The Trial of Jesus Mark 14:53-72

Persecution is a part of the Christian life.

The Preacher’s Notebook: The Collected Quotes, Illustrations, and Prayers of John Stott The Soviet Persecution of the Ukrainian Church

According to USA Congressional Records (Jan 22, 1968 S. 220–224): “It is reliably estimated that at least 6,000,000 Ukrainians perished from hunger and organized starvation” following the 1917 revolution. “In the 1930s Moscow destroyed the Ukrainian Autocephalic Church by systematically murdering over thirty archbishops and bishops and over 20,000 clergy and monks. In 1945–46 the Soviet government destroyed the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Western Ukraine by arresting eleven Ukrainian Catholic bishops and over 2,000 Catholic priests, monks and nuns.”

At His trial, Jesus experiences the worst of humanity while standing for the truth.

I. Jesus is Falsely Accused vv. 52-59

As we pick up our story tonight, Jesus has been betrayed by Judas and arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Now, He is taken to the house of the high priest for a trial under the religious authorities, the Sanhedrin

We have a brief note that should be of interest to us: Peter is there

We do not know the whereabouts of the other disciples, but Peter has seemingly held true to his word and is as near to Jesus as he reasonably could be

It becomes immediately apparent that Jesus’s guilt is assumed. They have a verdict, but they are in need of evidence

They seek out testimonies to try to bring a capitol sentence against Jesus

They cannot find any, however

The witnesses misrepresent the words of Jesus

The witnesses do not agree in their testimony

The whole scene reeks of conspiracy

There is no evidence of any actual wrongdoing on Jesus’s part

So, they just make it up

None of this is fair, right, or true. It is the worst kind of persecution

Yet, I think we need to pay attention to how Jesus handles it:

He is silent!

Jesus endures this because it is a significant part of the plan of God for the redemption of people

Isaiah 53:7

[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. (ESV)

II. Jesus Proclaims the Truth vv. 60-62

Jesus remains silent in the face of a blustering priest

At this point, the priest is under pressure; He cannot elicit a response from Jesus

The accusations have failed to meet the mark

Now, He is going to try to catch Jesus in His words

The High Priest asks a very direct and very loaded question: Are you the Christ?

Jesus answers in the affirmative

As we know, this is completely true

Jesus does not hide the truth; in fact, He doubles down and proclaims His authority

He will be seated at the right hand of God

He will come again, with the authority of heaven behind Him

It turns out that He is the true judge who will judge the judges!

I think we have to wrestle with this though:

Jesus did not lie

He could have potentially saved Himself here, but it would have been a denial of the truth

Jesus does not hide, lie, or soft-peddle the situation; He will die for the truth

The Gospel truth is precious and it is worth clinging to! We can learn a lot from His example in suffering!

Two boys were playing in the snow one day; when one said to the other, “Let us see who can make the straightest path in the snow.” His companion readily accepted the proposition, and they started.

One boy fixed his eyes on a tree, and walked along without taking his eyes off the object selected. The other boy set his eyes on the tree also, and, when he had gone a short distance, he turned, and looked back to see how true his course was. He went a little distance farther, and again turned to look over his steps. When they arrived at their stopping place, each halted and looked back. One path was true as an arrow, while the other ran in a zigzag course.

“How did you get your path so true?” asked the boy who had made the crooked steps.

“Why,” said the other boy, “I just set my eyes on the tree, and kept them there until I got to the end; while you stopped and looked back and wandered out of your course.”

This is a perfect picture of the Christian life. We must fix the eyes of our hope, our trust, and our faith upon Jesus Christ.

III. Jesus is Unjustly Condemned vv. 63-65

At the statement of Jesus, the high priest loses control, rending his garments and accusing Jesus of blasphemy

He calls to the Sanhedrin for a verdict

They demand His death

Again, He is going to die for the truth, not a lie

Jesus is accused of blasphemy, however it is not blasphemy at all. He is telling the truth.

The cruelty of the crowd is on full display here:

We see it in the melodramatic actions of the high priest

We see it in the spitting, blindfolding, and mockery

We see it as they lay hands on Him in anger

We must wrestle with this: Jesus suffered all of this for us. This is a call to commitment

He is worthy of a praise that is greater than the insults

He is worthy of a service that is greater than the violence

He is worthy of a love that is greater than the hate

IV. Jesus is Harshly Betrayed vv. 66-72

In our final scene, we return to Peter

He is confronted 3 times about his relationship to Jesus

I think we need to commend Peter for being as close to Jesus as He is, on this night

But I think we also have to recognize the distinction between the faith Peter claimed and the actions he demonstrated

In the critical moment, Peter denies Jesus completely:

He denies knowing Jesus twice

He invokes a curse on himself and makes an oath that he does not know Jesus on the final denial

In light of this betrayal, I think there are a couple of things that we need to remember:

Jesus knew that this would happen, while Peter was too foolish to admit that it could happen

We must beware of the fear of man, it leads to all sorts of moral failure

Peter’s grief was still very real and personal

In spite of all of the failure, Jesus stood ready to forgive and restore Peter

All of this was for us!

The Preacher’s Notebook: The Collected Quotes, Illustrations, and Prayers of John Stott Jesus and Buddha

Bishop Stephen Neill records his reaction to the exhibition of Indian art [in February 1948]:

I think my favourite in the exhibition was a figure of the Buddha from Orissa in lovely warm sandstone. As in all figures of the Buddha, the face is remote in contemplation, but the ghost of a smile plays about the lips. Here again we are at once confronted with our problem. What connection are we to make between the calm, transcendent of all human sorrows, and the tortured figure of Christ upon the Cross? What reconciliation can there be between that gentle benevolence and the raging fire which is the love of Christ for men?