The First Trial Mark 14:53-65
Last week we looked at the betrayal and subsequent arrest of Jesus. Judas betrayed Jesus and then the other eleven disciples, afraid for their lives, abandoned Jesus and left him alone in his enemy’s hands. And now Jesus is taken to face his accusers.
Jesus actually has two trials: a church trial before the Sanhedrin and a civil trial before Pilate. Today we’re looking at his church trial. In this trial Jesus is brought before the highest of the Jewish courts and it’s here he faces the full Sanhedrin council of seventy men plus the high priest. This court follows the instructions God gave Moses back in Numbers 11:16; “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders…that they may stand with you.’” Seventy men plus Moses. Jesus before this court tells us that it is God who is about to judge Jesus and man’s sin. This is important because if it was only men who judged Christ it would have done nothing, God had to judge Jesus because it is God who judges our sin.
So here at this trial are all the church leaders. Leaders who study the scriptures. Leaders who teach others of God. Leaders who direct the people to live as God tells them to. Leaders that failed so badly that God sent his son, leaders that failed so badly they didn’t see Jesus for who he really is.
I’m not putting down the church of Israel, I’m using it as the lens I look at modern churches through. What would happen if Jesus appeared today? Would the church recognize him or would they condemn him for promoting love and forgiveness? Would they condemn him for being too in favor of holiness and forgiveness and not condemning whole groups of people for their actions, giving then no hope of salvation?
The leaders of the Sanhedrin cursed themselves by not teaching God’s forgiveness of sins through faith and instead becoming friends of the world claiming influence and wealth instead of God.
Can you think of any churches like this now? I can. I know a local church that teaches you must follow all the rules they set forth if you don’t faith alone won’t get you into heaven. I’ve listened to ministers with mega-churches, thousands of people attend each Sunday with many more that number in their television audience, churches that have Christ in name, churches that claim to know Christ and yet they don’t have Christ as the cornerstone of their church. These churches no longer preach of the cross as the way to salvation. These churches seldom if ever even mention the name of Jesus.
These churches have the world at their center, preaching not about the cross but about how you can gain earthly things. They preach how God wants you to have the biggest and the best, how God wants you to be wealthy. How if you pray hard enough you will get these
When we pray, it is dishonoring to God if all we pray about are more money and better things. We should be praying prayers of thanks to Jesus and asking God to send his Spirit to lead us to Christ and to teach us how to live a life for God whatever the circumstances of our life are. Now I do believe God doesn’t necessarily want us to suffer it’s just that he is less interested in our wealth than he is in our salvation. Many of these churches and ministers wrap their message in feel good sermons and in motivational speeches in order to appeal to those who want to feel good about themselves instead of seeing the reality that salvation is the goal, not a bigger house.
The Sanhedrin also shows us that the church building does not change the hearts of men. They show us that reading the Word and following the sacraments does not change the hearts of men. Only the grace of God changes the hearts and nature of men, it is this we should pray for. “Lord God, send your grace to me, change my heart from being hard, criticizing, distrustful and distant into a heart of love, forgiveness and a heart with Christ in its center.”
Genesis 3:4-5, “’You will certainly not die,’ the serpent told the woman, ‘For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened.’” On the day of man’s fall from grace, Satan lied to mankind and mankind believed him. Satan tells men the same lie now, that God is the one who lied to us, and he really wants us to suffer.
Satan told Adam and Eve God lied to them about eating the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and because of God’s lie they are living in want. Adam and Eve reasoned then that God is wrong and that they knew better. From that day across the millennia men have believed God lies and that we know better.
Proverb2 22:2, “Rich and poor have this in common: the Lord is the Maker of them all.” All men are created equal, God lied and we should separate ourselves. Acts 4:12, “Salvation is found in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” All men are saved by faith in Christ, God lied, you’re going to hell for what you do. Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith…not by works, so that no one can boast.” God lied, you need to follow our rules; don’t drink, don’t watch certain television shows or movies, don’t read Harry Potter. The worst part is these slaves of Satan think they are free. They never ask God to show them the truth.
Even followers of Christ can be led astray by Satan’s lies, this is why our prayers for God’s Spirit to lead us should be offered up often. We know David was a man of God. In 2 Samuel chapter 12 Nathan tells David that a rich man stole a poor man’s ewe lamb; a lamb the poor man loved and treated like family. The rich man stole the lamb, he killed it and ate it.
2 Samuel 12:5, “David burned with anger…and said to Nathan, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die!’” Is this God speaking through David or is it Satan? We get our answer in what Nathan says next; 2 Samuel 12:7-9, “Then Nathan said to David, ‘this is what the Lord God of Israel says: I anointed you king over Israel and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master’s house to you…I gave you all Israel and Judea. And if this had been to little I would have given you even more. Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes?’”
If the greatest king of Israel does this, what about us? Is it evil in God’s eyes when Christians condemn a whole people because we disagree with how they live? Is it evil in God’s eyes when Christians reject others out of fear or in a desire to keep the status quo? Is it evil in God’s eyes when Christians turn their backs on the most desperate and vulnerable saying they deserve what they get?
The last thing I looked at was the Sanhedrin itself. These men, especially Caiaphas knew scripture. These men knew what the signs were that would point out the Messiah. They also used the letter of the law to allow them to look over the spirit of the law. They didn’t want a Messiah of love they wanted a military leader, a Messiah that would expel Rome and set up a government they wanted, a government according to their narrow viewpoint.
John 11:48, “If we let him go on like this, all men will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” The Sanhedrin lived in fear, and they believed Jesus would cause their fear to come to fruition. They were afraid of losing their position, their influence, their self-satisfaction.
They were afraid of a country and society that was changing from the one they remember. They failed to see God as their satisfaction. They failed to see love and inclusion, peace and harmony, respect as the directions God was moving mankind through Jesus.
I’m sorry I keep going back to this but look at our world today. Look at our country and the church on earth. We can see that there are Christians that use the Bible to reject the Bible. Let me explain this. The Bible says God designed mankind a certain way. Some say this means that those who live an alternate way should be cast out. I say that in a fallen world the whole message of the Bible is love, forgiveness and inclusion. Jesus didn’t tell the adulterous woman you can’t go to heaven. Jesus didn’t tell the women at the well with five husbands, too bad. These people were who they were. Notice Jesus didn’t even try to force them to believe in him either, he explained and left them to make their own decision, and he loved and he respected them both.
People today use the letter of scripture to justify their prejudice rather than see the spirit of the Bible to disperse their prejudice. I’ve seen those who say, “I don’t hate the LGBT,” but their actions tell a different reality. I’ve heard people say, “I don’t hate those at our southern border,” but their other conversations say otherwise. I’ve known those who say “We’re all God’s creation, family in Christ,” but how they treat others shows their true beliefs.
People today see a country, a people and a culture that is changing and they’re afraid. The reality is my life is short, what can I lose that compares to my eternity in heaven?
Our readings verse 56, “Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.” We must guard against false statements; all Muslims are terrorists. False statements don’t agree, they don’t agree with the spirit of God’s word. And the spirit of God’s word is the filter we should be using. Fear is real but keep it in context. What can I lose and how does it compare with what I gain in heaven?
So, remember today’s reading tells us to be careful of a minister giving a motivational pep talk. Sometimes they can be uplifting but know you’re probably not going to get rich, you’re probably not going to suddenly get the perfect life just by praying hard enough for it.
Romans 10:9, “If you declare with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Beware the church and minister that doesn’t mention Jesus or preach he is the way to God’s grace and salvation.
And do not let fear rule your life. We’re here for a short time, remember our eternity is in heaven.
Amen.