Mock Trial of Jesus, 05 Easter 2022

05 Easter – The Mock Trial of Jesus – He didn’t have to do it, but He did.

Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

Matthew 26:57-68

Matthew 27:1-25

The Jewish Perspective – Leviticus 24:13-16 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 14 Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him. 15 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin. 16 And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death.

Circumstances of the trial: Was it legal? Extra-biblical sources

(Note that a number of the laws relating to Jewish legal trials are based on biblical principles of justice without actually being specifically stated in the Old Testament.) During the time of Christ, most trials involving criminal procedure took weeks, if not months, to complete. But all of the trials Jesus was subjected to were completed within nine hours of His arrest! And they were done in private, secretly. (Life Hope & Truth website).

The Arrest: (https://lifehopeandtruth.com/god/who-is-jesus/reasons-trial-of-jesus-illegal/)

· Who all was there to arrest Him? 26:47 a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people.

o Luke 22:52 Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him,

o There would be His judges as well – Accusers = judges

· Matthew 26:57 And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.

o He was taken without charges being presented

o He was interrogated by Annas before being taken to the High Priest Caiaphas, Annas’ son in law. (John 18:13).

o The High priest was the one who bribe Judas

o Samuel Mendelsohn, a Jewish philosopher and Bible translator, says in his Criminal Jurisprudence of the Ancient Hebrews: “The testimony of an accomplice [for example, Judas] is accordingly not admissible by Rabbinic law, … and no man’s life, nor his liberty, nor his reputation, can be endangered by the malice of one who has confessed himself a criminal” (1890, p. 120).

§ Judas, by taking a bribe, was a criminal.

· V.63 – Jesus does not defend Himself – see Exodus 23:1-2, 6-7, 20-22

It Happened at Night:

· The French twin brothers Augustin and Joseph Lémann stated in their book Jesus Before the Sanhedrim, “No session of the Court [was] to take place before the offering of the morning sacrifice” (1887, translated by Julius Magath, p. 109). No night meetings were permitted. The law allowed such an investigation only upon daylight.

· There are more explanation and examples of how and why the trial was illegal – that’s not our focus.

Matthew 27 – the third trial: Line by line, read and expound as the Spirit leads. (It’s the story)

Judas knew He was innocent – V.4

Pilate’s wife knew He was innocent – V.19

Pilate knew He was innocent – V.24

“Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.” Matthew 27:25

Notes: A.D. – Periods of antisemitism after the death of Christ. No real rest, and no real peace.

· 70 Romans destroyed the Jerusalem and the Second Temple

· 313-636 – Byzantine rule / Roman rule continued (614 Persian Invasion)

· 639-1099 – Arab rule, Dome of the Rock built

· 1099-1291 – Latin Rule (Catholicism / Crusaders / Christina vs Muslim wars)

· 1291-1516 – Mamluk rule / Muslims

· 1517-1917 – Ottoman Rule – Islamic supper power

· 1918-1948 – British Rule

o 1922 Palestine given Jewish lands

o 1939-1945 – WWII and the Holocaust

· 1948 – State of Israel – antisemitism continues. People hate Jews and they hate their GOD

Close:

· Do you ever wonder, if I had been there, where would I have stood?

· Would you have been for or against Jesus?

· Would you have cried release Him or crucify Him?

Of course, we can never know that with any certainty, but where do you stand today?

Jesus said, “And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:38. Jesus viewed us a worth dying for – the question is do we view HIM as worth living for?