Kangaroo Court

Intro

On Friday night, we hosted here the Meet Your Coach night for Sarasota Little League

Wanted you all to see a picture

Last I heard, 535 kids enrolled in Sarasota Little League this spring Hundreds of kids and their families, here in our building

We talk about Reach Sarasota and this is a great example of how to be part of our community for the flourishing of our community

Over the last few months we have been talking and praying about planting a new church in Sarasota

In a few weeks, I’ll share more about the church plant But the opportunity to Reach Sarasota is huge with thousands of people moving to our area that need Jesus

They need to know Jesus as Lord and Savior

Even so bold as to ask:

What unbelievers are you praying for?

Who are the people you interact with that need the saving work of Jesus?

Are you asking God to provide evangelistic opportunities for you to share the gospel?

Maybe you don’t feel equipped to share the gospel and not sure how to do it

All the more reason to go to the Share Your Faith workshop that Pastor Bob is teaching next Saturday!

Transition

This is also a great segue into our text here today

Mark’s gospel is an apologetic to declare that Jesus really is the Son of God - He is the Messiah

In the verse first verse, Mark declares his book to be

Mark 1:1 “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

Mark then demonstrates through Jesus’ words and Jesus’ actions that he is the Messiah

We have seen people wrestle through how to respond to Jesus even as the demons declared that he is “Jesus, Son of the Most High God”

And now, it is this question that is on trial here in our text Jesus has been arrested and is on trial

And what are the charges?

Mark 14:61 “But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?””

The key question in this trial, as it is throughout all of Mark’s gospel: Is Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God?

Scripture Reading: Mark 14:53-65

Mark 14:53–65 ESV

And they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. And Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire. Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree. And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’ ” Yet even about this their testimony did not agree. And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death. And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him with blows.

Pray

Kangaroo Court

I’ve entitled the message here today, Kangaroo Court

Have you ever heard the phrase “Kangaroo Court”

Merriam Webster defines it as either

“A mock court in which the principles of law and justice are disregarded or perverted” or

A court characterized by irresponsible, unauthorized, or irregular status or procedures

Oxford defines it as

“An unofficial court held by a group of people in order to try someone regarded, especially without good evidence, as guilty of a crime or misdemeanor”

Wikipedia defines it as

“An informal pejorative term for a court that ignores recognized standards of law or justice, carries little or no official standing in the territory within which is resides, and is typically convened ad hoc. A kangaroo court may ignore due process and come to a predetermined conclusion.”

So what is a kangaroo court?

Slang for a trial that

Doesn’t follow rules

Stacks the deck against the accused

Operates outside of official authority and

Assembles in a suspect time or place to obscure the proceedings

And why: As Wikipedia states, to “come to a predetermined conclusion”

In my words, a kangaroo court is a sham of a trial

And that is what we have here with Jesus after his arrest

A kangaroo court

A sham of a trial

Forced proceedings to come to the conclusion that was stated back in verse 1 of chapter 14

Mark 14:1 “It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him,”

The underlying theme of Mark’s gospel is a declaration that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God

And now that is on trial in this kangaroo court

But even as these bogus proceedings continue, what is made manifest is that Jesus is the Son of God and that God the Father is using this sham of a trial to accomplish his redemptive purpose - that Jesus would die even for those who would accuse him and betray him

Retell Story

Jesus has just been arrested

And they lead him off directly to trial

Our first indication that the goal here is not the truth or justice, but vindication of a predetermined outcome

He is led to the high priest and they quickly convene this not-even-quasi official hearing of the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes

A collective known as the Sanhedrin

Now, it should be mentioned that this “all” in verse 1 does not mean every single person of the Sanhedrin

Rather, refers to the chief priests, elders, and scribes that are mentioned earlier in chapter 14 as setting off the arrest and kill Jesus

Mark then gives us this little detail in verse 54 that Peter followed from a distance and watched all the proceedings as he stood by the fire

I believe the purpose is to let his readers know that his recount of this kangaroo court is all based on eyewitness

And so begins the trial

Mark 14:55 “Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none.”

So being that they had no legitimate reason to put him to death, they start searching for an illegitimate reason

Mark 14:56 “For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree.”

So two observations here

First, should be noted that Mark explicitly points out that these “witnesses” are breaking the 10 Commandments

Exodus 20:16 ““You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

He could have said these witnesses lied or made up their testimony

Instead, he explicitly roots it in the 10 Commandments

Second, “their testimony did not agree”

These witnesses were testifying against Jesus but couldn’t even get their stories straight

They couldn’t even lie about Jesus in a coherent manner that allowed their testimony to serve as validation of the other

Mark 14:57–59 “And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’ ” Yet even about this their testimony did not agree.”

Since their planted witnesses can’t get their stories straight, now it’s like they open up the floor and see if they can get anyone else to jump in

And so the lies compound

“We heard him say…” but that is not what he said at all

John 2:19 “Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.””

He never said he would destroy it

And in context, he wasn’t even talking about the physical temple at all

So again, these testimonies are shown to be false

Mark 14:60–61 “And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” But he remained silent and made no answer.”

So the high priest decides a change of tactics is in order

If they can’t get the trumped up charges to stick maybe they can get Jesus to incriminate himself

Instead he stays silent

Mark 14:61 “Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” ”

So the high priest turns and asks him a direct question

“Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”

Only now does Jesus speak, not even in his own defense, but rather as a plain and direct answer to the direct question

Mark 14:62 “And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.””

Well that is enough for the high priest who begins to put on a show of tearing his clothes in mock horror and indignation

He’s heard enough

That answer from Jesus was blasphemy

So they condemn him to death

Leviticus 24:16 “Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.”

They began to spit on him, blindfolded him, and beat him

Kangaroo Court (reprise)

So let’s ask, how exactly is this meet the depiction of a kangaroo court, a sham of a trial

We said that a kangaroo court

Doesn’t follow rules

Stacks the deck against the accused

Operates outside of official authority

Assembles at a suspect time or place to obscure the proceedings

To come to a predetermined conclusion

I read that list and in my head I’m thinking, “Check. Check. Check. Check. Yup, it meets all those markers.”

Doesn’t follow rules

Forces the accused “Jesus” to answer for himself

Not that they had our US Constitution 5th Amendment, but they did have rules that protected the accused from self-incrimination

Stacks the deck against the accused

Brought in false witnesses and when they didn’t work, opened up for more

Operates outside of official authority

The Sanhedrin didn’t have the authority to convene or operate this trial

It’s why they had to then turn him over to Pilate in the morning

Assembles at a suspect time

Rushed into trial at night

They move straight from arresting him to a middle-of-the-night trial

To come to a predetermined conclusion

Mark 14:1 “It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him,”

Mark 14:55 “Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none.”

They had already decided what they wanted: to execute Jesus

Now they were looking for some thin legal covering for their predetermined conclusion

This truly was a kangaroo court

Transition

Be that as it may, I want to pause and allow us to consider 3 important implications of this passage

Jesus’ declaration of who he is

God’s sovereign control over the whole affair

Jesus’ fulfillment of prophecy

Jesus’ declaration of who he is

The high priest asks Jesus directly, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”

To which Jesus answers clearly and just as directly

Mark 14:62 “And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.””

The accusation arises somewhat regularly from those opposed to Christianity that Jesus never - and the Bible never - specifically claimed that Jesus was God

And sure, if you are looking for a verse where Jesus says, “I am God the Son, Second Person of the Trinity”, you are not going to find it

That doesn’t mean the Bible doesn’t address the matter clearly and sufficiently

But here is one occasion where Jesus is asked directly and answers directly

He doesn’t leave ambiguity

See, the “Son of Man” reference is a direct reference to the book of Daniel

He was claiming that which belonged only to God

And you know how we can be sure it wasn’t ambiguous?

Look at how everyone responds, including the high priest

He loses his mind and immediately accuses Jesus of blasphemy

He didn’t agree with Jesus, but there was no lack of clarity as to what Jesus meant

As one of my commentaries states

“As he did this he asked his audience, “What need do we still have of witnesses?” In other words, “Why continue to search for witnesses when all of us are witnesses?” When he adds, “You have heard his blasphemy,” he is using the word blasphemy in its gravest sense: unjustly he has claimed for himself prerogatives that belong to God alone. Representing oneself as the fulfilment of Daniel’s prophecy, such a claim could be made only by God. Hence, either a. Jesus was indeed divine, “the Son of God” in the fullest sense of that term, or else b. he was guilty of blasphemy. And such blasphemy was punishable by death (Lev. 24:16). Caiaphas has chosen the second alternative.” - Hendrickson

The only options here: Jesus is Lord of all, or he is blaspheming

And Jesus is Lord of all

God’s sovereign control over the whole affair

This was a kangaroo court, a sham of a trial

It wasn’t a fair trial and was never intended to be

It was a railroad job intended to run him over

Again, from my commentary

“But he knows very well that the purpose of this trial is not to vindicate the right, but rather to cause the wrong to triumph.” - Hendrickson

And yet, and this is important, at no point was this event ever outside of God’s sovereign control

In fact, he was using it to move Jesus into the exact place of his intent to redeem us

Even the purposes of evil are subject to the providence of God

So yes, it was a sham intended to ran through a predetermined outcome - an excuse to kill Jesus

And at every moment, every vile, twisted step, God was at work to give of his only Son to redeem us from our sin

Jesus’ fulfillment of prophecy

And our third insight here is the fulfillment of prophecy

First, we only need to go back to chapters 8 and 9 of Mark where 3 times he foretells his coming death

And here we are

But second, he is fulfilling the prophecies of old

Mark 14:65 “And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him with blows.”

Isaiah 50:6 “I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.”

Mark 14:61 “But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?””

Isaiah 53:7 “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.”

This very sham was part of the fulfillment of Jesus

Conclusion

At the outset, I said that the theme of the gospel of Mark was to declare in word and in action that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God

And it was that question that was on trial, even if it was a sham

Is Jesus the Christ, the Son of God

Mark has shown that at every turn, Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God

Which leaves just one question for each of us today:

Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God?

Or will you join in those who falsely accused him and condemned him to death?

See, the gospel is this: We all have done that

Everyone of us is guilty of basely accusations against Jesus

But if you will heed the words of Romans 10:9 “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

If you will declare today that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, you will be forgiven… and you will be saved…

Pray