Jesus before the Sanhedrin

Today I'm Renewing Your Mind. Jesus is arrested and is standing before the Sanhedrin. Well, this trial was going on upstairs.

Another one was taking place downstairs, outside in the courtyard. Only the presiding officers in this trial were not the rulers of the Jews, not the nobles of the community, not the Sanhedrin. But this trial was being conducted by a servant girl who had no status and no power and no authority. When Jesus was apprehended, the disciples scattered in fear. But one disciple followed Jesus and watched from a distance, only to deny Christ to a servant girl. You and I might be quick to say, shame on Peter for doing that. But we need to pause and reflect on this story and ask ourselves how we might react. After all, we're living in a time when it's more and more challenging to proclaim loyalty to Christ.

Dr. R.C. Sproul is preaching today from Mark's Gospel, chapter 14. Verse 53 says, And they led Jesus away to the high priest, and with him were assembled all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes. The person who was high priest at this time was Caiaphas, who was the son-in-law of Annas, and Annas was perhaps the most powerful Jew in the land. And we know that Caiaphas reigned from 18 A.D. to 36 A.D. Now what's remarkable about this mention of being led away to the high priest and to the assembly of the Sanhedrin, which was the ruling body of the Jews, is that where they went was not to the customary meeting place of the Sanhedrin. Normally the Sanhedrin was assembled at a place that was called the chamber of hewn stone.

But this is the only time in recorded Jewish history that a trial was conducted at night, which was illegal, and was conducted at the home of the high priest. And so before we get to that, let's look at what Mark introduces here into the text when he says, "'But Peter followed him at a distance right into the courtyard of the high priest, and he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire.'" Beloved, there's enough in those few words that I just read to you to warrant a full sermon and perhaps several sermons. This little notation that Peter came back from his flight into the darkness and began to follow the proceedings as an observer, but Mark tells us that Peter followed Jesus at a distance. And why do you suppose he followed at a distance? Because Peter was trying to make sure that he kept a safe distance between himself and Jesus. There are people all over the world, dear friends, who call themselves Christians today, who call themselves followers of Jesus, but they follow Him at a distance. And the reason they follow Him at a distance is in the first place because to follow Jesus closely in a fallen world is to invite persecution and in many times and in many places to invite death. And that was what frightened Peter. He followed at a distance so that he could save his own life and not be executed along with Christ. This is the same Peter who had just said moments before, I will follow you to the death. But he followed Jesus to Jesus' death as an observer but kept a safe distance. The other reason people like to keep a distance from themselves and from Jesus is because in a hostile culture, in a secular culture, there is ridicule and shame that is often heaped upon followers of Christ. Now how would you know whether you're following Jesus closely or following Him at a safe distance? Well, there's one way you can find out.

Let me ask you this simple question. Do the people that you work with know that you're a Christian? Do the people that you play with know that you're a Christian? Do your friends know that you are a Christian? I'm not asking whether you wear your Christianity on your sleeve and make a pest of yourself to your friends and co-workers. That's not what I'm asking. I'm simply asking, do they know where your allegiance is? If they don't, then perhaps you're keeping a safe distance from your Savior.

But in any case, what we are doing or not doing is not part of this text. This is a description of what Peter did on that occasion. He followed at a distance right into the courtyard of the high priest. Now again we know from this part of the sentence that the trial was being held in the home of Caiaphas, and in all likelihood on the second floor of his palatial villa, which was surrounded by a courtyard where there were servants gathered there even at night.

And Peter joined this group of servants at the fire to keep himself warm. You see, he not only wanted to be safe, he wanted to be comfortable as he was following Jesus. Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death. Now the force of this language here, the seeking of testimony, was not that they were on a truth-seeking mission. They were not gathering the facts.

They weren't interested in the facts. What they were doing, as the Greek implies here, is that they were intentionally trying to find something that would convict Jesus of a capital offense. This was a witch hunt. And not only that, they were willing to suborn witnesses. They were not interested in finding evidence that would be exculpatory.

Only that dirt that they could gather together were they interested in at this time. Now again, this meeting is not held in the normal place for the meeting of the Sanhedrin, which would be much more open to the public. And we remember that all of these proceedings were taking place under cover of darkness, covertly lest the people in Jerusalem be awakened to what was going on and perhaps march in protest against it.

And so they secret Jesus away from the Garden of Gethsemane. They only go six-tenths of a mile from Gethsemane to the house of Caiaphas, and they hold the hearing at night, which Jewish law forbade. The hearings could only be held on the day, and also the Jewish law prescribed that no trial could be held on either the Sabbath, a feast day, or the eve of a Sabbath or a feast day.

And so that regulation was violated as well. And again, Jewish law required that if it were in the case, a capital case that was being tried, and if a criminal was convicted of a capital crime, then the Sanhedrin would be responsible to meet the next day again to confirm that judgment because the Jewish law put a hedge around any attempts at kangaroo courts, any attempts of rash and sudden judgments in capital cases. Also, you know from the Old Testament law that in a capital case there had to be two eyewitnesses to the crime, and those two eyewitnesses had to agree in their testimony.

And so everything about this hearing goes in the face of Jewish law. They sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree.

Then some rose up. These are members of the Sanhedrin. These are members of the Jewish Council that have been consecrated and set apart to protect the law of God. Just as our Supreme Court is to protect the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, they don't always do it, and neither did the Sanhedrin, because while they were having Jesus on trial, they break the Ten Commandments by bearing false witness against the Son of God. And not only did they themselves bear false witness against Jesus, they encouraged each other to do that. You know, the word for witness in the Greek is the word martyria, from which we get the English word martyr. And the reason why martyrs were called martyrs in the early church, which gave rise to the saying that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church, is that because the martyrs gave eloquently the finest testimony or witness to Jesus they could give by dying for Him in the arena and elsewhere. They testified to the truth of Christ with their lives and hence were called martyrs, those who gave testimony. There's another word in the Greek that is used here in the text, and it is the word pseudo-martyria, and you can guess what that means, false witness, lying witness, a witness that is counterfeit.

And this is what happened at this hearing. For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree. And some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, We heard Him say, I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I'll build another made without our hands.

They didn't even get that right. Not even then did their testimony agree. So finally the high priest stands up and he asks Jesus really a rhetorical question, Do you answer nothing?

What is it that these men testify against you? What do you have to say for yourself, Jesus? And we are told here that He kept silent and answered nothing. You can imagine the agitation of Caiaphas when Jesus refused to answer his question. Speak up, Jesus.

Answer these charges. What do you have to say? And fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 53, like a lamb who is led before the slaughter is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. And maybe that's why Jesus maintained silence at this point, simply to fulfill the Old Testament prophecy, but I think He had something else in mind. He knew what these people were doing, and He knew that whatever He said, no matter how accurate it was, no matter how sincere it was, no matter how truthful it was, that His words would be seized upon, they would be twisted, they would be distorted and used against Him. Better to let these false witnesses give their testimony and Jesus stay quiet than for Him to say anything that they can use against Him.

At this point, Caiaphas is beside himself, and so he presses the issue. Again the high priest asked Him, saying to him, Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? The word blessed there is circumlocution. It's a Jewish protection from a misuse of the sacred name, but rarely what is being said is, Are you the Christ, the Son of God? Now Jesus speaks, and He says, I am. Now a couple of things about this before I read the rest of the things that Jesus said here. Notice that there were two questions Caiaphas raised about Jesus. Are you the Christ? Are you the Son of God?

They're not the same question. Now throughout the Gospel of Mark, we've seen the Messianic secret, where any time there was a discussion about Jesus being the Messiah and Jesus would reveal that to His disciples, He would say, Don't tell anybody. Now there is no more need for secrecy. So that when Caiaphas asks Him, Are you the Christ? Are you the Messiah? Jesus says, Yes.

Now here's something a little bit I find interesting. It was not a capital offense in Israel to claim to be the Messiah, even if you weren't the Messiah. You could be charged with lying. You could be charged with stirring up trouble. You could be charged with all kinds of things. It wasn't a capital offense to call yourself the Messiah.

So that wasn't enough to bring a death penalty verdict. But the second part of the question is getting more to the matter when He says, Are you the Son of the Most Blessed? Are you the Son of God? Jesus says, I am. And you will see the Son of Man.

Remember that's His favorite self-designation. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power, another circumlocution, sitting at the right hand of God and coming with the clouds of heaven, a clear reference to Daniel 7, which everybody in that court was familiar with, this description of a heavenly being who comes to the throne of the ancient of days. Jesus said, Yes, I am the Son of God. I'm the Son of Man. I've come from heaven.

I'm going back to heaven. And the Son of Man is appointed to judge the heaven and the earth. And in a sense what Jesus is saying is, Yes, I am the Son of Man, and this is not the last time that we will meet in the context of a trial. I'll be back, and I'll be back with all the authority of heaven, and you will be judged by Me.

That was the clear implication when He says, You'll see the Son of Man at the right hand of God and who will return in clouds of glory. Now Caiaphas loses it. Now he rips his garments. Now we find that in the Old Testament on two occasions. When somebody rips their garments, it's because they're overcome with profound grief and sorrow or if they're overcome with rage and anger.

Caiaphas is furious. He rips his garments, and he said, Did you hear what he said? You've heard the blasphemy. We don't need any more witnesses. You've heard it yourselves.

What do you think? And they all condemned him to be deserving of death. Now there's another little footnote here, folks. Again the Jewish law carefully defined what blasphemy was. To be guilty of blasphemy, you had to directly curse the name of God. Jesus didn't do that. Jesus blessed the name of God, but what they considered blasphemous was His identifying Himself as the Son of God. But even there, the charge was without Jewish legal foundation.

But they condemned Him to be deserving of death. We look back to the 50th chapter of the book of Isaiah, and in that chapter in verse 5, the Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away. I gave my back to those who struck me. I turned my back, gave my back to those who were beating me, and my cheeks to those who plucked out my beard. I did not hide my face from shame and from spitting.

If somebody tries to spit in your face, you're going to cover yourself up. Jesus took it, following the prophetic utterance of the prophet Isaiah in describing what would happen centuries in the future with the servant of the Lord. He was beaten, and He took it when they spit upon Him. Meanwhile, Peter was below in the courtyard. While this trial was going on upstairs, another one was taking place downstairs, outside in the courtyard.

Only the presiding officers in this trial were not the rulers of the Jews, not the nobles of the community, not the Sanhedrin, but this trial was being conducted by a servant girl who had no status and no power and no authority. She saw Peter warming himself, and she looked at him. She said, you were with Jesus of Nazareth. But he denied it, saying, I don't know.

I don't understand what you're talking about. And he went out on the porch, further away from Jesus. And no sooner did he move to a greater position of safety, running now from this servant girl, the rooster crowed. And then the servant girl saw him again and began to say to those who were standing around, this is one of them.

Look at him. I know he was one of them. And Peter denied it again. And still a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, surely you are one of them.

You're a Galilean, and your speech shows it. Then he began to curse and swear, I do not know this man of whom you speak. The third time he punctuates his denial with cursing.

Now we don't know. One of two things, perhaps both things took place here when Peter denies him the third time with cursing. He could have just been using crude, foul language saying, don't you hear what I say? Blankety blank, I don't know the blankety blank man.

Never met the blankety blank guy. Or as some commentators suggest maybe mixed in with that were solemn oaths appealing to God saying, I swear in the name of God I don't know the man. Jesus was convicted of blasphemy, and in all probability the one who was doing the blasphemy was down in the courtyard, Simon Peter.

The second time the rooster crowed, and Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, before the rooster crows twice you will deny me three times. And when he thought about it, he wept. Notice he doesn't say simply he wept. He didn't weep, friends, until he thought about it, until he remembered what Jesus had said, and he began to contemplate what he had actually done, and then he was sick to tears. You know, people don't really feel the force of guilt when there's people around them.

Usually the weight of guilt is experienced by people when they put their heads on their pillow at night, when all of the defensive gestures are removed and you're left alone before God. Then the truth pierces your conscience, and it breaks your heart. This is Simon who said, I will die with you. Jesus said, no you won't.

You'll deny that you even know me. Three times you'll do it, and that's what Peter did. And that's what most people do when they try to follow Jesus at a distance and to be a safe Christian. Beloved when that moment of truth comes for you, that moment where you have to stand up and be counted, when you have to identify yourself as one who belongs to Jesus, you remember that Jesus said, if you will be ashamed of Me before men, I will be ashamed of you before My Father in heaven. I can't imagine anything more embarrassing than to stand in heaven and have Jesus say, I'm ashamed of this man. To have Jesus look at me and say, shame on you. I pray that the grace of God and the strength of the Holy Spirit will keep you and keep me from ever doing that to Jesus. Amen. May God grant us the strength to stand strong in the day of persecution. We're glad you joined us for this Lord's Day edition of Renewing Your Mind.

I'm Lee Webb. Each week we return to Dr. R.C. Sproul's verse-by-verse exposition of the gospel of Mark, and the past few weeks have been leading up to Jesus' trial, and in the coming weeks we'll walk through the difficult passages containing His crucifixion.

We study verse-by-verse because we want to understand all of Scripture, including those sections that are more difficult to consider. Our resource offer today provides you with an opportunity to study Mark's gospel in depth on your own. When you contact us today with a donation of any amount, we will provide you a digital download of Dr. Sproul's commentary on Mark.

You can go online to request it at renewingyourmind.org. And in advance, let me thank you for your generous donation. Before we go today, I'd like to point you to another helpful resource from Ligonier Ministries. 24-7, RefNet is streaming trustworthy biblical preaching and teaching, along with Scripture reading and audio books. You can listen for free at any time when you go to RefNet.fm or with Amazon Alexa.

You can also download the free RefNet app on your Apple, Android, or Kindle Fire devices. Next week, Jesus' trial will move from the Sanhedrin to Pilate's domain, and we'll examine Pilate's important question, what is truth? I hope you'll join us next Lord's Day for Renewing Your Mind. God bless you. God bless you.