About this sermon
The trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin was the worst injustice in history: a rigged hearing with false witnesses and a verdict decided in advance. When the high priest demands whether he is the Christ, Jesus answers plainly, ‘I am,’ and says they will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power. The council condemns him for blasphemy, spits on him, and beats him. The Judge of all the earth submitted to that unjust judgment out of love for sinners, and one day he will judge with perfect justice.
Sermon transcript
of God’s Word. As we continue our study and consideration of the Gospel of Mark, as we are nearing the end of the Gospel, we come today to Mark chapter 14. My sermon text for today is Mark 14, verses 53 through 65, although I’m going to begin reading at verse 43 to fill out the context. pardon me. On the last Lord’s Day we saw our Lord Jesus and His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane and that leads to His betrayal, arrest, and His trial. So let us hear God’s Holy Word beginning at Mark 14, verse 43. Immediately while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, came up accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs, who were from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now he who was betraying him had given them a signal, saying, Whomever I kiss, he is the one.
Seize him and lead him away under guard. After coming, Judas immediately went to him, saying, Rabbi, and kissed him. They laid hands on him and seized him. But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. And Jesus said to them, have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as you would against a robber? Every day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But this has taken place to fulfill the scriptures. And they all left him and fled. A young man was following him. wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body, and they seized him. But he pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked. They led Jesus away to the high priest, and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes gathered together.
Peter had followed him at a distance right into the courtyard of the high priest, and he was sitting with the officers and warming himself at the fire. Now the chief priests and the whole council kept trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, and they were not finding any. For many were giving false testimony against Him, but their testimony was not consistent. Some stood up and began to give false testimony against Him, saying, We heard Him say, I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands. Not even in this respect was their testimony consistent. The high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, Do you not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against you? But he kept silent and did not answer.
Again the high priest was questioning him and saying to him, Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One? And Jesus said, I am. And you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven. Tearing his clothes, the high priest said, what further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. How does it seem to you? And they all condemned him to be deserving of death. Some began to spit at him and to blindfold him and to beat him with their fists and to say to him, prophesy. And the officers received him with slaps in the face. Dear friends, the grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of our God endures forever. Let’s pray for the Lord to bless the preaching of His Word.
Gracious Heavenly Father, as we consider the indignities, the rejection, the suffering that our Lord Jesus endured for us, we pray that by your spirit that these truths would indeed make a powerful impression upon our souls. And we pray, Heavenly Father, that through this preaching of your word this morning, that your Holy Spirit would deepen our love for the Savior who suffered so much for us. We pray that you would set a guard over my lips, that I might speak only that which is faithful to your word. And we pray that you would make our hearts good soil, that the seed of your word would take deep root in our hearts and bear spiritual fruit unto sanctification and holiness in our lives. We ask these things, Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, and all of God’s people said.
Amen. You may be seated. Dear ones, one of the sad realities of our fallen, sin-cursed world is that sometimes gross injustices occur. In fact, the history books are filled with many examples of injustice. For example, there are many instances in human history of an innocent person being accused by false witnesses, resulting in that innocent person being legally condemned and punished for a crime that he or she did not commit. The worst example of this kind of injustice in all of human history is none other than the rigged trial, the unjust conviction, and the brutal crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. The Gospel records bear clear testimony to the historical fact that Jesus Christ, think of it, Jesus Christ, the innocent, sinless Son of God incarnate, was viciously, unjustly, and falsely accused by His enemies. Again, dear ones, no greater injustice has ever occurred in the sick history of fallen humanity than the trial, conviction, and murder of the innocent, sinless Son of God.
But at the same time, beloved, Let us remember that in the irony of God’s sovereign plan and providence, no greater act of mercy has ever been performed in all of human history than our Lord Jesus’ willingness to voluntarily, yes voluntarily, submit himself to an unjust trial and to a horrible death on the cross. For in allowing himself to undergo these indignities and these sufferings, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ fulfilled the mission that God the Father had sent him on. The mission to redeem and save the very same sinful humanity that had been responsible for nailing him to the cross. Friends, the trial of Jesus, which secured his conviction and guaranteed his execution, was a complicated and messy and rushed affair that took place in several stages. When we compare the Gospel accounts with one another, we discover what those stages were.
And the first stage was a religious trial that occurred before the Jewish Sanhedrin, the Sanhedrin being the religious leadership council in Jerusalem. And that was followed by a civil trial which took place before the secular authority, before Pontius Pilate. Now in terms of the religious stage of the trial, John’s gospel tells us that there was first a preliminary hearing before Annas, the retired high priest who was also father-in-law of the current high priest Caiaphas. Then there was the actual trial proper before Caiaphas on the Sanhedrin, which is what is recorded for us in our passage for this Lord’s Day morning, and which probably took place either very, very late Thursday night or very early on Good Friday morning. And then there was a final consultation of the Sanhedrin, a final phase of the trial, if you will, that took place early in the morning before Jesus was turned over to Pontius Pilate.
That’s recorded in chapter 15, verse 1, where we read, early in the morning, the chief priests and the elders and scribes and the whole council immediately held a consultation, and binding Jesus, they led him away and delivered him to Pilate. Now in their rush to condemn and get rid of Jesus, the religious leaders not only violated biblical laws of civil justice, they also violated their own ordinary procedures and rules, as we will see. Friends, it was truly a rigged trial. It was a mockery of genuine justice. With this in mind, let’s dive into our text for today and let’s first of all observe, beloved, the indignities that our Lord endured as He was subjected to a rigged trial. This is the first main point in your outline. Let us observe the indignities that our Lord endured as He was subjected to a rigged trial.
Now before I go verse by verse through this section, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we consider these indignities, as we consider the abandonment and forsakenness and humiliation that our Lord endured throughout this unjust and rigged process as detailed in our passage for this Lord’s Day morning, Let us not forget that Jesus endured all of this for us and for our salvation. Why did Jesus allow himself to be subjected to such indignity, such suffering? Brothers, sisters in Christ, this was for you and for me. Jesus did this, brothers and sisters, because he loves you. He loves me. He loved us even unto the death, and let us never forget it. It was out of love for us that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ underwent such indignity and abuse, and he did so in our place, in our stead.
We deserve this treatment because of our sin. We deserve punishment for our sins, but Jesus took that upon himself. So let’s dive in. In verse 53, we read this. They led Jesus away to the high priest, and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes gathered together. Now, notice the various religious leaders that are mentioned. There’s the chief priests, as well as the elders, the presbyters, and the scribes, the Bible scholars. They’re all gathered together, and these various these various categories of leaders indicates to us that Mark is speaking here of the Sanhedrin, the council. So Jesus was led from Gethsemane to the residence of the high priest Caiaphas where he was tried before the Jewish Sanhedrin. Now, usually the Sanhedrin conducted its sessions in one of the halls in the market area near the temple.
But it seems likely that the Sanhedrin chose to hold this particular trial in the high priest’s residence in order to ensure secrecy and to avoid provoking any kind of public outcry by those who were sympathetic to our Lord. That in and of itself, the location of this trial, gives us an indication that something fishy’s going on here. Things are not being done in a transparent, in a manner that conduces to the integrity of true justice. And then in verse 54 we read about Peter. Now remember it says that back in verse 50 it says they all left him and fled. When Judas came to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus and his disciples had been gathered, Judas came with a detachment of soldiers. What did they do? What did the disciples do? They fled. But Peter seemed to, you know, he follows at a distance.
It says in verse 54, Peter had followed him at a distance right into the courtyard of the high priest, and he was sitting with the officers and warming himself at the fire. Now, why does Mark bring this detail up here in this context? Well, this prepares us for Mark’s account of Peter’s denial of Christ, which is recorded later on in this chapter, in which I’ll be preaching on it in a future sermon. But nevertheless, we see Mark setting things up for the occasion of Peter’s denial. And remember that Jesus had predicted that Peter would deny him three times even before the cock crowed twice. And then verse 55, it says, now the chief priests and the whole council kept trying to do what? They kept trying to find out the actual facts. They kept trying to establish the truthfulness of Christ’s claims.
No. What are they doing? The chief priests and the whole council kept trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put him to death, and they were not finding any. It is clear, beloved, that the council here is not interested in impartial justice or truth. They are not interested in seeking the truth or pursuing the path of genuine justice. Instead, they’ve already made up their minds that Jesus was guilty and deserved to die. For Jesus had dared to threaten their authority and influence over the people, and they could not have that. So they’re going through the motions of a trial to make it look or seem like the legalities and the principles of scripture have been satisfied. But as Mark points out here, they kept trying to find testimony against Jesus. This is no impartial hearing.
This is shown again by the fact that they were seeking testimony against Jesus. This was a sham trial. It was a perversion of justice. And then verses 55 or 56 and following it says this, for many were giving false testimony against him. Now that should cause us to pause and ask, well, where did these many folks, this is late at night or very, very early on good Friday morning, where did all of these false witnesses come from? It’s very likely that the Sanhedrin had sought them out in order to satisfy the legalities of the situation. It says, many were giving false testimony against them, but their testimony was not consistent. And then we have some examples of this. Some stood and began to give false testimony against him, saying, We heard him say, I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.
Not even in this respect was their testimony consistent. Beloved, the Scriptures require that legal guilt can only be established on the testimony of at least two or three witnesses. Under the Mosaic Civil Code revealed in the Old Testament, one witness was not sufficient to convict anyone of a crime, especially of a capital crime. In other words, there must be multiple witnesses, and these witnesses must not give conflicting information. Instead, there must be corroboration and consistency in their testimony. And just to give you some samples of where the Old Testament requires this, I’d invite you to turn to Numbers, chapter 35, verse 30. The book of Numbers, chapter 35, verse 30. I’ll get there eventually. There we go. In this passage from the Mosaic Law, It says this, if anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death at the evidence of witnesses, plural, but no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness.
There have to be at least two witnesses. This is confirmed as well if you look at Deuteronomy 17, verse 6. Deuteronomy 17, verse 6. It says this, on the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death. He shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness. And then also, stay in Deuteronomy and turn to chapter 19 verse 15. It says there, a single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed. On the evidence of two or three witnesses, a matter shall be confirmed. So this is a requirement of God’s Word that these that the Sanhedrin is bound to observe. But these, they’re not able to observe that because the witnesses here are giving false testimony, conflicting testimony and what have you.
And then it says in verse Now where does this particular false testimony come from? Well, these false witnesses are probably recounting a garbled or misconstrued quote from Jesus, which is recorded by John in his gospel in John 2, verse 19, where Jesus was talking not about the temple, the physical temple in Jerusalem, but was talking about the temple of his own body. If you turn to John 2, let me just read John 2, verses 19 through 21. It says the following here. Let me start with verse 18, John 2, verse 18. The Jews then said to him, what sign do you show us as your authority for doing these things? Jesus answered them, destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. The Jews then said, it took 46 years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?
But notice what John says in verse 21, but he was speaking of the temple of his body. So again, the false witnesses were quoting him out of context, quoting the Lord Jesus out of context. Now what happens next? It appears that the high priest Caiaphas is getting frustrated. None of these witnesses match each other. There’s not corroboration. There’s contradiction. And so finally the high priest stood up, verse 60, the high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus saying, do you not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against you? Jesus was sometimes very frustrating to the authorities because when they were trying to trap him in his words, he knew when to speak and what to say, but he also knew when to keep quiet. And here he was keeping quiet, because it says in verse 61, but he kept silent and did not answer.
And that must have completely frustrated the high priest. As one commentator puts it, in majestic silence, Jesus refused to dignify the self-refuting testimony by any explanation of his own. J.C. Ryle points out in his expository thoughts on the Gospel of Mark, Bishop Ryle writes, to be seized unjustly as a malefactor and put on trial as a criminal when innocent is a severe affliction. but to hear men inventing false charges against us and coining slanders, to listen to all the malignant virulence of unscrupulous tongues let loose against our character and know that it is all untrue. This is a cross indeed. Let me just pause there and ask, have you ever been falsely accused of something? Have you ever had someone or some group of people slander you? It’s maddening, isn’t it? It is indeed, as Ryle puts it, this is a cross indeed.
All this, he says, was a part of the cup which Jesus drank for our sakes. Great indeed was the price at which our souls were redeemed. Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of this underscores the extreme evil of which we sinners are capable. Remember that this high priest and the Sanhedrin, these men were of a like nature with us. We are sinful just as they were sinful. We tend to pat ourselves on the back and say, well, if I lived back then and if I were in that context, I certainly wouldn’t have done what these men did. But you and I, we are all capable of this kind of gross evil. But this passage also underscores the incredible grace and mercy that our Lord Jesus displayed. Again, dear listener, consider the evil that you and I are capable of as fallen sinners, but also consider the amazing grace that God offers to us in the gospel of his son, Jesus Christ.
As we’re told by Paul in Romans 5, verse eight, God demonstrates his love for us in this, that while we were yet Worthy? While we were yet good and righteous? No, while we were yet sinners. Rebels against our creator. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Dear listener, do you recognize Christ’s death as the only hope of your salvation? Do you look to Jesus Christ who suffered and was crucified for sinners just like you and me? Do you look to Christ alone for your salvation? Do you repent of your sin and turn to Him? Turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. Come to Him and He will forgive you. He will save you. He suffered for sinners just like you and me. Turn to Him by faith and He will cleanse you and forgive you.
But who is this one who suffered so? Well that leads to my next main point as we move to the end of verse 61 and consider that along with verse 62. Let us consider next the powerful testimony of Jesus to his own Messiahship. The powerful testimony of Jesus to his own Messiahship. And so here Caiaphas is questioning Jesus and he remains silent. He’s refusing to answer. But then the high priest says this in verse 61. Again, the high priest was questioning him and saying to him, are you the Christ, the son of the blessed one? Here Caiaphas gets very blunt and very direct with Jesus. Tell us who you are. What do you say about yourself? Jesus finally answers. Verse 62, Jesus said, I am, in the Greek it is ego eimi, I am, and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven.
You shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven. What does Jesus say? in answer to that question. He says, I am. Now this is significant because in those words, in this answer, Jesus implicitly claims deity since God is revealed in scripture to be the great I am. Remember when Moses was called by God to deliver God’s people from their slavery in Egypt? Remember the scene of the burning bush when God called Moses and Moses says, Lord, whom shall I say sent me? And what does the Lord say to him? Whose name should I say, God? To paraphrase him, God says, tell him I am that I am. God is the great I am. And Jesus, by using these words, implicitly claims deity. Now, it’s my understanding that the Jewish conception of the Messiah at this time was not that the Messiah would be divine, but that the Messiah would be a man clothed with divine authority.
But Jesus, by answering the question, I am, and saying, yes, I am, He is implicitly claiming deity. And then Jesus also qualifies his testimony to his own messiahship by applying to himself the messianic prophecies recorded in Daniel 7, 13, and 14, as well as Psalm 110, verse one. And let’s first go again to Daniel 7 verses 13 and 14. We’ve covered this recently as we went through the Olivet Discourse, but this is a significant prophecy about the Messiah with his mysterious divine Son of Man figure in Daniel 7 verses 13 and 14. We read the following words. It says, I kept looking in the night visions and behold with the clouds of heaven one like a son of man was coming and he came up to the ancient of days and was presented before him.
This is a picture of the ascension and coronation of the son of man, the Messiah at the right hand of the Ancient of Days, God the Father. Verse 14, and to Him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away, and His kingdom is one which will not be broken. destroyed. Jesus is referencing this prophecy when he answers the high priest by saying, you shall see the son of man sitting at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven. Also included in this is a reference to Psalm 110 verse one, a wonderful messianic Psalm, Psalm 110 verse one, which I will also read to you. It says, the Lord says to my Lord.
In the Hebrew, Yahweh says to my Adonai, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. Now, what is Jesus claiming by referencing these messianic prophecies? What is he claiming about himself? He is claiming that one day I will be reigning at the right hand of the Father and you will see the effects of this. See, by answering in this way, again, Jesus makes an implicit claim to deity. This refers to our Lord’s ascension and reign at the Father’s right hand. So by these solemn words, Jesus in effect predicts that Caiaphas and the rest of the Sanhedrin, these men who had dared to presume to sit in judgment over the divine messianic king, they would one day experience for themselves the effects of his sovereign reign and would themselves be subject one day to his judgment.
Those who are daring to judge him, one day they will be subject to his judgment. Their roles would be completely reversed and these men who had rejected him and refused his gracious reign would one day see him seated at the right hand of God. And the right hand of God is the place of ultimate authority, sovereignty, and power. No wonder it says that Caiaphas responded by tearing his clothes, a sign of mourning and horror. Because Jesus was saying, you may be judging me now, but our roles are going to be reversed. As we’ve observed throughout our study of Mark, earlier on in his ministry, our Lord Jesus had been secretive and veiled about his messianic identity and his messianic claims. But now, as Jesus is about to go to the cross, the veil comes off and Jesus is very plain and open and forthcoming about his claim to be the Messiah.
And that leads us to consider for ourselves, beloved, What do we make of the claims of Christ? Dear listener, what do you make of the claims of Christ? Do you believe that He is indeed the promised Messiah, the divine Son of God and Son of Man who reigns in glory at the right hand of God the Father Almighty and who will come again in glory on the clouds of glory at His second coming to judge all of humanity? Have you embraced Him in faith and repentance as your very own Lord and Savior? Finally, beloved, notice the unjust sentencing and the brutal treatment of our Lord at the hands of His enemies. The unjust sentencing and the brutal treatment of our Lord by His enemies. Verse 63, again, I already mentioned this but I’ll read this again.
Tearing his clothes, the high priest said, what further need do we have of witnesses? In other words, you’ve heard this man, Jesus of Nazareth. You’ve heard his claims. You’ve heard him claim to be God. You’ve heard him claim to be the Messiah who would sit at the right hand of power, the right hand of God the Father. You’ve heard this claim. Notice how he describes the claim in verse 64. You have heard the blasphemy. How does it seem to you? And they all condemned him to be deserving of death. And indeed, if Jesus was not the Messiah, if he was not who he claimed to be, then he would be guilty of blasphemy. And under biblical law, Old Covenant law, he would be subject to the death penalty. But one of the things that these religious authorities are unwilling to consider is that maybe his claims are actually true.
Jesus is, in fact, the one he claims to be. He has demonstrated it time and time again. But they have hardened their hearts. They have rejected and refused him. And again, the tearing of the clothes was a symbolic gesture of indicating horror and sorrow. And the whole council, though, unjustly condemns him. They condemn their own Messiah. What is so ironic here, as I mentioned before, is that Jesus Christ as Messiah is the divine judge who is unjustly judged and sentenced by sinners in a rigged trial, but who will one day judge all humanity, including those who judged him at his trial. And in the case of Christ’s judgment on that final judgment day, his judgment will not be a rigged trial. He will pursue and demonstrate perfect unbending justice. Brothers and sisters in Christ, the trial of Jesus was indeed a grave injustice that exposed the Son of God to ridicule, mockery, and brutal abuse.
But again, let us remember that Jesus underwent all of this out of love for us. Let us show our gratitude to our Savior for his demonstration of such amazing love and grace by living lives of grateful, faith-filled, obedient discipleship. Amen. Let us pray. Our gracious Lord and Father in heaven, we thank you that out of love for us sinners, you gave the greatest gift of all. You gave the gift of your son, Jesus. And we thank you, oh Lord Jesus Christ, that you came willingly, voluntarily, that you underwent the humiliation and the indignities and the sufferings of the cross. We thank you, Lord Jesus, that you did that for us and for our salvation. And we rejoice that you have been raised from the dead, and we have been raised in union with you, and we are reigning with you at the Father’s right hand.
Give us grace, Lord, to show our gratitude by living lives of faithfulness and obedience. We pray these things in Jesus’ name and all of God’s people said, amen. Dear friends, as we close our time together, we’ll rise and sing together number 352, Man of Sorrows, what a name. Man of Sorrows, what a name, 352.
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