First Baptist Church Ottawa

Our Online Church School Lesson - March 17, 2024

A Most Unfair Trial - Mark 14:53-65

Today’s Scripture: Mark 14:53-65

Today’s Theme: A Most Unfair Trial

Opening Prayer: Dear God, thank you for allowing us to gather here today to learn more about Jesus. Please help our ears to listen, our minds to learn, and our hearts to love as we hear the stories of His work. Amen.

Today’s Lesson: In last week’s lesson, Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane while his disciples slept. Jesus woke them twice so they would keep watch while he came to terms with the painful death that awaited him the next day. Each time, however, the disciples succumbed to sleep. Finally, Jesus accepts his path as the sacrifice for humankind and wakes the disciples one last time, just as the crowd of soldiers and other foes come to arrest him. Today’s lesson will describe the ensuing trials that Jesus endured after his arrest in Gethsemane. After being arrested, Jesus was taken before a number of different religious and civil courts.  He suffered false accusations and mistreatments at every stage.  The end result was that Jesus was sentenced to be beaten and hung on the cross until he died.  Even as these trials were taking place, Peter denied him, and Judas took his own life.  Everything about the trial of Jesus and the surrounding events was unfair and sad, yet Jesus never strayed from his purpose. He knew exactly what was going to happen to him and why it needed to happen.

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all write about the trial of Jesus.  Each writer approaches the events from a different angle and stresses different parts. Sometimes a writer places things in order of importance rather than chronologically. Each Gospel writer tells the story in the way he does in order to bring out something about the significance of Jesus and his death. Let’s read today’s scripture, which is from the Gospel of Mark:

Mark 14:53-65

53 They took Jesus to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes were assembled.

54 Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the guards, warming himself at the fire.

55 Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death; but they found none.

56 For many gave false testimony against him, and their testimony did not agree.

57 Some stood up and gave false testimony 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 But even on this point their testimony did not agree.

60 Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?”

61 But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”

62 Jesus said, “I am; and ‘you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power,’ and ‘coming with the clouds of heaven.’ ”

63 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “Why do we still need witnesses?

64 You have heard his blasphemy! What is your decision?” All of them condemned him as deserving death.

65 Some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” The guards also took him over and beat him.

Jesus undergoes a number of trials before different groups before he is finally sentenced to death and crucified. The first group to see him are the Jewish leadership of the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin consisted of three main categories. The “Chief Priests” included the ruling high priest (Caiaphas) and the former high priest (Annas, father-in-law to Caiaphas). The “elders” were lay members of the Sanhedrin. The “teachers of the law” were Jewish scholars of the day. Roman law limited the power of the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was normally not allowed to carry out capital punishment (putting people to death).

The Roman government was the second group that put Jesus on trial. In the Roman government, officials were appointed over regions to keep order among the many conquered nations living under Roman rule. Pontius Pilate was the Roman Governor of Judea during the life of Jesus. His residence was in Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast but he was in Jerusalem during Passover to prevent trouble from the large number of Jews assembled for the occasion. While in Jerusalem, he stayed in the magnificent palace built by Herod the Great near the temple. Mark refers to this palace as the “Praetorium”. Herod Antipas was another governor. His main headquarters was in Tiberius on the Sea of Galilee but, like Pilate, he had come to Jerusalem because of the Passover crowds.

The name “King Herod” appears a few times in the New Testament.  Here are descriptions of three of them:

  1. Herod the Great was king at the time of Jesus’ birth.  He was the Herod who was visited by the wise men. In an attempt to kill baby Jesus, he ordered Jewish boys under the age of two to be killed.

  2. Herod Antipas was king during Jesus’s death. He put John the Baptist to death.  Pilate sent Jesus to him before his crucifixion.

  3. Herod Agrippa I was king after the death of Jesus. He killed James and had Peter thrown in prison.  The Book of Acts tells us that he was eventually struck down by an angel and eaten by worms.

Here are the phases of the trials that Jesus underwent:

  1. Jewish Trial:
    This was the first trial and was actually a preliminary hearing before Annas, the former high Priest of the Sanhedrin. Annas tried to get Jesus to admit to false teaching. He ended up having Jesus struck and then sent him to Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin.

  2. Trial before Caiaphas, the High Priest, and the Sanhedrin:
    The Sanhedrin, led by Caiaphas, could not find any strong evidence against Jesus. Witnesses kept coming forward to tell lies about what Jesus had said and done but their testimonies did not match. Everyone was angry that Jesus had described himself as the King of the Jews. Caiaphas finally asked Jesus point blank if he was the Christ. Jesus said, “I am.” This was considered blasphemy and worthy of death. He was blindfolded, struck with fists and beaten. The trial continued all night and Jesus was finally pronounced guilty, tied up again and sent to Pontius Pilate. The Sanhedrin could not sentence Jesus to death but the Roman government could.

  3. Roman Trial:
    Pilate the Governor considered Jesus to be simply a Jewish religious problem and not a civil one. He was amazed that Jesus did not defend himself. He also did not want to crucify Jesus because only the worst criminals were punished with crucifixion. In an attempt to help Jesus go free, Pilate kept asking Jesus questions about what the religious leaders were saying but Jesus did not even try to defend himself.

    Pilate didn’t really want to shoulder the responsibility of sentencing Jesus to death so he told the soldiers to take Jesus to another governor, Herod Antipas.When Pilate heard Jesus was from Galilee he was happy to send him off to Herod Antipas who governed that region.  Although the Mark passage does not record the time with Herod Antipas it seems as if Pilate sent Jesus away only to have him sent back again by Herod Antipas.

  4. Trial before Herod Antipas:
    Only the Gospel of Luke records Jesus’s time with Herod Antipas. Herod had heard about Jesus and wanted to see a miracle. He and his soldiers mocked Jesus, placed a crown of thorns on his head and put a robe on him. Then they sent him back to Pilate.

  5. Trial before Pilate continued and concluded:
    Pilate had no reason to give the death sentence that Jews wanted but the crowd demanded crucifixion. Pilate did not like so many people being angry and shouting. He was worried about riots in the crowds and civil unrest. In order to keep the peace, he brought out a really bad prisoner named Barabbas. He asked the crowd to choose which one to set free - Jesus or Barabbas. Surely, he thought, the crowd would say that Jesus should be set free! But no, the crowd was so angry that they began yelling for Barabbas to be set free and for Jesus to be crucified. Pilate’s wife sent word to him that she was having dreams and that Jesus was innocent. Pilate was trapped between the desires of the violent crowd and setting Jesus free because he knew that he was innocent. Finally, he ceremoniously washed his hands of the situation. He had Jesus flogged and handed him over to be crucified.

Even though we know the story of Jesus’s final day so well, the unfairness of the trial and the hatred of the crowd is frustrating and heartbreaking. In particular, the absence of Jesus’s friends throughout his last hours is painful to see. Jesus had told them that they would not be there to support him in his time of need, and these words are shown to be all too true. What happened to the disciples, anyway? They were confused and afraid. They were not strong in their faith. They were being tested. We see Peter in today’s reading, sitting silently in the courtyard while Jesus is first brought to Annas. Some people see him and ask him if he knows Jesus. Afraid that people will hurt him if he confesses that Jesus is his friend, he denies this relationship. Twice more this will happen and twice more Peter will deny that he knows Jesus. Finally the rooster crows at the onset of the dawn and Jesus’s words are proven true.

The silence of the disciples is proof to us that it takes courage and conviction to stick by our Christian faith when times get difficult. We will all face these challenging times during our life and it will be up to us to summon up the strength and will to defend what we believe, even to ourselves. For example, you might be teased at school or in a group because you believe in Jesus. You might be harassed because you are not participating in a questionable activity that you know is not in keeping with your faith. Or you might be struggling with your own beliefs and wanting to do one thing when your heart tells you to stay true to your faith. All of these situations require you to be strong and defend your allegiance to Jesus, and to not keep quiet when people question your loyalty to Jesus. Be strong and speak up!

Remember that everyone who has ever sinned deserves to be punished. That even means you and that means me. But instead of letting everyone be punished, Jesus took one BIG punishment for all of us. Jesus died on the cross so that all of us could be forgiven of our sins instead of being punished for our sins. What an incredible gift and sacrifice that was! What a friend we have, in Jesus.

Closing Prayer: Dear Jesus, help me to always try and do my best in life, in school and with friendships. If I make a mistake, help me to pick myself up and try again and never to give up hope. Lord hear my prayer. I love you, Jesus, and I will always speak up for you because you redeemed the world with your incredible sacrifice. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.