Mark 14:53-61 (NKJV) Jesus Faces the Sanhedrin
(Matt. 26:57–68; Luke 22:66–71; John 18:12–14, 19–24)
53 And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and with him were assembled all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes. 54 But Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire.
55 Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. 56 For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree.
57 Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, 58 “We heard Him say, I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.’ ” 59 But not even then did their testimony agree.
60 And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?”
61 But He kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”
V53 “And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and with him were assembled all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes.”
These are the main people responsible for arresting Jesus and the driving force to kill him. These authorities wanted to try Jesus in the Great Sanhedrin before sending him to Pilate to be killed. They wanted to find an accusation against him so that Pilate would order the death penalty for Jesus.
V54 “But Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire.”
Loyal Peter following Jesus, but underneath that brave facade was fear. Fear makes us do strange things often without thinking.
Fear can be deceiving—
Fear can cause us to stand motionless, run, or fight to the death—1 Samuel 28:5 (bewildered), Psalm 48:5 (run), and Isaiah 19:2.
Fear can be good—Exodus 20:18-20
A good fear and an unpleasant fear are seen in Matthew 8:25-27 CSB So the disciples came and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to die! ” 26 He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith? ” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey him! “
Note the right response, “Lord, save us!”
The Greek word for fear is (G)1169 δειλός deilós, which means a fear that reflects timidity, dread, and faithlessness.
Peter decided to go into the courtyard of the High Priest where potential enemies of Peter might be.
V55 “Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none.”
They arrested Jesus without any charges brought against him, so they sought to find one among their loyal followers. They could find none. Note that! None!
V56 “For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree.”
They didn’t seem bothered by the fact that they were bearing false witness. So these supposedly law-keeping Jews were lying without caring about God’s law. Deuteronomy 5:20 (EHV) You shall not give lying testimony against your neighbor.
V57 “Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying…”
Evil seems to have great energy. Anger and hate breed much energy to do evil.
V58 “…We heard Him say, I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.”
This is true. Jesus did say this (John 2:19). But it is still false, lying testimony, because they twisted the meaning. Jesus spoke of the temple of His body, not the physical Temple on Mt Zion. Compare Psalm 56:5.
V59 “But not even then did their testimony agree.”
Nevertheless, they couldn’t find the perfect testimony that harmonized with each other.
False witness comes from our heart (soul)—Matthew 15:19-20
Deception comes from false teachers and pastors—2 Corinthians 11:13
False witness aligns with the worldview of the devil—John 8:44
V60 “And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?”
Jesus didn’t answer. Anything He said would have been twisted into something to be used against Him. He knew that all the witnesses were liars.
V61 “But He kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?””
There is a time to speak and a time to be quiet (Ecclesiastes 3:7).
If Jesus acknowledged that He is Messiah, they would twist it into blasphemy, which calls for the death penalty. However, they never bothered to examine if it was true or not. They didn’t care. They wanted blood.
God has a higher and purer standard—Matthew 5:43-45.
This describes these evil religious leaders: Romans 1:29-31 (EHV). They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, quarreling, deceit, and malice. They are gossipers, slanderers, God-haters, insolent mockers, arrogant boasters, and loudmouths. They dream up evil things. They disobey their parents. They are senseless, faithless, heartless, and merciless.
We learn:
- There is a time to speak and a time to be quiet.
- We must do what is right.
- We might be fearful, but that gives no excuse to do evil.
Questions:
- How do you handle false accusations?
- Do you make false accusations?