved Bartimeus from his blindness.
Ha would save the repentant thief next to Him on the cross from hell. He had come to; Luke 19:10 seek and to save that which was lost.
He had saved others, but He had not saved the chief priest. Why? Envy thinks only about itself. For the chief priest, “self first” summed up their creed in life.
When they said to Jesus, “Himself he cannot save” it was a jibe, a taunt, a sneer: the lowest, most despicable, most scornful thing they could think of to say. Envy had them in it clutches. It never occurred to them that it was possible to live by any other creed.
Jesus, though, had taught another principle of life which He followed to the end; Mark 8:35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.
He could not save Himself because He was saving others. He lost Himself, but in the end gained for us eternal life.
In contrast, the chief priest, filled with envy, saved themselves-their temple rackets and their pride-but lost eternal life.
IX. FROM ENVY TO LOVE
Envy put Jesus on the cross, but the cure for envy is found in the cross. Jesus died not just to forgive our sins, but to free us from sin.
Envy originates in the heart of selfish man. But Jesus died to set us free from the grasping clutch and poisonous sting of envy.
Hanging there on the cross, He exposed Himself to the envy of the chief priest. He suffered envy’s full force. On the cross He showed that “charity envieth no” and He came back in the power of the Resurrection to transform our hearts from envy to love.
