Jesus On Trial
Notes
Transcript
Subject: Identity
Theme: Identity Confronted
Thesis - In the hour of denial, mockery, and accusation, Jesus faithfully reveals His true identity and authority even as those around Him reject Him.
Principle: Every person must respond to the truth of Jesus’ identity.
There are moments in life when a single question reveals what is truly in a person’s heart.
Not a complicated question.
Just a simple one.
But the answer exposes everything.
That is the kind of moment we come to in Luke chapter 22.
It is the final night before the crucifixion.
Jesus has been arrested.
The disciples have scattered.
And in the hours that follow, several different groups of people are forced to confront the same question.
Who is Jesus?
Peter faces that question in the courtyard.
The guards face that question as they mock Him.
The religious leaders face that question as they interrogate Him.
And every one of them gives a response.
Peter denies Him.
The soldiers mock Him.
The council condemns Him.
But Luke did not record these events simply so we would know what happened that night.
He recorded them because the same question confronts every person who encounters Jesus.
Who is Jesus — and how will we respond to Him?
As we walk through this passage this morning, we are going to see three responses to the identity of Jesus.
Some deny Him.
Some mock Him.
Some reject Him.
But in the end, every person must answer the same question.
Who is Jesus?
54 Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house, and Peter was following at a distance. 55 And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. 56 Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.” 57 But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” 58 And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.” 59 And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.” 60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” 62 And he went out and wept bitterly. 63 Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. 64 They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” 65 And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him. 66 When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their council, and they said, 67 “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, 68 and if I ask you, you will not answer. 69 But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” 70 So they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.” 71 Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.”
I. Identity Denied
I. Identity Denied
Luke 22:54–62
We pick up in verse 54 this morning of the final hours of Jesus life before the crucifixion.
Jesus is seized and led away to the high priests house.
Reading the other gospel accounts help us to have fuller picture of what all happened here.
After Jesus arrest, all the disciples scattered.
56 But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.
As he and another were fleeing though, they had a change of heart.
Peter probably remember, I said I would follow Jesus to the death, and now I am running away!
The key that Luke tells us is that Peter, even though he has failed miserably, is still following Jesus, but now at a distance.
Peter and another, most commentators believe to be John follow Jesus but his name is not explicitly told to us.
15 Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, 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.
This part of Jesus arrest the two disciples experienced the quite differently.
The unnamed disciple we know from that passage in John was known to the High Priest.
He was able to enter the courtyard with Jesus, while Peter initially remained outside at the door until the other disciple brought him in.
Luke focuses in specifically on Peter here.
Peter positioned himself at a distance in the courtyard, warming himself by the fire.
A servant girl, seeing him in the light of the fire says, This man also was with him.
Peter denies it.
And again someone else recognizes him.
But again Peter denies it.
And when another hour had passed another person insisted they had seen Peter with Jesus, especially since he was a Galilean.
What happens next?
Immediately, the rooster crows.
Jesus turned and looked at Peter, and Peter remembered Jesus words.
What Jesus had told Peter hours before, just came true.
And Peter went out and wept bitterly.
Now we often focus on Peter in this passage.
Rightfully so, his humanity is placed fully on display.
He like us, was so easily swayed by the opinion of others.
Wanting to be present, but not wanting to recognized as one of Jesus followers.
There are times when we find ourselves in similar situations.
You are standing in a group of coworkers or friends and someone begins to mock Christianity, or dismiss the Bible, or make a joke about people who believe in Jesus.
In that moment you feel the pressure in the room.
You know what you believe.
You know what the truth is.
But instead of speaking, you remain quiet. You let the conversation pass.
You allow people to assume that you are just like everyone else.
Sometimes it happens in moral decisions.
You know what Scripture says about honesty, purity, integrity, or forgiveness.
Yet when the pressure of the moment comes, the desire to fit in, avoid conflict, or give in to temptation becomes stronger than the desire to honor Christ.
Instead of standing clearly with Him, you soften the conviction, adjust the truth, or simply look the other way.
Like Peter, we may not necessarily renounce Jesus openly.
But we quietly distance ourselves from Him.
Sometimes it happens in our public identity.
There are moments when it becomes uncomfortable to be identified as a follower of Christ.
Perhaps it is easier to be known primarily for your job, your hobbies, your opinions, or your political views than to be known first as someone who belongs to Jesus.
And so His name becomes something we keep mostly private rather than something we openly identify with.
Peter sat among the crowd, some of them the very men who arrested Jesus, warming himself by their fire.
And sometimes we do the same.
We settle comfortably into environments where our connection to Christ is kept safely hidden.
The danger of following Jesus at a distance though is that when the moment of pressure comes, denial is never far behind.
Peter did not begin the night intending to deny Jesus.
He began the night confident in his loyalty.
But when fear and pressure rose, the distance between him and Jesus made it easier to choose safety over faithfulness.
And if we are honest, we know that same struggle lives in our own hearts.
That is why Peter’s story is not just about Peter.
It is about all of us.
Something for us to remember is that fear can cause even sincere followers to deny the Lord they love.
Which is why Jesus told them to pray!
Scripture connects prayer with overcoming fear and maintaining faith through several related teachings. Philippians 4:6–7 instructs believers to replace anxiety with prayer and thanksgiving, promising that God’s peace will guard their hearts and minds in Christ. 2 Timothy 1:7 reinforces this by declaring that God has given believers “a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
encourages believers to “be constant in prayer” while remaining patient during hardship,
22 Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
invites believers to cast their burdens on the Lord, trusting that he will sustain them.
These passages collectively present prayer as the primary means through which believers combat fear and maintain faith during difficult circumstances.
There is something else going on here as well though that shows Jesus sovereignty over this whole situation.
A note that only Luke makes.
When the rooster crowed, what did Jesus do.
He turned and looked at Peter.
Jesus was in full control of what was happening.
He knew exactly where Peter was in the crowd.
He knew Peter had denied him those 3 times.
The verb uses to describe Jesus look here is intense.
to look intently
to fix one’s gaze upon
This is not a passing glance.
It is a knowing look.
And that look produces the effect:
“Peter remembered the word of the Lord.”
The rooster does not awaken Peter.
The Lord’s word does.
Even though Jesus has been arrested, even though He is surrounded by guards, even though He is on His way to trial, Luke reminds us that the one standing there in chains is still the Lord.
He is not a helpless victim in this story.
He is the sovereign Son of God who already knew everything that would happen.
Jesus is in complete control and Peter’s story shows us how easily even sincere followers can falter under pressure.
But the scene is not finished.
While Peter is outside weeping over his denial, something else is happening inside the high priest’s courtyard.
Luke’s narrative now shifts away from Peter and back to Jesus.
The men guarding Jesus are about to do something even worse that denying Jesus.
They are going to mock, beat, and ridicule the very one who had just proven Himself to be the true prophet.
And in doing so, they reveal another response people have to the identity of Jesus.
Some deny Him.
Others mock Him.
Luke now turns our attention to that second response
II. Identity Mocked
II. Identity Mocked
While this was happening with Peter, we see something despicable already taking place.
63 Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. 64 They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” 65 And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him.
This was not a simple interrogation.
This was humiliation.
Rather than formal trials, these were legal examinations—the Jewish leadership gathered evidence to present to Rome, since they lacked authority to execute (John 18:13–28).
Jesus was first brought to Annas, the former High Priest and the father-in-law of the current high priest Caiaphas (John 18:13).
Annas questioned Jesus about his disciples and teachings, but Jesus responded that he had taught openly with witnesses available (John 18:19–23).
He was then taken to Caiaphas, where the chief priests sought false testimony to justify his execution (Matthew 26:57–59).
It is in the presence of Annas that Luke places this first physical beating.
“They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, ‘Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?’” (Luke 22:64)
The other Gospels tell us that they spit on Him, struck Him, and slapped Him.
“Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him, saying, ‘Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?’” (Matthew 26:67–68)
Imagine the scene.
They cover His eyes.
They strike Him.
And then they demand that He identify who hit Him.
“Prophesy!”
The irony here is striking.
They did not know it but only moments earlier, Jesus had proven His prophetic authority when Peter denied Him exactly as Jesus said he would.
The rooster crowed exactly when Jesus said it would.
Yet they mock the very authority they refuse to recognize.
Luke adds:
“And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him.” (Luke 22:65)
The charge against Jesus was blasphemy for claiming to be the Son of God (Luke 22:63–71
When we look at what is happening here there is no mistake about it.
What we are seeing here is hatred.
Real hatred.
These men are abusing Him, mocking Him, and blaspheming Him.
And they have absolutely no cause to do any of it.
Jesus had done nothing wrong.
He had healed the sick.
He had fed the hungry.
He had raised the dead.
He had spoken truth.
And yet here He stands, bound and beaten by sinful men.
And the thing that makes these verses difficult to read is that they reveal something deeply troubling about the human heart.
They reveal the extent of our own depravity.
To hate someone who has done you no wrong requires a kind of brutality that seems almost beyond reason.
And yet the Bible tells us exactly where that hatred comes from.
It comes from the sickness of the human heart.
Jeremiah 17:9 says,
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”
Those words are difficult to hear.
When we hear that someone we love is desperately sick, it devastates us.
But here God is telling us that our hearts are desperately sick.
That sickness is what we are seeing on display in this passage.
And this is where we have to be careful.
Because when we read about the cruelty of these men, it is tempting to say,
“How could they?”
“How could someone treat Jesus like that?”
But the truth is that the same sickness that lived in their hearts lives in ours as well.
We must not read this passage and say, “I would never do that.”
Because the Bible tells us that the same fallen nature that produced that hatred exists in us too.
The same sickness is present in every human heart.
And Jesus knew it.
He knew that the men who were beating Him and mocking Him had desperately sick hearts.
He understood that the things they were doing to Him were exactly the kinds of things sick hearts produce.
What makes this moment so remarkable.
Jesus also knew why He had come.
He came to do something about that sickness.
He came to bring healing to desperately sick hearts.
That is why He endured this horrific treatment.
And that is what carried Him through it.
Jesus Himself said:
“Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53)
At any moment Jesus could have stopped it.
At any moment He could have ended the abuse.
But He did not.
Because the cross was coming.
And the cross was the solution to the sickness of the human heart.
Hebrews 12:2 tells us something remarkable about Jesus in this moment.
“Jesus… who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame.”
He endured the shame.
He endured the mockery.
He endured the abuse.
Why?
Because He knew what was on the other side.
The joy set before Him.
And that joy was knowing that the solution to our desperately sick hearts would come through His suffering.
He endured the hatred of sinful men because He knew that through His death He would provide the cure for the sickness that lived inside them.
After attempting to wear him down physically, they next take him to an assembly of the elders, chief priests, and scribes.
III. Identity Declared
III. Identity Declared
Luke 22:66–71
Before we move further into this scene, it is important to understand something about what has been happening throughout this night.
By the time the sun begins to rise in Luke 22:66, an astonishing number of violations of Jewish law have already taken place.
In fact, nearly everything about the way Jesus has been treated during the night has ignored the very legal standards the Jewish leaders themselves claimed to uphold.
According to Jewish law, criminal trials were not allowed to begin until after sunrise and had to conclude before sunset.
But Jesus had already been questioned and abused throughout the night.
According to Jewish law, criminal trials were not to be conducted during the Passover celebration.
Yet this entire process is unfolding in the middle of the most sacred feast in Israel.
According to Jewish law, a guilty verdict could never be issued on the same day as the trial.
If a verdict of guilt was reached, the council was required to wait until the following day before officially delivering the sentence.
That waiting period was meant to allow time for reconsideration and mercy.
But that safeguard is completely ignored here.
According to Jewish law, every accusation had to be confirmed by two or three witnesses.
Those witnesses were to be examined separately, and their testimony had to agree.
That does not happen here.
In fact, when we read the other Gospel accounts, we learn that the witnesses they bring forward contradict one another.
And according to Jewish law, a witness who gave false testimony was to be stoned to death.
That safeguard was meant to prevent dishonest accusations.
But again, that standard is completely ignored.
And one more principle governed Jewish trials.
A proper trial was supposed to begin by presenting evidence in favor of the accused, before any case for guilt was introduced.
The goal of the law was not to rush toward condemnation, but to protect justice.
None of that happens here.
Instead, what we see in this trial is not a search for truth.
It is a determination to secure a conviction.
And that is why the exchange that follows in verses 67 and 68 is so revealing.
67 “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, 68 and if I ask you, you will not answer.
The council is not asking questions in order to discover the truth.
They are asking questions in order to force Jesus to say something they can use against Him.
They are not interested in evidence.
They are looking for a confession.
And that is exactly what leads us into the next moment in the passage, when they ask Jesus directly:
“If you are the Christ, tell us.” (Luke 22:67)
The men who claim to be the guardians of God’s law are violating it at every step.
And the one they are putting on trial is the only truly righteous man standing in the room.
Jesus answers their question with a statement that is both simple and profound.
Luke tells us:
“And he said to them, ‘You say that I am.’” (Luke 22:70)
At first glance that response may sound a little unusual to our ears.
But what Jesus is doing here is exposing the reality of the situation.
In essence, Jesus is telling them:
“You are the ones saying it.”
“You are the ones drawing that conclusion.”
And in doing so, Jesus is revealing something about their hearts.
This was never an honest search for the truth.
This was never a fair hearing.
Their minds were already made up.
It did not matter how Jesus answered the question.
It did not matter what evidence was presented.
They were determined to condemn Him.
What makes this moment even more significant is that Jesus had already revealed this truth multiple times during His public ministry.
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus repeatedly identified Himself as the unique Son of God.
And in the Jewish world of the first century, that was not a small claim.
To call yourself the Son of God in a unique sense was to claim equality with God.
That is why the Jewish leaders reacted so strongly when Jesus made those statements.
For example, in John 10:30 Jesus said,
“I and the Father are one.”
The response was immediate.
The Jewish leaders picked up stones to kill Him.
And when Jesus asked why they wanted to stone Him, they answered plainly:
“It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” (John 10:33)
They understood exactly what Jesus was claiming.
Some people today say that Jesus never actually claimed to be God.
But the people who heard Him speak certainly believed that He did.
In fact, the apostle John explains it very clearly in his Gospel.
John wrote earlier also
“This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him… because he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” (John 5:18)
So here in Luke 22 when Jesus says, “You say that I am,” He is exposing their hypocrisy.
He is showing that the question itself is dishonest.
They are pretending to investigate the truth, but they have already decided the verdict.
They are not asking because they want an answer.
They are asking because they want ammunition.
And the irony is that even in their hostility, they are actually speaking more truth than they realize.
Because the statement they are making about Jesus is exactly right.
He is the Son of God.
But instead of worshiping Him, they use that truth as the basis for condemning Him.
And in doing so they reveal something tragic about the human heart.
A person can hear the truth about Jesus…
recognize the truth about Jesus…
and still reject Him.
Luke tells us:
“Then they said, ‘What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.’” (Luke 22:71)
And with that statement, the council believes they have everything they need.
In their minds, the case is closed.
The verdict has already been decided.
They believe they have successfully judged Jesus.
But the irony of this moment is almost overwhelming.
The court that judged Jesus did not realize they were standing before the Judge of all the earth.
The very men who believed they were condemning Him would one day stand before Him.
The one they mocked…
The one they struck…
The one they accused…
is the one who will one day sit on the throne of final judgment.
And that realization brings us to the final question this passage presses upon us.
Because every person in this chapter had to deal with the same reality.
Peter had to respond to who Jesus is.
The guards had to respond to who Jesus is.
The council had to respond to who Jesus is.
Luke’s story presses that same question upon us.
Who is Jesus — and how will we respond to Him?
IV. Identity Confronts Us
IV. Identity Confronts Us
Luke does not record this scene simply so we can observe what happened to Jesus.
He records it so we will confront the same question every person in this chapter had to face.
Who is Jesus?
Who is Jesus — and how will you respond to Him?
That question cannot be avoided.
Because everyone responds to Jesus in some way and often multiple ways depending on the situation.
Sometimes we respond like Peter did in the courtyard.
We know who Jesus is.
We may even love Him.
But when the pressure comes, when identifying with Him becomes costly or uncomfortable, we step back.
We keep our faith quiet.
Hopefully we don’t respond respond like the guards did.
They mocked.
They dismissed.
They treated Jesus as someone unworthy of serious consideration.
You may be able to think of examples around you where you have seen the name of Jesus treated with ridicule.
Gas station lady
Often, people will respect almost any religious figure or spiritual teacher, think Ghandi, he is generally well respected.
but the moment the name of Jesus enters the conversation, the tone changes.
His authority is dismissed.
His followers are mocked.
There is also the response of the council.
The council recognized exactly what Jesus was claiming.
They understood the implications.
And they rejected Him anyway.
That response still exists today.
There are many people who understand who Jesus claimed to be.
They know the gospel.
They understand the claims of Christ.
But they refuse to bow before Him as Lord.
But Luke did not write this passage so we could analyze the responses of others.
He wrote it so we would examine our own.
Because one day every person will stand before the very One who stood before that council.
The court that judged Jesus will one day stand before Him.
And so will we.
On that day the most important question in our lives will not be our accomplishments, our reputation, or our success.
The question will be simple.
What did you do with Jesus?
Did you deny Him?
Did you dismiss Him?
Did you reject Him?
Or did you recognize the truth of who He is?
The irony of this passage is that Jesus stood silently before His accusers that morning.
But one day those same men will stand before Him.
And the same will be true for every person who has ever lived.
Scripture tells us:
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The question is not if we will acknowledge who Jesus is.
The question is when.
We will either acknowledge Him now in repentance and faith…
or we will acknowledge Him then in judgment.
So Luke leaves us with a question that every human heart must answer.
Who is Jesus to you?
And just as important,
how will you respond to Him?
