Good morning. Today we will begin a 3-part sermon called “Travesties of Justice: The Trials of Jesus Christ”. We will conclude this extended message on Easter Sunday.
We will be examining the 6 trials that Jesus underwent between the time of His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane and crucifixion at Calvary. In sum, this was a span of about 7-9 hours, mostly in the dark of night. We will look closely at related passages from all 4 gospels. The first 3 of these trials were led by the Jews and were religious in nature. The second 3 were led by the Romans or their officials and were secular in nature. All 6 of these trials were fraught with illegalities, inconsistencies, and bias and were “travesties of justice”.
To begin, let’s set the stage. On the evening of Passover some 2,000 years ago, Jesus gathered with the apostles in the Upper Room in Jerusalem to observe the Last Supper. During the meal, Judas Iscariot left the group to summon those who would take Jesus into custody. After they’d finished eating, Jesus and His disciples left the city and went out to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. While they were there, Judas arrived leading a cohort of Roman soldiers and some Jewish officers. Jesus was bound and led away.
I. THE TRIAL BEFORE ANNAS (John 18:12-14, 19-23)
After His arrest, Jesus was taken immediately to the house of Annas. This would have taken place between midnight and 2:00 am. Annas was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was the high priest during the year of Jesus’ arrest. Annas had previously served as the high priest in Jerusalem for about 10 years from approximately 6-15 AD. Though he no longer officially held that position, he continued to have considerable influence upon the priestly clan and unofficially shared the title of high priest during the ministries of both John the Baptist and Jesus (some 10-15 later).
Annas questioned Jesus about His disciples and the content of His teaching. Jesus answered by stating that all of His teaching had been done publicly, in the synagogues and temple area where the Jews openly congregated. Nothing had been taught in secret. Jesus suggested that Annas talk to the many people who’d heard Him speak about the things He’d said. Taking offense to His response, one of Annas’ officers struck Jesus and said in essence, “How dare you talk to the high priest in this way!” Jesus was not rattled by being hit, and calmly replied, “If I am wrong, prove it.” After this brief exchange, Annas sent Jesus bound to Caiaphas.
This short interaction was somewhat like a preliminary investigation. I compare it to a suspect interrogation conducted by law-enforcement officers at the police station. The charges being made against Jesus were not stated at His arrest or even in this passage, yet He made it clear that there were many witnesses who could confirm His testimony.
II. THE TRIAL BEFORE CAIAPHAS (Matthew 26:57-68; Mark 14:53-65; Luke 22:54, 63-65; John 18:24)
Jesus was escorted by His captors to the house of Caiaphas, the Jewish high priest. This would have been sometime around 2:00 or 3:00 am. There He was questioned thoroughly by Caiaphas several and other chief priests, elders, and scribes. They tried to trap Him in a lie. After failing to do so, they began bringing false witnesses against Him. However, their testimonies were inconsistent. Finally, a pair of men came forward and accused Jesus of saying that He would destroy the temple and rebuild it in 3 days. Caiaphas offered Jesus a chance to rebut their testimony, but He remained silent.
Getting nowhere and becoming frustrated, Caiaphas asked Jesus directly, “Are you the Christ, the Son of God?”. Jesus answered, “Yes, I am” and went on to describe how He would sit at the right hand of God and come again someday from heaven. Caiaphas tore his clothes (something the high priest was forbidden to do) and then charged Jesus with blasphemy for claiming to be God. He asked the Jewish religious leaders present what sentence Jesus deserved for His crime and they all answered “Death”. Hearing this, Caiaphas decided to move forward with the trial at daybreak before the entire council of the Sanhedrin.
In the meantime, Jesus was held in custody for the remainder of the night. During these hours, He was cruelly mocked and beaten. The officials blindfolded Jesus, spat in His face, and repeatedly slapped Him. They laughingly provoked Jesus to prophesy and tell them who had hit Him.
As all of this was unfolding inside, Peter was waiting outside in the courtyard. He had followed Jesus at a distance to the high priest’s house. He sat with several others warming himself by the fire. Throughout the night, a few of the slaves and bystanders identified Peter as one of Jesus’s disciples. Peter fiercely denied their claims on 3 separate occasions. After his third denial, a rooster crowed just as Jesus had earlier foretold. The rooster crow also indicated that morning had come.
I compare this interaction to a grand jury trial. It was here that Caiaphas formally indicted Jesus with an offense - namely blasphemy. He also concluded that there was ample evidence to convict Jesus because He had incriminated Himself. Therefore, he chose to take the case against Jesus to court. Ironically, Caiaphas was charging Jesus for telling the truth - He was and is the Christ, God in the flesh!
CONCLUSION
The first 2 trials of Jesus Christ took place during the dark of night, traditionally believed to be the night of Passover. Conducting a trial at night was against Jewish law, as was conducting any trial during the Passover celebration. This was to ensure that the proceedings were public and open to scrutiny. It would be like conducting a trial at 2:00am on Christmas Eve while absolutely nobody is paying attention.
Though Jesus mentioned that He had many witnesses who can testify to His teaching, He was never given an opportunity to call His own witnesses. In fact, He was not even given someone to speak in His defense. This too was a violation of Jewish law. The testimony of the false witnesses that were brought forward was so ridiculous that it should have been thrown out.
No formal charges were ever stated against Jesus until the end of the second trial. It was as if they were searching for a crime and a reason to indict Him. They hounded Jesus with questions until they were able to find something to charge Him with. Then they beat and mocked Him just for fun…
Next week we will continue with a look at Jesus’ third and fourth trials.
We will be examining the 6 trials that Jesus underwent between the time of His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane and crucifixion at Calvary. In sum, this was a span of about 7-9 hours, mostly in the dark of night. We will look closely at related passages from all 4 gospels. The first 3 of these trials were led by the Jews and were religious in nature. The second 3 were led by the Romans or their officials and were secular in nature. All 6 of these trials were fraught with illegalities, inconsistencies, and bias and were “travesties of justice”.
To begin, let’s set the stage. On the evening of Passover some 2,000 years ago, Jesus gathered with the apostles in the Upper Room in Jerusalem to observe the Last Supper. During the meal, Judas Iscariot left the group to summon those who would take Jesus into custody. After they’d finished eating, Jesus and His disciples left the city and went out to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. While they were there, Judas arrived leading a cohort of Roman soldiers and some Jewish officers. Jesus was bound and led away.
I. THE TRIAL BEFORE ANNAS (John 18:12-14, 19-23)
After His arrest, Jesus was taken immediately to the house of Annas. This would have taken place between midnight and 2:00 am. Annas was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was the high priest during the year of Jesus’ arrest. Annas had previously served as the high priest in Jerusalem for about 10 years from approximately 6-15 AD. Though he no longer officially held that position, he continued to have considerable influence upon the priestly clan and unofficially shared the title of high priest during the ministries of both John the Baptist and Jesus (some 10-15 later).
Annas questioned Jesus about His disciples and the content of His teaching. Jesus answered by stating that all of His teaching had been done publicly, in the synagogues and temple area where the Jews openly congregated. Nothing had been taught in secret. Jesus suggested that Annas talk to the many people who’d heard Him speak about the things He’d said. Taking offense to His response, one of Annas’ officers struck Jesus and said in essence, “How dare you talk to the high priest in this way!” Jesus was not rattled by being hit, and calmly replied, “If I am wrong, prove it.” After this brief exchange, Annas sent Jesus bound to Caiaphas.
This short interaction was somewhat like a preliminary investigation. I compare it to a suspect interrogation conducted by law-enforcement officers at the police station. The charges being made against Jesus were not stated at His arrest or even in this passage, yet He made it clear that there were many witnesses who could confirm His testimony.
II. THE TRIAL BEFORE CAIAPHAS (Matthew 26:57-68; Mark 14:53-65; Luke 22:54, 63-65; John 18:24)
Jesus was escorted by His captors to the house of Caiaphas, the Jewish high priest. This would have been sometime around 2:00 or 3:00 am. There He was questioned thoroughly by Caiaphas several and other chief priests, elders, and scribes. They tried to trap Him in a lie. After failing to do so, they began bringing false witnesses against Him. However, their testimonies were inconsistent. Finally, a pair of men came forward and accused Jesus of saying that He would destroy the temple and rebuild it in 3 days. Caiaphas offered Jesus a chance to rebut their testimony, but He remained silent.
Getting nowhere and becoming frustrated, Caiaphas asked Jesus directly, “Are you the Christ, the Son of God?”. Jesus answered, “Yes, I am” and went on to describe how He would sit at the right hand of God and come again someday from heaven. Caiaphas tore his clothes (something the high priest was forbidden to do) and then charged Jesus with blasphemy for claiming to be God. He asked the Jewish religious leaders present what sentence Jesus deserved for His crime and they all answered “Death”. Hearing this, Caiaphas decided to move forward with the trial at daybreak before the entire council of the Sanhedrin.
In the meantime, Jesus was held in custody for the remainder of the night. During these hours, He was cruelly mocked and beaten. The officials blindfolded Jesus, spat in His face, and repeatedly slapped Him. They laughingly provoked Jesus to prophesy and tell them who had hit Him.
As all of this was unfolding inside, Peter was waiting outside in the courtyard. He had followed Jesus at a distance to the high priest’s house. He sat with several others warming himself by the fire. Throughout the night, a few of the slaves and bystanders identified Peter as one of Jesus’s disciples. Peter fiercely denied their claims on 3 separate occasions. After his third denial, a rooster crowed just as Jesus had earlier foretold. The rooster crow also indicated that morning had come.
I compare this interaction to a grand jury trial. It was here that Caiaphas formally indicted Jesus with an offense - namely blasphemy. He also concluded that there was ample evidence to convict Jesus because He had incriminated Himself. Therefore, he chose to take the case against Jesus to court. Ironically, Caiaphas was charging Jesus for telling the truth - He was and is the Christ, God in the flesh!
CONCLUSION
The first 2 trials of Jesus Christ took place during the dark of night, traditionally believed to be the night of Passover. Conducting a trial at night was against Jewish law, as was conducting any trial during the Passover celebration. This was to ensure that the proceedings were public and open to scrutiny. It would be like conducting a trial at 2:00am on Christmas Eve while absolutely nobody is paying attention.
Though Jesus mentioned that He had many witnesses who can testify to His teaching, He was never given an opportunity to call His own witnesses. In fact, He was not even given someone to speak in His defense. This too was a violation of Jewish law. The testimony of the false witnesses that were brought forward was so ridiculous that it should have been thrown out.
No formal charges were ever stated against Jesus until the end of the second trial. It was as if they were searching for a crime and a reason to indict Him. They hounded Jesus with questions until they were able to find something to charge Him with. Then they beat and mocked Him just for fun…
Next week we will continue with a look at Jesus’ third and fourth trials.