Chapter 105

JESUS’ TRIALS AND SENTENCE

Matthew 26:57-68, 27:1-2 and 27:11-26

Before we begin this study let us pray.

         

          Dear Heavenly Father,

                    We come before You in the name of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Father God, as we go through this study please open our spiritual ears, eyes and heart. Please Father, cause us to truly hear, see and understand that the humiliation Jesus suffered during His trials was so He could save us from our sins. Please move upon us to understand and receive the great love that You, Jesus and the Holy Spirit has for us. We ask this in Jesus’ name.

Amen

 

INTRODUCTION

          This study is partitioned into the following two major sections:

 

          The first section is the result of integrating the four Gospels to provide an integrated account of Jesus’ trials. These trials were conducted in front of the ruling powers of the Jews, who were: (1) The Sanhedrin, (2) Pontius Pilate and (3) King Herod.

         

          The second section reviews the account of Jesus’ death sentence.

 

          The third section indentifies four major lessons to be learned from the above accounts.

 

With this introduction in mind, we begin our study with,

 

AN INTEGRATED ACCOUNT OF JESUS’ TRIALS

          As we read the Bible about Jesus’ trials and death sentence we find that the Gospels according to Matthew and Mark provide very similar accounts of these events. However, as one reads the Gospels according to Luke and John we discover a lot of additional and valuable information. Thus, what follows is an attempt to provide a more integrated account for this portion of Scripture. To do this, portions of “The Narrated Bible” by F. LaGard Smith was used as a guide.

 

We begin with,

 

THE TRIAL BEFORE ANNAS

To read what occurred we first go and read about Jesus’ arrest. To do this we go to,

 

John 18:12-14

[12] Then the detachment of troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him. [13] And they led Him away to Annas first, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was high priest that year. [14] Now it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.

 

Let us now skip over some Scriptures that documents the account of Peter and continue our reading from,

 

John 18:19-24

[19] The high priest then asked Jesus about His disciples and His doctrine. [20] Jesus answered him, “I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where the Jews always meet, and in secret I have said nothing. [21] Why do you ask Me? Ask those who have heard Me what I said to them. Indeed they know what I said.” [22] And when He had said these things, one of the officers who stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, “Do You answer the high priest like that?” [23] Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why do you strike Me?” [24] Then Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

 

Let us notice the following verse,

          20 … Jesus was very open about His teaching and instructions. In other words, Jesus was not trying to secretly overthrow the Law of Moses or the Jewish faith. Instead, Jesus had come to save them from their lack of faith, their man made traditions and their sins. This is recorded in the following excerpt from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mountain

 

Matthew 5:17

[17] “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”

         

Let us now read now read about,

 

THE TRIAL BEFORE CAIAPHAS AND THE SANHEDRIN

To do this we go to,

 

Matthew 26:57-64

[57] And those who had laid hold of Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. [58] But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest’s courtyard. And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end. [59] Now the chief priests,  the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, [60] but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward [61] and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’” [62] And the high priest arose and said to Him, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” [63] But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!” [64] Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

 

Let us notice the following verses,

          57 … This group, called the Sanhedrin, was the ruling body of the Jewish faith.

 

          61-62 … Caiaphas did not understand or see the spiritual significance of what Jesus said. Specifically, Caiaphas thought Jesus said He was able to destroy the physical temple, which was made of large stones and rebuild it in three days. Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin did not perceive that Jesus was talking about the death and resurrection of His body. In other words, Jesus had foretold what was going to happen to Him.

 

          63a … Jesus did not argue with them nor did He defend Himself.

 

          63b … Caiaphas specifically asked Jesus if He was the Christ, the Son of God.

         

          64 … Basically, Jesus told Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin that He was the Christ, the Son of God. Now one might ask the question: “Did they really understand what Jesus told them?” To answer this question let us read from,

 

Luke 22:70-71

[70] Then they all said, “Are You then the Son of God?” So He said to them, “You rightly say that I am.” [71] And they said, “What further testimony do we need? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth.”

 

          Let us now return to the Gospel according to Matthew and read what occurred after Jesus confirmed He was the Son of God. To do this we return to,

 

Matthew 26:65-68

[65] Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy! [66] What do you think?” They answered and said, “He is deserving of death.” [67] Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, [68] saying, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?”

 

Let us notice the following verse,

          65 … Even though Caiaphas understood that Jesus said He was the Son of God, he did not believe Him. Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin still believed Jesus was an ordinary man claiming to be God. Hence, Jesus was accused of blasphemy. The punishment for blasphemy was death. This is recorded in,

 

Leviticus 24:16

[16] And whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of the Lord, he shall be put to death.

 

          Since we previously covered the three denials of Peter in Chapter 102 let us skip the next few verses and pick up our reading from,

 

Matthew 27:1-2

[1] When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death. [2] And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor.

 

This brings us to Jesus’ third trial. Specifically, it was,

 

THE TRIAL BEFORE THE ROMAN GOVERNOR, PONTIUS PILATE

We begin this portion of our study be reading from,

 

John 18:28-32

[28] Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover. [29] Pilate then went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?” [30] They answered and said to him, “If He were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you.” [31] Then Pilate said to them, “You take Him and judge Him according to your law.”Therefore the Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death,” [32] that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die.

 

Let us now read what transpired between and Pilate as recorded in,

 

John 18:33-38

[33] Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” [34] Jesus answered him, “Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?” [35] Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?” [36] 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.” [37] 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.” [38] 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.

 

Let us notice the following verses,

          33-37a … When Jesus confirmed that He was a king; Jesus was confirming that He was the one whom the prophet Isaiah foretold would come. To read what God said through Isaiah to describe this king we go to,

 

Isaiah 43:15

[15] I am the Lord, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King.”

 

Let us return to the Gospel according to John and notice the following verses,

 

          37b … One of the reasons Jesus physically came to this earth was to reveal the truth to those who belong to Him as to exactly who He is.

 

          38 … Pilate found no fault in Jesus.

 

          After Pilate declared Jesus to be innocent the members of the Sanhedrin became furious. To read what followed we go to,

 

Luke 23:5-7

[5] But they were the more fierce, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place.” [6] When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean. [7] And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. 

 

This brings us to Jesus’ fourth trial, which was,

 

THE TRIAL BEFORE KING HEROD

To read what occurred during this trial we go to,

 

Luke 23:8-12

[8] Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him. [9] Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing. [10] And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him. [11] Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate. [12] That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.

 

Let us notice the following verse,

          9 … Let us consider for a moment and imagine all that Jesus could have said or done to justify Himself or save Himself from the upcoming death sentence. However, again Jesus kept silent.

 

Let us now read about,

 

JESUS’ SENTENCE TO BE PUT TO DEATH

To do this we go to the time after Jesus was returned to Pontius Pilate and begin by reading from,

 

Luke 23:13-16

[13] Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, [14] said to them, “You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; [15] no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him. [16] I will therefore chastise Him and release Him” 

 

Let us notice the following verse,

          13-15 … It is interesting to note neither the Roman governor, Pontus Pilate, or the Jewish King Herod, could not find any fault in Jesus.

 

To continue our reading of what occurred before Pilate we go to,

 

Matthew 27:11-26

[11] Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.” 12] And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing. [13] Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” [14] But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly. [15] Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. [16] And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. [17] Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” [18] For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy. [19] While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.” [20] But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. [21] The governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” They said, “Barabbas!” [22] Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!” [23] Then the governor said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified!” [24] When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.” [25] And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.” [26] Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.

 

Let us notice the following verses,

          11 … Again Jesus reaffirmed to Pilate as to exactly who He was.

 

          15-18 … Pilate knew Jesus was an innocent man. He also believed it was because of their envy that the Sanhedrin brought Jesus to be crucified.

 

          19 … Even Pilate’s wife knew there was something unique about Jesus. Consequently, she tried to stop Pilate from sentencing Him to death.

 

          20-23 … The chief priests and elders convinced the multitude of onlookers to spare Barabbas, the convicted of insurrection and murder (Mark15:7) rather than the Holy One and their Messiah, Jesus Christ. In other words, their eyes and ears and hearts were totally closed to the reality of who Jesus was and what they were doing. This was the fulfillment of another prophecy God gave through His prophet Isaiah. To see this let us what Jesus once said as recorded in,

 

Matthew 13:14-17

[14] And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:

    ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,

    And seeing you will see and not perceive;

[15] For the hearts of this people have grown dull.

    Their ears are hard of hearing,

    And their eyes they have closed,

    Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,

    Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,

    So that I should heal them.’

 

[16] But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; [17] for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

 

Let us return to Chapter 27 of Matthew and notice the following verse,

          24 … In order to prevent a riot, Pilate told the chief priests, elders and the multitude to do what they wanted. However, by washing his hands, Pilate tried to make it clear that he was innocent of Jesus’ upcoming crucifixion.

 

          25 … Sadly, the Sanhedrin and the people accepted the consequences of what they were about to do.

 

As one reflects upon all we have read there are at least,

 

FOUR MAJOR LESSONS TO BE LEARNED

First of all, contrary to the argument of the skeptics,

 

JESUS CLEARLY TOLD HIS ACCUSERS WHO HE REALLY WAS

A good example for this is what Jesus said to the Sanhedrin. To refresh our memory let us reread,

 

 

Luke 22:70-71

[70] Then they all said, “Are You then the Son of God?” So He said to them, “You rightly say that I am.” [71] And they said, “What further testimony do we need? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth.”

 

The second lesson to be learned is that,

 

JESUS, THE KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS, SUBMITTED HIMSELF LIKE A LAMB BEING LED TO THE SLAUGHTER

          More specifically, Jesus fulfilled the following prophecy that was given through the prophet Isaiah. To read this prophecy we go to,

 

Isaiah 53:7-8

[7] He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

    Yet He opened not His mouth;

    He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,

    And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

    So He opened not His mouth.

[8] He was taken from prison and from judgment,

    And who will declare His generation?

    For He was cut off from the land of the living;

    For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.

 

The third lesson to be learned is that,

 

JESUS DID ALL THIS SO HE COULD FULFILL THE FORESHADOWING OF THE OLD TESTAMENT CEREMONIAL LAW AND MAKE THE PERFECT ATONMENT FOR OUR SINS

          As Jesus once said, He did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. Let us recall that in earlier studies we discovered that the sacrificial system of the Ceremonial Law was to teach us about what Jesus, the Messiah would do for us once and for all. To see this let us read what the Holy Spirit said in,

 

Hebrews 10:1-4

"[1] The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming--not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. [2] If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. [3] But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, [4] because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

 

Let us reflect upon the following verses,

          1(a) … The Old Testament sacrifices were only shadows of what was coming. In other words, they were instituted to teach us about what was to come through Jesus Christ. They were not the reality in themselves.

 

          1(b) … These sacrifices could never make a person perfect, which is to be completely pardoned and forgiven for their sins.

          2 … Note that if these sacrifices were able to make one perfect then they would not have to be constantly performed. In other words, if an animal sacrifice could make the person offering it perfect; then, once a sacrifice was performed there would be no need to do it again.

 

          4 … It is impossible for the blood of animals to take away sins.

 

To read what Jesus said to God the Father, we go to,

 

Hebrews 10:5-10

[5] Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; [6] with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. [7] Then I said, 'Here I am--it is written about me in the scroll-- I have come to do your will, O God.'" [8] First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made). [9] Then he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second. [10] And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."

 

Let us notice the following verses,

          10(a) … We have been made holy, that is sanctified or set apart, through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ! Just stop for a moment or two and reflect upon what we have just read. Namely, we have been made holy and set apart for Him!!!!

 

          10(b) … Once and for all! In other words there is no longer a reason for any other sacrifice. Jesus did it all. He was the fulfillment of all what the Old Testament was pointing us to. He was the perfect sacrifice.

 

This brings us to the fourth lesson to be learned and accepted. Specifically,

 

GOD LOVES US MORE THAN WE CAN IMAGINE

          To see this let us read a glimpse of love each person of the Godhead has for us. We begin with,

 

God the Father

To get a glimpse of God the Father’s love for us let us read from,

 

1 John 4:7-11

[7] Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. [8] He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. [9] In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. [10] In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. [11] Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

 

Let us now move on to,

 

Jesus Christ

For a glimpse of His love for us let us read what Jesus once said to His disciples. The Scripture of interest is in,

 

John 15:13

[13] Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

 

Last but not least, we go to,

 

God the Holy Spirit

A glimpse of His love for us is revealed in,

 

Romans 5:1-5

[1] Therefore, having been justified by faith,  we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, [2] through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. [3] And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; [4] and perseverance, character; and character, hope. [5] Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

 

CLOSING

Let us now close our study by reading from,

 

1 John 3:1-3

[1] Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. [2] Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. [3] And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

 

AMEN!