Luke 22:63-71; Luke 23:1-25
Please remain standing and turn
in your copy of the scriptures to Luke chapter 22. We’ll read
the rest of the chapter beginning at verse 63 and then the first
25 verses of chapter 23. This is the account
of the trial of Jesus. And I’ll just make a note to
you. Different gospel writers emphasize different things when
they retell the story of Jesus’ life and ministry. So you can
read the account of John or Matthew or Mark and pick up additional
details. I’m gonna make mention in a moment
of verse 54 of chapter 22, and then we’ll jump to our reading.
But there will be three trials of Jesus before the religious
authorities, and then three trials before the Roman authorities. And we’ll explain more of that
later, but that will help give you the lay of the land. So look,
if you will, at verse 54 of chapter 22, and then we’ll pick up in
verse 63. Verse 54, Luke 22 says, then
they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest
house. And Peter was following at a
distance. And then pick up in verse 63.
Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking
him as they beat him. They also blindfolded him and
kept asking him, prophesy, who is it that struck you? They said
many other things against him, blaspheming him. When the day
came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together,
both chief priests and scribes, and they led him away to their
council. And they said, if you are the
Christ, tell us. But he said to them, if I tell
you, you will not believe. And if I ask you, you will not
answer. But from now on, the son of man
shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God. And
so they all said, are you the son of God then? And he said
to them, you say that I am. Then they said, what further
testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from
his own lips. And the whole company of them
arose and brought him before Pilate. And they began to accuse
him, saying, we found this man misleading our nation and forbidding
us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is
Christ, a king. And Pilate asked him, are you
the king of the Jews? And he answered him, you have
said so. Then Pilate said to the chief
priest in the crowds, I find no guilt in this man. But they
were urgent saying, he stirs up the people teaching throughout
all Judea from Galilee, even to this place. When Pilate heard
this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean and whether he
learned. And when he learned that he belonged
to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod who was himself
in Jerusalem at that time. When Herod saw Jesus, he was
very glad for he had long desired to see him because he had heard
about him and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. So he questioned him at some
length, but he made no answer. The chief priest and the scribes
stood by vehemently accusing him and Herod with his soldiers
treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then arraying him
in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate and Herod
and Pilate became friends with each other that very day For
before this, they had been at enmity with each other. Pilate
then called together the chief priest and the rulers of the
people. And he said to them, you brought
me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining
him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of your
charges against him. Neither did Herod for he sent
him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death
has been done by him. I will therefore punish and release
him. But they all cried out together,
away with this man, and released to us Barabbas, a man who had
been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city
and for murder. Pilate addressed them once more
desiring to release Jesus, but they kept shouting, crucify him,
crucify him. A third time he said to them,
why? What evil has he done? I found in him no guilt deserving
death. I will therefore punish and release
him. But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should
be crucified. And their voices prevailed. So
Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. He released
the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder,
and for whom they asked. But he delivered Jesus over to
their will. Pray with me. Lord, give us eyes
that see and hearts that understand this terrible moment in the life
of Jesus. But let us remember that he was
delivered up for our salvation by the definite plan and foreknowledge
of God in order that this Jesus, this great high priest, both
the offerer and the offering might make satisfaction for our
sins. give us this we request in the
name of our Savior. Amen. Please be seated. Well, it is Passover at Jerusalem. The city is filled to the brim
with people, their pull-out couches, their bunk beds are full, people
are sleeping on the floor, they’re sleeping under the table. You
could imagine if it was today’s culture, there would be tents
and campers and motorhomes and Hampton Inns full of people coming
to Jerusalem to worship God and to observe the Passover. There’s
also a lot of events taking place surrounding the life of Jesus,
three crucifixions, Christ and the two criminals. We read gospel accounts that
there were earthquakes. that took place at the death
of Jesus. There were resurrections of the
dead. No doubt people heard and murmured
over the sufferings of Jesus. In fact, one of the gospel writers
tells us that people who witnessed these things left the city beating
their chest, discouraged and downhearted because of what had
taken place in Israel. Well, let’s think about this
in today’s terms. Let’s think of a Saturday morning
weekend cable news television show. People are on the ground
in Jerusalem. They have panels of experts and
for days on end, they are going to evaluate the events of the
final trials and sufferings and death Even the horrible crucifixion
of the Lord Jesus. They’re going to 24 hours news
cycle this thing and they piece together the trial and the execution
of Jesus. Who was this Jesus? Who were
his friends? Maybe a profile on the 12 disciples,
a little expose on Judas. For sure, they would have interviewed
Zacchaeus, the tax collector who made good on his life through
Christ, or the woman who bled her entire life now healed, or
the blind man that could see. On and on it could go. You get
the picture. Our modern day news folks would
have a great time with events like these. Think with me, if you will, though,
of the trials of Jesus. I mentioned earlier, there were
three religious trials and three civil trials, if you will. Now,
Jesus was judged by the Jews and they deemed that he should
be put to death. But the Jews, because they were
occupied by Rome, could not execute a criminal. Now, back in the
old days of the theocracy, when God ruled Israel through kings
and they were a a nation state. People could be put to death
by their own law, by their own rule and through their own means.
But now that they are occupied by the Romans, there must be
two sets of trials in order for Jesus to be met with capital
punishment. So there’s three trials of Jesus
with the Jewish authorities. Last week when we studied Peter’s
denial, we just referred to it in verse 54 of chapter 22, Jesus
was taken from the garden, marched across the valley into the city
of Jerusalem, and he went to Caiaphas house. Now I’m sorry,
Annas house. Annas was the former high priest. Now, when you read of Annas in
the scriptures, giving this account, it’s as if he is still the high
priest, but really his son-in-law Caiaphas is the high priest.
So there’s a trial at Annas house. There’s a later trial at Caiaphas
house and then an early morning at sunrise trial with the entire
Sanhedrin, the ruling council of Israel, the Supreme Court
of the Jewish people, if you will. And so just figure Jesus
is arrested about midnight. We sing that hymn of Jesus’ pain
and suffering and agony when he’s in prayer in the Garden
of Gethsemane, “‘Tis Midnight on Olive’s Brow.” So figure,
not because of that hymn, but just figure it’s about midnight
when he’s arrested. By the time they make it across the valley
into the city to Annas, the high priest emeritus home, it’s after
midnight. And then by the time they make
it to Caiaphas, the true high priest home, it’s middle of the
morning, say 3 a.m. Because the Sanhedrin cannot
meet and hold a trial until daytime, the final judgment by the entire
council would take place at daybreak, maybe six in the morning or so. So there’s three trials of Jesus. There are also three trials before
the Romans. When they determine that capital
punishment should be Jesus’ demise, they must take him to Pilate,
the governor under Roman authority. And so they take him to Pilate
when he hears that they must, or that Jesus was a Galilean,
Herod must get involved. And then it goes back to Pilate. And so this is for the Lord Jesus
Christ, a night that never ends. Remember he broke bread with
his disciples eating the Passover. He then instituted the new covenant
by instituting the Lord’s supper. And Judas went out into the night.
Uh, they went to the, uh, across the valley to the, uh, Mount
of Olives where they prayed in the garden, watch and pray. Jesus
told his disciples, uh, they slept and then Judas. And those
from the church came to arrest Jesus. And he will ultimately,
after the end of this process, be beaten and be crucified and
be placed in the grave before the evening ends. And so for
Jesus, this is the night that never ends and the day of his
death and great darkness. So imagine the Sunday or the
Saturday morning show. They’re evaluating the events
of Good Friday. They’re digging into the events
of Maundy Thursday. That’s too late for anything
to be done. Jesus is dead. He has been executed. But you can imagine what the
reports from these news pundits would be. This Jesus, who was
he? Who were his people, his disciples?
Let’s do a cameo, an interview with some of those who were healed
by him and loved by him because he ministered to them. Well,
they would have to have their legal analyst on. They would
have to have the experts of the law on and they would say this
was a sham trial. This was the seething serpent,
the devil. with venom dripping from his
teeth, seeking to destroy the Lord Jesus Christ. Some time
ago, I was able to go on a camping trip and I remember a man who
saw a rattlesnake and he pinned it down and he picked it up.
And as he held that poisonous snake with its mouth open, the
fangs were dripping venom. And you could just tell this
animal was ready to hunt, ready to kill, ready to inflict his
pain. And you can imagine hundreds of Jewish officials under the
definite plan and foreknowledge and sovereignty of Almighty God,
but under the influence of Satan himself seeking to destroy Jesus. And so they set up this trial. They set up this means by which
they could trap Jesus. and put him to death and put
an end to all of their misery. Jesus had come into this world
and he had upset the apple cart by preaching a gospel of good
news, a gospel of salvation. He had come to make all things
new and it disrupted their system. So when Jesus is arrested and
led away by the captors, he’s, traveling across the the Kidron
Valley there. He goes up from the Mount of
Olives or down from the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem. First
stop is Annas home. Now a little bit about Annas.
Annas was the great high priest of Israel. High priests were
after the order of Aaron. They were elected for life. Now, because Israel was a nation
under Roman authority. The high priest must make the
Romans happy. Well, Annas was a wicked man,
a lustful man, a greedy man, and the Romans didn’t like him,
so they deposed him from office and made his son-in-law Caiaphas
the high priest. But the Jews still regarded him
as their man. It would be like in our church
if a longtime pastor hung around and he was named Pastor Emeritus
and he still wielded influence People still treated him as if
he were still the pastor, yet there was another pastor on the
scene. That’s a lot what this might be like. Well, Annas hated
Jesus. Annas made money. Here’s how
things went in the temple. Remember Jesus came in earlier
that week and he overturned the tables of the money changers.
So people would come to the temple, they would make their journey
to Jerusalem and they would bring their animals for sacrifice.
And what would the priest do? They’d say, Oh, that’s not a
good sacrifice to that animal has a blemish. You need to put
that animal away. And by the way, just around the
corner, there’s a place that’ll take your money and they’ll change
it for temple money. And they’ll sell you an unblemished
animal. You begin to get the picture. It’s like going to Disney,
right? You got to eat on site. You got
to pay 12 bucks for a burger, that kind of thing. They had
you cornered. when you came to Jerusalem. And
so Annas did not like Jesus upsetting this wonderful racket they had
going. And so this trial before Annas,
it was not legal. He was not the high priest, nor
was there a trial to be allowed in someone’s private quarters.
The trial was to take place at the temple. And so Annas questioned
Jesus. He warmed up the witness, you
might say. And all of this was probably
to buy time. They were trying to get the Sanhedrin
together. They had Jesus and they had to
make this work and he needed to die. And so this trial before
Annas took place. And it’s likely that after Annas
spoke with Jesus, he was carted off to Caiaphas house. And as
he passed through the courtyard, as we looked last week, Peter
denies Christ for the third time, the rooster crows, and they lock
eyes, and Jesus sees Peter in his great shame. Well, they make
their way to Caiaphas’ house. Caiaphas is the son-in-law of
Annas. He probably doesn’t do much unless
father-in-law says it’s good. The people still revered his
father-in-law greatly. This was a family business, this
high priestly stuff. I think several of the sons of
Annas were also of significance in the priestly order. So you
can begin to see this is Mafia. This is Chicago. This is Al Capone. This is New York. This is the
stuff of those movies we love to watch where, you know, somebody’s
sitting in the back room eating spaghetti with a big napkin around
them. This is Boss Hogg, Dukes of Hazzard. This is just backroom dirty dealing
that Jesus is facing. And so there’s this trial before
Caiaphas in the middle of the night. Now, because they don’t
want to break any rules, we really can’t gather the Sanhedrin until
morning. No trial can take place during
the daylight. And so as day breaks, Jesus is
carted in before the Sanhedrin where the official trial will
take place. But just think for a moment,
if you will, Jesus’ agony in the garden we’re told of. His
prayers to God Almighty, his sweating droplets of blood because
of the agony of facing the wrath of God to be poured out on him
for the sins of people. We’re not told about Jesus’ night
in jail. Supposedly, maybe from 3 a.m.
to 6 a.m., he may have gotten two hours of sleep. Who knows?
Did an angel attend him just as one had done? They’re in the
garden. We don’t know these things, but
our Lord is spending a never ending day, a never ending night
in great agony under the hands of the church, the religious
officials. Well, in the morning, when the
Sanhedrin finally meet, they issue the sentence of death. They issue the sentence of death
and because they cannot put Jesus to death, they must take this
criminal in their eyes to the Roman authorities. Only they
can execute. Only they can meet out capital
punishment. So they take him to Pilate. Now
remember, Jerusalem is abuzz with Passover. It’s full of people. All the All the pilgrims are
there to worship God, but all the Roman authorities have gathered
as well. This is a remarkable time in
the yearly cycle of Jerusalem. And so Pilate is there and they
accuse him of being a king, not Pilate, Jesus. They accuse him
of being a king. That’s against Rome. They accuse
him of telling people, oh, don’t pay your taxes. And they say
this man is a man of sedition, rustling up, hatred towards the
Roman authorities. Well, he has to speak to Herod
as well because he’s a Galilean. Remember Herod, Herod is the
one who offed the head of John the Baptist. He’s the man of
many wives. He’s the man of a bad reputation. And what we see at the end of
the three trials of Jesus before Pilate and Herod is three times,
three times Pilate says, I find no guilt. and this man. No offense has he done deserving
death. He must have ignored the fact
that they accused him of being a king, that they accused him
of sedition and rallying Israel against Rome. He must have found
he really did say rendered a Caesar what is Caesar’s. And so he snuffs
out these charges and he wants to punish him and hand him back
over or let him go free. But these Jewish authorities
are insistent in the charge of blasphemy against the Lord Jesus. Blasphemy, misusing the name
of Yahweh. And so as we see through these
trials of the Lord Jesus, these Jewish authorities are awful
in their treatment of Christ. He’s blindfolded. He’s beaten. He’s spit upon. They just constantly say stuff
to him, making fun of him, berating him, accusing him. They blaspheme
him. They mock him. They question
him. They accuse him. The passage
tells us it was with urgency. It was with vehemence. It was them crying out and shouting
and demanding. And their cries were loud and
insistent. Now, what would the news pundits
say about all of this? Well, they would have studied
the rules of the Sanhedrin and they would have determined that
at least a dozen of the Sanhedrin’s own rules were broken in sending
this man to the cross. Annas was not a high priest,
yet he tried Jesus. The trial took place in someone’s
home, not at the temple. Jesus had no defense. This was
a one day trial, not a three day trial. If you study the judicial
system of ancient Israel under the Jewish authorities, it was
a pretty good system. And any offense, which was a
capital offense, could take no less than three days. And it
had various rules about how many people had to declare the man
guilty or not guilty. So Jesus’ vote by the Sanhedrin
to put him to death was unanimous. The Sanhedrin never allowed a
unanimous vote. A unanimous vote meant that there
was something fishy going on. And so you begin to see this
was a sham trial. This was also on a feast day.
Feast days were holy. There were many false witnesses.
Our passages tell us that many false witnesses came and told
tales about Jesus, but even they did not corroborate or match
or work. This was a predetermined trial
with a already planned outcome. Some of you who have been to
Presbytery, I know Jay, I know Robert, you’re probably thinking,
this sounds a lot like our old Presbytery, and it does. Sometimes
the church can be vicious to their own, to God’s people and
God’s servants. I want us to think for just a
moment about the significance of this trial. Who is it that
declared Jesus righteous, innocent? It was the pagans. It was the
church that declared Jesus guilty of things which he had not committed.
And in our passage here, we see the story of three high priests.
There’s Annas. You’ve heard enough about him.
There’s Caiaphas, his son-in-law. We know a little about him, but
then there’s Jesus. Let’s not forget who he is. He
is the high priest of God. And he is not after the order
of Aaron. He is after the strange order
of Melchizedek. He is the priest king whose origins
are from of old. And as Jesus is put on trial,
As he is silent, as these witnesses bear false testimony against
him, we’re reminded of the basics that these Jewish authorities
wanted to know. What did they want to know of
Jesus in those three trials? Are you Messiah? Are you the
king of the Jews? Are you the son of God? And Jesus’
simple answer is, Hey, you’ve said so. It’s obvious, isn’t
it? This is who I am. And by the
way, I will sit at the right hand of God and I will rule this
entire earth. One day I’ll be judging you.
There’ll be a twist of fate, a turn of events. You will see the son of God seated
at the right hand of God riding on the clouds. One of the answers
Jesus gives to them, you ask, but if I tell you, you won’t
believe. If I tell you that I am the son
of God and I will be seated at his right hand and be the powerful
one, you won’t believe. And so they condemn him for blasphemy,
speaking against Almighty God. But there’s a greater sin in
this passage. And this is what I want to land home to us today.
It’s the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, when God Almighty
gives testimony to his people that he is Christ. He is the
Messiah. He is the son of God. He is the
great high priest. He is the savior of sinners.
And we respond in unbelief as these other high priests do.
We sin against the Holy Spirit. And the Bible says there is no
hope for us. And we will face the judgment
seat of Christ himself. And so let me challenge you.
Let me encourage you today to see two things from this passage.
Jesus is Messiah and Jesus is innocent. And as the innocent
Messiah, he suffers as the high priest making the offering at
the cross, but himself being the offering at the cross. And if you’re like these high
priests, like these Jewish officials, you are railing against God,
hating God, and living in unbelief, you will face him in judgment
one day. But if you have faith like that thief who was crucified
beside him, who identified Jesus and put his faith in him and
repented of his sins, you, as Jesus says to him, will be with
him in paradise. Pray with me. Lord, we remember
your sufferings in this hour as we come to your table. We
remember that you suffered and bled and died in our place. You
took on our sin, became sin for us in order that we might become
the righteousness of Christ. And so in these few moments ahead,
we pray that you would take these elements of your supper the bread
and the cup, and that you would use them in a special and mighty
way to feed us, to nurture us, to build up our faith, to remind
us that we are your children, you never leave us or forsake
us, and you have a bright hope and future for us if we put our
faith and trust and hope in you. So bless us now as we’ve heard
your word and as we prepare to come to your table. We ask for
your grace in the name of Christ, amen.