Jesus on Trial

“But Jesus held His peace. And the high priest answered and said unto Him, I adjure Thee by the living God, that Thou tell us whether Thou be the Christ, the Son of God.  Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”  Matthew 26:63-64

After Jesus and His disciples left the garden of Gethsemane, they were met by Judas Iscariot who was leading a group of chief priests and elders carrying swords and knives.  Judas went up to Jesus and kissed Him.  That was the signal to identify Jesus to those who were determined to put Him on trial and find Him guilty of fraud and blasphemy.  They knew who Jesus was so why the kiss?  I would suppose that it was a procedural necessity like a victim points to the accused in court to clearly identify him or her.  Jesus was not read His Miranda rights, given an opportunity to make a phone call, or provided with a public defender, not that He would have needed any of those things.  Peter, the impetuous disciple, pulled out his sword and cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest, but Jesus picked up the severed ear and miraculously put it back on the man’s head (Luke 22:51).  I would imagine that would have changed some minds, but apparently not.

When the men who had come to arrest Jesus took Him to Caiaphas, the high priest, all of His disciples fled, however, Peter followed Jesus at a distance to see what would happen to Him.  The chief priest, the elders, and the rest of the Sanhedrin tried to find some false witnesses to lie about the activities of Jesus in order to put Him to death.  They were not having very much success until two men came and gave a quote that Jesus had said previously, but they changed it somewhat to fit their narrative.  They quoted Jesus as saying, “I am able to destroy this temple of God, and to build it in three days.”  The exact quote is found in John 2:19, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”  Jesus was referring to Himself, His crucifixion, and His resurrection, not the physical temple building.  Of course, the high priest could not comprehend Jesus’ statement and was greatly angered.  He interpreted the statement the two witnesses gave as a threat to the temple.  He demanded that Jesus tell them whether or not that He was the Son of God.  He practically wanted Jesus to place His right hand on the Torah and swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  Either way that He answered, they would find Him guilty.  If He said nothing, they could accuse Him of contempt towards the court and towards God.  If He answered in the affirmative, they would also find Him guilty because none of them believed Him.

In Mark 14:62, Jesus answered by saying, “I Am”.  In Matthew 26:64, Jesus answered that what the high priest had said was correct.  Combining the two statements, Jesus said, “I Am, just as you have said.”  But then He added a statement which foretold a future event, His second coming.  Jesus’ mission this time was to set up a spiritual kingdom of believers by His suffering and death on the cross to pay the penalty for man’s sin and by His resurrection to give eternal life to as many as would repent and believe on Him.  Israel looked for a conqueror to rid them of Roman rule.  This is what they expected the Messiah to be and do, however, Jesus’ statement regarding His coming in the clouds of heaven referred to His return one day with all power, honor, and glory.  At that time, He would be the Conqueror and the Judge to judge the nations and those, in particular, who accused Him without cause.

Meantime, Jesus was being slapped, whipped, and spit upon by those in the crowd who were seeking to put Him to death.  He was also denied by Peter during this time just as Jesus had foretold.  The next morning, determined to execute Jesus, the priests and elders bound Jesus and sent Him to Pontius Pilate, the governor.  When Pilate found out that Jesus was from Galilee, he sent Him to Herod who was the ruler over Galilee.  Herod was excited to see Jesus because he wanted to see Jesus do a miracle.  However, Jesus remained silent, making Herod mad which caused him to allow his men to mock Jesus before He was sent back to Pilate.  Pontius Pilate could find no guilt in Jesus, but because he was a weak leader, he allowed the crowd to determine Jesus’ sentence.  He gave them the choice between Barabbas, a murderer, and Jesus, the Son of God, as to who would be freed and who would be executed.  The crowd, because they were so filled with hate, chose for the murderer to go free and Jesus to be crucified.  Pilate chose to wash his hands to signify that he was “innocent of the blood of this just Person”. He wasn’t innocent, the people that day who demanded Jesus’ death weren’t innocent, and neither were we.

Next time: “What’s so Good about Good Friday?”