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Arrest and Trial Msg 816 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: The final scenes were staged with meticulous care. The religious
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Speaker 1: leaders had contracted an insider to help orchestrate the arrest.
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Speaker 1: His name was Judas, With a mere thirty pieces of silver,
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Speaker 1: the going price for a slave, the betrayal was sealed.
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Speaker 1: Judas had notified the officials of Jesus whereabouts, accompanied them
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Speaker 1: to the site, identified the accused with a kiss, and
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Speaker 1: then stepped out of the way. The soldiers did the rest.
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Speaker 1: I cannot help but notice the irony of this chilling scene.
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Speaker 1: With lanterns and torches, the Roman soldiers searched to find
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Speaker 1: the light of the world. The light just stood there,
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Speaker 1: without pretense, without protection, shining openly through the darkness. But
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Speaker 1: those standing in the darkness didn't even recognize him. Join
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Speaker 1: me today as we look closely together at how this
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Speaker 1: scene unfolds as it is recorded for us by John,
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Speaker 1: who was there to see it all. I would like
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Speaker 1: to read for you today sections of the first half
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Speaker 1: of John chapter eighteen from the New Living Translation. Turn
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Speaker 1: there with me as I read John eighteen, beginning with
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Speaker 1: verse one. After saying these things, Jesus crossed the key
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Speaker 1: Drome Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of
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Speaker 1: olive trees. Judas the betrayer knew this place because Jesus
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Speaker 1: had often gone there with his disciples. The leading priests
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Speaker 1: and Pharisees had given Judas a contingent of Roman soldiers
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Speaker 1: and temple guards to accompany him. Now, with blazing torches, lanterns,
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Speaker 1: and weapons, they arrived at the olive grove. Jesus fully
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Speaker 1: realized all that was going to happen to him, so
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Speaker 1: he stepped forward to meet them. Who are you looking for?
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Speaker 1: He asked, Jesus the Nazarene. They replied, I am he,
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Speaker 1: Jesus said. Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.
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Speaker 1: As Jesus said, I am he, they all drew back
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Speaker 1: and fell to the ground. Once more, he asked them,
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Speaker 1: who are you looking for? And again they replied, Jesus
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Speaker 1: the Nazarene. I told you that I am he, Jesus said,
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Speaker 1: And since I am the one you want, let these
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Speaker 1: others go. He did this to fulfill his own statement.
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Speaker 1: I did not lose a single one of those you
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Speaker 1: have given me. Then Simon Peter drew a sword and
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Speaker 1: slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest slave.
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Speaker 1: But Jesus said to Peter, put your sword back into
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Speaker 1: its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup of
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Speaker 1: suffering the Father has given me?
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Speaker 2: So the soldiers, their.
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Speaker 1: Commanding officer and the temple guards arrested Jesus and tied
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Speaker 1: him up. First, they took him to Annas, since he
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Speaker 1: was the father in law of Caiaphas, the high priest.
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Speaker 2: At that time.
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Speaker 1: Now drop down and continue with me.
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Speaker 2: At verse nineteen.
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Speaker 1: Inside, the high priest began asking Jesus about his followers
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Speaker 1: and what he had been teaching them. Jesus replied, everyone
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Speaker 1: knows what I teach. I preach regularly in the synagogues
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Speaker 1: and the temple where the people gather. I have not
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Speaker 1: spoken in secret. Why are you asking me this question?
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Speaker 1: Ask those who hurt me. They know what I said.
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Speaker 1: Then one of the temple guards standing nearby slap Jesus
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Speaker 1: across the face. Is that the way to answer the
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Speaker 1: high priest? He demanded. Jesus replied, if I said anything wrong,
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Speaker 1: you must prove it. But if I'm speaking the truth,
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Speaker 1: why are you beating me? Then Annas bound Jesus and
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Speaker 1: sent him to Caiaphas, the High priest.
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Speaker 2: This morning and this evening we will reopen the case
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Speaker 2: of the State versus Jesus of Nazareth. It will be
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Speaker 2: in a different style than we usually are accustomed to
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Speaker 2: in the pulpit ministry of our church, and it will
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Speaker 2: be in a different sequence than we have become acquainted with.
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Speaker 2: The style will be more historical and legal than practical,
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Speaker 2: and the sequence will be simply following one message after
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Speaker 2: the other in the order of chronology. We'll be finishing
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Speaker 2: the message of this morning as we cover the arrest
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Speaker 2: and first two trials that Jesus endured, and then the
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Speaker 2: final four trials this evening that led to his ultimate
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Speaker 2: crucifixion at Galgatha. As I say that, I realize that
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Speaker 2: for some of you this is not your cup of tea,
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Speaker 2: but for many of us who find the technical data
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Speaker 2: of scripture insightful and in fact validating scripture, we have
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Speaker 2: come occasionally to the need for this, and so we
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Speaker 2: will let the scriptures stand as they are, where they
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Speaker 2: are silent. We will with quasi confidence, call to mind
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Speaker 2: the presentation of historical and legal documents. But all the
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Speaker 2: while we have one goal, and that is at the
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Speaker 2: end of the day, to be able to look back
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Speaker 2: and say, with a measure of confidence, I know pretty
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Speaker 2: well what happened the last hours Jesus was on earth
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Speaker 2: before he was crucified. That's my goal in the instruction
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Speaker 2: part of our worship services, that is to help us
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Speaker 2: recreate not simply the events, but listen now the flow
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Speaker 2: of events as they occurred without a narrator. We're looking
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Speaker 2: into John chapter eighteen this morning and partially this evening,
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Speaker 2: and we're going back to April sixth AD thirty two
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Speaker 2: by the Gregorian calendar, and we are drawing from about
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Speaker 2: a nine hour period the events that occurred and the
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Speaker 2: sequence in which they occurred. Unfortunately, no one gospel writer
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Speaker 2: gives us the whole story, so we are occasionally in
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Speaker 2: need of going from one gospel writer to another. We
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Speaker 2: will do that briefly this morning, but more of that
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Speaker 2: this evening. I wish there were some way to enliven
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Speaker 2: all of us to feel a part of the scene.
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Speaker 2: History does that to me, but it doesn't do that
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Speaker 2: to most people I have discovered, And in some way
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Speaker 2: I wish it would possible for us to have one
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Speaker 2: massive role playing experience through the day. This evening. I
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Speaker 2: want to try something that we've never done before, and
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Speaker 2: I've never done before, and in the trying of it,
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Speaker 2: I think you will feel more a part of at
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Speaker 2: least one small glimmer of the action. Now, to get
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Speaker 2: our hits together in the scene, you've got to go
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Speaker 2: back three and a half years from April sixth th two.
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Speaker 2: You've got to go back to that ugly, wicked religious
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Speaker 2: band of men who kept constant surveillance on Jesus Christ's
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Speaker 2: earthly ministry. They disliked him to begin with. Their hostility
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Speaker 2: grew to hatred toward the end of his life, and
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Speaker 2: by the time of this particular date we've mentioned, they
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Speaker 2: were wanting nothing more than his death. The most delightful
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Speaker 2: sight in their mind was his corpse. They dreamed of
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Speaker 2: it in the daytime, and they thought of it through
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Speaker 2: the night, and it became a reality finally in their
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Speaker 2: minds when he was nailed to a cross. Spiritually speaking,
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Speaker 2: we know that that was destined eternities ago, But humanly speaking,
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Speaker 2: they put together a plan that was in every way illegal, fallacious, unfair,
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Speaker 2: and unwarranted. No man was ever more innocent, and no
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Speaker 2: man ever stood before six more illegal and unfair proceedings
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Speaker 2: than Jesus Christ. Now in order to get him to
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Speaker 2: the cross, they had to arrest him, and John tells
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Speaker 2: us of the arrest in the eighteenth of his book.
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Speaker 2: Will scan it briefly, and then we will go on
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Speaker 2: to the trials themselves, which are of great interest to
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Speaker 2: us in this sequel series, when Jesus had spoken these words,
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Speaker 2: meaning the Upper Room discourse, he went forth with his
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Speaker 2: disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was
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Speaker 2: a garden. This is, of course the garden of Gath's
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Speaker 2: into which he himself entered and his disciples. Now John
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Speaker 2: never mentions it, because John writes sixty years later, and
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Speaker 2: there have already been written three gospel accounts, so he
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Speaker 2: finds it needless to go again into the mentioning of
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Speaker 2: the prayer. But the other gospels tell us that Jesus
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Speaker 2: fell on his knees before the Father, and he prayed,
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Speaker 2: and during the time in such agony he sweat, as
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Speaker 2: it were great drops of blood. This question as to
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Speaker 2: whether literal blood came from the pores of his skin,
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Speaker 2: quite likely it did. There are cases on record of
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Speaker 2: such when under anxiety and stress, that can happen. Nevertheless,
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Speaker 2: in the agony of prayer, Jesus Christ came to the
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Speaker 2: conclusion that it was not the father's will that the
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Speaker 2: cup passed from him, meaning positively, it was the father's
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Speaker 2: will that he go to the cross, and once he
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Speaker 2: was assured of that, he set his face toward the cross.
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Speaker 2: In fact, even cooperating with the arrest, ironic though that
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Speaker 2: may seem, he knew it was the father's will, and
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Speaker 2: he planned without reservation to cooperate willingly, even with the
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Speaker 2: abuse that his body would suffer. Up till now he
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Speaker 2: has not gone under the blows or the pain of
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Speaker 2: Romans or Jews, but beginning with this study he does.
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Speaker 2: In order for there to be the plan, two things
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Speaker 2: had to be arranged, first, the cooperation of Judas, and
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Speaker 2: second the location of Jesus. You see, they had tried
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Speaker 2: to seize him on other occasions, but he always eluded
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Speaker 2: their grasp. However, once they found the man who would
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Speaker 2: do the job of betrayal, ideally one of his own men,
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Speaker 2: they were on their way to succeeding in their arrangement.
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Speaker 2: So Judas agreed for thirty pieces of silver to betray Christ.
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Speaker 2: The plan was ridiculously simple. He would identify Christ, whether
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Speaker 2: it be day or night by a kiss, and the
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Speaker 2: kiss would mark out Jesus as the one in question,
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Speaker 2: and then he would simply get out of their way.
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Speaker 2: Thirty pieces of silver is equal to about twenty to
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Speaker 2: twenty five dollars at the most in our currency. It
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Speaker 2: was the cost of a cheap common slave. It was
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Speaker 2: a pretty chief price, cheap price if you really analyze it.
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Speaker 2: There's an old English couplet that says, still as of
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Speaker 2: old man by himself is Christ for thirty pieces. Judas
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Speaker 2: sold himself, not Christ, and that's true. Once they got
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Speaker 2: the cooperation of Judas, all they had to do was
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Speaker 2: wait for the moment. Judas knew that they had spent
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Speaker 2: the night in instruction. He had been dismissed from the table.
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Speaker 2: Judas also knew the plan because it was common for
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Speaker 2: Jesus and his disciples to spend time in prayer in
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Speaker 2: the garden. That was a perfect place for the arrest. First,
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Speaker 2: it was night and the crowds that passover would not
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Speaker 2: be in the streets. He would be easy to detect
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Speaker 2: if he ran. Second, in the garden, he could not
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Speaker 2: easily escape because it was bounded by a ravine and
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Speaker 2: heavy hillside. Shrubbery, it seems from what we can detect,
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Speaker 2: so he would be easily caught. They expected a race,
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Speaker 2: a running. They expected to have to capture him in
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Speaker 2: some way. That's why they came with lanterns and torches
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Speaker 2: and weapons. Now, when we come to the actual arrest,
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Speaker 2: beginning at verse three, the passage simply describes itself and
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Speaker 2: what needs only just a brief comment here and there. Judas, then,
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Speaker 2: having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief
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Speaker 2: priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches
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Speaker 2: and weapons. Look at verse twelve. So the Roman cohort
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Speaker 2: and the commander and the officers of the Jews arrested
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Speaker 2: Jesus and bound him. Between verses three and twelve we
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Speaker 2: have the events that surrounded the arrest. The first thing
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Speaker 2: that seems important is the arrival of the soldiers, so
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Speaker 2: question as to how many were there. The word cohort
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Speaker 2: is used twice in the text three and twelve. Each
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Speaker 2: time it's the word spira. It isn't really clear what
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Speaker 2: the word means in Greek. It could mean as few
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Speaker 2: as two hundred or as many as twelve hundred plus,
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Speaker 2: but the term used for commander in verse twelve. Killiark
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Speaker 2: means leader of one thousand. It's possible that they hired
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Speaker 2: a commanding officer who normally would lead a battalion of men.
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Speaker 2: It would number between six hundred and one thousand. We
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Speaker 2: know that they expected more than what they got because
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Speaker 2: they came prepared for a fight after the arrival of
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Speaker 2: the Romans and the Jews. The next thing that stands
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Speaker 2: out in our minds is the response, So, Jesus, it
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Speaker 2: is incredible in their minds that this would happen. Jesus
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Speaker 2: verse four, knowing all the things that were coming upon him,
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Speaker 2: went forth, meaning what means that when he got up
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Speaker 2: off his knees, he heard them coming, and he went
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Speaker 2: out to meet them. Rather than running to the hills,
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Speaker 2: he ran toward the cohort and the commander. They weren't
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Speaker 2: ready for that. They didn't think it was him. I
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Speaker 2: suppose that at this moment Judas stepped forward and kissed him.
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Speaker 2: They held the lamp up the torches and the flickering
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Speaker 2: light would cast shadows here and there, and they didn't
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Speaker 2: detect who it was. And so he said, whom do
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Speaker 2: you seek? And they responded Jesus the Nazarene verse five,
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Speaker 2: he said to them, I am he. You know this.
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Speaker 2: Verse five concludes Judas, who was betraying him, was standing
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Speaker 2: there with him, and verse six concludes they drew back
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Speaker 2: and fell to the ground. I take it that means
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Speaker 2: what it says. They were shocked. They were certain that
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Speaker 2: he wouldn't be easily seized. But to their surprise, you see,
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Speaker 2: he had already submitted to the Father's will. By the way,
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Speaker 2: there's something beautiful about submitting to the cross. For all
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Speaker 2: of us. It is in different shapes and sizes. We
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Speaker 2: all have those things that we must bear daily. And
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Speaker 2: the normal human response is to run, and to run fast,
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Speaker 2: and to be surrounded with self pity and stubbornness, and
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Speaker 2: to feel it isn't fair, it isn't right. But not
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Speaker 2: Jesus Christ. When he got off his knees and the
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Speaker 2: Father pointed his finger at him and said, son, it's
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Speaker 2: the day, this is the hour, the Lord Jesus simply
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Speaker 2: met that with calm, quiet, repose the father's plan. Men
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Speaker 2: don't look any further. I am he. Well. When they
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Speaker 2: got themselves together and came back to him, he said
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Speaker 2: to them the second time, verse seven, whom do you seek?
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Speaker 2: They answered the same way, Jesus the Nazarene, I told
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Speaker 2: you that I am he. If therefore you seek me,
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Speaker 2: let these go their way. The these is a reference
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Speaker 2: to the disciples. You see, not only are we impressed
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Speaker 2: with the arrival of the Romans and the soldiers in
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Speaker 2: this fight they expected. The next thing that impresses us
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Speaker 2: is the response of Jesus. Remember, he hasn't had any sleep.
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Speaker 2: His face is marked by fatigue, the agony at gets simony,
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Speaker 2: the hurt and pain of that upper room, discoord the
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Speaker 2: finality of the father's voice. This is my will, walk
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Speaker 2: in it. And here he is giving himself up, and
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Speaker 2: yet he's concerned with compassion for his disciples. What a
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Speaker 2: remarkable example, What an incredible individual. You and I would
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Speaker 2: have been mainly concerned with our own flesh and the
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Speaker 2: pain that this cross would mean. Jesus said, no, wait, man,
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Speaker 2: just before we go any further, why not let these
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Speaker 2: men go? John adds in the next verse, it fulfills scripture.
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Speaker 2: But in the heart of Jesus there was more than
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Speaker 2: the fulfilling of scripture. Was no pedanic decision. It was look,
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Speaker 2: I'm concerned for these men. The other gospels tell us
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Speaker 2: at this point they departed, and they fled away. They
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Speaker 2: deserted him, so he is all alone. There's a brief
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Speaker 2: interlude where Peter cuts off the ear of Malchus. We'll
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Speaker 2: look at that at some other time, because that's another study.
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Speaker 2: The whole interwoven fabric of this scene. Comparing Judas with
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Speaker 2: Peter and the response of the two is an interesting thing,
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Speaker 2: and it's really intriguing. You should study it yourself. We'll
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Speaker 2: look further at Peter later on. But Jesus even had
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Speaker 2: compassion on the Roman soldier with that ear. I'd have
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Speaker 2: picked it up and thrown it a mile if I
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Speaker 2: could have, but not Jesus. He'd put it right back
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Speaker 2: on his head and let it go at that, And
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Speaker 2: I'll tell you it is marvel of compassion. He even
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Speaker 2: took care of those who had him under arrest. And
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Speaker 2: so the final accomplishment was the arrest itself, and that
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Speaker 2: is what we see in verse twelve. They arrested Jesus
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Speaker 2: and bound him. From this point on, he was not free.
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Speaker 2: He was a piece of meat in the hands of
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Speaker 2: hungry men of state, and they planned to devour him.
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Speaker 2: He was not the son of God. He was a
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Speaker 2: rabble rouser, he was a maverick. He was a false
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Speaker 2: fake in their minds. So when they took him under arrest,
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Speaker 2: they made him remember that he was no longer free.
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Speaker 2: Jim Bishop, in his fine book The Day Christ Died,
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Speaker 2: writes this, The Romans decided that this emotional scene had
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Speaker 2: gone far enough. They came forward and arrested Jesus. The
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Speaker 2: proper manner, taught by the Academy of Soldiery in Rome,
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Speaker 2: was to take the victim by the right wrist, twist
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Speaker 2: his arm behind him so that his knuckles touched between
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Speaker 2: his shoulder blades, and at the same time jammed the
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Speaker 2: heel of the boot down on the right end step.
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Speaker 2: This was the beginning of pain Jesus would feel this day.
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Speaker 2: This the first experience Jesus had with pain. And at
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Speaker 2: the arrest they put his hand behind his back, no doubt,
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Speaker 2: following Roman order. They slammed their boot down on his endstep,
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Speaker 2: and then tied the other arm with a loose noose
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Speaker 2: around the neck, so that from now on and you
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Speaker 2: never read that he was ever loosed or freed released.
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Speaker 2: So from now on, all of the blows he took.
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Speaker 2: His hands were tied behind his back, which tells you
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Speaker 2: something again of his control. Jesus Christ endured it all
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Speaker 2: all to him we owe. He did it not to
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Speaker 2: be a sensationalist, not to make the headlines. He did
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Speaker 2: it so that sin might be born. He did it
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Speaker 2: that you and I might know the joy of peace
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Speaker 2: and forgiveness from sins. Since all of this had to
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Speaker 2: do with His bearing sin in himself on our behalf.
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Speaker 2: Now we come at verse twelve to the trial beginning
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Speaker 2: actually at verse thirteen, they led him to Annas. Let's
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Speaker 2: save a lot of time by looking together at the
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Speaker 2: chart that was in your bulletin, and it's on the
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Speaker 2: opposite side of the outline marked the trials of Jesus Christ.
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Speaker 2: Contrary to popular opinion, that was not one trial, but
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Speaker 2: there were six. They were not all Jewish, half of
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Speaker 2: them were Jewish, and half of them were Roman. Let
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Speaker 2: me explain this to you in case you have forgotten it.
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Speaker 2: The Jews lived as a very small finger of land
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Speaker 2: and a massive piece of real estate known as the
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Speaker 2: Roman Empire. Palestine was a tiny, virtually insignificant part of land.
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Speaker 2: Part of the land in the Empire. The Romans were
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Speaker 2: ruled by the god on earth Caesar. The Caesar at
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Speaker 2: this particular time was Tiberius. Tiberius ruled with an iron fist.
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Speaker 2: He was a sadistic, anti Semitic Gentile, as was Pilot.
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Speaker 2: By the way, it had been passed down from Rome
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Speaker 2: that Palestine would never carry a prisoner to a capital punishment.
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Speaker 2: The Jews could not take a life. If they could have,
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Speaker 2: they would have stone Jesus, because that was the method
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Speaker 2: of killing. But since they were under Roman authority, they
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Speaker 2: must crucify him. That was the Roman method of capital punishment.
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Speaker 2: So they could try a man and bring him only
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Speaker 2: so far, namely to their council called the Sanhedron, a
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Speaker 2: body of seventy to seventy three men, that the Sanhedrin,
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Speaker 2: a lesser Sanhedrin was twenty three. But they could not
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Speaker 2: pass on capital crimes. So before the full body of men,
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Speaker 2: this man must stand. Once they have come to an accusation,
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Speaker 2: they must carry that to the Roman authority, who happens
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Speaker 2: to be Pilot. And when he says thumbs down, then
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Speaker 2: and only then could death occur. And that's why he
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Speaker 2: was crucified for treason rather than stoned for blasphemy. You see,
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Speaker 2: the Jews did not try him for treason. They found
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Speaker 2: him guilty of blasphemy, but they twisted the accusation when
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Speaker 2: they came before the Romans, and they turned it into
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Speaker 2: treason because in Rome, death is instantaneous for those guilty
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Speaker 2: of treason. You see in the chart itself, there are
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Speaker 2: six trials on the left hand margin. You will notice
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Speaker 2: first there was Annas, and then there was Caiaphas with
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Speaker 2: a body of men making up the Sanhedrin. And then
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Speaker 2: third there was this official band called the Sanhedrin that
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Speaker 2: was the final Jewish trial. Look to the right and
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Speaker 2: find the column marked type. All three of these were
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Speaker 2: Jewish and religious kinds of trials. The whole question of
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Speaker 2: treason is not is not even verbalized. But when they
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Speaker 2: came back to Pilot number four, the governor, they now
27:40
Speaker 2: accused him of treason because they were before a Roman
27:45
Speaker 2: civil court. And ultimately, after a brief actually clowning experience
27:54
Speaker 2: in front of herod Antipus, all he wanted to see
27:57
Speaker 2: were some tricks. We'll see that tonight. He came back
28:01
Speaker 2: to Pilot, and finally Pilot out of pressure because of
28:04
Speaker 2: his wife and because of Rome said you may kill him.
28:12
Speaker 2: Pilot never was convinced of his guilt. By the way,
28:15
Speaker 2: I personally feel the only halfway fair trial he ever
28:19
Speaker 2: got he got before Pilot. Now, as we're looking at
28:25
Speaker 2: the matter of trials, let's let me give you some
28:29
Speaker 2: helpful information. Don't feel that you have to get it
28:32
Speaker 2: all down. We'll be sharing more of it this evening,
28:36
Speaker 2: and let me just kind of lay out before you
28:38
Speaker 2: as far as these Jewish trials were concerned, some of
28:41
Speaker 2: the illegalities, they were fallacious in every way. A first
28:47
Speaker 2: year law student could shoot seventy holes in the whole
28:51
Speaker 2: scene just by a brief reading of history. But I
28:55
Speaker 2: would suggest to some of you that are seminary students
28:58
Speaker 2: looking for a dessert or a thesis studies, I suggest
29:03
Speaker 2: you think seriously about a thesis on the trials of
29:07
Speaker 2: Jesus Christ would make an incredible dissertation. I feel that's
29:13
Speaker 2: the kind of thing that would really interest me personally,
29:16
Speaker 2: and I would love to read something that's done on
29:19
Speaker 2: it from a conservative and historical legal point of view.
29:23
Speaker 2: For example, these things come to the surface when you
29:25
Speaker 2: read between the lines. Number one. If a man was
29:31
Speaker 2: arrested for a capital crime. He could never be arrested
29:34
Speaker 2: at night. It had to be in broad daylight. Jesus
29:39
Speaker 2: arrest took place between one and two o'clock at night.
29:44
Speaker 2: If a man was arrested for a capital crime, no
29:47
Speaker 2: one cooperating in the arrest could be in any way
29:50
Speaker 2: connected to the one who was accused, because they felt
29:54
Speaker 2: if the accused was guilty, so were his followers. But
29:57
Speaker 2: the entire plot revolved around Judath, one of the followers
30:03
Speaker 2: that was blatantly and openly ignored. Three. No Jewish trial
30:09
Speaker 2: could ever be held at night. The law stated that
30:12
Speaker 2: it must be held in the daytime. Listen to the
30:15
Speaker 2: code which is taken from the Talmud. The members of
30:19
Speaker 2: the court may not alertly and intelligently hear the testimony
30:23
Speaker 2: against the accused during darkness. But if you check the
30:28
Speaker 2: clock and read the record, you find that both before
30:32
Speaker 2: Annas and Caiaphas, these trials were held in darkness. Another
30:39
Speaker 2: thing that came to the service in my study was
30:41
Speaker 2: that the members of the Jewish court, after hearing the
30:44
Speaker 2: testimony in a capital crime, could not immediately act and judge.
30:53
Speaker 2: They were to go home and ideally remain there two
30:56
Speaker 2: days thinking about the testimonies they had heard at least
31:01
Speaker 2: one day during that time. Here's what they were to
31:04
Speaker 2: do in the language of the code again I quote,
31:07
Speaker 2: eat light food, drink light wines, sleep well, and once
31:13
Speaker 2: again return and hear the testimony against the accused. Then
31:17
Speaker 2: and only then shall you vote. They didn't do that.
31:23
Speaker 2: They never left the presence of Caiaphas. In fact, another
31:27
Speaker 2: thought came to my mind as I was studying, and
31:29
Speaker 2: that is that even the method of voting was specified,
31:33
Speaker 2: they never took an all in favor, say I all
31:36
Speaker 2: a posts say no kind of vote. Their vote was
31:40
Speaker 2: taken from the youngest to the oldest, so that the
31:44
Speaker 2: youngest wouldn't be intimidated or influenced by the older vote.
31:48
Speaker 2: All of that was overlooked, openly, willfully ignored, disobeyed. And
31:54
Speaker 2: yet that was the law that required them to carry
31:58
Speaker 2: out their business as they did. And in the history
32:01
Speaker 2: of jurisprudence, I don't know of a more fallacious series
32:05
Speaker 2: of trials. Honestly, none of these things were carried out.
32:10
Speaker 2: As a matter of fact, the first man before whom
32:12
Speaker 2: he stood was a crook. From beginning to end. Verse
32:17
Speaker 2: thirteen tells us they led him to Annas. Why Annas
32:21
Speaker 2: he wasn't even the high priest. Verse thirteen tells he
32:26
Speaker 2: was the first one to see Jesus on trial. John
32:31
Speaker 2: makes it clear he saw him first, but he was
32:34
Speaker 2: the father in law of Caiaphas, the high priest. What's
32:39
Speaker 2: the father in law doing seeing a criminal when he's
32:43
Speaker 2: no longer in the court. That's Caiaphas's job. Furthermore, it
32:47
Speaker 2: shouldn't have taken place till daylight. What's Annas doing seeing
32:52
Speaker 2: Jesus at two o'clock in the morning. Well, do you
32:57
Speaker 2: remember an occasion in the life of Jesus where he
33:00
Speaker 2: put together some leather thongs and he made a whip,
33:04
Speaker 2: and he went into the temple and perhaps in the
33:06
Speaker 2: most incredible display of control and yet strength, he drove
33:14
Speaker 2: the money changers from the temple. Remember that occasion. Well,
33:18
Speaker 2: the man in charge of that bazaar at that time
33:21
Speaker 2: was named Annas, who was the high priest at that time.
33:26
Speaker 2: He had been the high priest seventeen years. He was
33:29
Speaker 2: the boss of the mafia. The mafia was in charge
33:34
Speaker 2: of two special things that pass over. First, the changing
33:38
Speaker 2: of money and the discount rate was atrocious, and the
33:43
Speaker 2: purchasing of sacrificial animals, and the cost was incredible. If
33:49
Speaker 2: you were smart enough to bring your own animal, you
33:51
Speaker 2: had to have it pass the mafia. Well they weren't
33:55
Speaker 2: called the mafia, but they were Annis's men. And when
33:58
Speaker 2: you brought your animal, they would they would take careful
34:03
Speaker 2: look at the animal, and they would surely find some
34:06
Speaker 2: marks that would keep you from being able to use
34:08
Speaker 2: your animal. So you must buy their animal. And their
34:12
Speaker 2: animals were three times sometime four times more than you
34:16
Speaker 2: would have ever had to pay back home for a
34:18
Speaker 2: good old sheep, but you had to pay it when
34:21
Speaker 2: you came there. And all the prophet wound up in
34:25
Speaker 2: Annas's pocket. He was a crook, but you see, he
34:32
Speaker 2: was now the wealthiest and most influential man in the province.
34:38
Speaker 2: He passed off the throne to his son in law,
34:40
Speaker 2: who was nothing more than a weak sister. He was
34:46
Speaker 2: a puppet of Rome. He was a pawn in the
34:48
Speaker 2: hand of his father in law, Caiaphas was And that's
34:51
Speaker 2: the way Annas wanted. And Annas never forgot the time
34:54
Speaker 2: Jesus drove him out of the temple and he lost
34:57
Speaker 2: that cash, and he wrote down in his mind one
35:01
Speaker 2: of these days, buddy, I'm gonna get back at you.
35:04
Speaker 2: Well that's sort of a swindall paraphrase, but you know
35:06
Speaker 2: what I mean. He said in his mind, you just wait.
35:10
Speaker 2: It will come a day and I'll see you first.
35:14
Speaker 2: And now he's got his chance. Here's Jesus' hands tied
35:20
Speaker 2: behind his back, standing in front of Annas at his
35:24
Speaker 2: residence at two o'clock in the morning. Everything about it
35:27
Speaker 2: is illegal. He has no business standing before one who
35:31
Speaker 2: is not in council, and there are no witnesses. In fact,
35:33
Speaker 2: he wasn't even required to answer. No jew had to
35:37
Speaker 2: make his own statement. There were statements made against him,
35:41
Speaker 2: and the council would decide he could remain a mute
35:44
Speaker 2: from beginning to ending. But that's not the way they
35:48
Speaker 2: did it. Verse nineteen. The High Priest questioned Jesus about
35:52
Speaker 2: his disciples and about his teaching. I noticed two things
35:56
Speaker 2: that he probed. Annas wanted to know about them, and
36:01
Speaker 2: then he wanted to know about the teaching. We are
36:04
Speaker 2: never told what Jesus said. I would imagine that if
36:08
Speaker 2: Annas had had his way, he would have wanted all
36:10
Speaker 2: his men killed, because after all, they were already filled
36:17
Speaker 2: with his teaching, and they would simply carry on when
36:20
Speaker 2: he left off. But I don't imagine Jesus mentioned to him,
36:25
Speaker 2: at least from John's record, he doesn't say a word there.
36:28
Speaker 2: When it comes to the teaching, he answers in a
36:32
Speaker 2: most unusual way Verse twenty Jesus answered, I have spoken
36:36
Speaker 2: openly to the world. I always taught in the synagogues
36:42
Speaker 2: and in the temple, where all the Jews come together.
36:47
Speaker 2: I spoke nothing in secret. Why do you question me?
36:51
Speaker 2: You see, Jesus knew the law, and he knew that
36:55
Speaker 2: he was out of order when the judge questioned him.
37:00
Speaker 2: The judge, by his own persuasion, question those who have
37:05
Speaker 2: heard what I spoke to them? These know what I
37:08
Speaker 2: said now verse twenty two. When he had said this,
37:14
Speaker 2: one of the officers standing by gave Jesus a blow, saying,
37:19
Speaker 2: is that the way you answered the High priest? By
37:23
Speaker 2: the way? Brutality was never allowed in the court either.
37:27
Speaker 2: One historian writes, under the rules of trial procedure, Jesus
37:32
Speaker 2: knew that it was against the law to solicit the
37:36
Speaker 2: testimony of any except witnesses and corroborators. Besides, under the law,
37:45
Speaker 2: no prisoner had to undergo preliminary examination. Question those who
37:52
Speaker 2: heard what I said. You see, he said, patiently, they
37:58
Speaker 2: know what I said. One of the guards walked around
38:03
Speaker 2: in front of Jesus and smashed his face. Is this
38:08
Speaker 2: the way you answer the High Priest, the guard said.
38:12
Speaker 2: Jesus shook his head to clear the effects of the
38:14
Speaker 2: blow and said to the guard, if I was wrong
38:20
Speaker 2: in speaking this way, then prove me wrong. But if
38:25
Speaker 2: I was right, then why do you strike me once again?
38:31
Speaker 2: I'd say, at the risk of being repetitious, under perfect
38:36
Speaker 2: control of the Holy Spirit. And let me add at
38:41
Speaker 2: this point, it's a perfect time to do so when
38:45
Speaker 2: you are treated unjustly and unfairly, and that is the
38:49
Speaker 2: lot of the Christian. Occasionally, if nothing more you might
38:57
Speaker 2: gain from this message, etch it into your mind Jesus'
39:04
Speaker 2: great control, and be sure that you can have the
39:09
Speaker 2: same kind of control. I think it is significant that
39:14
Speaker 2: the one who develops that whole subject is Peter one
39:18
Speaker 2: Peter two, who was an eyewitness to what occurred. And
39:24
Speaker 2: Peter knew what he was talking about when he said
39:27
Speaker 2: he without an answer, who when he was reviled, reviled
39:33
Speaker 2: not again when he suffered, he threatened not, but committed
39:38
Speaker 2: himself to him who judges righteously, who his own self
39:42
Speaker 2: bore our sins in his own body on the tree,
39:46
Speaker 2: that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness.
39:49
Speaker 2: Now listen by whose stripe we are healed. It's in
39:53
Speaker 2: the singular. Peter saw him ultimately as one massive pulp,
40:01
Speaker 2: not many stripes. But as Isaiah said, his visage was
40:06
Speaker 2: marred more than that of a man. He didn't even
40:10
Speaker 2: look like a man when they finished with him. The
40:13
Speaker 2: swollen bruises, the blood, the mess, and he bore it
40:21
Speaker 2: without retaliation. It is incredible. Let me say something else
40:27
Speaker 2: that might appeal to a part of you that you
40:30
Speaker 2: haven't thought of before. He must have had some kind
40:33
Speaker 2: of physique, hands bound behind his back, taking the punches
40:38
Speaker 2: of grown men. And we never read where he fell unconscious.
40:44
Speaker 2: He never fell with that cross that comes from tradition
40:48
Speaker 2: of the church. That's not in scripture. He could have,
40:53
Speaker 2: but it doesn't say he did. The point is without
40:56
Speaker 2: sleep and without a break. He endured everything from the
41:02
Speaker 2: boot of the Roman soldier's heel there in the in
41:06
Speaker 2: the garden, all the way to the nails and the cross,
41:11
Speaker 2: which is another subject. We'll undertake Annas finished with him.
41:16
Speaker 2: He had no answer, he was silenced. He himself was
41:20
Speaker 2: judged not Christ, and so they carted him off to Caiaphas.
41:24
Speaker 2: Let's wrap it up by looking at Mark chapter fourteen.
41:28
Speaker 2: That is, wrap it up this morning. We'll have to
41:30
Speaker 2: complete it tonight. Caiaphas was the current High Priest, equally corrupt,
41:39
Speaker 2: but probably not as clever as Annas. He hadn't had
41:44
Speaker 2: as many years to develop the art of deception. And
41:49
Speaker 2: so Caiaphas now got together a band of men ites
41:53
Speaker 2: about three thirty in the morning on the sixth of April,
41:57
Speaker 2: as best we can determine, and Caiaphas gains a hearing.
42:04
Speaker 2: Jesus stands before him verse fifty three, Mark fourteen fifty three.
42:11
Speaker 2: Remember now it's illegal because it's dark. It's illegal because
42:15
Speaker 2: it's a preliminary hearing. It's illegal because they are in
42:18
Speaker 2: the wrong place, Caiaphas's residents. They're not in the council chamber.
42:24
Speaker 2: It's a clandestine meeting. It's a kangaroo court. Fourteen fifty three.
42:31
Speaker 2: They led Jesus away to the High Priest and all
42:33
Speaker 2: the chief priests and elders and scribes gathered together. Peter
42:38
Speaker 2: followed at a distance Verse fifty six. Many were giving
42:44
Speaker 2: false testimony against him, and yet their testimony was not consistent.
42:48
Speaker 2: Not even the liars were in agreement in their lives.
42:51
Speaker 2: They couldn't even get two people to lie in agreement.
42:55
Speaker 2: And some stood up and began to give false testimony
42:58
Speaker 2: against him, saying, we heard him say I will destroy
43:02
Speaker 2: this temple made with hands, and in three days I
43:05
Speaker 2: will build another made without hands. And not even in
43:07
Speaker 2: this respect was their testimony consistent. That incredible. Not really,
43:14
Speaker 2: when you're a wicked liars, you don't have the right
43:19
Speaker 2: to agree, you know. It ought to just be one
43:21
Speaker 2: of those rights that you give up. Is also interesting too,
43:26
Speaker 2: as to what this says about human opinion. Six people
43:30
Speaker 2: can see the same accident, and it's by the time
43:32
Speaker 2: you finished talking with all six, you wonder if it's
43:34
Speaker 2: they even saw the same thing. And these witnesses said
43:38
Speaker 2: they heard this and that, and they didn't. Now. The
43:42
Speaker 2: High Priest was pressed for an answer. He needs to
43:46
Speaker 2: get this case down to pilot. He's been told by
43:50
Speaker 2: his father in law, I want this man killed. And
43:55
Speaker 2: Caiphas knows that he has no witness so what does
43:58
Speaker 2: he do. Well, he tries another illegal route. He talks
44:02
Speaker 2: to the accused it's illegal. But he said to him
44:08
Speaker 2: verse sixty, do you make no answer to what these
44:11
Speaker 2: men are testifying against you? And he kept quiet and
44:14
Speaker 2: made no answer. And again the high priest was questioning him,
44:19
Speaker 2: saying to him, are you the Christ, the son of
44:22
Speaker 2: the blessed One? Now you might wonder why does the
44:24
Speaker 2: answer now and not before. One of the gospels tells
44:28
Speaker 2: us that just before he asked this question, he said,
44:32
Speaker 2: I adjure you, in the name of the Living God. Answer.
44:36
Speaker 2: And when a piast Jew heard that, he was obliged
44:39
Speaker 2: to answer under oath, he could not plead any amendment.
44:45
Speaker 2: He had to answer. And look at his answer, Jesus said,
44:50
Speaker 2: I am, you shall see the son of Man sitting
44:54
Speaker 2: at the right hand of power and coming with the
44:56
Speaker 2: clouds of heaven. That sounds like he's God, doesn't it.
45:03
Speaker 2: In fact he is. He was simply laying a prophecy
45:07
Speaker 2: on him that Caiaphas couldn't handle. And in good legal fashion,
45:11
Speaker 2: Caiaphas grabbed the collar of his robe and he gave
45:14
Speaker 2: it a yank, because you see, the talmot required that
45:18
Speaker 2: when a moderator heard blasphemous words, he was to publicly
45:22
Speaker 2: disagree by tearing his garments. By the way, Leviticus taught
45:27
Speaker 2: that no official was to tear his garments. And so
45:30
Speaker 2: that's where the talmot cuts cross grain with scripture. But
45:33
Speaker 2: they were driven by the talmot, at least in parts
45:36
Speaker 2: that they liked. The other part they left out. So
45:39
Speaker 2: he tore his garments, you are blaspheming verse sixty three.
45:45
Speaker 2: What further need do we have of witnesses? Hey, that's
45:48
Speaker 2: a nice out, isn't it. Who needs witnesses, especially when
45:52
Speaker 2: you can't find him? So what need do we have
45:55
Speaker 2: of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. By the way,
45:58
Speaker 2: it was not allowed for the moderator to make the decision.
46:02
Speaker 2: The council had to make the decision. But this is
46:04
Speaker 2: a case again of the moderator taking charge, and he said,
46:09
Speaker 2: you've heard the blasphemy. How does it seem to you? Now,
46:11
Speaker 2: let's do it in order. No, he doesn't say that
46:16
Speaker 2: all who agree that he's condemned is deserving of death.
46:19
Speaker 2: And they all said, we agree. They all condemned him
46:25
Speaker 2: verse sixty five. They added a little extracurricular activity some
46:31
Speaker 2: began to spit at him, to blindfold him, and to
46:34
Speaker 2: beat him with their fists, and to say to him, prophesy,
46:42
Speaker 2: you see, it was a mockery. They put something like
46:44
Speaker 2: a handkerchief over his face. Then they would punch him
46:47
Speaker 2: two or three times and then say, hey, Prophet, tell
46:51
Speaker 2: us who hits you? Who was it this time? Call
46:55
Speaker 2: him by name. Then they would hit him again, and
46:59
Speaker 2: then they would it on him again. One sage says
47:05
Speaker 2: the judges came down from their seats and walked up
47:09
Speaker 2: to Jesus and spat in his face. Others in the
47:15
Speaker 2: crowd clenched their fists and hit him. He said nothing,
47:20
Speaker 2: though some of the blows, no doubt caused him to
47:23
Speaker 2: double over. For such highly placed, respected religious leaders of Judaism,
47:33
Speaker 2: those acts and indignities were most degrading. They slipped out
47:40
Speaker 2: into the darkness that damp, cold April morning, and verse
47:47
Speaker 2: one of chapter fifteen says, they assemble together as a council,
47:53
Speaker 2: and they held a consultation. And that's where we'll pick
47:57
Speaker 2: up tonight. Now, let's wait just a minute before we
48:04
Speaker 2: wrap it up and go home. There's really no way
48:09
Speaker 2: to end an incomplete message, except perhaps to invite you back.
48:19
Speaker 2: But I came across a true event in my own experience,
48:23
Speaker 2: which I shared with a number of you in an
48:25
Speaker 2: evening service many months ago, and it seems to describe
48:32
Speaker 2: a good stopping point for us and illustrate what we
48:34
Speaker 2: have seen spiritually speaking. Because remember, now, you and I
48:39
Speaker 2: deserve that spit. If I may be so brash, we
48:44
Speaker 2: deserve the nails in our feet and hands. It was
48:47
Speaker 2: our sins that he bore, not his. It was our
48:51
Speaker 2: place he took, not the fathers. We are the guilty ones.
48:55
Speaker 2: We are like sheep gone astray, turned everyone to our
48:58
Speaker 2: own ways. We are the rebels. Our iniquity has separated
49:03
Speaker 2: us from our our God, not his. But because of love.
49:07
Speaker 2: See that's the message in all of this. He did
49:10
Speaker 2: it for us. I was up at Trinity Seminary back
49:14
Speaker 2: in the spring of seventy four interviewing men for internships.
49:19
Speaker 2: At that time, I had a young man come who
49:23
Speaker 2: told a true and intriguing story of his experience. He
49:29
Speaker 2: told me that he hadn't had much experience in the ministry.
49:33
Speaker 2: I asked him about his background, and he said, you know,
49:36
Speaker 2: the only thing I have by way of ministry is
49:38
Speaker 2: some discipleship ministry, which came about in altogether unique fashion.
49:44
Speaker 2: He said, I last year came to the end of
49:46
Speaker 2: the school year, and I didn't have a ministry, didn't
49:49
Speaker 2: have a church, didn't really have anyone to work with.
49:52
Speaker 2: I asked God to make me available to whatever would
49:55
Speaker 2: be his will. I checked the want ads, because this
49:59
Speaker 2: time wore on. He needed some money, and I found
50:01
Speaker 2: that there was a bus driving job made available to me,
50:05
Speaker 2: and I hired out in South Chicago as a bus driver.
50:09
Speaker 2: If you know anything about Chicago, it's not South Chicago
50:13
Speaker 2: that you want to drive a bus in. But that's
50:15
Speaker 2: where then had the need, he found out later, because
50:18
Speaker 2: nobody else would stay on the job, so he hired
50:21
Speaker 2: in drove it. Before a week passed, some thugs got
50:25
Speaker 2: on the bus and didn't pay. They sat in the back,
50:28
Speaker 2: sneered and jeered and mocked him, and the next day
50:32
Speaker 2: the same thing happened. They didn't pay. Third day they
50:35
Speaker 2: got on, didn't pay. About the fifth or sixth day,
50:39
Speaker 2: he said. It went on about a week. He just
50:41
Speaker 2: decided he didn't have to put up with that, so
50:44
Speaker 2: he decided he would call an officer into the bus
50:46
Speaker 2: and make him pay. He saw one down about a
50:50
Speaker 2: block and after the fellows got on in the same procedure,
50:53
Speaker 2: he stopped and told the officer when he got on,
50:56
Speaker 2: the fellows back there haven't paid, and they haven't paid
50:59
Speaker 2: for several days. Would you at least make them pay today?
51:04
Speaker 2: And he did, but unfortunately the officer got off the bus,
51:09
Speaker 2: and when the door was closed, the bus driver drove
51:12
Speaker 2: a little further and turned a corner. That's the last
51:14
Speaker 2: thing he remembered. They knocked a couple of teeth out
51:17
Speaker 2: of his head. They stole his money, and when he
51:20
Speaker 2: woke up, the bus was empty, and he sat there
51:24
Speaker 2: in confusion and disillusionment, wondering what kind of a ministry
51:28
Speaker 2: is this? Lord, I had told you I was available,
51:31
Speaker 2: this was the job you opened up? And he went home,
51:36
Speaker 2: turned the bus in, took the rest of the day off,
51:39
Speaker 2: and went home to a little cot, stared up at
51:43
Speaker 2: the ceiling as he was nursing his wounds, and he thought,
51:48
Speaker 2: I'm not gonna let him get away with that. So
51:52
Speaker 2: through an interesting chain of events, they rounded up, with
51:55
Speaker 2: the help of some officers, those very fellas and took
51:58
Speaker 2: him to court. The day of the hearing, he stood
52:02
Speaker 2: before the court, and the judge listened carefully and decided
52:07
Speaker 2: the fellows were guilty and they didn't have any money
52:11
Speaker 2: to buy their way out, so they had to stand
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Speaker 2: some time in jail. Suddenly the fellow realized, here's my chance.
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Speaker 2: He said, your honor, may I speak for a few
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Speaker 2: moments said yes, you may. He said, I'd like for
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Speaker 2: you to tally up all the time these fellas together
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Speaker 2: would be spending in jail, and I'd like to go
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Speaker 2: in their behalf. And the judge responded, now, that's highly irregular.
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Speaker 2: It has never been done before. And the fellow responded, oh, yes,
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Speaker 2: it has nineteen hundred years ago. And then in about
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Speaker 2: four minutes he gave them the Gospel straight down the line.
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Speaker 2: Three of the young men came to know Christ right
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Speaker 2: on the spot, one of them later after he was incarcerated,
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Speaker 2: and that fellow, at the time I interviewed him, was
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Speaker 2: having a discipleship ministry with those four guys bound for
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Speaker 2: hell who heard the message that somebody else wanted to
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Speaker 2: pay the price for their sin. A living testimony of
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Speaker 2: what Jesus did was let's bout the storage. Let's sit
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Speaker 2: very quietly before the Lord. We've been quite intent with me,
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Speaker 2: as we have worked intensely through a very technical series
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Speaker 2: of words. But underneath it all.
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Speaker 3: There was a marvelous message of love and deep emotion.
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Speaker 3: Our Lord tells us that he proved his love and
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Speaker 3: that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
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Speaker 2: Do you know that he died for you? I am
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Speaker 2: amazed at times how many people do not know that
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Speaker 2: Jesus paid it all all to him. I owe sin
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Speaker 2: had left a crimson stain, He washed it white the snow.
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Speaker 2: Bernard of Clairval wrote, what language shall I borrow to
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Speaker 2: thank thee dearest friend for this thy dying sorrow, thy
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Speaker 2: pity without end? Oh make me thine forever, And should
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Speaker 2: I fainting be Lord