Jesus' Trials
Notes
Transcript
Jesus’ trials were deliberate attempts to get Jesus, not a search for justice. There were multiple trials since the Jews first had to decide what to do, then get Rome’s consent to execute him. This is the most evil miscarriage of justice ever done; the only man who was truly without sin was judged to have committed the most serious of sins, the sin of blasphemy; God was in the dock and they judged him to have broken God’s laws.
Jesus himself demonstrates his composure; he has prepared himself properly by prayer and is ready to meet the most intense trial any human could ever face. Despite the obvious injustice against him, he does not yell, he does not throw insults; he answers honestly, firmly, and calmly. In fact, he is the only one in the entire drama who is calm.
But I don’t want the Sanhedrin to seem like cartoon villains; they had human and understandable motivations. If you can’t understand someone’s actions, you can easily think that you could never do that. To understand their actions, we will have to go back to another meeting before that night. By the night of the trial they had already decided what to do; they had already set their reasons and were just carrying out what they had agreed to do. By doing this we will see how easily sin can lead to much greater sin.
Both Pilate and the Sanhedrin do not believe in Jesus. Pilate because he is a Roman and does not care about Jewish ideas. The Sanhedrin because they are proud of their position. That is, they are both proud. And they are both afraid of what this Messiah will do. The Sanhedrin are afraid of the Romans who tend to put down riots with a lot of slaughter and death, including the death of leaders. Pilate is afraid of what will happen to him if Rome does not like what he is doing. Both are proud, both have the fear of man, and these twin faults prevent both of them from believing in Jesus, receiving eternal life, and from doing the right thing when presented with the most important court case in all of human history.
Mocking Jesus, makes a Mockery of the Trial
Mocking Jesus, makes a Mockery of the Trial
Once we are done following Peter, Luke takes us back into Caiaphas’ house, and as we enter they are mocking Jesus. Obviously this shows us how cruel and unjust they are. These are Jews; they aren’t soldiers. When the soldiers later mock Jesus they are just rough men doing rough things; the Romans have nothing against Jesus personally. But these men are Jews. They have emotional involvement. So when they mock Jesus it is because they hate him so much, and they finally have him in their power. They clearly don’t believe he is the Messiah. Jesus was in the custody of the Jews for the rest of the night, but you can read Luke’s account in a few seconds; clearly Luke hasn’t told us everything - it wouldn’t fit in his book. If you compare him with John you realize that there were two trials before the one that Luke records - that’s because technically only the daytime trial counted and was legal. But that daytime trial was a sham - they already mocked him prior to the trial, and they had already decided what to do before it was convened.
Whatever happens, next, it isn’t because the Sanhedrin are searching for what really happened and were surprised. It’s because it’s part of their plan to get Jesus. So to understand their plan, we need to back up to John’s account of the meeting were they did decide what to do.
Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do? For this Man works many signs.
If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.”
In other words, they steadfastly refuse to even consider the possibility that Jesus might work miracles because he really is from God. But why? These are the religious elites; whereas the line of David has long since been reduced to just another ordinary family.
But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.”
In other words, they believe themselves to be superior to the ordinary folk. They know the law, so they know what pleases God; the crowds are ignorant and do not know nearly as much as they do. But they think this knowledge makes them morally better; it isn’t a matter of having a higher IQ, it’s about who really knows how to please God.
Because they think they are morally superior, they are insulted by the rising of this upstart peasant from Nazareth; How dare this peasant presume to tell the experts what pleases God. Their position must be maintained, or they would be forced to admit their moral bankruptcy before someone they thought of as one of the ignorant masses.
Pride may be the reason they will not believe, but pride alone does not explain why they wanted to kill Jesus. Because they cannot admit the possibility that Jesus might be the real Messiah, they have already concluded he must be another false Messiah; therefore they expect that the same thing will happen to Jesus that happened to all the other false Messiahs. Every time one of these fakers rises up, the Romans come down and slaughter thousands to make the uprising go away. Every time a charlatan claims to be the one true King, it puts the entire nation at risk, not just their position.
They are afraid of the Romans for very good reason. Look at what happened when the Romans really did come and take away their place and nation - A hundred thousand dead, the temple destroyed; the Jews lost their land again. It’s a very rational fear. This fear is what drives them to want to put Jesus to death - their pride blocks off the possibility that this one is real, their justifiable fear of false Messiahs means they want to get rid of him by any means necessary.
And those two motivations - pride of place and fear of man - are the two biggest reasons why people do not believe today. People do not want to admit they are sinners, because it means giving up your picture of yourself as a good person. And even if they are willing to admit they aren’t good, they fear what their family and friends might do; or they fear what might happen to their dead relatives - as if you could change that by not believing!
The Trial shows the reason for their unbelief
The Trial shows the reason for their unbelief
The trial that Luke narrates was technically the only legal one, since it was held at daybreak. All that they had done during the night didn’t count, so Luke leaves it out; but really, this trial was just a sham, just a rubber stamp for what they had determined to do.
They don’t really care about what the charge is; they care about what charge they can make stick; They think they can get him to confess to being the Messiah, but any charge will do. Jesus has been so circumspect in what he says, the other gospels say that they couldn’t find a false witness to give damning testimony; finally in frustration they try - again - to get Jesus to say something. They want the words “I am the Messiah, the King of Israel.” They get their confession, but it’s still not the words they were looking for.
Jesus confronts their unbelief. That’s the real problem all along. Their pride and fear holds them back from even considering the evidence. Thus, Jesus is just stating the obvious at this point. There’s really no point in explaining himself again; everything that can be said has already been said publically.
However, Jesus does give him something. He prophecies that he will be seated at the right hand of the power of God
The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”
This is a direct claim to divine and Messianic authority, but again it isn’t the actual words they wanted. So they are going to have to “get creative” with Rome. But for a Jewish trial, there is something even better. They can accuse him of blasphemy by claiming that he will share in God’s own power and glory. That’s one of the most serious charges you can make under Jewish Law. But remember, they have already convened this “trial” purely to get Jesus killed. They don’t actually care about God’s glory, they care about eliminating Jesus before the Romans eliminate them. They ask if he is the Son of God; his reply is simply a polite way of saying “yes.” So they conclude - that’s the charge we were looking for. We got him.
The Moral Failure of the Sanhedrin is Pilate’s Failure, too.
The Moral Failure of the Sanhedrin is Pilate’s Failure, too.
Since they have their verdict, now comes the matter of persuading Rome. The problem was that the charge they have manufactured won’t work with the Romans. The Romans are pagans and don’t care about blaspheming God; they have to come up with something that will stick in a court of Roman law. And what Rome cares about; what Pilate cares about, is peace. Thus, anyone who threatens to produce an uproar is caught quickly and executed.
The difficulty is that Jesus’ words don’t really fit the charge, so they basically make up what they want it to be. The first charge is “misleading our nation.” The word is διαστρέφω, to pervert or corrupt. The idea is that Jesus is bringing moral corruption to the people, making them harder to rule over and therefore causing headaches for Rome.
The irony is that Jesus teaching was quite the opposite. His mission was
I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.
and in fact the people were already perverted. Jesus used the same word when he said
Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.”
The second charge they have is that Jesus forbids paying taxes to Caesar. That’s an outright lie; no he didn’t.
And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
But a vague charge of perversion is unlikely to move Rome and they know it. They have to bring something that Rome cares about, so they deliberately twist what Jesus said into what they want him to have said. They know this is an outright lie, but they are committed now.
The third charge is that Jesus said he was Christ, a King. Notice that they spell out what it means to be the Messiah. Pilate isn’t going to be familiar with the term “Christ,” so they have to define it. Rome cared quite a lot about rival kings, so this charge is really important. But notice that Jesus did not actually say that - it’s true, of course, and that’s what he meant; but without the proper words, they really don’t have much of a case. So they put more direct words in Jesus’ mouth - more direct than he ever used in Judea. It is this charge that is the most serious; its the one that Pilate will examine. And it’s a real examination; Pilate has his suspicions but he does not actually know if Jesus is trying to set himself up as a rival king or not.
If you only read Luke’s condensed version, you might be a bit confused. Pilate asks Jesus if he is the King of the Jews, and Jesus says, “yes,” then he concludes that Jesus is innocent of the charge!? He admitted it! But John has a longer version that shows us why Pilate correctly concluded that Jesus was not guilty of the charge of sedition.
Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”
Jesus answered him, “Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?”
Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?”
In other words, Pilate’s question wasn’t in public; he was interviewing Jesus privately because he actually wants to know if Jesus really is guilty of sedition or not. When he asks the question, Jesus asks him to clarify - he wants to know if Pilate is seeking to worship Jesus or just trying to get to the bottom of another case. Pilate’s response is that he is just trying to get to the bottom of this. He wants to know if the charge is real, he does not want to worship Jesus. So Jesus gives him the reply that will show Pilate the truth about the charge; he does not worry about trying to convince Pilate to become one of his followers.
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”
In other words, Jesus is telling Pilate that he is not a threat to Rome because his kingdom comes from God. He isn’t trying to establish a rival government to overthrow Rome. And Jesus has evidence - if he was trying to do that, his servants would fight; but they aren’t.
Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no fault in Him at all.”
Pilate wants to make sure, since Jesus did use the word “kingdom.” Jesus says that yes, he is a king, but his purpose is to bear witness of the truth. His royal authority is no threat to Rome. Ironically, Pilate hears that Jesus is not a king but some kind of philosopher. In reality Jesus is a King and will rule, but his royal authority will entirely replace all kingdoms of the world; he isn’t going to gradually set up another government alongside them.
However, Pilate isn’t interested in discussions of philosophy, he just wants to get to the bottom of what the religious leaders have dumped on his lap. But he got the point - he probably thought Jesus was a bit crazy, but he realized the man was harmless.
So he goes back out to the people, thinking that he could deliver the truth and be done with this unpleasant business. But uncovering the truth didn’t help. The religious leaders won’t listen to the truth, they double down on the ridiculous lies they were telling. They say he is stirring up people - with the implication that it’s armed resistance - from Galilee to Jerusalem by his teaching. This is even more ridiculous than the last charge; Jesus did teach, but he said nothing that Rome cared about.
Now Pilate is supposed to be the governor of Judea. He’s in charge. So why doesn’t he just dismiss the crowd, saying - “I’m in charge here, and you’re crazy. That does not fit the evidence at all. Get lost?” The Pilate that first came to Jerusalem would have done that. Josephus tells us that when Pilate arrived, he brought ensigns into Jerusalem which bore the image of Caesar. The Jews were offended because Caesar was worshiped as a god, so this was bringing the image of an idol into the City of God. A large group of them came to Caesarea in protest, fasting there for five days. (War 2.9.2; antiq 18.3.1)
Later Pilate appropriated temple funds to construct a 35 mile aqueduct for Jerusalem. This is what he would have done with no problems for any pagan temple, so he assumed this would be fine too. It wasn’t. Another major protest. Pilate ordered his soldiers to dress in tunics and infiltrate the crowds in disguise. At his command, the troops clubbed the offenders and many of the protesters died (War 2.9.4; Antiq 18.3.2).
This shows a total tone-deaf approach to Jewish sensibilities. He was acting as a Roman, treating the Jews the same way he would treat Romans. This man did not learn what was important to his people and did not care. But by the time of Jesus’ death, something changed. Pilate had received his post from a man by the name of Sejanus who had been a close friend of Tiberius Caesar. However, in 31AD Sejanus fell out of favor and was executed. So the political capital that Pilate relied on to keep his position was gone. The next bad thing that happened on his watch was going to be blamed on him and he would lose his post, or worse.
So the religious leaders have him over a barrel, and they know it. If Pilate had taken the time to understand the Jews and at least be sensitive to what seemed to him a strange worldview, he would have built the relationships necessary to be in a strong position, but he hadn’t. So the religious leaders could push him around by getting another protest going. The next riot that is blamed on Pilate is the end of his position, and in fact Pilate was recalled to Rome about three years later, when another false Messiah assembled a crowd in Samaria. This Samaritan Messiah claimed to be able to show his followers sacred vessels hidden by Moses on Mt Gerizim. Pilate sent soldiers and slaughtered most of them, fearing revolt. The Samaritans complained to the prefect of Syria and word got back to Tiberius and he ordered Pilate to report to himself. (Antiq 18.4.1-2).
So when the religious leaders push Pilate to do something about the King of the Jews, Pilate is terrified that they will cause a riot and get him exiled. He is trying to get rid this man without getting himself in trouble. A courageous man would do the right thing even at the cost of his own life; but Pilate isn’t courageous. He looks for a way out that will allow him to release what he thinks is a crazy harmless guy. He will send Jesus to Herod, but that’s a story for next time.
In other words, what holds Pilate back from doing the right thing is the same two errors that the religious leaders have. He does not try to understand the people he rules over because as a Roman, he thinks he is above them. He does not think he has to understand them because he’s got friends in high places. His pride prevented him from developing the relationships he needed to avoid the predicament he finds himself in.
And once in that place, it is the fear of man - that is, what will happen to him if the religious leaders are successful in causing a riot that gets him in trouble with Rome - that prevents him from having the courage to do the right thing and release a man he knows is innocent.
Pride and the fear of man are two of the biggest barriers to believing and also to a victorious Christian life. It takes humility to admit that you aren’t a good person. Everyone thinks of themselves as basically good, but the Bible tells us we are not good. It takes humility to be a good leader. It take humility to admit you’re wrong and without admitting error you cannot put off the old habits of the old man and put on new habits.
The fear of man keeps many from believing in Jesus. Many know that Jesus truly is the answer, but they are afraid about what their family and friends might think if they do what they know they should. The fear of man also keeps Christians from a victorious Christian life. It takes the courage of choosing to fear God instead of man to avoid peer pressure and do the right thing.
