Worthy of Death
Mark 14:53-65
53 They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law came together. 54 Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.
55 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. 56 Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.
57 Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.’” 59 Yet even then their testimony did not agree.
60 Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 61 But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.
Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
62 “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
63 The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. 64 “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”
They all condemned him as worthy of death. 65 Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him.
Jesus’ “trial” before the high priest and Jewish leaders is a gross injustice of broken rules. It is a huge example of the ends justifying the means. Rules of evidence, rules against self-incrimination, rules against speedy actions, rules concerning probable cause all are dispensed with so that the conclusion, “Jesus is worthy of death” can be reached. It is especially twisted that a part of what is driving the action is that Passover is near. And the rules concerning Passover must not be broken, while these other rules are subjugated for their expediencies.
We can’t pick and choose with God. He calls us to faithful submission to His will and purposes for our lives. We can easily fall into the trap of thinking, I am keeping the law of the Passover, so I am ok. I am trying to keep the law, when in other ways we are living as we please. It is easy to hate people, to live in unbelief as it relates to God’s ability to give us life in difficult circumstances, to not make the sacrifices that God calls on us to make.
- Why is Jesus Arrested?
- Sabbath controversies
John 5: 1-9 Jesus heals a man who has been an invalid for 38 years. He is sitting by the well, when the water is stirred up, whoever gets to the water is made well. He has no one to help him. Jesus heals this man and tells him: “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” All of this is ok, but the day he picks up his mat is the Sabbath. And that creates the controversy. “It is the Sabbath, the law forbids you to carry your mat.” “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”
Nevermind the 38 years he has been in need and their inability to help him. There is Sabbath breaking going on!
John 5: 16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. 17 In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” 18 For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
John 7: 21 Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. 22 Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. 23 Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? 24 Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”
John 9 with reference to the healing of the man born blind, where Jesus spit on the dirt, mixed mud and made eyes:
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”
- He corrects the Jewish leaders
As it relates to the Sabbath:
Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?
Sheep, child, ox falls into a pit or a well on the Sabbath, will you not pull it out? (If so, what is the principle?)
Which is lawful to do on the Sabbath? To do good or evil, to save life or to kill? (Laws of self-defense: If you have the ability to prevent a death and you do not do so, you share in the guilt)
You untie animals on the Sabbath and lead them to water. Should I not set free this woman who is bound by Satan?
As it relates to “sinners”
Mark 2: 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Luke 7: 36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,[c] and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
As it relates to Messianic ministry
They are not interested in what God is doing through Jesus. Their expectation is for one to conquer the Romans and for them to ride the coat tails.
- He rejects the Jewish leaders
Because of their hypocrisy
2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.
23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
Because they are pleasing men rather than God
Matthew 23:
5 “Everything they do is done for people to see:
Matthew 5: 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 6: “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others.
16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting.
John 5: 41 “I do not accept glory from human beings, 42 but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
- Gathering Evidence
It doesn’t look good to have no evidence for an arrest after the arrest!
- False witnesses
They need two witnesses whose stories agree. This is hard with lies.
56 Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.
57 Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.’” 59 Yet even then their testimony did not agree.
- Illegal Self-incrimination
60 Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 61 But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.
Jesus is silent because they are responsible to have proof. It is not appropriate to question Him. They have already arrested Him, surely they have a reason that predates the arrest. Probable cause for an arrest is what I believe we would call that.
- Illegally forced to answer
Matthew 26: 63 But Jesus remained silent.
The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”
What is Jesus’ answer?
Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
62 “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Do not mistake the reference. Jesus is quoting and Old Testament passage from Daniel and applying it to Himself:
Daniel 7: 13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
So, the question: Are you the Messiah, the Son of God?
“Yes, I am. And you will worship me as such.”
III. Jesus’ True Identity is Rejected
- Jesus’ identity controversy
Who is this man? Miracles and controversy. Rebuking leadership, proclaiming a different future.
What gives you the right to do these things?
To interpret the Sabbath differently, to not submit to our understanding? To assert your authority over the temple. To call God your father, making yourself equal with God.
Why don’t you submit to our authority?
- Jesus’ identity claims
- He accepts worship from people
- He claims to forgive people’s sins
- He claims the titles: Son of man, Son of God and Messiah
- He is the prophet like Moses, is a King like David and second Adam.
- He does miracles that no one else does: Healing a man born blind, speaking to storms, walking on water, feeding multitudes of people on at least two occasions.
Jesus’ I am statements:
“Bread of life”: Manna, daily bread of life
“Light of the world” Wisdom
“Door of the sheep”: Protector and access to God’s people
“Good shepherd”: The one who lays down His life for God’s people
“Resurrection and life”: He gives people eternal life
“Way, truth, and life”: Jesus is the path to God and life
“True vine”: He is the key to living in God’s world in a pleasing manner.
John 8: 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”
57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”
John 10: 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[c]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
31 Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”
33 “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”
- They all heard and understood
63 The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. 64 “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”
They all condemned him as worthy of death.
0 Comments