Mark 14:53-71
This morning, we enter into a series of “trials” that Jesus underwent. There are 6 total that we see when we put all of the gospel accounts together. 3 of them take place before the religious leaders, also called the Sanhedrin, and 3 of them take place before the Roman authorities. I want to set the stage with a few rules that the Jews had in regards to trying a criminal. This is according to Jewish Law, from a historical commentary:
No trial was to be held during feast time
Each member of the court was to vote individually to convict or acquit (Jesus was convicted by acclimation)
If the death penalty was given, a night must pass before the sentence was carried out; however, only a few hours passed before Jesus was placed on the Cross
The Jews had no authority to execute anyone
No trial was to be held at night (this trial was held before dawn)
The accused was to be given counsel or representation (but Jesus had none)
The accused was not to be asked self-incriminating questions (but Jesus was asked if He was the Christ)
In no way, shape or form was this a legitimate trial. This was an attempt to silence a man who was exposing the hypocrisy of the state of “religion” during that time, and shedding light on the true nature of the ones who were leading the charge. “We need to shut this man up!”
(Last week: Jesus is not conquered by betrayal)
Big Idea: Jesus was not conquered by persecution.
Read Mark 14:53-54
RIght before this, we see in John that they took Jesus to see Annas, who used to be the High Priest until his son-in-law Caiphas took over. We don’t see anything about this interaction, but we pick up with Jesus before Caiaphas. A few things to note. We see in our passage that this trial took place at night, which was illegal according to Jewish Law. We also see that the whole Sanhedrin is present. This was comprised of 70 men and the High Priest, so 71 men. We also see that Peter shows up. Mark tells us that Peter followed at a distance, so even after he fled, he apparently had enough boldness left to show his face outside the house where Jesus was being held, even warming himself by the fire with the guards who had arrested Jesus! But, he was keeping a cautious distance from what was taking place inside. Peter is really wrestling right now.
Read Mark 14:55-59
Apparently, in this moment, they WERE following Jewish Law, which said that you needed 2 agreeing witnesses to establish any sort of charge against someone. They had Jesus in custody, now they just needed something that would justify the death penalty. Most likely they had paid these men to bring false accusations, but they couldn’t even get their lies to agree! One of these accusations was that Jesus said that He was going to destroy the temple in Jerusalem, but rebuild one that wasn’t made with hands. If you remember, Jesus did say in John chapter 2, “Destroy this temple, and in 3 days I will raise it up.” He was talking about His life being destroyed, and resurrecting 3 days later. But they took His words and were twisting them, adding to them to try and convict Him.
Why this though? Why the destruction of the temple? It was considered a capital crime to make threats against the temple in Jerusalem. It was high treason! We see this in Jeremiah 26 when Jeremiah prophesies that the city and temple would be destroyed, he is arrested and brought to trial. He ends up being released, but this was a serious offense in the Jewish religion. Jesus, they claimed, was making the same threats. “The temple is going to be destroyed, and I am going to destroy it!”
They are unsuccessful, and Caiaphas sees that they are getting nowhere fast. As the ruling High Priest, he decides to step in and speed things up.
Read Mark 14:60-62
Jesus isn’t going to even acknowledge their false accusations. A better translation of Caiaphas’ question is, “why won’t you defend yourself?” Isaiah 53:7 says, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.”
In Matthew 26, Caiphas finally says, “I adjure you by the living God.” In other words, “I command you in the name of God to tell us the truth!” And it wasn’t until this moment that Jesus opened His mouth, and what a way to start His defense! In fact, in the book of Mark, this is only 1 of 2 answers given by Jesus. The other is to Pilot and is only 4 words. Remember back with me for a moment on the life of Jesus. Jesus asks Peter who he thinks He is, and after Peter responds, Jesus tells him not to tell anybody. Jesus healed a leper in Mark 1, and instructed him not to tell anybody. Jesus cast out demons and commanded them to tell no one. “It wasn’t time yet,” He said. He had work to do, and all the extra attention and potential conflict that it could have caused would have made things more difficult for He and His disciples. But the time for conflict had now arrived.
There are 3 claims that Jesus makes here:
He is the Messiah, the Son of God
He will sit at the right hand of Almighty God in heaven
He will come back as righteous Judge
All 3 of these, if NOT true, would be considered blasphemy of the worst kind. Claiming to be God, to be granted the most prestigious position in heaven, to act as God and judge humanity. These claims, this is what Caiaphas had been waiting for! “Finally, we have it! He has incriminated Himself!” And so he does what any good High Priest would do…
Read Mark 14:63-65
What a self-righteous hypocrite this man was! He acted with perceived horror when in fact he was overjoyed at the confession. No more testimony is needed! It is done! Blasphemy of the worst kind! Leviticus 24:16 says, “Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death.” These men, they heard blasphemy, a man counting himself equal with God. A man claiming to be God. It’s an outrage! How dare he! Blasphemy! Death!
And they begin to spit on Jesus. To gather saliva in their mouths and spit it onto the face of Jesus, onto His body. Spitting on someone, to this day, is considered one of the worst forms of personal insult. And the tense used here implies a constant spitting. Over and over, one man after the other. Outrage! Blasphemy! Death! Shame!! And then, someone grabs a blindfold and puts it around the head of Jesus. And they begin to strike him. Open hand, backhand, closed fist. Outrage! Blasphemy! Death! Shame!!
And they mocked Him. “If you really are the Christ, tell us who hit you! Prophesy, Messiah, oh Chosen One. If you were really God, you would know!” And then they pass Him off to the temple police and they continue the beatings. Blasphemy! Death! Shame!! So much anger, so much hate. Listen to this:
Isaiah 52:14 - “As many were astonished at you—his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind.”
Jesus, innocent of any wrongdoing, beaten so badly that he was unrecognizable, will now be brought before the whole Jewish council before being handed over to the Roman authorities. But, as this is happening, as the Son of God is being beaten, mocked, spit upon, Peter is standing outside by the fire.
Some of the last words that Jesus spoke to Jesus before this moment were these: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me 3 times.”
Read Mark 14:66-68
No matter how bold Peter claims to be, here comes this servant girl, and for fear man Peter denies knowing Jesus. “I don’t know or understand.” Two Greek words used here. The first, “olda,” implies a theoretical knowledge. The second, “epistamai,” implies practical knowledge. One commentator says that this shows a “complete and full denial - one in theory and in practice.” He covers all the bases. I know NOTHING about this man, or what you are even talking about.”
And then Peter leaves the fire, and goes to stand somewhere else. Maybe he can escape the danger if he relocates.
Read Mark 14:69-72
At some point the little girls sees him again, and she again claims that he is one of the disciples. He denies it a 2nd time. About an hour passes this time, and other people start to chime in. They hear his voice, they recognize the accent, “you are a Galilean! Surely you are one of his followers!”
This time, though, Peter has had enough. And this 3rd denial is so heart-breaking. Not only does he deny Jesus, but he invokes a curse on himself and begins to swear by God. He is essentially saying, “I swear to God, and may I die if I am lying, I do not know this man of whom you speak.” Why has this become like the ultimate truth telling tool? Like, if I say this, you HAVE to believe me. I swear to God. Can I just, a little side note here, can we just stop saying that. Scripture tells us to let our “yes be yes and our no be no.” There’s no need to swear to anything or anybody, especially God. Just speak truth!
So Peter says this, and immediately the rooster crows for the 2nd time. And there’s one detail that Luke gives us in chapter 22 that I think is really important for us. So Jesus has just incurred this horrific beating, making him unrecognizable. At the same time, Peter is out in the courtyard denying Jesus. Listen to what Luke says in Luke 22:60-61: “But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter.”
Jesus, allowing this hateful mob to beat Him unrecognizable, eyes possibly nearly swollen shut, looks into Peter’s eyes as soon as he is done denying Him. Jesus looks out of the door, across the courtyard, into the light of the fire and finds the eyes of Peter. Do you ever remember as a kid, doing something wrong and catching eyes with your parents? And you know in that moment you’ve done something wrong. Can you imagine, Jesus, the Son of God, swollen and bleeding, looking into your eyes after turning your back on Him? This look is one that changed the rest of Peter’s life. It was a look of conviction, of brokenness, of hurt, of love. And Peter saw Jesus, and began to weep. Not just cry, like, on the ground, body shaking, weeping. Why? Because the look of Jesus sent a shock of conviction through his soul, and he felt it.
Application
Peter was conquered by fear when faced with persecution
If we were to go around this room and ask each of us the question, “what is it that holds you back from sharing the gospel,” what answers do you think we would get?
I don’t know what to say
Fear
The fear of man is a powerful thing. We care how others perceive us. We want to be liked, admired, accepted. What that means, then, is often times when the fire is turned up and the heat is on in our faith, we give in to the fear of man rather than the fear of God. Peter had 3 opportunities to stand up for Jesus, and failed all 3 times. After the 1st time, he thought maybe a change in location was the answer. But a change in location doesn’t mean a change of heart. Running from those who persecute or disagree with us doesn’t change the strength and boldness of our faith.
When Jesus endured the beatings and mockery, He did so that you and me, so that all of creation, would have the opportunity to find salvation from our sins, from eternity in hell, form the judgment of God, and into an eternal relationship with Him. Listen, He stood silent before His accusers because He knew what He would accomplish in just a few short hours, for you, and for me. Here is my challenge for all of us this morning, because listen, I get it, I know what it’s like to give into the fear of man when the pressure is on. But here’s the challenge. Next time you are in a situation where your Holy Spirit conviction is telling you to stand up for Jesus, but your flesh is pulling you in the other direction, picture the beaten and bloodied face of Jesus looking into your eyes. Let that image remind you of the deep love that He has for you, and what He endured for you. This might just make it a little easier to stand up and fight for Him.
