A Kangaroo Court
“In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take Me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on Me. Then all the disciples forsook Him, and fled.” Matthew 26″55-56
Webster’s Dictionary defines “kangaroo court” as an “unauthorized, irregular court, usually disregarding normal legal procedure. It is said to be so named because its justice proceeds by leaps and bounds”, but in Jesus’ case, it would be injustice. There was no justice in what the religious leaders did to Jesus. Jesus had finished praying to His Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, and had rounded up His disciples to face those that He knew were coming for Him. In a matter of moments, a great multitude of soldiers and men from the temple being led by Judas Iscariot met Him and His disciples. Judas stepped forward and gave Jesus a kiss, the signal to identify Him as the One of whom they were to arrest. All of His disciples fled for fear of their own lives, just as Jesus had foretold.
Jesus was grabbed by the soldiers and led away to Caiaphas, the high priest. I can picture how hatefully and roughly that they treated Him as though they were capturing a wild man. He gave them no resistance at all. He knew that all that He would have to endure for the next 12 or so hours was necessary to fulfill His Father’s will. He did give them somewhat of a rebuke, though. There had been numerous occasions when He could have been arrested, but they waited until the middle of the night when those who were becoming followers of Jesus would be fast asleep and unaware of His arrest.
They brought Him before Caiaphas who had assembled the scribes and elders. Peter followed Him at a distance, went into the outer court, and sat with the servants. The religious leaders brought two false witnesses to testify against Jesus, accusing Him of a plan to destroy the temple. However, He was talking about Himself, how that He would be killed and then rise again. When He told them that He would return to His Father, and then come to earth again, they accused Him of blasphemy. Meanwhile, Peter was accused of being one of Jesus’ associates, but he denied Jesus three times. When Judas realized that he had become part of the plot to kill Jesus, he went out and committed suicide.
Jesus was slapped, spit on, and beaten. It had been a good while since He had any sleep. All through this torture He maintained His integrity. He was eventually taken to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor over Judea, who did not want to execute Jesus but was fearful of the people and of his superiors. Thinking he could escape having to make this decision, he sent Jesus to Herod, ruler over Galilee, but Herod remanded Jesus back to Pilate. He gave the people a choice between Barabbas, a murderer, and Jesus, the sinless, perfect Son of God, for them to choose which must die. They chose Jesus, yelling “Crucify Him”. The soldiers led Him into a large hall, stripped Him, put a scarlet robe on Him and a crown of long, sharp thorns on His head, mocking and jeering Him. They then put His own clothes back on Him and led Him away to be crucified. Next time: A Heavy Cross to Bear