54:05

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Jesus, Caiaphas, Sanhedrin, Mark, unjust, verse, Annas, trial, unjust treatment, high priest, Christ, men, illegal, night, testimony, God, Mishnah, messiah, condemn, morning

Table of Contents

Introduction.. - 1 -

1. The Unjust Timing. - 1 -
2. The Unjust Testimony.. - 4 -
3. The Unjust Trial - 6 -
4. The Unjust Treatment. - 10 -

 

Introduction

This morning, we're continuing in Mark chapter 14. Mark chapter 14. We live in a time where many today are screaming for justice. We want justice. We want justice. Those are the cries of the people of our nation. But the cries of the people of our nation should be, we want mercy. We want mercy. Because everyone is going to get justice in the end, everyone will. But not all will receive mercy.

 

You and I, as believers, we have received mercy. And the mercy that God has given to us is completely just because the penalty for our sin has been paid for by Christ. When we think about Christ making that payment for our sins, He was the only man who was completely just, completely righteous, and yet treated as if He was the most unjust man in the world. In fact, in order for Him to even be treated this way, there had to be a lot of unjust actions committed by His accusers, so that they could ultimately condemn Him and sentence Him to be put to death on a cross.

 

We're going to look at those unjust actions that played out in the final hours of our Savior's life in our passage here this morning. And so, if you haven't already, I'd invite you to open your Bibles to Mark 14. The title of this message this morning is, The Unjust Trial of a Just Man. And as we work our way through this passage, we're going to see how evil and wicked and unjust the men who were who sentenced Jesus to death. In this passage, we're going to see four points. We're going to see the unjust timing, the unjust testimony, the unjust trial, and then finally, the unjust treatment.

1.     The Unjust Timing

 

And so, let's look at our first point here this morning, The Unjust Timing. Look at Mark chapter 14, beginning in verse 53. It says this, “They led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes gathered together. 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.” (Mark 14:53-54)

 

Now, if you remember from last week, Judas led a Roman cohort, Jewish temple police, and the Sanhedrin -- to come into the garden where Jesus was so that they could arrest Him. He was the one who was leading the charge on this. Jesus had celebrated the Passover with His disciples. They had finished the Passover that night by midnight. Then they go out to the garden of Gethsemane to pray, when Peter, James and John fall asleep during this prayer meeting -- that they're supposed to have there in the garden.

 

And Jesus came up to them and he said, in verse 37, of Mark 14, he said, "Could you not keep watch for one hour?" (Mark 14:37) Could you guys not stay awake for one hour? That's all I was asking for one hour, one hour for you guys to pray. And so, we can see that when the guards show up to arrest Jesus, well into the night, it's already been an hour after Jesus has finished the Passover meal with His disciples, which means this is sometime between 1 and 3 am in the morning. That's when all of this has taken place. How do we know that all of this is taking place before 3am? Well, remember what Jesus told Peter, back in verse 30. He said, "Truly I say to you that this very night before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times." (Mark 14:30) And we know the rooster crow was at 3am. But Peter has not denied Jesus three times yet. It hasn't happened.

 

In fact, in verse 54, it tells us that when Jesus was arrested, what does Peter do? Peter had followed Him at a distance. (Mark 14:54) Peter is following Jesus as He is now bound and arrested and led back into Jerusalem into the city. But we don't see Peter's denial until verse 66. And so, we know that all of this is taking place in the middle of the night before 3am. All of this. 

 

And what do they do with Jesus after they arrested Him in the garden? Verse 53, "They led Jesus away to the high priests; And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes gathered together." (Mark 14:53) They take Jesus away in the middle of the night to the high priest. Now, why is the timing on this so important? Why is it so important for us to understand the timing that this is happening between one and 3am in the morning? Well, as you study the trial of Jesus, there were several things that happened in this trial that were illegal. It was an illegal trial. And three of them are shown to us right here in these two verses. Let me give you those three.

 

• First, according to Jewish law, no trial was allowed to be held at night. You couldn't hold a trial at night. In fact, in the Mishnah, which is the Jewish rabbinic oral traditions, it says this, "a capital offense must be tried during the day and suspended at night". They were supposed to stop the trial at night, so that someone was only tried during the day. But all of this is taking place when? In the middle of the night between one and 3am. And so right from the beginning of this, this was an unjust and an illegal trial. It's an unjust and illegal thing for these Jews to do to Jesus. To arrest a man at night, and then have him tried during the night was completely illegal. But they had to do this before the town awoke. Remember, it's Passover, and there's 1000s of people, 10s of 1000s of pilgrims who have come from all over to come and celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem. And the Sanhedrin knows that if they arrest Jesus in the daytime, what will happen? A riot will break out. They're afraid of the people. So they've got to go arrest Jesus in the middle of the night and then start this trial. Get Him on trial in the middle of the night, even though it's totally illegal for them to do this. In their Jewish law, it is completely illegal, they start this trial because they're afraid of the townspeople.

 

• Second, it was unjust and illegal timing because no trial was allowed to be held a day before the Sabbath, or during a feast. But what are they celebrating during this time? Passover, the feast of unleavened bread. That eight days -- the the day of Passover and then seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The Mishnah states, they shall not judge on the eve of the Sabbath, nor on that of any festival. So for them to even come and bring a judgment against Christ, on the eve of Sabbath or on the Eve of Passover was completely illegal for them to do. But here they are judging Jesus during the Passover festival, completely unjust and illegal for them to do this.

 

• A third reason why this timing is unjust. The Mishnah says this, the morning sacrifices offered at the dawn of day, the Sanhedrin is not to assemble until the hour after that time. So what happens is in the morning, they would have sacrifices -- a morning sacrifice. There was a morning sacrifice and an evening sacrifice. The morning sacrifice was to be done in the early morning. When they had that morning sacrifice, then after that sacrifice the Sanhedrin could gather then together, the religious leaders. But before that sacrifice, they were not allowed to gather together. They couldn't come together as the Sanhedrin. But notice -- who is gathered together here in verse 53? Notice what it says there -- the chief priests and the elders and the scribes. Who is that? It's the Sanhedrin. These 70 Guys -- the scribes, the Pharisees, the chief priests, they're there gathered together during this time. Even though it is completely unjust and illegal for them to do this. But there was so much hatred for Jesus by these men, that they overlooked all of their laws in order to get Jesus on trial and dead before the end of the day on Friday.

 

Now, before we get into our second point, the unjust testimony, let me just help you understand how this night went and how this trial looked. Basically, there were six hearings or six trials that happened throughout the night. Three of them were in the Jewish religious courts, and three of them were before a Roman court. And so, you had a religious trial with the Jews with the Sanhedrin. And then you had a civil trial with the Romans. And each one of these had three parts.

 

If you were to read through all the Gospel accounts, here's how it plays out. First, Jesus was sent to Annas, Annas the high priest. We see this in John 18:12. John 18:12, says this, “So the Roman cohort and the commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him, 13 and led Him to Annas first; for he was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. (John 18:12-13)

 

Now remember, Annas was not the acting high priest at this time. Caiaphas, his son in law was, but Annas was the high priest before Caiaphas was, and so therefore, he had the most power. It worked essentially like the mob. Grandfather had the most power, they all look to him. Annas was the grandfather. He was the leading high priest, although he wasn't the acting high priest that year. And so he had more power than Caiaphas even had. Once you had the title of high priest in that time, you held it for life. It's like our president today. He holds it for life. And so, although Caiaphas was the acting high priest, Annas actually had more power than Caiaphas even had. So, who do they bring Jesus to first? They brought him to Annas.

 

Then after Annas, Jesus was taken to an illegal court of the Sanhedrin. That is gathered together in the middle of the night, which is what we read about in our passage here in Mark 14. Then there was another hearing that was held by the Sanhedrin, early on in the morning. Which we'll see as we when we get into chapter 15. There was another trial early in the morning that takes place before the Sanhedrin. And so those are the three trials that take place in the religious court.

 

But then after that, Jesus is sent over to Pilate, the Roman courts, now they get the Romans involved. And we'll see that in chapter 15, verses 1 through 5 where they take Jesus before Pilate. Then Pilate doesn't really know what to do with Jesus. So, what does he do? He sends him over to Herod Antipas. Maybe Herod will take care of Him. We read about this in Luke 23. Jesus is sent over to Herod, Herod is excited to see Jesus because he's heard a lot of things about Jesus. But he hasn't actually seen Him. And so there He is now in front of Herod. But Herod then sends Jesus back to Pilate, who finally sentenced Jesus to death, which we'll read about in Mark 15 verse 15. And so that's how the night played out the night and the next morning, that is how all of this plays out and how the trial of Jesus played out during this time.

 

2.     The Unjust Testimony

 

So, let's look at our second point here this morning. Point number 2, The Unjust Testimony. We just saw the unjust timing. Now we see the unjust testimony. Look at verse 55. “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. 56 For many were giving false testimony against Him, but their testimony was not consistent.” (Mark 14:55-56)

 

This is now the trial before Caiaphas. Jesus has already gone and seen Annas. In John 18:19 It says, “The high priest then questioned Jesus about His disciples, and about His teaching. (John 18:19) And that there is speaking of Annas. That Annas was the one who questioned Jesus about His disciples and about His teaching. That was also illegal for Annas to do. This was illegal because the Mishnah states, "be not a sole judge for there is no sole judge, but one." Who's that? God. And so, what they're saying there in the Mishnah in their law, they're saying it is illegal for someone to be a sole judge against somebody else.

 

But what do they do? They take Jesus and they bring them before Annas, a sole judge. Jesus is taken before Annas, and then he's questioned by Annas. He questioned Jesus about His disciples and about His teaching. And this was also illegal. For Annas to ask Him a question like this was illegal, because you cannot have a self-incrimination without evidence. But Annas is questioning Jesus, about His disciples, about His teaching, trying to find something to incriminate Jesus with. But he couldn't find anything.

 

So, he sends Jesus over to Caiaphas, along with the rest of the Sanhedrin, who are gathered together there with Caiaphas. This is now the second hearing in the middle of the night. And notice what it says in verse 55. "The whole council." (Mark 14:55) that is the Sanhedrin, they kept trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put them to death. And they were not finding any. Just as Annas was unsuccessful, so was Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin, nothing to pin against Jesus. They couldn't find anything to charge Jesus with. There was no evidence.

 

And at first, they couldn't even find someone to bring a testimony against Him. They kept trying to obtain testimony against Him. They couldn't find any. Finally, they do and then look at what it says in verse 56, "for many were giving false testimony against Him. But their testimony was not consistent. (Mark 14:56)

 

Finally, they find someone to bring a testimony against Jesus in this illegal court, in this illegal trial. And they find many people who were bringing testimony against Jesus, but their testimony doesn't even line up. They were inconsistent. Think about that. If you were on a jury, and every witness that was brought forward, all had inconsistent testimonies, you would think something fishy is going on here, right? It's not lining up. And you would recognize then that whoever was on trial was innocent, because there is no consistent testimony that is given against him. Mark gives us then one of these false accounts that's brought against Jesus. Look at what it says in verse 57. "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." (Mark 14:57)

 

Then you might look at this and say, that's not a false testimony. Didn't Jesus say this? Well hold your finger in Mark 14 and turn over to John chapter 2. John, chapter 2. John chapter 2 -- this is early on in the ministry of Christ, early on in His life. What Jesus does in John chapter 2 is He goes into Jerusalem at Passover. And He goes into the temple, and He drives out all of the money changers and overturns the tables that are there in the temple. We saw Him do this at the end of His ministry, right? At the end of His ministry, He went into the temple in that passion week, and He began to overturn tables and to drive out the money changers.

 

But that wasn't the first time that He did that. He did that also early on in His ministry, He went in, and He overturns the tables of these money changers. And the Jews are obviously upset that Jesus is doing this. And so, they ask Him, by what authority do you do this? Look at what Jesus says in John chapter 2 in verse 19. Notice what it says there. "Jesus answered them, destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." (John 2:19)

 

Now, is that the same testimony that we read back in Mark chapter 14? It's not. It's not. What were they saying? Back in Mark 14? Turn back over there. Notice what it says. in Mark 14, verse 58, "we heard Him say, I will destroy this temple made with hands. And in three days, I will build another, made without hands." (Mark 14:58) But notice that Jesus never said that He would destroy the temple made with hands. Jesus never said I will destroy this temple here. He never said that. He predicted the destruction of the temple, right? Which happened in 70 AD. But He never said, I am going to destroy this temple here that's made with hands. What did Jesus say? He said, destroy this temple, referring to what? His body. Referring to His body, destroy this temple, and in three days I'll raise it up. I have all power and all authority. I'll be resurrected. That's what Jesus is saying. But He doesn't say I'll destroy this temple made with hands.  They lied about what Jesus had said.

 

They get up and give false testimony against Jesus. And they lie about what He had said. And why would they say that? Why would they say that Jesus said, I will destroy this temple made with hands? Well, in those days, destruction of a place of worship was a capital offense. That's how they were trying to get Him. And we heard Him say destroy this temple...they just added "made with hands" so that they could refer to a place of worship -- so that they could then bring capital punishment against Him. And so they come up with a lie, a lie to try and pin something on Jesus.

 

But Mark adds in verse 59, look at what it says in verse 59. "Not even in this respect, was their testimony consistent." (Mark 14:59) Everything was happening so fast, at this point in the middle of the night, that they didn't even have enough time to get together to conjure up a lie that was consistent. Testimony after testimony is, is given. And nothing is consistent. Because all of this is happening so fast. All they want is for Jesus to be what? Dead. But they can't even get their lies straight. Isn't that how lies always are? It's always hard to keep lies straight. Why it's best to just tell the simple truth.

 

But they couldn't, because they wanted Jesus dead. That’s why they wanted Him dead.

 

3.     The Unjust Trial

 

And so that's the unjust timing and the unjust testimony. Let's look at our third point, the unjust trial. Look at 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?" (Mark 14:60)

 

Again, this is illegal self-incrimination. It's illegal. They had no evidence against Jesus of anything that He did wrong. Obviously, He's what? Perfect. You're not going to find anything that He did wrong. He's a perfect man. So, they have to start asking Him questions to try and incriminate Him, because their testimonies are not lining up. They're inconsistent. And this time, Caiaphas, there among the Sanhedrin, He came up and asked Jesus two questions. Notice what it says there in verse 60. Caiaphas came forward -- that's the high priest. He was the one who comes forward and he asked Jesus two questions.

 

• Number one, do you not answer?
• And number two, what is it that these men are testifying against you?

 

That word question there in the Greek means to ask, inquire of or beg of.  He's begging Jesus answer me. But in the New Testament times, that word question there also meant to interrogate, or to inquire, and can speak about a legal technical term with a sense of interrogating someone or examining someone. That's what Caiaphas is doing to Jesus here in the middle of the night. And why does Caiaphas now turn to this and do this to Jesus? Because the testimonies that the people were giving were not consistent. So, I got to find another way. Maybe we can have Himself incriminate Himself. We'll just begin asking Him questions because you guys aren't doing a good job with your lies.

 

So, Caiaphas goes right to Jesus, and tries to get Him to incriminate Himself. And he's not happy at this point. This is not a happy Caiaphas. Notice, Caiaphas' first question, do you not answer? The essence of this question here is, why don't You defend Yourself? Look at how Jesus answered Caiaphas. Look at what it says in verse 61. "But He kept silent and did not answer." (Mark 14:61)

 

Jesus kept silent. Everything that these guys were doing was so unjust and illegal that Jesus was not going to give them an answer. They didn't deserve an answer. And He's not going to give them one. He wasn't going to give into their scheme. Because what they were doing wasn't even legitimate in the first place. So, He refused to answer Caiaphas' question. But wasn't that also what was prophesied about Jesus? Isaiah 53, verse 7. Listen to what it says there.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

Yet He did not open His mouth;

Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,

And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,

So He did not open His mouth. (Isaiah 53:7)

 

It was prophesied that Jesus would remain silent, and not answer their question. And here it is, on trial, Jesus fulfilling everything that the Old Testament prophesied about Him, every one of the prophecies is fulfilled. He's fulfilling one of them right here. But that wouldn't stop Caiaphas from his barrage of questions, continuing on in verse 61, look at what it says, "again, the high priest" that would be Caiaphas "was questioning Him and saying to Him, are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" (Mark 14:61)

 

Now, in Matthew's account, Matthew tells us that Caiaphas demanded an answer and he said this, this is Matthew's account of this.  Caiaphas said this, "I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God." (Matthew 26:63) What does Caiaphas do there? Caiaphas calls God as a witness.

 

I adjure you by the living God. I am bringing God now as a witness. And so, what is he ultimately do here? He puts Jesus under an oath to try and get Him to incriminate Himself. And at this point, because he makes the statement, I adjure you by the living God, to put Jesus under an oath, at this point for Jesus to refuse to answer would be the same as a denial.

 

So, what does Jesus do? He answers him in verse 62, look at what it says there. And Jesus said, what did He say? I am, “I am; and you shall see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.” (Mark 14:62) Look at how Jesus identifies Himself. Again, He uses the name of God there.  I am, Ego emi in the Greek. Just as He did in the garden.

 

Remember when He said "I am" in the garden? And what did everybody do? Boom, they all fell down. Because the power and the authority that Christ has, He says, I am and they all collapse. And now here before Caiaphas, the high priest of the land, who thinks he has all power, He looks at Caiaphas and He says, "I am." I am and He identifies Himself as God.

 

Now remember, up to this point. There were many times when Jesus told people, for them not to tell anyone else who He was. He's been saying that. Don't tell anyone who I am. You remember when Peter confessed Jesus as the Messiah back in Mark chapter 8 and verse 30? It says, "And He warned them to tell no one about Him." (Mark 8:30)

 

He asked the guys, so who do you say that I am? And what does Peter confess? “You are the Christ” (Mark 8:30) You are the Messiah. That’s right. I am. My father has revealed that to you, you didn't come up with this on your own. My Father revealed this to you. I am the Messiah. And then Jesus warns them and says, "and don't tell anyone about this." (Mark 8:30)

 

Don't tell anyone. Why? Why would Jesus make a statement like that? You would think that He would say, "now go tell everybody in the land that I'm the Messiah!" Why does Jesus say don't tell anyone about Me? Because what did the people want from their Messiah? They wanted the Messiah to come and overthrow Rome and establish His kingdom. But is that why Jesus came? It's not. It's not.

 

And listen to what Jesus then says in Mark chapter 8, after He tells them, after He warns them to tell no one about Him. In Mark chapter 8 in verse 31. Jesus then goes right to this, it says this, in Mark 8:31. “And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. (Mark 8:31)

 

They think His mission as the Messiah is to come and conquer Rome. Jesus gets them straight. And He says, no, no, no, guys, I have come to die. That's my mission. But still, even at this point, the disciples don't get it. Because they've been ingrained with theology that's telling them that their Messiah is going to come and conquer Rome and establish the kingdom there in Israel. So, they don't get it. Remember, they don't have a dead Messiah in their theology.

 

But Jesus tells them, I've come to suffer and to die. Why does He tell them that? Because that was His mission. That's what He came to do, to die on a cross and be raised three days later. Well, back at that point in Mark, chapter 8, His time had not yet come. It had not yet come for Him to go to the cross and die. But Jesus now knows His time has come. And so, what does He declare to them? I am, I am the Messiah. And My time has come. I'm ready to go to the cross.

 

Jesus then quotes two messianic passages to them. He quotes Psalm 110 and Daniel chapter 7. Again, in verse 62. Notice what it says there? In verse 62. “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.” (Mark 14:62)

 

He's quoting Psalm 110, and Daniel 7 there. And what Jesus is saying, here is this. Today, you all -- you Sanhedrin are standing here before me acting as my judge. But one day, you will all stand before Me, and I will judge you. That's what Jesus is declaring here. That's what He is saying, as the Messiah, I am, I am God, I have all authority. I am the judge of the entire universe, and I will judge every soul. And you all are here before Me judging Me right now. But you are all held accountable to Me. And you will all stand before Me one day and I will judge you.  Caiaphas and the others there on the Sanhedrin, they think that they have the power. But Jesus is saying, you don't have any power. I have all power and all authority as the Messiah.

 

So, Jesus says "I am." And He gives claim to His Messiahship to His deity to His authority as the One who has all power. What does Caiaphas do? Bow down and worship Him? No. In fact, this caused Caiaphas to go into a self-righteous frenzy. Look at verse 63. Look at what it says there, “Tearing his clothes, the high priest said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? 64 You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?” (Mark 14:63)

 

Tearing the clothes was a sign of immense grief. In Genesis 37:29, when Reuben returned to the pit, and he no longer sees Joseph in the pit, you know what Reuben does? He tears his clothes. Why? Because he's grieved over the loss of his brother, it's a sign of grief. But according to Leviticus 21:10, the high priest was not allowed to tear his clothes. The high priest was not allowed to tear his clothes. But you know what the Jews did? In the Talmud, which are basically the rabbinical commentaries, not authoritative, not equal to Scripture, the Talmud allowed the high priest to tear his clothes when God's name was blasphemed.

 

So, what does Caiaphas do? He tears his clothes. And why does Caiaphas act this way? It's as if he's standing up for God, when in all reality, he's about to condemn the Son of God to death.

 

And he stands up, and he tears his clothes, as a self-righteous Pharisee -- as a self-righteous high priest, I'll stand up for God, you have blasphemed. I am the righteous one you're not. That's what he's saying. And he puts on a show in front of all of these guys, to try and show the Sanhedrin how righteous he was. But he was self-righteous, only cared about himself. And he puts on a show to try and show the other men that he was the righteous and holy one there that night. But in all reality, he had rejected God. And he was about to condemn God's son to death.

 

And so, he says, "what further need do we have a witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. How does it seem to you?" (Mark 14:64) Basically what he says here is the witnesses are worthless. They've all lied, we can't get our testimony straight. The witnesses who come forward to give testimony against Jesus, they're all worthless. They can't convince anyone that Jesus did something wrong. All they did was lie, and they couldn't even get their lies straight.

 

Think about how embarrassing that must have been for Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin. Right? Guys, we're trying to get Him condemned to death...can you come up with something in common here? Some kind of lie that you all agree with? How embarrassing that must have been for Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin. But now as Caiaphas tears is clothes because Jesus says "I am." It's now as if Caiaphas takes a deep breath, and he says, "whew...glad we got around that one." Because the testimonies weren't lining up. Now he has just self-incriminated Himself but all He did was speak what? The truth. All He did was tell them the truth. But what did they pin against Him? Notice what it says there... blasphemy, which is defiant irreverence of God. Because Jesus, the god-man, the second person of the Trinity has just claimed to be God.

 

But this is no blasphemy at all. It's impossible for Jesus to blaspheme because when He states that He is God, all Jesus is doing is speaking the truth. But they don't want to receive it. So, what was the verdict then that Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin reach? Notice the second half of verse 64. "And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death." (Mark 14:64)

 

They all reach a verdict together, which was also not done in the way that it's supposed to happen. In a court in a trial, what they were supposed to do is to take a final vote after the trial. And they would start with the younger members of the Sanhedrin. And they would allow the younger members of the Sanhedrin to vote, and then it would work its way all the way up to the older ones. Why would they do that? Because they didn't want the older ones to influence the younger ones. And so that's how they were to take a vote, begin with the younger ones, work their way up to the older ones, and then they would collect the votes, and then they would make a verdict. But notice what they do here. They all condemn Him as one big mob. No votes, no order in this trial. In mob fashion, they all say guilty of death.

 

But this is not Jesus final sentencing. Because these men have no authority to put someone to death, at least not to carry out the sentence of death, that all has to go through Rome. So, they're going to have to convene again in the morning, which is what we'll see in Mark chapter 15. They're going to have to convene again, and then they're going to have to get Rome involved, so that they can make sure that the sentence of death is carried out. They've got to get Rome involved. But at this point, this Sanhedrin this mob there is angry at Jesus, and they begin to insult Him for speaking the truth.

 

4.     The Unjust Treatment.

 

Which leads to our fourth and final point this morning, the unjust treatment, the unjust treatment. Look at verse 65. "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. (Mark 14:65)

 

This is hard to read. This is hard to read because of how these men treated our Savior. How dare they treat the Messiah this way. But the verdict has been read. They've all pronounced him guilty of blasphemy. Although He didn't. He just spoke the truth. And they don't restrain themselves anymore. And they act out of the evil that's in their hearts. This goes to show you the depravity of man. Total depravity on display. As they beat an innocent man, who's spoken the truth. The verbs that are there in this verse, spit, and blindfold, and beat, and saying -- all of those verbs in the Greek are present active verbs, meaning they continuously did this to Jesus. They continue to beat Him, and to mock Him, and to slap Him in the face. They spit on Him, to spit on someone in that culture, and still is today -- is to give the strongest and most grotesque form of personal insult to another person.

 

This would have been humiliating and shameful for our Savior to go through this in front of these men. This is a mob scene here. These guys are out of control. They've lost all control. And these men are supposed to be the religious leaders of the people. Yet they treat Jesus like this. And they mock Him and they say, prophesy.

 

In fact, Matthew tells us that they were saying, “Prophesy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?” (Matthew 26:68). As Jesus is there blindfolded, and they would come up and they would slap Him. And then they would say, now tell us who was it that hit You? While they don't think He knows who was hitting Him. He knew every one of their names. How did He know? Because He created each one of them. He's the Creator God. He knew every one of their names. And as they're treating Jesus like this, you and I would be tempted to run in there and yell, stop, stop! Don't do this anymore! How dare you treat my Savior like this! But the Father would run in, and the Father would come in, and He would say, continue. Because this is why I sent Him. I sent Him to die for sinners like these men. That's why He came. And He went through the treatment that He went through.

 

As He cried out in that garden, He said, "Father remove this cup from me, but not my will, but” what? "Your will be done." (Mark 14:36)

 

And He went through it all, to save us.

 

Well, after the Sanhedrin were finished, and they handed Him back over to the officers. This is not the Roman officers here. This is the Jewish temple police. And they began their beatings, and they began to beat Him and slap Him in the face. But they were doing this only fulfilling what Jesus told His disciples would happen to Him, right? Back in Mark chapter 10, in verse 33, Jesus told His disciples, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. 34 They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.” (Mark 10:33-34)

 

And so, these men continued their unjust treatment of Jesus. But little did these guys know that Jesus would be the One in whom they would face on Judgement Day. He's the ultimate authority. He's the One that every single one of them are going to stand before on Judgment Day. And little did these guys know that one day, they would bow down to Him and confess Him as Lord.

 

Listen to Philippians 2:9. “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus” (Listen to this) “EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil 2:9-11)

 

Although these men don't realize it now, at this point, as they're slapping Jesus in the face, they will, on Judgment Day, when they bow down and confess Him as Lord. Because Scripture tells us that every believer and unbeliever will bow down and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and then you know what He will do for the unbelievers? He will cast them into hell.

 

Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess. Because Jesus Christ is Lord.

 

Some of you are here this morning, and you have not bowed the knee now. Your heart is hard toward Christ. You don't confess Him as Lord. You don't live as if He is Lord of your life. You have not repented of your sin and put your faith in Him. But I encourage you to do that now. Because listen, one day, you will. If you don't do it, now, you will one day, but at that point, it will be too late. You will bow down to Him and you will confess Him as Lord, and He will cast you into eternal hell. But He came to offer you salvation today, today, so that you could bow the knee today and confess Him as Lord today. If you will repent of your sin and believe in Him as Lord and Savior. Come to Christ. Don't harden your heart against Christ. Come to Him today in repentance and faith. Then you will have eternal life. Because that's what He came to give to all who would believe in Him.

 

For those of you who are unbelievers, come to Christ and confess Him as Lord today.

 

And for those of us who have believed in Him. Are you living as if He is Lord of your life? Listen, church, don't be concerned about the things of the world. It's all falling away. Be concerned about the things of Christ. Be concerned about the things of His kingdom. Look up, look unto Christ. Don't look at the circumstances around you. This world will fail you. But Christ never will. Because He's King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

 

Do you trust in Him as Lord? Trust Him, trust in His perfect plan, and live your life in complete surrender to Him in every area of your life. Because this is how He commands us to live, right? May we be people who live under the Lordship of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Will you bow with me?

 

Father. We thank You for what Christ went through on that cross. And even in this trial as He was despised and rejected by men, as He was beaten and scourged, and spit upon and treated with the most unjust treatment. But Lord, we know that He did it all to save us from our sins, to be the sacrifice for us. Father, we thank You for His sacrifice. We thank You that You sent Your Son to die for us. Father, I pray for anyone who is here this morning who has not bowed the knee to Christ. Oh Lord, I pray that You would soften their heart, that You would change their heart, that You would draw them to Yourself -- that they would repent and put their faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. Father, I pray for those of us who are believers. Father, I pray that You would help us to live under the Lordship of Christ knowing that He has all power, and He will come back in judgment one day, and He will judge every evil and wicked person. Every unbeliever He will judge them. Father, I pray that You would give us a heart for them. That we would love them, that we would care for them. That we would pray for them. That we would love our enemies as you've called us to love our enemies. And that we would do it all to bring glory and honor to Your name. And so that those who are enemies would be drawn to You -- that they would be saved. God may that be our heart. May You impress upon our hearts a desire to see the lost saved. We thank You for the gift of Your son. Help us to live in obedience to Him. We pray in Christ's name. Amen.