The Wicked Trial
The Darkest Night • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Good morning Church! If you have your Bible and I hope that you do, please turn with me to Mark 14:53. Mark 14:53. We will be in verses 53-65.
Jesus Christ has been arrested and has been forcibly taken up into Jerusalem. Jesus has been abandoned by His disciples, thrown around by the guards, and is entering the darkest, most hypocritical and vile room in the history of the planet. It was place that Satan was, for his focus was on our Lord, what he didn’t know is that it was Christ that was in control.
Imagine for a moment that you have been falsely accused, mocked, and you are standing trial for something that you didn’t do. What would your reaction be? What would your attitude be? Now, think about Jesus, the sinless Son of God Who endured the shame, the mocking, the scorn, and the vile accusations on your behalf!
I doubt that many of us will have to deal with a mock trial where the judges are seeking to condemn us. But Jesus did. The judges are not seeking truth in this situation, they have been seeking a way to destroy Christ since Mark 3:6
6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
They’ve already established that he’s guilty. It doesn’t matter what Jesus says or does, it doesn’t matter— they want Jesus destroyed and His name forgotten! This rabble-rousing rabbi from Galilee will be a small footnote in the history of Israel if they have anything to say about it! But they don’t understand God’s redemptive plan: Christ’s unjust condemnation, His divine identity, and His sacrificial obedience prove His atonement is sufficient and that we can trust in Him.
Let’s stand together in honor of God’s Word as we read Mark 14:53-65
53 And they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. 54 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. 55 Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. 56 For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree. 57 And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, 58 “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.’ ” 59 Yet even about this their testimony did not agree. 60 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?” 61 But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” 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.” 63 And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? 64 You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death. 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.
The Temple complex held the seat of the Sanhedrin. You might remember this image explaining the layout. This is the public area where the members of the Sanhedrin, the ruling council of the Jews, would make decisions about their own people. There were strict rules regarding the conduct of trials and discussions. But one of the rules is that the Sanhedrin would only meet here. But the Scriptures clearly teach that they led Jesus to high priest’s residence. And that the chief priests, elders and scribes that wanted to accuse Christ had been gathered in the early morning hours, roughly around 3-4am.
This is not the entire Sanhedrin because we know followers of Christ like Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were not here. This is a quorum of the group reflecting the majority. The high priest this year was an extremely influential man who was known as Joseph Caiaphas. He was exceptionally powerful. The average tenure of a high priest was four years, yet he served in this role for nineteen years. His surname that we know him by is likely how he was known and it means “inquisitor”.
He was not a good or righteous man. The meeting that is taking place is a kangaroo court. For example the Jewish courts weren’t even allowed to make decisions between sunset and sunrise. It wasn’t allowed to make judgments outside of the Temple complex, issues of capital punishments weren’t allowed to be considered during Passover, trials could not take place on a feast day, the day before or after a feast. So there’s just a few of their own rules that they’re violating which teaches us that those who do not know Christ will violate their conscience if it suits their sinful desires.
That’s not surprising because we were all like that at one time or another, but it helps us to remember the kind of person we could be if it weren’t for the grace of God on our lives.
Now, Peter is outside of Caiaphas’ house. John tells us how Peter was able to get into this area in John 18:16
16 but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in.
So John and Peter are both there in the courtyard and they are with the guards, likely the servants who served in the high priest’s home. But they’re at a distance, this is a good place to ask ourselves if we’re following Christ at a distance. There are many Christians that want to do the bare minimum to be a follower of Christ. They will follow but not abandon. Church isn’t a priority but neither is personal Bible study, prayer, spiritual habits, evangelism, mission work, or serving in the church. But by golly, they’ll live for Jesus! Stop following Jesus from a distance and live for Him. But let’s give credit where credit is due, they are there and present in the hostility.
Meanwhile the chief priests and the rest of the group weren’t acting as judges seeking truth, but were “seeking testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but they found none”. This leads us to our first point
I. Christ’s Endured Unjust Accusations
I. Christ’s Endured Unjust Accusations
These men have had years to develop a case against Jesus Christ. They had heard Him attest of Himself in the temple according to John’s Gospel. They had years and here it is they cannot accuse Jesus of any wrongdoing. Why? Because He is innocent! Listen, I didn’t say that He was weak, or anything like that. I said He was innocent. He hadn’t done a single thing wrong and they even hired false witnesses!
Can you imagine bribing actors to come into a court of law and giving false witness? It’s a scandal! It’s exactly what happened. But through cross examination they contradicted each other. That’s the thing about lies is that the story changes and contradicts. This will happen with those who are deceptive.
And yet Christ endured these accusations knowing that He was surrounded by liars, cheats, and murderers. Yet this is the cost of our redemption. You see all Scripture had to be fulfilled. 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.
He suffered unjustly so that you and I could receive salvation by grace. And He opened not His mouth against the false accusations against these false witnesses. False witness never carries the conviction of truth. False witnesses even today will try to slander or minimize Christ. The word witness in verse 56 is the word marturia which means “testimony, bearing witness”. It’s where we get the word martyr from. Christians were called martyr because they bore witness of the resurrected Christ. In verse 57 its the word pseduomartureo. Like pseudoscience, or pseudopsychology. It’s not true!
Verse 58 is an example of the false witness. Mark 14:58
58 “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.’ ”
Now, Jesus did say something like this, but not exactly this. This is an example of Satanic lies where there is truth with a mixture of lies contained in it. Here’s what Jesus actually said
19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
Notice Jesus doesn’t say “I will destroy this temple.” But talking against the temple was a capital offense. The prophet Jeremiah was nearly put to death after prophesying the destruction of “this house” in chapter 26. Jeremiah 26:7-9
7 The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. 8 And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die! 9 Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without inhabitant’?” And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.
Jesus is not talking about Herod’s temple being destroyed, rather He is talking about His body being destroyed. Christ Jesus did not hold the temple in high regard. He did not ever teach it as the dwelling place of God. In fact, Stephen says this in Acts 7:48-50
48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, 49 “ ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? 50 Did not my hand make all these things?’
This church and facility is not God’s House. We should take care of it because it is a resource that the Lord has given to us, and we should be good stewards of it. There is nothing more holy about this pulpit than the seat that you’re in or the concrete on the street on the chair in your home. Because God Himself dwells in our hearts the moment we receive salvation everywhere Christians go becomes holy.
Christ was not concerned about the temple because it’s simply a building. Stephens words “does not dwell in houses made by hands” is not a positive phrase but a derogatory one. The food of Christ’s was to do the will of the Father, and Christ was pointing everyone to the fact that He is the true temple through which we must enter to have full atonement and commune with God. This is what the prophets looked forward to. 2 Samuel 7:13
13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
This was fulfilled by Solomon partially, but truly fulfilled by Jesus. Zechariah 6:12
12 And say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord.
The false witnesses even got the part wrong about rebuilding it. Jesus said that He would raise it up, talking about His own body. This proves what I’m saying about Christ’s body being the new and better Temple. This is one reason why Christians should not encourage the building of another temple in Israel, because to do so actually minimizes Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection. His temple is the only temple that matters now. Have you entered into it? I sure hope so for your sake!
The Sanhedrin set their best trap and even their best plots couldn’t ensnare Christ. That simply proves that Christ is not a victim to His circumstances, but that He is laying His life down. No one takes it from Him but He lays it down willingly.
In a last ditch effort, the powerful Caiaphas stood up and said, ““Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” But Jesus remained silent and didn’t give an answer. Mark depicts Christ as the suffering servant just like what we read earlier in Isaiah. Its in this final, desperate attempt that Caiaphas asks Jesus directly, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”
Now, this is important because the phrase ‘Son of the Blessed’ is just a way to say the Son of God. There were plenty of people that claimed to be the Christ in Israel’s history’s. 100 years after the death of Jesus, Rabbi Akiba openly declared Bar Kokhba, leader of the second revolt against Rome, to be the Messiah, and the mass of the Jewish people believed it—even after Bar Kokhba’s death.
But notice Christ’s response: “I am,” ego eimi. This is the profession in John that got the Jews worked up. John 5:18
18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
and John 8:58-59
58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
When Jesus says “I am,” that’s strike one, but then He says “you will see the Son of Man” that’s strike two! Who is the Son of Man, how would Caiaphas have understood it? If you remember while we were in Daniel a few years back we talked about the vision that Daniel had. Daniel 7:13-14
13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
He’s not just saying that He is the Messiah but divine. It is only the Son of God that sits at the right hand of God, or as Jesus puts it “Power”. You see this is not the trap of Satan, but the plan of God. Jesus even tells Caiaphas that he will see Jesus seated next to the Father and coming with the clouds of heaven. And here Jesus publicly claims His Divine Identity.
II. Christ’s Divine Identity
II. Christ’s Divine Identity
This is strike three for Caiaphas. Jesus’ divine nature is the cornerstone of our redemption. Hebrews 7:26-27
26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.
and 2 Corinthians 5:21
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
You see, Christ the sinless Son of God had to be the One to take our blame. It was all part of God’s divine plan and through Christ’s death we see God’s redemptive purpose. And It is Jesus’ claim, His TRUTH CLAIM that enrages everyone and leads to His condemnation for blasphemy.
Have you ever seen that show Undercover Boss? It seems like there are three different employees: The amazing employee that shows up and works hard and has some kind of story that really resonates with the audience. They work hard, deal with customers well and help the company become better. Then there’s just regular employees, right? They show up and clock out. They do what they’re asked and nothing more. They are extras in the show pretty much. Then there’s the employees that think the company is there to serve them. They goof off, take advantage of the company, don’t work hard.
The incognito boss come in and the boss is often mocked, bullied and when the real identity is revealed it’s a “Oh no!” moment, isn’t it? Christ has revealed His divine identity and what should have happened was an “Oh no!” moment. Christ should have been worshipped as Lord and Master. I believe that in order to be saved you have to have an “Oh no!” moment. You have to see your sin for the vileness it is, your need for Christ, and the despair of knowing you have no other hope but to flee to Christ Jesus. Or you will have an “Oh no!” moment after death when you stand before Christ. You can take Jesus seriously now or later. Those that choose now have chosen better. Do not wait! Come to Christ today.
This is a good place to ask you Christian, do you believe what Jesus said about Himself? More importantly, do you rebel against His authority over what He says about Himself? Christ reveals Himself here as God Almighty. That settle it. He has all authority over you doubly. Both as Lord of your creation and Lord of your salvation.
But you may be tempted to Pursue Your Plan Over God’s Plan. But Jesus as Lord demands that His will reigns over your personal goals and ambitions. How you spend your time, your money, everything.
Maybe you try to Justify Your Sinful Choices as Freedom. But His Divinity means that He has every right to save you and call you to holiness. God has given His moral standards, so if you’re sleeping with your boyfriend or girlfriend then you’re living in rebellion and need to repent. If you’re getting drunk, then you need to repent and walk in the light. If your words are full of cursing and coarse jokes then you need to talk to the Lord Who bought you and get it right. Talk to some people that can help you and hold you accountable and walk in faithfulness.
Maybe its neglecting spiritual disciplines. While obedience never saves, it is evidence that you are saved. I recently heard a pastor put it this way “Obedience is not what gets you grace. Its the evidence that grace has gotten you.” You may skip prayer time, church, Bible study, devotions habitually. But we’re called to abide in Christ. To seek first the Kingdom of God. You can be a Christian and not be in prayer, church, Bible study, but that’s like saying you can be a living human while starving. Eventually something is going to give.
Jesus Christ is Lord. Do you live like He’s your Lord?
Going back to the passage at hand, we see Caiaphas tearing his robes. This was a sign of tremendous grief in the Old Testament. Here, it is not grief because these men did not care about holiness in the slightest. They have violated the entire Law of God. They’ve blasphemed, lied, coveted, murdered, committed idolatry, failed to love God. It’s amazing that Christ is the innocent one and He’s the one on trial, meanwhile the Sanhedrin are the judges that lift themselves up in self-righteousness against God Almighty!
The high priest quickly calls a beth din or court to be a witness to themselves and formally he asks their opinion and formally they give it. Death. Here’s the thing. If it was anyone other than Jesus, it would have been blasphemy. But it wasn’t
And they all condemned him as deserving death. And they spit on our Lord, and covered His face, this means they put a sack over His head and began to beat Him and since He claimed to be a prophet, they said “Prophesy!” And they handed Jesus over to the guards and they received Him with punches to the gut.
And the atonement of the Lamb begins and we see point 3:
III. Christ’s Sacrificial Obedience
III. Christ’s Sacrificial Obedience
Here we see the mocking and severe abuse that the Creator took from His creation because of His great love for His people. But the abuse here fulfills prophecy written 750 years before Christ in Isaiah 50:6
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.
And yet Christ remained obedient to the Father’s will and He knew that this path of suffering was the path to freedom and salvation for sinners.
The penalty for Christ’s actions was only death. Blasphemy was a capital offense. According to the Law, stoning was the prescribed method for killing a blasphemer. However, the Sanhedrin didn’t have the right to exercise capital punishment. So, they needed to present a case before Pilate.
But please don’t lose sight of the purpose of this passage. This passage shows the path that Christ takes to redeem our souls. Jesus endures mocking and violence to show His sacrificial love for you. He takes our shame and our sin so that we can be reconciled to God!
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Picture a firefighter rushing into a burning building, flames roaring, knowing he might not come out. He dives through the smoke to save trapped people, carrying them to safety at the cost of his own life. That’s a faint shadow of what Jesus did for us. In Mark 14, He faced lies, mockery, and brutal blows, not because He was guilty, but because we were. He endured the cross to rescue us from the fire of our sin, taking our shame so we could be reconciled to God and saved from an eternity in hell.
Church, Jesus is no mere teacher or prophet—He’s the divine Son of Man, seated at the right hand of Power, coming again in glory. His sacrifice is sufficient, His authority absolute. The question is: Will you trust Him today? If you’ve never repented and believed, turn to Christ now—His atonement covers all your sin. If you’re a believer, stop following at a distance like Peter. Surrender your plans, your sins, your all to the One who gave His life for you. By God’s grace, live for Him, knowing the Holy Spirit empowers your obedience.
Head: God wants you to know Jesus faced injustice willingly to fulfill God’s plan of redemption. Jesus wasn’t a victim of circumstance—He knowingly and willingly walked into betrayal and arrest to accomplish God’s redemptive purpose. His suffering was part of God’s sovereign plan.
Heart: God wants you to believe that Jesus is sovereign and faithful, even in suffering. Even when betrayed and abandoned, Jesus remained faithful. You can believe He is sovereign and trustworthy, even in your darkest moments.
Hand: God wants you to trust God's plan, especially when life feels uncertain or painful. Because Jesus trusted the Father’s plan through pain, you can trust God when life feels uncertain. His purposes are good, even when they’re hard to see.
