Passion Week of Christ (Part 12)
The Messiah's Arrest, Trial and Crucifixion

Christ had been rejected and opposed throughout all His ministry. Now He
was being officially condemned to die by the high court of the Jews, the
Sandedrin.

Christ was standing before the court, and all the negative feelings of
humanity against God were beginning to seep through: confusion,
disloyalty, unbelief, rejection, disregard, opposition, bitterness,
enmity, hatred.

A glance at the major points of the passage gives some insight into what
really lies within the heart of man toward God. Because Christ stood so
magnificently before the court, the believer can look and learn lesson
after lesson that helps him to stand before the great trials of his own
life.
   
Jesus Christ, Trials:
Jesus was led to trial. He had been arrested and now He was being put on
trial for His life. In the span of just a few hours He was to be tried at
least six times.

* THREE JEWISH (Religious) and THREE ROMAN (Civil) TRIALS
- Jewish trials: religious in nature.
a. First trial (John 12:12-24).
He stood before Annas.

b. Second trial (Matt. 26:57-66).
Before Caiaphas, the high priest, and the Sanhedrin quickly condemned
Him, with the help of false witnesses and much false evidence ... he was
mocked and beaten.

c. Third trial (Matt. 27:102).
The Sanhedrin pronounced its verdict: guilty of blasphemy! But the
Sanhedrin did not have the legal right to put anyone to death ... the
Roman government had to decide that issue.

- Roman trials (civil in nature):
d. Fourth trial (Matt. 27:11-14).
Pilate, Judea's governor, presided. Jesus offered no defense, not even to
a single charge, and Pilate was amazed by it.

Most people do not take note of Pilate's wife and her message to him:
Matt. 27:19: "While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent
him this message: "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for
I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him."

e. Fifth trial (Luke 23:8-12).
Herod Antipas, the governor of Galilee, presided. Since Jesus was a
Galilean, Pilate used this opportunity to send him out of his sight.


f. Sixth trial (John 18:39—19:16).
Pilate, again in charge, pronounced the verdict: guilty of treason, but
he washed his hands of the whole affair (in his mind) and gave Jesus to
His enemies. He granted them the go-ahead to crucify the One they hated.

REGULATIONS BROKEN WHEN A QUORUM (23)
OF THE SANHEDRIN WAS PRESENT
The following points catalogue the major breaches of justice in regard to
Jesus’ trials (especially according to the Mishnaic tractate Sanhedrin):
1.    He was arrested through a bribe (i.e., blood money).
2.    He was arrested without a clear charge.
3.    Trials could not be held at night or on feast days.
4.    They used physical force to try to intimidate Jesus during the
trial.
5.    False witnesses offered conflicting testimony against him.
6.    Witnesses were not supposed to testify in the presence of each
other.
7.    Jesus was asked to incriminate himself, which he really didn’t
do!
8.    Jesus was not given the opportunity to cross-examine the
witnesses.
9.    The high priest never asked for a vote from the Sanhedrin,
which should have started with the youngest and gone to the oldest.
10.    He was charged with blasphemy and temple violation at his
Jewish trial but the charges were changed at his civil trial to claiming
to be king, causing disturbances, and refusing to pay taxes.
11.    He was convicted and executed the same day as his trial.

Luke 23:2 lists three ‘official charges:’ Luke 23:2: "And they began to
accuse him, saying, "We have found this man subverting our nation. He
opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king.""

- He led the nation astray.
Of course, He had not subverted the nation, either politically or
religiously. He had publicly denounced the Pharisees and their
hypocritical religious system. He had blessed the nation and brought them
new hope. The fact that some of the militant Jews saw in Him a potential
king (John 6:15) was not our Lord's fault, and He fled from all such
political demonstrations.

- He opposed paying tribute to Caesar.
He taught just the opposite: Matthew 22:21: ""...Then he said to them,
"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.""
.
- He claimed to be the Jewish Messiah and King.
He did claim to be King but not in a political sense. Even His own
disciples did not fully understand these truths until after His
resurrection (Acts 1:1-8)
Had the Sanhedrin possessed the right to execute Jesus, they undoubtedly
would have stoned Him to death, for stoning was prescribed by the law
(Lev. 20:27). Crucifixion was the Roman method which Jesus had foretold.

Religionists:
there was the stacked court against Christ—predetermined rejection and
opposition. The court was not convening to see if Jesus was guilty. The
court was meeting to seek false witnesses against Christ (Psalm 35:11).
They wanted to sentence Him to death. They had already determined in
their hearts to reject and oppose Him. He was a threat to both their
nation and their personal security and position. They feared the loss of
both, so they were set on killing Him.

The religionists rejected and opposed Christ for two primary reasons, the
same two reasons that men reject and oppose Him today.
1)    They were unwilling to deny self, to surrender all they
were and had to Christ. They feared loss, the loss of some security,
money, position, pleasure. They loved the world and self more than they
loved God.

2)    They were unwilling to deny their institutional
religion, their rituals and ceremonies and their religious practices that
were man-made, man-conceived, and man-honoring.

Jesus Christ, Charges Against:
there was the false charge—a revolutionary. Note the words "found none"
are repeated twice. The religionists sought false witnesses, but found
none whose charges were strong enough. The law required two witnesses who
had no contact with each other and who agreed on the same evidence. The
court was to examine each separately. Apparently the religionists ran
into several problems...The evidence of the false charges was just too
weak to convince the Roman authorities of Jesus’ guilt.

Finally, two witnesses did come forth with a charge that seemed to be
strong enough. Note the words "at last." The case almost broke down and
failed. Imagine! Even in seeking false witnesses, the case against our
Lord could not be established.
    Note the following facts.
    1.    The two witnesses with adequate testimony were false
witnesses.
    2.    The two distorted Jesus’ words. Jesus had said,
"Destroy ye this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John
2:19). Jesus had actually said the Jews were to be the destroyers. But
the false witnesses said, "This fellow said, I am able to destroy the
temple of God." They distorted His words, making Him the destroyer.

The false witnesses also misunderstood Jesus’ words. Jesus was referring
to His body, to the temple of His body and to the resurrection of His
body. The Jews apparently thought He meant He would destroy and rebuild
the Jerusalem temple in three days.
It was this charge, the charge of being a revolutionary, that the
religionists believed they could use to convince the Romans to execute
Jesus.

Jesus Christ, Trials: there was the calm assurance of Jesus. Note these
facts.
    1.    The two witnesses who charged Jesus with being a
revolutionary could not agree (Mark 14:59).
    2.    Jesus "held His peace." He was silent; He said nothing
in defending Himself against the false charges.
    3.    The High Priest and court become disturbed and perhaps
confused by Jesus’ silence. They needed Him to begin speaking, hoping He
would add evidence to the charge and thereby incriminating Himself. The
High priest turned and attempted to pressure and browbeat Jesus:
"Answeredst thou nothing?..."

Jesus Christ, Deity:
there was the claim of Jesus: He is the Messiah, the Son of God.
Four things happened here.
    1.    The High Priest questioned Jesus and put Him under oath
to answer. The words "I adjure thee by the living God" was an official
oath which demanded an answer. The High Priest used his office as God’s
representative to demand an answer: "By the living God, answer. Are you
claiming to be the Messiah, the Son of God?" he asked Jesus.
    2.    Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, the Son of God (see
note—Matthew 1:18). Jesus answered, "Thou hast said." It was a strong
assertion. All that Caiaphas had said was true. Mark added the striking
words of deity, "I am" (ego eimi) (Mark 14:62).

Jesus gave two proofs for His claim. His resurrection and exaltation and
His second coming prove both His person and authority.

Jesus Christ, Condemned: there was the tragic verdict.
Note that Caiaphas tore his clothes. Mark even says he tore his under
garments (tunic). This was a custom among Jews when they heard or saw
God’s name dishonored or disgraced (2 Kings 18:37; 2 Kings 19:1 cp.
Isaiah 36:22; Isaiah 27:1; Acts 14:14).

Caiaphas had gotten what he wanted. Christ had committed blasphemy which
was punishable by death among the Jews (Leviticus 24:16; cp. Acts 7:58).
No other witnesses were needed. A vote by acclamation was quickly called
for: "What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death."

Jesus Christ, Death: there was the physical abuse inflicted.
The bitter enmity and hatred of the Jews broke through. The rights and
expectation of justice was completely forgotten. The abuse took two
forms.
    1.    Bitter hatred and behavior. Spitting in the face was a
sign of monstrous disrespect. Beating with the fists and palms (erra
pisan, rods) was an outburst of the inner bitterness within the heart of
the religionists against Christ.
    2.    Ridicule of His claim, mocking His supernatural power
and sarcastically calling Him "thou Christ."

CONCLUSION
The three trials we have considered describe the gospel and our response
to it. Jesus was tried and found innocent. You and I, like Peter and
Pilate, are now on trial ourselves.

The question for us is "Will we stand up for the One who died for us?"
When the pressure is on, will we be strong enough to say, "I am a
disciple of Jesus the Nazarene"?

We cannot avoid making a decision about Him. What will you do with Jesus?

Last modified: April 18, 2006