1 Condemned by the Righteous Mark 14: 53-72 March 11, 2012 Osceola UMC We are walking with Jesus through the last 24 hours of His life before His crucifixion. We started with Jesus in the Upper Room (Photo) with His disciples sharing in the Passover meal, where He told them as they ate from the bread, This is my body broken for you. And then as they drank from the cup, This is my blood of the new covenant shed for you. Then we went with Him to the Garden of Gethsemane (photo) where Peter, James and John were close by as He prayed to His Father in Heaven, Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will. Today we will walk with Jesus from the Garden of Gethsemane to His trial at the house of Caiaphas. This is a map of the city of Jerusalem. (Bob s map) You ll notice the Garden of Gethsemane at the base of the Mount of Olives. When Jesus is arrested in the Garden, He makes His way back down the Kidron Valley led by the temple guard with hands and feet bound. As He does, He walks by the temple itself and its pinnacle, where He was tempted by the devil to cast Himself down and prove He was the Messiah. Then Jesus walks into the lower city of Jerusalem and begins to climb the 36 steps to the house of Caiaphas, the High Priest. All in all, the journey was about a mile in length and would have taken about 20 minutes. When He arrived, it was probably close to 3 AM Friday morning. The Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu (photo) has been built over the top of what was believed to be the house of Caiaphas. On the left spire is a rooster commemorating Peter s denial. As you walk into the church, you go down two floors which used to be a cistern (photo) but served as a prison cell where Jesus would have been kept while they waited for the rest of the Sanhedrin to arrive. They lowered Him down through a hole in the floor above.
2 The Sanhedrin (photo) was the council of 71 elders of the people of Israel prescribed by Numbers 11:16: The LORD said to Moses: Bring me seventy of Israel s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with you. The Sanhedrin ruled over the religious life of the Jews while Rome ruled over the political life of Israel. The Sanhedrin would oversee the temple and its practices, the religious festivals of the year and the teaching and interpretation of the law. They were considered to be the most pious, religious people of Israel. The irony is that the ones who were seeking God the most and working hardest to do the will of God, failed to recognize God in human flesh in Jesus. The High Priest was the highest office of Judaism and was the head of the Sanhedrin. He was also the representative of the Jewish people before the Roman governor. During Jesus life, this office was held by the family of Annas. At the time of Jesus, Annas, Elazar and Caiaphas (photo) formed an inner circle within the Sanhedrin. The Romans took on themselves the prerogative to install and remove the high priests as they saw fit, probably by how well the Romans could control the High Priest and how well the High Priest could control the Jewish people. Caiaphas long tenure speaks of his great diplomatic skills of juggling the religious practices of the Jews and still fulfilling the expectations of the Romans. When Jesus was brought to Caiaphas (photo), he questioned Jesus and sought to condemn Him. Caiaphas already had a pre-determined plan to remove Jesus because He was a growing problem. Caiaphas said, It is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish. John 11:50 This is the language of a cleverly realistic and determined politician. The hopes of the people for a messiah to lead the people against the Romans could result in an uprising. The Israelites would surely be defeated and would end up with the Romans further enslaving them and removing the religious freedom they enjoyed. Caiaphas concerns were also
3 personal, hoping to keep his own powerful position which ensured him a life of wealth and luxury. So John 11:53 tells us, from that day on they plotted to take [Jesus] His life. It was never in Caiaphas mind to give Jesus a fair trial but to remove Him any way he could. So the trial was not a legal trial. First, they had a trial by night. Jewish law stated that the Sanhedrin could meet only during the daytime. Second, they were restricted to meet in public in the temple courts, and this trial was held in the High Priest s house. Third, they could not meet during the religious festivals, the Passover being one of them. Fourth, they brought false witnesses and even they didn t agree with one another. This is a most unorthodox trial and the very God the Sanhedrin seek to know is the one they unwittingly put on trial for blasphemy, a crime punishable by death. They find Jesus guilty, condemn Him to death and begin to spit on Him, blind fold Him, mock and strike Him saying, Prophecy, tell us now who struck you. And then they turn Jesus over to the guards to be beaten and whipped further. But this story is not about 71 men 2000 years ago. It is a story about the human condition. It is a story about you and me. Why did they fail to see Jesus for who He was? Why did they condemn Him to death and treat Him as they did? The Sanhedrin s Problem: fear! We are made with a desire deep within us to be safe. When we get into a situation where we feel threatened, we choose between fighting and fleeing. Unfortunately, our self-preservation instinct is coupled with our sin. There is something in us which is broken when we put ourselves first, seek our pleasures, our hopes and dreams and our will above all else. When we feel threatened or are afraid, we often find ourselves acting in ways which go against our faith. Suddenly, doing the right thing or the moral thing is thrown out the window if our safety feels jeopardized. Jesus was a threat to the Sanhedrin. He threatened the social order, their authority, their power and their standing in the community. When Jesus preached to the crowds, they said He
4 preached with such authority, not like the authority of our religious leaders. And so they made plans to rid themselves of this nuisance. The very One who came to save them they condemn to death. This is the way we act when we re afraid. Fear gives birth to hate which often leads us to doing the wrong thing. We can t go back and change the decisions we ve made in the past, but we can change how we react in the future. We need to ask, Lord, what is it that you would have me see? What would you have me do? But we can only do that when we recognize we are like the Sanhedrin. I might have voted for Jim Crowe laws. I might have imprisoned Japanese Americans in WW II. And I might have stood among the Sanhedrin and condemned Jesus. Fear motivates us to do things which we later regret. And if you can play upon people s fears, you can get them to do all kinds of things. People do that and politicians do that. When we act out of fear, we often do the wrong thing. But listen to what John wrote: God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.. 1 John 4:16-18 The thing we need to ask is not what is will make me feel most secure but what is the most loving thing to do? In the end love conquers in a way that hate and fear cannot do. There are 71 men in the Sanhedrin who met that night, hear the charges and debate about Jesus. Could there not have been at least one among all 71 men believed they were doing the wrong thing by condemning Jesus, spitting on Him, beating Him and sending Him to His death. Some of them must have questioned what was happening and even knew in their heart of hearts that this was wrong. And yet in all 4 Gospels, every one of the Sanhedrin agreed on Jesus sentence to death. How did that happen?
5 What happens if too many people agree on the wrong thing? It s easy to be afraid to stand up and take a stand. Often no one wants to stick out or speak out; nobody wants to be on the receiving end of the wrath of other folks. We ve all been there, when the group takes a stand and deep in our soul, we know it s wrong but we re afraid to speak out. And when it is all said and done, we say to oursevles, Why didn t I say anything? Pastor Martin Niemöeller lived in Germany as the Nazi s came to power. He said, First they came for Communists and I didn t speak up because I wasn t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews and I didn t speak up because I wasn t a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics and I didn t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me and by that time, there was no one left to speak for me. British Philosopher and politician Edmund Burke said, The only thing that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. In other words, keeping silent when we know it is wrong. What would have happened if one person spoke up early on against Hitler? What would have happened if one person challenged Stalin s gulags? This not about pointing out other people s sins. What we re talking about is taking a stand and saying, I just have a question. It just doesn t seem right. All it takes is one person. What would have happened if just one of the Sanhedrin had stood up and said, This can t be right. I don t believe this is in keeping with God s teaching, regardless of what we think about this man. Jesus is on the witness stand and they have been bringing in false witnesses and they can t agree. In frustration, Caiaphas asked Jesus, Are you the Christ? Are you the Messiah, the son of the Blessed one? There are a couple of things we learn about Jesus from His answer. First, Jesus is God. Jesus answered with one sentence: I am. It s easy to see this just as a simple answer to the questioned posed. The Greek is ego emi which is used throughout the
6 Gospel of John in Jesus I am sayings. Yet this simple answer causes the High Priest to tear his garments. When Jesus looks at the High Priest and says, I am, He is claiming the identity of God. Jesus also is claiming the authority of God. Jesus says He will sit at the right hand of God and that is the position of power. Jesus is referring to Psalm 110:1 The Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. This Lord is Jesus and the enemies are the Sanhedrin seated around the room. They must have bristled at this. And with this they tore their robes and said, Do we need any more of this? This man has blasphemed. Today we say Jesus has told the truth. Jesus makes clear who He is in this answer to the question from the High Priest. As all of this is taking place, Peter listens from the outer courtyard. It s easy to judge Peter by this one event but we must not forget that it was Peter who first called Jesus the Christ. It was Peter in the Garden with Jesus who sought to intervene and save Jesus. When Jesus is led away, all the disciples abandon except Peter who follows at a distance. Now there s two things for us to consider here. First, how many of us follow Jesus at a distance. We come to worship and maybe even attend a Bible study seeking more knowledge but we never let the word of God penetrate our hearts. We never change our lives and our priorities to be in line with God. We may serve but only when it is a convenience. God is a part of our lives but God is never our life and Jesus never asked for anything less. We remain Christians but Christians at a distance. Peter sneaks into the trial of Jesus listening from the inner courtyard, risking his own life. He does something bold and courageous but his courage takes him only so far. First comes a servant girl who accuses him of being one of the disciples and Peter says, I don t know what you re talking about. Peter then runs away to the outer courtyard and another woman accuses him of being a disciple but again he denies. Finally, a group of people come to him and say, we
7 can tell by your accent, you are one of His. Peter calls down curses from heaven and loudly proclaims, I don t know the man! The cock then crows and Peter remembers the words of Jesus. He is convicted to the heart. At that moment, Luke tells us Peter and Jesus eyes meet and he began to weep bitterly. Peter is the only one who is a witness to these events. How did the Gospel writers know the story and all its details? Peter would later tell the story when he went out to preach. I denied and betrayed Jesus but by His grace, He took me back. From that moment, Peter never denied Jesus again, even when he was crucified upside down for proclaiming Christ. Through Peter we are reminded that all of us will betray Jesus somewhere along the way. When have you denied Jesus if not through your words, then through your thoughts or your actions? Are you willing to be known as a follower of Jesus Christ? Not just here at church among other believers but at work, in the community or in our neighborhood? It s easy for us to go through life without anybody else knowing we re a follower of Jesus. Are you willing to pause when out with friends and say a prayer of thanks for the meal you re about to eat? Would you be willing to reach out to the unreachable or socially unacceptable at the expense of your friends? Would you be willing to take a stand in a group because what is being decided is wrong and goes against everything you believe? Are you willing to be counted among the followers of Christ? There is grace offered to Peter which carried him through the rest of his life and ministry. But we also see the boldness which was instilled in him when the Holy Spirit came to the disciples at Pentecost. That same boldness is available to you and this story today is an invitation to follow Jesus and do it boldly. Then through you all people in your life might not only know Jesus but the grace you have received and which is available to them too. Are you willing to be counted among the followers of Christ?
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