http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 1 The Crucifixion Day (Preparation Day) Friday, April 15, 29 A.D. Jesus, Tried and Condemned, is Mocked and Buffeted Matthew 26:57-68 Mark 14:53-65 Luke 22:54, 63-65 John 18:24
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 2 Jesus Tried and Condemned, Mocked and Buffeted Texts: Matthew 26:57-68, 57. And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. 58. But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest s palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end. 59. Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; 60. But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, 61. And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. 62. And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? What is it which these witness against thee? 63. 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. 64. 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. 65. Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. 66. What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death. 67. Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, 68. Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee? Mark 14:53-65, 53. And they led Jesus away to the high priest: and with him were assembled all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 3 54. And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest; and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire. 55. And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none. 56. For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together. 57. And there arose certain and bare false witness against him, saying, 58. We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands. 59. But neither so did their witness agree together. 60. And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? What is it which these witness against thee? 61. But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? 62. And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. 63. Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses? 64. Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death. 65. And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands. Luke 22:54, 63-66, 54. Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest s house. And Peter followed afar off. 63. And the men that held Jesus mocked him, and smote him. 64. And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee? 65. And many other things blasphemously spoke they against him.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 4 66. And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him into their council. John 18:24, 24. Now Annas had sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest. Introduction: I. Jesus was "tried" six times; viz., before: A. Annas B. Caiaphas C. Sanhedrin D. Pilate E. Herod F. Pilate a second time (Coffman) II. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John combined tell the full story, with all known facts of the trials of Jesus. A. Some events are reported in common. B. Some are reported by some but not others. C. Some events are related in chronological order while some things are not related in the order in which they happened. Commentary: I. Those who had arrested, seized Jesus led him away to the house of the high priest.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 5 A. Annas, the high priest deposed by the Romans in 14 A.D., sent him bound to the official high priest Caiaphas. 1. This involved no more than moving Jesus from one area of the residence to another. B. Annas lived to be over ninety years of age and is known in history as a venomous and zealous bigot. C. Annas for over fifty years exercised the influence of the office of High Priest because the Jews did not accept his deposition by the Jews. D. The legal title and office rotated among Annas sons and sonsin-law. E. Christ was first arraigned before Annas, but Matthew does not delineate that trial. II. Annas sent Jesus to Caiaphas who also later presided over Jesus appearance before the Sanhedrin. III. All the chief priests, scribes and the elders were gathered together with Caiaphas, the high priest. IV. Peter had followed Jesus at a distance, afar off. V. Peter followed Jesus as far as the courtyard of the high priest. VI. Peter sat down in the courtyard with the officers and warmed himself at their fire. A. This courtyard was evidently at the official residence of both Annas and Caiaphas, his son-in-law. B. The usual meeting place of the Sanhedrin was just off the court of women in the temple enclosure. C. Peter placed himself in spiritual and physical danger by: 1. associating with Jesus enemies.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 6 2. seeking to remain unrecognized as a disciple of Christ. 3. participating in the benefits (warming himself by the devil s fire) of Jesus enemies. VII. Peter sat there to see the outcome, to see what would happen to Jesus. VIII. The chief priests (plural) and the whole council kept trying to find witnesses, obtain testimony against Jesus. A. The chief priests included Annas and Caiaphas. B. Having given up their plans to murder Jesus secretly, the chief priests had to have testimony that could be used to convict Jesus in a public trial. C. They may have counted on Judas testimony, but this did not materialize when Judas returned the money, confessed his sins, and hanged himself. D. The Scriptures tell us that Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathaea had no part in these proceedings. 1. The whole council may mean all the members of the council who were present at that time, evidently a quorum. IX. In fact, the chief priests (Annas and Caiaphas) and the whole council, the religious elite, sought false witnesses against Jesus, but the testimony of the false witnesses contradicted itself. A. These revered religious leaders resorted to perjury. X. They were intent on putting Jesus to death by any means and under any pretense. A. The end justified the means, these unscrupulous men must have thought.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 7 XI. Try as they might they were unable to find any incriminating false witness even though many false witnesses volunteered, auditioned for the job. A. Many gave false testimony against Jesus, but their testimony was not consistent and would not benefit the prosecution in court. XII. Finally they located two who concocted a story which might sound plausible enough to carry weight in court. XIII. They testified that they had heard Jesus say he was able to destroy this temple, the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days. (In three days I will build another made without hands). A. Not even in this respect was their testimony consistent. B. Their testimony varied as they repeated their story and one witness did not agree with the other witness(es). C. John 2:19, Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Jesus enemies did not even quote him accurately. D. This feeble testimony was all the chief priests had to show for their all night efforts to find witnesses against Jesus. E. Jesus had spoken of the death of his body and its resurrection the third day. He was not speaking of the literal temple. XIV. The high priest stood up and belligerently confronted Jesus with the questions: A. Don t you answer, have an answer to what these men are saying about you? B. Explain what these men are testifying against you!
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 8 XV. Jesus remained silent in face of all this badgering and did not answer. A. The false testimony was inadequate to find Jesus guilty of a capitol crime. B. John 19:11, Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin. C. If Jesus had said nothing his enemies would have been hard put to convict him of a crime worthy of death. D. Because Jesus was the world s sacrifice for sin freely given he helped his enemies with their need for evidence. XVI. The high priest further said to Jesus, I adjure you by the living God, that you tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God, the son of the blessed one? A. The audacity, the unmitigated gall of this evil high priest is seen in his adjuring anybody by the name of the living God. B. Jesus was not being tried as a seditionist. C. He was being tried for claiming to be the Son of God, the long awaited Messiah. D. Caiaphas here placed Jesus under oath and Jesus responded. E. Caiaphas sought incriminating words from Jesus himself. F. He had been unable to obtain sufficient evidence from any other source. XVII. Jesus replied, You have said yourself that I am the Christ, the Son of God. A. Jesus said, I am. B. Jesus, under judicial oath, confessed his deity.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 9 C. Jesus was not tried for anything except for his claim that he was the Son of God, the long awaited Messiah. D. The Jews did not accept this claim to be true. They regarded it as blasphemy, a capitol crime. E. Other accusations had fallen away as baseless: 1. He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the prime of demons. 2. He is a Sabbath breaker. 3. He claimed he will destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days. XVIII. Jesus told the high priest, hereafter, You will see the son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven. A. This was clearly the role of the Messiah. B. Jesus said he would fulfill the role of the Messiah by sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven. C. Christ s words were true, not blasphemous! D. Jesus said, I am! in answer to the question, Art thou the Christ, the son of the Blessed? E. At his second coming this verse will be completely fulfilled. Jesus will come with power to judge the world. F. Jesus compares the impotent, evil corrupt court before which he stood with the eternal judgment at the end of the world. G. Jesus will then be the judge and Caiaphas will be a defendant. Roles will be reversed. IX. The high priest tore his robes. A. In doing this Caiaphas sinned!... again. What s new?
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 10 1. Leviticus 10:6, And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord hath kindled. B. Caiaphas was acting! He pretended to be deeply grieved, outraged by Jesus blasphemy. XX. The high priest declared that Jesus had blasphemed by what he had said about sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven. A. John 19:7, The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. B. Leviticus 24:16, And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death. C. The judge (Caiaphas) now serves as prosecutor. How would you like to be tried before such a judge? XXI. The high priest voiced the opinion that they did not need further witnesses in view of what Jesus had just said. XXII. The high priest said that the Council had heard the blasphemy from Jesus own mouth. XXIII. The high priest put the question to a vote of the Council, What do you think? How does it seem to you? A. If the words of Jesus had not been true, by Jewish law he would have been worthy of death.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 11 B. We also must decide: Did Jesus tell the truth when he claimed to be the Messiah, God s Son or was he blaspheming? XXIV. The Council by voice vote declared, He deserves death! A. An objective jury the council was certainly not! B. An evil prejudiced lynch mob they were! C. The honorable Sanhedrin was guilty of murder! D. They all condemned Jesus to be worthy of death! XXV. The men who were holding Jesus in custody: A. mocked him. B. spat in his face, spat at him. C. blindfolded him, covered his face. D. beat him with their fists. E. Others, the officers slapped him in the face, smote him with the palms of their hands, buffeted him. F. demanded that Jesus prophesy, Who struck you? Can you see through your blindfold? G. spoke many other things against Jesus, reviling him. H. All this was condoned by the honored high priests and members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Supreme Court! XXVI. Jesus now being blindfolded, the Council then demanded, Prophesy to us, you Christ; who is the one who hit you? A. And these were the people who thanked God that they were not as other men while extolling their imagined righteousness. B. The Lord s enemies said many other blasphemous things against Jesus.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 12 C. Is this the way to treat prisoners?... then or now?... by a religious court? XXVII. At that point Jesus was taken to Pilate, the Roman governor who had the authority to order the Lord s execution.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 13 Jesus, Tried and Condemned, is Mocked and Buffeted Questions 1. Jesus was tried six times; viz., before,,,,, and a second time. 2. Speak to the relationship and characters of Annas and Caiaphas. 3. The tell us that and of had no part in these. The may mean all the of the who were present at that time, evidently a. 4. Since this was a public trial they had to have incriminating evidence. How did they attempt to get this evidence? 5. What false testimony was given?
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 14 6. Jesus remained in the of all this and did not. Did Jesus have a right to remain silent knowing anything he said could and would be used against him? 7. The high priest further said to Jesus, I you by the, that you tell us whether you are the, the of, the of the? 8. Jesus, under his. Jesus said, You have said yourself that I am the, the of. Jesus said,. 9. The declared that had by confessing his and saying he would at the of and on the of. 10. The declared,. They then, in his, him, him with their, him in the, that Jesus and spoke many other things against Jesus him.