Talk 44 Mark 14:53-72 Jesus’ trial and Peter’s denial Welcome to Talk 44 in our series of Mark’s Gospel. Today we’re looking at chapter 14, verses 53-72. This passage recounts the trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin and Peter’s denial of Jesus in the courtyard of the high priest’s house where the trial was taking place. The key figures in the passage are: · The members of the Sanhedrin who wanted Jesus dead · Jesus himself who knew that his death was necessary for our salvation · Peter who denied Jesus even though he had protested that he would never do so. We’ll begin by reading verses 53-65 where we see the outrageous injustice of the trial and Jesus’ refusal to defend himself. 53 They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, elders and 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 man-made temple and in three days will build another, not made by man.'" 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 Christ, 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. 53 They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, elders and teachers of the law came together. The word for high priest in Greek is archiereus. It’s unclear why NIV sometimes translates this as chief priest. Perhaps it’s because, although Caiaphas was the high priest, Annas his father-in-law, who had been high priest until he was deposed by the Romans, was also present. So by all the chief priests Mark means all two of them! 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. We’ll deal with this verse when we come to Peter’s denial at the end of the chapter. 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. The Sanhedrin was a council comprised of 71 men, including both Pharisees and Sadducees, who were supposed to be the spiritual leaders of the nation. The vast majority of them had opposed Jesus throughout his ministry because of: his forthright condemnation of their hypocrisy his interpretation of the Old Testament which was radically different from theirs his recent actions in ‘cleansing’ the temple – see Talk 34 his claims to be the Messiah. If Jesus proved to be the kind of Messiah the people were expecting, they feared that this could lead to a revolt against Roman authority. This seems to have been the justification they were looking for in seeking to kill Jesus. In John 11:50 Caiaphas had stated that it was better for one man to die than that the whole nation perish. It’s more likely, however, that their true motivation was the fear of losing their privileged position in society. 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 man-made temple and in three days will build another, not made by man.'" 59 Yet even then their testimony did not agree. These verses underline the total injustice of the whole trial. Mark emphasises that their testimony was false. This is emphasised by the fact that even then their testimony did not agree. Part of the role of the Sanhedrin was to uphold the Law of Moses. As we’ve seen in previous talks, they were insistent on obedience to petty regulations but ignored the more important matters of the Law – justice, mercy and faithfulness. Jesus had accused them of straining out gnats but swallowing camels (Matthew 23:23-24)! Now these religious leaders reveal the full extent of their hypocrisy. To achieve their ends, they wilfully ignore justice and break God’s clear commandment, ...
