JESUS WAS TRIED IN OUR PLACE

Mark 14:53-15:15

Key Verse 14:61,62

“But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?’ ‘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.’”

In the previous passage Jesus prayed at the garden of Gethsemane to obey the will of God. Today, Jesus was on trial and the Jewish Sanhedrin condemned Jesus to death and Pilate handed him over to be crucified and the crowds shouted, “Crucify him.” And Peter disowned Jesus. But Jesus was silent before his accusers. Why? Jesus was tried in their place. Jesus was ready to give his life to save their lives from the judgment of sin and death. I pray that we may give praise and thanks to Jesus who was tried in our place.

PART I. JESUS WAS TRIED BEFORE THE SANHEDRIN (14:53-65).

Look at verse 53. “They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, elders and teachers of the law came together.” Those who arrested Jesus brought him to all the chief priests, elders and teachers of the law, for they had ordered the arrest of Jesus. Outwardly, they were religious leaders, the consciences of the nation and representatives of God; but in reality, they were a political establishment, sitting on the supreme court of the Judea, called the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin consisted of 70 members had full power over religious matters and questions with a certain amount of civil police power. Since they had no power to impose a death penalty, they functioned to prepare charges on which criminals could be tried before the Roman governor.

The Sanhedrin members made Jesus kneel down on the ground like a criminal and seventy of them were sitting as judges. They were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. Although Jesus’ trial lasted less than 18 hours, he was taken to six different hearings according to the gospel narratives. What an ordeal he went through! The Sanhedrin needed two witnesses to convict Jesus. Look at verses 55-59. Were they successful to find witnesses? Yes, they found some but their testimonies were false and did not agree. When we watch the modern-day trial, the witnesses put their hands on the Bible and say “I will testify nothing but the truth.” Were these witnesses telling nothing but the truth? No, they did not tell the truth but they were liars. They distorted some of Jesus’ teachings about the temple (see John 2:19). They claimed that Jesus had said he could destroy the temple—a blasphemous act. Actually Jesus had said, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” Jesus, of course, was talking about his body, not the building. Ironically, the religious leaders were about to destroy Jesus’ body just as he had said, and three days later he would rise from the dead. The Sanhedrin should have dismissed the case and released Jesus because this trial was illegal and there was no creditable evidence. The religious leaders were not interested in giving Jesus a fair trial. In their minds, Jesus had to die. This blind obsession led them to pervert the justice they were appointed to protect. The high priest compelled Jesus to give answers to all the testimonies. Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. (60,61) Jesus did not try to save his life by defending himself against false witnesses. He was silent because he decided to obey the will of God. He did not need to defend himself from his accusers because he was ready to give his life for them. Then the high priest, as a last resort, cross examined in verse 61b. "Are you the Christ, the Son of the blessed one?" What did Jesus say to him? Look at verse 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.'" This verse is a terrible warning that the high priest was making irrevocable mistake by judging the Judge who will come to judge the living and the dead. In this verse we learn 2 things about Jesus.

First, Jesus identified himself fearlessly as the Son of God. Jesus, by saying "I am," identified himself to be the Christ, the Son of the Blessed one. Of course, Jesus knew that his answer, "I am " would bring disaster on him, and that this answer would be a snare to him. But he was not afraid. He said, "I am." By saying, "I am," he identified himself to be the Son of God. It is not easy for us to identify ourselves as Christians though America is regarded as a Christian nation. We must learn from Jesus how to maintain our identity in crisis. Real man's character can be shown in crisis.

Second, he identified himself to be the judge. Look at verse 62a. "'I am,' said Jesus. 'And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One...'" He is the Judge, together with the Almighty Creator God, who sits on the throne of the heavenly kingdom. He rules the world. He judges good and evil with the majestic power of the Creator, holding his scepter in his right hand. The position will be reversed. Jesus will judge the Sanhedrin members who condemned him. They must see Jesus face to face when he comes again. Hebrews 9:27 says, "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment..."

Look at verses 63-64. What was their verdict? They all condemned him as worthy of death. Look at verse 65. “Then some began to spit at him; they blind-folded him, struck him with their fists, and said, ‘Prophesy!’ And the guards took him and beat him.” How do you feel if someone spit at you, blindfold you, strike you with his fist, and beat you? I know you want to spit, strike back and punch his nose and defend yourself. If someone accuse you falsely, you will defend yourself fearlessly and accuse and blame others more. We try to justify ourselves when we are accused. We deny all the charges. People treated Jesus cruelly and abusively. But Jesus remained silent. This reminds us of Isaiah 53:7, “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” The first Adam tried to justify himself by blaming his wife. But the second Adam Jesus did not open his mouth to submit himself completely to the will of God. When we carefully examine all the charges brought to Jesus, they belong to the Sanhedrin members. They were bunch of criminals who condemned the Son of God out of their envy. They were the ones who deserved to be tried, condemned, and punished. Instead, Jesus was tried and condemned in their place. They must be judged. Instead, Jesus was judged in their place. It was really the religious leaders who were on trial, not Jesus. Are we any different from the religious leaders who condemned Jesus? No, we are not better than they are. Although Jesus was sinless, he was tried for our iniquities. Jesus was humiliated, suffered, and ashamed in our place. All the aspects of sin were dumped on Jesus. If I stand before Jesus, I am guilty and have no excuses because I committed many sins. I am guilty because I accused others falsely and hated others out of envy and was proud. It is me who should be judged. But Jesus was tried, condemned, and judged in my place. Now Jesus declares, “I am not guilty.” Often times I try to justify myself, but I cannot justify my sins because I am a sinner. Jesus was tried so that we may not be tried. Jesus was condemned so that we may not be condemned. Jesus was judged so that we may not be judged. Thank you, Jesus. You were silent because you knew that we could not bear our sins. You knew we were guilty. You endured all our sins and gave everything to take away our shame and guilt.

PART II. PETER DISOWNS JESUS (66-72)

We forgot about Peter’s story. Let’s go back to him. Look at 14:54. “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.” When Jesus was arrested, everyone fled and even one young man fled naked. But Peter did not run away. He was still following Jesus but at a distance. When Jesus was on trial, he was not with Jesus but sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire. When we follow Jesus at distance, we may end up sitting among the unbelievers and temptations may happen there. We have to follow Jesus closely. YDJ members wanted to follow Jesus closely. Come to the Friday YDJ meeting so that you may not fall into temptations. In any case, why was Peter hanging around the trial of Jesus? He wanted to prove his human loyalty to the end. His courage and loyalty began to diffuse away; simultaneously, he was falling away from following his master's footsteps. No doubt he buried his head between his knees as he sat by the fire. Maybe someone prodded the fire or flung some more logs on it and it blazed brightly; a servant girl discovered a strange guy crouching by the fire, and said, "You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus." (67b) But he denied it. He went out into the entry way for escape. When the servant girl went to where Peter was and saw him there, she said again to those standing around, "This fellow is one of them." Maybe that girl thought that Peter looked strange and suspicious. Anyway, she affirmed that he was one of them. Peter’s true identity was exposed. Peter again denied what she said. After a while, those standing near said to Peter, "Surely you are one of them, for you speak Galilean English." Peter could not hide his Galilean accent. Then Peter, who was completely cornered and pressed hard, called down curses on himself and insisted that the man was not telling the truth; and he swore, saying, "I don't know this man you're talking about." Peter reacted extremely to the allegation that he was a follower of Jesus. He was unable to stand up for Jesus when his life was in danger.

What happened when Peter denied knowing Jesus? Look at verse 72a. "Immediately the rooster crowed the second time..." "Cock-a-doodle-do!" It was the signal of the third watch. It was the bugle sound which rang out through the silent night of the city of Jerusalem. It was the sound of Satan's victory which echoed Peter's ear. It was a clear note of Peter's falling into a temptation of Satan. We may analyze the reason why Peter failed. Of course, we know he did not pray. He did not accept the will of God. He did not listen to Jesus. He was stubborn in his own way. But he did not fail. It was an opportunity for him to know Jesus better and grow spiritually.

What memory did the rooster’s crow trigger in Peter’s mind? Look at verse 72b. "Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him." After the Last Supper, Jesus had said, "You will all fall away, but after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee." But Peter did not listen to him at all. So Jesus said to him, "Yes, tonight, before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times." But after his failure, he opened his heart to the words of Jesus, and remembered what he had said. Obviously, he not only remembered "You will fall away," but he also remembered the words, "After I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee." It was the promise of resurrection. It was the promise of victory over the power of death. It was the very promise of Jesus to Peter that, after his irrevocable failure, he would visit him in Galilee--the very place where the waves of the Sea of Galilee sparkled, and where they had met each other first. It was like saying to an old friend, "See ye there again." What a great hope to see him again! You can forget everything. But remember one word in case you escape from Jesus and you have good chance to come back.

What did Peter do next? He did a beautiful thing. "And he broke down and wept." Peter rarely wept before as a man of big mouth. But for the first time he wept as a real man saying "I denied my Lord three time. Forgive me." His heart was broken when he remembered the beautiful words of Jesus. His heart was broken when he remembered the beautiful love of Jesus poured out for him and all kinds of people. He wept. Peter was regenerated into a new man through his failure. He realized how weak he was. God opened his spiritual eyes to rely on Jesus not his own human strength. It was a necessary step for Peter to become a spiritual leader. Later, Peter became St. Peter who returned to Jesus and strengthened other disciples and died to stand up for the name of Jesus. Many times we find ourselves in Peter. He is one of my favorite disciples. We have been guilty of denying that Christ is Lord in vital areas of our lives or of keeping secret our identity as believers in times of pressure. Don’t excuse yourself by pointing at others whose sins seem worse than yours. Instead, come to Jesus for forgiveness and healing. It is a serious sin to disown Christ, but Jesus forgave Peter (John 21:15-17). No sin is too great for Jesus to forgive if you are truly repentant. He will forgive even your worst sin if you turn from it and ask his pardon.

Come to Jesus as you are. You cannot hide anything from Jesus. He knows everything. He knows you have fear of life. He knows you worry about many things. He knows you love this world. He knows you love him. He knows you failed many times. But Jesus was tried to take away your failures, your fears, your sorrows, and your despair.

PART III. JESUS WAS TRIED BEFORE PILATE (15:1-15)

Since the whole membership of the Sanhedrin, through haggling all night, reached the decision they wanted--the death penalty, they bound Jesus and led him away to be handed over to Pilate for execution, for they had no power of execution. When they brought Jesus to Pilate, they had to make up a political charge against Jesus, because Pilate would have nothing to do with a charge concerning Jewish religious controversies. They accused Jesus of being a political revolutionary, the "King of the Jews." In this way they handed him over to Pilate, at the cost of their Jewish identity and contrary to the teaching of the Law.

In great bewilderment Pilate asked, "Are you the king of the Jews?" "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. Maybe Pilate never expected that Jesus would reply in such a way, so he was completely overcome by his spiritual authority which shook his political position. Pilate felt that terrible disaster had pounced upon him. He trembled because his wife had a nightmare about Jesus and told him, “Don’t bother Jesus of Nazareth” (Mt 27:19). He was trembling, but Jesus was peaceful. When the chief priests sensed that Pilate was not firm, they began to accuse Jesus of many things in order to agitate Pilate's indecisive behavior. Look at verse 4. Pilate who was pushed into a corner asked, "Aren't you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of." He wanted Jesus to defend himself so that he might somehow get off the hot spot. What did Jesus do? "But Jesus still made no reply..." (5) The last time Jesus replied because the question, "Are you the king of the Jews?" had a deep connection with the title of Messiah. But this time Jesus did not reply. Pilate was amazed at the power and authority of Jesus. And, in his heart, he wanted to release him. So he began to exercise his political skill. He wanted to compromise. It was a custom at the feast to release one prisoner. This was the time. "Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?" (9) He said this because he knew that it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. And he surely believed that the people would like to free Jesus, who had been so dear to them. But the people, stirred up by the religious authorities, shouted all the more to release Barabbas, a man who had committed murder with the insurrectionists in the uprising.

Pilate was greatly frustrated by the madness of the people, stirred up by the religious leaders, who were wantonly determined to destroy Jesus. Then Pilate became helpless, so he said, "What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?" The crowd responded to him by shouting, "Crucify him!. (13) Still Pilate did not know what was wrong with him. (14) But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!" The crowds welcomed Jesus just before and now they were shouting to crucify Jesus. They were emotional. Now Pilate became a sandwich man between Jesus, an innocent man and the mad crowds manipulated by the religious authorities. He was daunted and alarmed because of their stubbornness. When his skills did not work as he wanted, he became desperate. He gave in to the madness of the people. He gave in to their demand to save his political career. Soon Pilate became like an actor who plays the role of an evil man. Wanting to satisfy the crowd, he released Barabbas to them. On the contrary, he had Jesus flogged and handed over to be crucified. Pilate knew the truth but did not follow the truth to save his job. We are the ones who should be flogged to death and crucified because of our sins. But our friend and heavenly Father Jesus was flogged and handed over to be crucified. Out of helplessness, Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. But history testifies that Pilate did not condemn Jesus to death—Pilate condemned himself, and put himself into eternal condemnation. Who was Barabbas? Jewish men had names that identified them with their fathers. Simon Peter, for example, is called Simon son of Jonah (Matthew 16:17). Barabbas is never identified by his given name, and this name is not much help either—bar-abbas means “son of Abba” (or “son of daddy”). He could have been anybody’s son—and that’s just the point. Barabbas, son of an unnamed father, committed a crime. Because Jesus died in his place, this man was set free. We too are sinners and criminals who have broken God’s holy law. Like Barabbas, we deserve to die. But Jesus has died in our place, for our sins, and we have been set free. We don’t have to be “very important people” to accept our freedom in Christ. In fact, thanks to Jesus, God adopts us all as his own sons and daughters and gives us the right to call him Abba—“daddy” (see Galatians 4:4-6). Let's remember Jesus who, though he is the Judge, was tried in our place. Let's read the key verse 14:62.