Jesus’s Trial and Denial

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Introduction:

We are continuing in the Gospel of Mark

Last week we celebrate baptisms

But this week we are approaching the end of the Gospel

Last time in Mark:

We saw Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane

Agonizing in prayer over what is going to take place

But we see through his time of prayer he is strengthened for what would soon take place

And we spent a week talking about prayer—how we can come to God with whatever is on our hearts

And today we are looking at the Trial and Denial of Jesus

In the Garden Jesus is arrested and dragged to be put on trial

He is brought before the religious leaders in an unfair trial

And he is denied 3 times by Peter, who promised that “even if everyone falls away, I will not” Mark 14:29

So let’s jump in!

Scripture Reading:

Mark 14:53–72 CSB

53 They led Jesus away to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes assembled. 54 Peter followed him at a distance, right into the high priest’s courtyard. He was sitting with the servants, warming himself by the fire. 55 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they could not find any. 56 For many were giving false testimony against him, and the testimonies did not agree. 57 Some stood up and gave false testimony against him, stating, 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands, and in three days I will build another not made by hands.’ ” 59 Yet their testimony did not agree even on this. 60 Then the high priest stood up before them all and questioned Jesus, “Don’t you have an answer to what these men are testifying against you?” 61 But he kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest questioned him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62 “I am,” said Jesus, “and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.” 63 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “Why do we still need witnesses? 64 You have heard the blasphemy. What is your decision?” They all condemned him as deserving death. 65 Then some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, and to beat him, saying, “Prophesy!” The temple servants also took him and slapped him. 66 While Peter was in the courtyard below, one of the high priest’s maidservants came. 67 When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.” 68 But he denied it: “I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about.” Then he went out to the entryway, and a rooster crowed. 69 When the maidservant saw him again, she began to tell those standing nearby, “This man is one of them.” 70 But again he denied it. After a little while those standing there said to Peter again, “You certainly are one of them, since you’re also a Galilean.” 71 Then he started to curse and swear, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about!” 72 Immediately a rooster crowed a second time, and Peter remembered when Jesus had spoken the word to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.

Todays scripture is intense and emotional, and I don’t want us to be desensitized to the injustice, pain, and betrayal that we just read

A completely innocent man is falsely condemned

He is mocked, humiliated, and beaten by religious leaders

And on top of this, we have the heart-wrenching story of deep betrayal

This section starts with Judas betraying Jesus, but by the end of the chapter, even Peter rejects and denies having any connection to his close friend

This is a sad story

And it should make us sad, upset, and angry

The Trial

But what we are seeing here—the choices that are made, the injustices that are committed—is a revealing of peoples true character

The religious leaders, Peter, and Jesus are all under a tremendous amount of pressure—and out of this—their true nature shows:

Robert McKee:

“True character is revealed in the choices a human being makes under pressure - the greater the pressure, the deeper the revelation, the truer the choice to the character's essential nature.”

These difficult situations don’t make us bad or good people—they expose what was already underneath

Heroic—Running into a building on fire to save a life

Evil—An opportunity to make a lot of money unfairly

And in this story we have 3 people/groups of people that have this exposed for all to see:

The Sanhedrin (the religious leaders)

Peter

Jesus

Today I want to look at each of these people under pressure to see how their decisions reflect their character and what we can learn from them

The Sanhedrin

The religious leaders were tempted with power

Or rather they were tempted to commit acts of injustice—acts of wrong—to protect their power

They saw Jesus as the greatest threat to their own kingdom

Not only was he drawing the attention of the crowds and leading a revival (which would cause jealousy)

He was actively calling them out for their own hypocrisy for all to see

Siding with Jesus would be social and career suicide

They knew their hypocrisy was real

And they could have either agreed with Jesus and disqualified themselves from ministry OR continue to oppose him

And there are small squabbles here and there

But eventually the religious leaders set it in their hearts to murder Jesus—to kill an innocent man—in order to protect their power

So here we are—the pressure is on—Jesus arrives in Jerusalem for the Passover—The crowds are loving him—And He begins refuting all of their argument in front of everyone—And then an opportunity arises: Judas comes wanting to betray him—Under pressure, what will they do?

They decide to condemn Jesus

In the process of trying to find a way to condemn Jesus under the law—they were carelessly breaking the very laws they used to accuse Jesus

They had bribed Judas to bring him in

They were not allowed to hold trials at night, on the sabbath, or the evening of religious feasts

The proceedings took place at the high priests house—not at the temple

They sought false witnesses

Testimonies didn’t agree—which should have voided the case

Trials (especially ones resulting in the death penalty) had to last longer than a day for consideration

The high priest tore his robes

Leviticus 21:10 “The priest who is highest among his brothers, who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and has been ordained to wear the clothes, must not dishevel his hair or tear his clothes.”

And worse than all of this—they knew Jesus was an innocent man

But he was the scapegoat and blame for all of their insecurities

Under pressure, the already exposed hypocrites, further reveal how far they are willing to go to protect their hypocrisy.

And this should be a warning to all of us

You see the religious leaders didn’t just make a mistake or one bad choice—they were on a road with many off-ramps and many opportunities to repent and confess their sins

But because they never responded with a repentant heart…when the pressure came—and as good religious men they they did something they probably never even thought they would do—they kill an innocent man—and not just an innocent man—they condemn their own God in human flesh

And for us: we have to guard our hearts from even the smallest hardening of our hearts

When we live with unconfessed sin that is habitual and not dealt with—over time it will destroy us

I think of all of the horrible stories of people that commit adultery

Almost all of the time it isn’t someone who is happily married, great character that one day decides to have an affair

No, the grounds for adultery are cultivated through years of resentment, unresolved issues, unresolved sin and lust

That lead to little compromise after little compromise, and eventually these people are committing sins that they would have never imagined falling into

It’s not as simple as making the right choice, but when pressure comes its showing what is already inside your heart

The next person we will look at under pressure is Peter:

Peter

Peter’s temptation is different than that of the religious leaders

Inside of the religious leaders hearts was hatred, envy, and selfishness

Inside of Peter’s heart is deep fear—not for his status/wealth/power—but his very life

But Peter is a follower of Jesus—the pressure he is facing is that he must choose a side:

He can be loyal to Jesus or loyal to himself

You see just like the religious leaders—this moment is revealing what is really inside his heart

Peter had thought that Jesus was coming to free the Jewish people from Roman oppression—the be the long awaited messiah that would bring freedom to God’s people

But Peter’s understanding of how this would play out was different that God’s plan

We already have seen Peter rebuked for telling Jesus that he didn’t have to die

We also saw when Jesus was betrayed, Peter picked up a sword to defend Jesus

And here we see Peter watching Jesus as he is condemned, mocked, and beaten

Is Peter going to trust his idea of who Jesus is—or Jesus himself

I think there is a little truth in his words:

Mark 14:71 CSB

71 Then he started to curse and swear, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about!”

Peter is confused—This isn’t the Jesus he knows

We see this throughout the Gospel of Mark

This isn’t the Jesus he was expecting

And when we are in periods of testing, our ideas of who God is and what his plans are often shattered

Smelting/Refining — Impurities come out

And as heartbreaking as this betrayal from a close friend is… I am so glad it is in the Bible

Jesus knows the pain of betrayal

For those of us who have been betrayed

No one is beyond redemption

This was a test—and Peter failed it miserably

But God wasn’t done with Peter

I love Luke’s account of Peter’s betrayal

Luke 22:59–62 CSB

59 About an hour later, another kept insisting, “This man was certainly with him, since he’s also a Galilean.” 60 But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. 61 Then the Lord turned and looked at Peter. So Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.

How would you imagine Jesus’s face?

God is not done with you

No matter how many times you have failed—no matter if you deny him—When we are faithless, he remains faithful

This was Peter’s lowest moment—on display for all Christians to read for thousands of years

But we also see this same Peter move forward with boldness in the power of the Spirit in Acts—proclaiming Jesus to all

We see him stand up against these very same religious leaders

We read his words of wisdom and maturity in his letters

And eventually we know that Peter didn’t deny Jesus in the end

Peter died for Jesus and the mission of the gospel

Crucified upside down

Peter marked by one with Jesus

By servant girl and in Acts 4

Whether he likes it or not—he has been with Jesus and others know it

This story—Peter’s failure—should give us all hope

God is not done with you

And the last person we see under the immense pressure of this situation is Jesus himself

Jesus

Under pressure, immense pressure of life or death… Jesus remains calm, collected, and steadfast in his mission

Imagine the chaos of this trial—all of the accusations—none of them adding up

Mark 14:60–61 CSB

60 Then the high priest stood up before them all and questioned Jesus, “Don’t you have an answer to what these men are testifying against you?” 61 But he kept silent and did not answer.

What if you were in this position?

People accusing you of things you’ve never done—wanting to put you to death

Our instinct is to rise up and defend ourselves

Prove them wrong

But Jesus remains silent

He knows what must take place

He must be rejected by these men, condemned by them

He must face the horrors of the cross—to free his people from slavery to sin and death

He was willing to endure all of this for you and me

But just like for the others, their true nature bubbles up—we see Jesus’s true nature

Humble, quiet, deep trust in God

When put under the most intense pressure, we see the heart of God

Patient, slow to anger, and willing to suffer

He is unfazed

I just think of all of the seasons and trials I have been through—and almost always I am tempted to lash out at others, complain, and try to fix my problems myself

I might be calm and peaceful on the surface—but when the pressure really comes—often it breaks apart

But here we see Jesus—Jesus is the opposite of the hypocrites—He is exactly who he says he is

When the pressure comes—he remains the same Jesus

And we see at his heart—is his compassion for us—his mission to save us on the cross

He is more concerned with that mission than his own circumstances, safety, and honor

What we see in Jesus is a willingness to suffer, and be misunderstood—for the gospel’s sake

And we are invited into this way of life with Jesus

A life that is free from the ups and downs of our circumstances

A life that is so rooted in God and his plans—that even when the pressure comes—we remain unmoved

You see, this pressure revealed the true character of Jesus—He didn’t just talk the talk

Love your enemies, turn the other cheek—He lived it

And often it’s not even our fault—When we live lives like Jesus we will face resistance

But the question is how we deal with it not trying to avoid it

(Jaiden basketball—Bad refs—remain unfazed)

Conclusion

So as we wrap up today and get ready to partake in communion:

I want to remind us all that all of the three different responses we saw—weren’t split decision moments

They were engrained in these people’s character

And when the test came—they acted accordingly

“Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.” - Lao Tzu

And we might be able to cover everything up—but eventually pressure will come and expose what is truly underneath

And the invitation this morning is to come to the table

To partake in communion

To confess the areas where we have fallen short and are in need of the cross

To remind ourselves of God’s deep love for us

Because only standing in God’s love will we be able to withstand anything this world has to throw at us

Small Groups

Icebreaker: Share an embarrassing moment from your past

Have you ever been falsely accused for something? Did you find it difficult to not defend yourself?

What does seeing these people (Jesus, Peter, and the religious leaders) under pressure show you about their character?

What are some habits (good or bad) that you have developed, what affect do you think they have on your character?

Prayer