Jon Fry - Class 2 - The Trial

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

1. 0:00

   Our reading for the commencement of this study is a continuation of the narrative that we read in the first study, and it's taken from Mark chapter 14 from verse 43, and Jason Kelly will lead us in that reading.

2. 0:30

   Evening, everyone. I'll be reading from Mark chapter 14, verse 43 to the end, and then chapter 15, verses 1 to 20, from the good old King James. And immediately, while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.

3. 1:09

   And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he. Take him and lead him away safely. And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him and said, Master, Master, and kissed him. And they laid their hands on him and took him. And one of them that stood by drew a sword and smote a servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.

4. 1:39

   And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are you come out as against a thief with swords and with staves to take me? I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you took me not, but the scripture must be fulfilled. And they all forsook him and fled. And they followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body.

5. 2:05

   And the young man laid hold on him, and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked. And they led Jesus away to the high priest, and with him were assembled all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes. And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest.

6. 2:27

   And he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire. And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus, to put him to death, and found none. For many bear false witness against him, but their witnesses agreed not together. And there arose certain and bare false witness against him, saying, We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.

7. 2:56

   But neither so did their witnesses agree together. And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? What is it which these witness against thee? But he held his peace and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?

8. 3:21

   And Jesus said, I am. And ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes and said, What need we any further witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. What think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.

9. 3:45

   And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to buffet him and to say unto him, Prophesy. And the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands. And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest. And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth.

10. 4:11

    But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch and the cock crew. And a maid saw him again and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again unto Peter, Surely thou art one of them, for thou art a Galilean, and thy speech agreeeth thereto.

11. 4:42

    But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom you speak. And the second time the cock crew, and Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crowed twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept. And straightway in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus and carried him away and delivered him to Pilate.

12. 5:16

    And Pilate asked him, Art thou the king of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it. And the chief priests accused him of many things, but he answered nothing. And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? Behold, how many things they witnessed against thee. But Jesus yet answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.

13. 5:41

    Now at that feast, he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired. And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection. And the multitude, crying aloud, began to desire him to do even as he had ever done unto them.

14. 6:03

    But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the king of the Jews? For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy. But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them. And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the king of the Jews?

15. 6:31

    And they cried out again, Crucify him. Then Pilate said unto them, Why? What evil hath he done? And they cried out all the more exceedingly, Crucify him. And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him to be crucified. And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium.

16. 7:00

    And they called together the whole band. And they clothed him with purple, and plaited a crown of thorns, and put it upon his head, and began to salute him, Hail, king of the Jews! And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees, worshipped him.

17. 7:22

    And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him. Good evening, everyone.

18. 7:50

    Good evening, everyone at home. We've, so far today, seen the events, the interactions, the emotions, which have triggered the arrest of Jesus. And what we're going to explore is that, and the trial of Jesus this evening. And our aim, as earlier, is to try and to draw out that spiritual, practical lesson, and lessons that the Lord Jesus would have us learn, through what he endured.

19. 8:23

    that we might find some solace in our own suffering. So the arrest of Jesus happened suddenly for the disciples. They weren't expecting it. But it wasn't a surprise to Jesus.

20. 8:47

    And we start to understand, don't we, the depth of Christ's distress in the garden when we realize that he was anticipating the arrival of Judas at any moment. It brings an immediacy to Gethsemane. And Judas appears with a mob, literally when Jesus is still talking. He's mid-sentence. They actually appear as Jesus is talking to the disciples, whilst he was telling them to get up from their sleep.

21. 9:29

    And so we know already, don't we, that Judas, his heart, his allegiance, had already strayed from the Christ. But now we see in real terms, in physical terms, his allegiance has changed and he's become an agent of the chief priests. And it's in John's Gospel, again, that he gives us a short, very short phrase.

22. 9:56

    It's an insightful phrase about Judas' departure from the Lord's Supper. John simply says that when Judas left the supper and it was night. Spiritually, Judas was in darkness.

23. 10:20

    Let's just read these words from Luke's Gospel. Then Jesus said to the chief priests and the officers of the temple and the elders who had come out against him, have you come out against, have you come out as against a robber with swords and clubs? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me, but this is your hour and the power of darkness.

24. 10:46

    darkness. And so spiritually, Judas was in this darkness. He was ruled by darkness. And the words of Christ confirm that for us. And this is what happens, isn't it, in our lives when darkness reigns. And that's how the NIV translates it. The unthinkable is about to unfold on the Son of God. And what is most startling, I think, is that the people capturing Jesus are religious.

25. 11:25

    They would likely consider themselves what we might say in the truth or any expression that you can imagine that we use to describe our community or any faith community, they would have said that of themselves. And Jesus here highlights their duplicity. He talks of their use of coming to him at night time.

26. 11:54

    You know, as if they're trying to be secretive and covert. But he's also implying something deeper that they're lost in the depths of this figurative darkness. And this darkness reigns in part because the chief priests and the elders care about what people think instead about caring for people. We read earlier today in Mark's Gospel that they, when they were considering their plot against Jesus, they wanted to avoid the feast.

27. 12:27

    In Mark 14, verse 2, it says, lest there be an uproar from the people. There's no mention of God, nor could there be in their motives of their scheming.

28. 12:44

    We're told in John's Gospel that they love the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God. And we can fall into the same trap as them. Darkness reigns in our lives when we're guided by what people might think of us. and when we seek our own glory instead of the glory of God.

29. 13:09

    Jesus is our light in this darkness. And he'd very clearly given the Pharisees a clear warning about this earlier in his ministry. John chapter 8 and verse 12, he said to them, these very people, again, Jesus spoke to them saying, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

30. 13:39

    And as we consider now the trial of the Lord Jesus Christ, it's going to get very dark. The darkest night that humanity has ever had. But throughout this, the Lord Jesus Christ is that light of life. Judas' betrayal of Jesus is, I feel, a hugely significant aspect of Christ's suffering that I think I've often overlooked.

31. 14:17

    Understandably, when we think about these things, we think about Christ's crucifixion and it's sort of the summit, isn't it, of his suffering, his physical suffering. Yet when we pay close attention to the Gospels, we see how much the betrayal is on Jesus' mind.

32. 14:39

    We see how significant its impact on him. Here's Jesus talking to his disciples even before the supper in Bethany. So before that, from Matthew 26, he said to his disciples, you know that after two days the Passover is coming and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified. Or in the good old King James version, it's the word betrayed or has this translated as betrayed.

33. 15:16

    And so when Jesus is trying to talk to his disciples and lead them to understand what's going to happen to him, it's not all about the crucifixion. In fact, what's most on Jesus' mind is the fact that one of his friends is going to betray him. You might think, oh, really, is that a strong enough evidence of how Jesus was feeling?

34. 15:40

    We've read passages tonight that have highlighted this. A few more, Mark chapter 14, we read, this is the first words recorded of Jesus in Mark's gospel, the first words he speaks to his disciples at the supper. And when it was evening, he came with the twelve, and as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, truly I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.

35. 16:12

    it's the first thing he says to them that Mark records, the first thing on Mark's mind as he records these events. Here's John's take on it.

36. 16:33

    Jesus was troubled in his spirit and testified truly, truly I say to you, one of you will betray me. And of course we know that the significance of this betrayal appears prophetically in the Psalms when we read, even my close friend and whom I trusted who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.

37. 17:05

    We might not be able to easily relate to crucifixion and what that involves, but we can relate to betrayal. It's such a strong word, but in essence it describes a breach in a relationship.

38. 17:27

    And Christ felt this just as sharply, if not sharper, than we do. And this is something we have all experienced and all in truth have been responsible for. We understand, don't we, that essential nature of trust in our personal connections and how crushing this can be when it's broken.

39. 17:56

    And so Judas arrives in the garden and not only did he betray Jesus with a kiss, which is unthinkable to Jesus. We know that from Luke's gospel. Luke records how Jesus comments on this. But Judas violated a very special place for Jesus. It was a place of solace for Christ and his disciples.

40. 18:21

    Luke and John both tell us that it was their custom, it was their habit, it was their routine to be at Gethsemane, to spend time there. It was like an outdoor meeting room for them.

41. 18:41

    And it was Christ's custom to pray there. He knew that that was the place that Jesus spent time with his heavenly father in deep connection prayer.

42. 19:00

    And he betrayed that and he broke that open. And Judas brought a crowd with clubs and swords into this haven. And as they roughly lay their hands on Jesus and seize him, we know from the other gospel records that at the same time Jesus has a great deal of power and strength and a confidence that he's gained through his experience in the garden and the strengthening that God has given him through that supportive angel.

43. 19:40

    And they're taken aback, they fall to the floor when he approaches them. But we know, don't we, that despite this, that Jesus will endure great suffering in the hours that will come following his arrest. Yet Jesus with this same knowledge does not retaliate with violence or aggression.

44. 20:09

    All the disciples left him and fled. Christ is captive and alone as the trial is about to begin. So the trial of Jesus is recorded across the four gospel records and in some ways what I'd like to do this evening is bring those together in a way that we can follow Jesus through these events.

45. 20:37

    And what we find is that really the trial of the Lord Jesus Christ is broadly divided into two parts. He's brought before the religious authorities and he has a trial, a religious trial and then he's dragged to the civil authorities, the rulers of the day in Israel and he has his civil trial.

46. 21:03

    And if having two trials wasn't bad enough, when we actually look closely at each of those aspects of what Jesus endured, we find that he had six trials. each of those initial ways of looking at his trial can be split into three parts. He appears before Annas, who had been the high priest.

47. 21:26

    He appears before Caiaphas, the current high priest. He appears before the council of the elders and the chief priests. He's taken to Pilate and he appears before Pilate. He's carted off to Herod and he appears before Herod and finally he returns to Pilate's judgment seat. So not one trial of the Lord Jesus Christ, six trials.

48. 21:50

    But who is on trial? Through these six trials, the very heart of humanity is examined and judged. It's us. It's what we can do when darkness reigns. It is on trial.

49. 22:20

    And so first we're going to consider the trial that Jesus had before the religious leaders. It was shambolic. It was completely unconventional. It was appalling. We would call it a miscarriage of justice. They didn't even have a charge. So usually when you arrest someone you have a charge, you have a reason for arresting them.

50. 22:45

    They didn't even have a definitive charge against Jesus. They didn't even have witnesses. All they had was a desire to kill somebody and they were determined to do whatever it took to have Jesus put to death. They just wanted him dead. And they would do and say anything to achieve this. When Jesus first arrives he appears before Annas.

51. 23:15

    Now Annas had been a high priest before. He wasn't the current high priest. He was sort of like the patriarch of the family, of the people. He was very well respected. You might even say he called the shots. And Jesus appears before this patriarch of the high priestly family. He's the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was the high priest in that particular year.

52. 23:42

    And this is only recorded in John's Gospel, these events, this particular part of Jesus' trial. And while this is going on they're actually working through the night to bring together the whole council. They don't have WhatsApp or anything like that of course. So they're having to send people around to collect and gather the council.

53. 24:04

    And the word is going out and messengers are going through the city to bring together the council to be able to give Jesus an official trial. And while they have him and while they're waiting for this to happen, Annas starts to ask Jesus questions. He asks him about his disciples.

54. 24:27

    He asks him about his teaching. Not because he's interested in either of those things, but because he's looking for a reason to charge Jesus, to indict Jesus. And of course, there is no reason.

55. 24:52

    He was truly trying to do something impossible. And so he takes a very definite track with where he's going. And he's wanting to frame Jesus, eventually we see, as a revolutionary, as a sort of underground revolutionary. Not too dissimilar in maybe some ways from Barabbas, who will come to in a short while.

56. 25:22

    But despite these claims maybe of Jesus being an underground revolutionary, we have these words recorded of Jesus when he speaks to Annas. He says, I have spoken openly to the world. It's like when they came for him at night time. He said, I've been with you this whole time, under the sun's light.

57. 25:46

    And now he's saying to them, you're accusing me of doing something secretive and have ulterior motives. I have spoken openly to the world. Jesus had never hidden who he was.

58. 26:05

    I wish I could say that. He'd never hidden who he was, his true identity. He'd never said anything in secret or hushed. They couldn't accuse him of plotting against the Roman authorities. There was nothing covert about his ministry.

59. 26:34

    And so we read that when Jesus had replied and said these things, one of the officers standing by, sorry, when Anna spoke to him, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand saying, is this how you answer the high priest? And Jesus answered him, if what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong.

60. 26:53

    But if what I said is right, why do you strike me? It's a terrible thing to be hit. Some people here might have been hit, but I've been hit.

61. 27:09

    Glasgow is a lovely place, I do recommend it if we ever get to travel internationally again, but there's some pretty terrible parts there. I remember walking down the street and seeing two people coming towards me and I thought, this doesn't, I don't like the look at this, and I crossed the road, and they crossed the road.

62. 27:28

    So I crossed the road again, and they crossed the road again. By the time our paths crossed, I got a punch in the head, in the face. It's a horrible, horrible experience.

63. 27:44

    Jesus, we're told, was basically hit every time he was moved from place to place. We read that, we just read that together. It says the guards received him with blows. Every time Jesus was moved, every time there was a transition from one part of the trial to the next, Jesus was hit and punched.

64. 28:16

    He was treated in this way throughout his trial. So we can understand that first blow that Jesus received, knowing what was going to come through the night, we can't imagine how he felt. Knowing the suffering that would unfold through that night and into the next day, Jesus didn't retaliate. He did at times respond, and we've seen it, we've just read an example of a time when he does respond.

65. 28:47

    In fact, he challenges his enemy with his words, but he doesn't respond with violence. And we just marvel at his composure. father. When they came to arrest him in the garden, and Peter drew his sword,

66. 29:21

    Jesus said, do you think that I cannot appeal to my father and he will at once send me more than 12 legions of angels?

67. 29:38

    A legion of angels is said to be as many as 6,000 soldiers. Jesus here has at his hands a legion for each of the 12 tribes of Israel and more. Can you imagine 72,000 angels surging and engulfing this small crowd with their weapons? We would marvel at the work of one angel.

68. 30:09

    Jesus had that at his fingertips. Every blow, every cruel joke every time somebody mocked him, every time he was mistreated and abused. We marvel at his composure. And we remember as we go through this time with our Lord, those 12 legions of angels.

69. 30:41

    And so Jesus then appears before Caiaphas and it becomes apparent how ridiculous the proceedings are. They want to put Jesus to death and they're desperately trying to find something, some action or word that will show that he's worthy of death. It's futile. They don't know Jesus, do they? They don't know Jesus.

70. 31:04

    They don't know our high priest who was without sin. sin. And Jesus remains silent throughout much of his trial. Isn't that amazing? Pilate thought it was amazing. We read that tonight in Mark 15 and verse 5. Jesus made no further answer to the scribes and the Pharisees so that Pilate was amazed. He couldn't believe that somebody could be accused of so many things and not say anything, not retaliate with their words even.

71. 31:43

    He was absolutely astounded at Jesus. And again Jesus shows us the way in suffering. We can be quick to speak when things go wrong. We can be quick to anger. And Jesus shows us the worth of silence, the worth of finding peace in the storm. And so they finally settle on some comments that Christ had made regarding the destruction of the temple.

72. 32:20

    Matthew records, this man said, this is someone accusing Jesus, this man said, Jesus said, I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days. And of course, we know that these words were said years ago. Isn't that amazing? They'd hung on to words, well we do that, don't we, to be honest?

73. 32:46

    Or maybe it's just me. But we hang on to words that people say years ago, and they live in the back of our minds, and we like to bring them up later on. And this is exactly what happened to Jesus.

74. 32:58

    Years later, someone brings up these words that he said, but they're misquoting him. here's what Jesus said, destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

75. 33:22

    It's different. They've manipulated Christ, haven't they, his words. They want to put the destruction into Christ's hands. Jesus said, he is able to destroy the temple.

76. 33:44

    Christ said these words in the temple, he spoke of his body, but he said it was the Jews, the people who were there, that would destroy him. Isn't that incredible? Here we have Jesus years early prophesying prophesying that he would be destroyed by the people, and that he would be raised. And these are the very words that they use, they misconstrue and contort and throw back at him to accuse him and to try and condemn him to death.

77. 34:26

    Jesus clearly designates them as the destructors. and destruction is what they now set about to do. They would destroy this man before them, the son of God. Christ's prophecy is being fulfilled. And despite all this, the witnesses cannot agree. And so Caiaphas impatiently interrupts and sort of tries to elicit something from Jesus.

78. 34:54

    And it's in this conversation with Christ. Caiaphas just gets so angry and so furious that he just can't control himself. He accuses Jesus of blasphemy, a trespass worthy of death, and he does something that the high priest was commanded never to do. He tore his robe.

79. 35:21

    He was that angry. You know, anger is a powerful thing, isn't it? We can do things we would never dream of doing. It'd be like a king throwing off their crown in a rage. He tears up the thing that to everybody else shows them who he is.

80. 35:43

    But it's fitting, isn't it? Caiaphas was in no way fit to be high priest of the flock of Israel. And it provides a complete contrast to that seamless robe of Christ that is not divided as they gamble over his clothes during the crucifixion.

81. 36:06

    A cascade of abuse is now inflicted on our Lord and they spit in his face and they strike him and they play a cruel, cruel game. they cover his face and they slap him and they say, prophesy to us, you Christ, who is it that struck you?

82. 36:34

    The religious authorities we find ridicule Jesus as a prophet and as the Messiah and the civil authorities as we read in Mark would ridicule him as a king. The guards received him with blows and many other taunts that aren't even recorded in our Bibles and every step to the cross Jesus receives blow after blow.

83. 36:58

    Could he not ask his father to send more than 12 legions of angels at once? so in the morning Christ appears before the council of the elders and the chief priests.

84. 37:19

    The unconventional trial, if you could call it that, through the night wasn't sufficient to really do anything official. The Christ was held for some time, which in itself we don't consider as it's not recorded, but we can imagine what that would have been like being held in cells and in places waiting to be tried.

85. 37:45

    And he's brought before the council of elders in the early morning hours. And this, if you like, brings an official conclusion to the proceedings for the religious leaders of Israel. The dawning of the day brought with it the opportunity to gather the number of council members required to condemn Christ to death. It's just a swift rehearsal really of the events that have occurred the night before, which ultimately finds the Jews washing their hands of Jesus as they bring him before the Roman authorities.

86. 38:21

    Before Pilate. And Pilate did not want to have Christ crucified. It's incredible when we read through the four gospel records, the lengths that Pilate goes to in some ways to avoid this outcome.

87. 38:44

    The account records Pilate as a scared man who wants to release him. But despite his countless efforts to free Jesus, Pilate was ultimately weak and crushed. This ruler, he was weak and crushed under the pressure of the religious leaders and the influence that they had over the crowds and over the people. So where the chief priests show us were just wickedness, just venom, Pilate shows us the evil that comes from not standing up against what we know is wrong.

88. 39:28

    James says, whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. So there is the Jewish religious authority.

89. 39:41

    They have brought Jesus obviously ultimately to a condemnation of death through a charge of blasphemy. But they know that this charge holds no weight with Pilate. Pilate's not interested if a Jewish teacher has blasphemed their God and has said something against the God of the Jews. Why is Pilate interested in that? He has no interest in that.

90. 40:05

    So it's absolutely incredible to see of all their discussions that when they finally get to Pilate, here's the charge that they present to Pilate. We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar and saying that he himself is Christ a king. You know when I read this again recently it reminded me of Yard Jutty.

91. 40:34

    It reminded me of speaking to students who have been having a bit of a fight or a bit of a tiff and you speak to one and you have a conversation and you think you've worked it all out what's going on and what the problem is and then you get the other person who's been involved and then the person who just told you the story and you think you understand exactly what's going on tell you a completely different story.

92. 40:54

    It's like a story you've never heard and this is what's happened. This is the childish behavior of the leaders of Israel. The charge that they eventually bring to Pilate reflects nothing of the trial if you can call it that that he's just endured through the night at their hands.

93. 41:13

    And so John's account really does help us. It hints at the unhappiness of Pilate of being called out. He's actually called out to them outdoors. They won't go in to see Pilate in the normal fashion that they would for religious reasons. We know it's a time of the feasts, we've got holy days and we're told that they won't go in because they are afraid that they will be polluted in their religious views.

94. 41:41

    They think we're better to get Pilate to come out and speak to us. And so Pilate's really not happy with this. And he basically tells them to go away and sort the problem out for themselves. But when the Jews mention the death penalty to Pilate, he realises that he's got a battle on his hands.

95. 42:06

    He realises that these aren't people who have come to him with a little quabble, a little foible, something that it's a little problem. And it's very hard to place all the events of the trial of Jesus, particularly with Pilate, but it would appear to me at this stage that Jesus is actually taken into the palace by Pilate.

96. 42:28

    Pilate. And Christ is given a brief reprieve from the generation of vipers. And we find Jesus and Pilate talking. This is the most talking Jesus does in his entire trial. We see Jesus talking to Pilate in detail, teaching him. Throughout all his suffering, Jesus is talking to Pilate about the kingdom of God.

97. 43:07

    He speaks to Pilate about the truth. And, you know, Pilate would release Jesus. He actually comes out and says, sorry, there's this you're wasting my time. Just go and deal with this. And so they don't relent. They come with a second charge. He's stirring up the people. He's teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee, even to this place.

98. 43:37

    He's popular. Everyone knows about this person. He's really building up to something. Something's going to happen. You have to do something about it. And at the mention of Galilee and Judea, Pilate probably breathes a sigh of relief. He's opportunistic and he sees a way, I think, of maybe abdicating his responsibility. Because what he does next is he sends Jesus to Herod.

99. 44:11

    So, you know, Herod was the Jewish sort of leader, if you like, the Jewish civil leader. And the places that were mentioned, Judea, Galilee, these were places that were under Herod's jurisdiction. He's the native king appointed by the Romans. I'll send Jesus to him. Just so happens that he's in Jerusalem at this time.

100. 44:35

     And so, Christ's appearance or his trial before Herod is only recorded for us in the Gospel of Luke. The chief priests wanted Jesus dead. Pilate wanted Jesus released. Herod?

101. 44:52

     He was just looking for a show. He was just looking for entertainment. Herod appears as a shallow man. He questions Jesus at length but received no answer.

102. 45:18

     Nothing. Christ had nothing to say to Herod. There was nothing he could say that could turn that man's heart, that could make him stop and think. What a terrible indictment on Herod.

103. 45:38

     We know that Jesus threw out his trial and the challenges with his accusers. At times he does respond but with Herod there's nothing. His silence is a condemnation. And so we can imagine Herod's distaste at being ignored by Christ. And Herod then and his soldiers enter into the spirit that the chief priests and the scribes have already started mocking and taunting Jesus by dressing him in some of Herod's splendid clothing or clothing of those in the court.

104. 46:17

     They did not know the true riches of this poor man who had nowhere to lay his head. And so Jesus is now taken back to Pilate.

105. 46:31

     Pilate would again seek to release him. Pilate has an idea. He thinks they've told me this Jesus is very popular. He's known everywhere and he's got some influence and power that people look up to him. Because this is the picture that's been painted to Pilate by the chief priests and the scribes and the Pharisees.

106. 47:05

     And so they have a custom of releasing a prisoner at this time. And so when Pilate puts Barabbas and Jesus before the people, he was hopeful, if not convinced, that they would choose Jesus. That's why he does it. He's not playing a game. He thinks that they will choose Jesus. in fact, he doesn't take Barabbas as an answer.

107. 47:39

     Did you notice that? He doesn't take Barabbas as an answer. They say Barabbas and he goes back to them and he says, well, are you sure? Think about that. What are we going to do with Jesus if we release Barabbas? Haven't you thought this out? Jesus is going to be crucified if we release Barabbas.

108. 47:58

     He really won't accept the people's decision. And so what does Pilate do? Well, first it says he washes his hands. Just like the Jews had, pass him along. In a sense, he's claiming innocence and handing Jesus over, swaying to the people. But he was not innocent. He was a coward. And he didn't straight away deliver Jesus to be crucified.

109. 48:36

     He initially had him scourged. And the details of which are omitted. did. But we know, don't we? We learn from different ways through history what that was, the brutality of that Roman punishment.

110. 49:00

     You know, it's discussed historically. It's been portrayed in films. films. The soldiers stripped Jesus of his clothes. And they adorned him in a scarlet robe.

111. 49:18

     You wouldn't be able to see his blood so clearly in that. They placed upon his head a crown of thorns. They mocked him and hit him. They spat on him. It's an act, isn't it, that's not intended to hurt the body. But hurt us deep inside. An act that's intended to degrade us, to bring us low in our heart, to bring us shame.

112. 49:48

     But Jesus despised the shame. And in these acts of these soldiers, throughout the trial of Christ, we see the ugly heart of mankind, don't we? What would bring someone to spit in the face of someone who is suffering so much? But we have a habit of breaking bruised reeds and quenching smoldering wicks.

113. 50:19

     We have a habit of hurting the fragile, of taking someone or something that's already broken and breaking them further. Jesus took the abuse of those soldiers, the lacerations from the scourging, without retaliating. He didn't quarrel or cry aloud, and the number of soldiers that surrounded him was immense. The whole band, we're told, the whole battalion, hundreds of men.

114. 50:57

     He could have called more than twelve legions of angels at once. And Jesus restrained any feelings of vengeance that may have come into his heart.

115. 51:09

     These words make us think about this time in Christ's life, don't they? Psalm 27 verses 2 and 3, when the wicked advance against me to devour me, it's my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear. Though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.

116. 51:38

     Pilate, it would appear, had wanted to punish Jesus, with this scourging, I'd suggest, and then release him. I think Pilate had hoped and commanded this to happen, hoping that it would satisfy the enemies of Christ.

117. 51:59

     Surely they will be happy with that. And so we find out in John's Gospel that after Jesus has been scourged and mocked and delivered for crucifixion that Pilate again attempts to have him freed. It's very unusual. And I think Pilate was hoping that what Christ had suffered, if he could just present Christ to the people and say, look, you know, enough's enough.

118. 52:26

     This man has endured, you know, whatever you might accuse him of, he's endured a sufficient punishment. Pilate went out again and said to them, see, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him. So Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe and Pilate said to them, behold the man.

119. 53:03

     Pilate's words are often connected to the Old Testament prophecy of Zechariah. However, we've got to be careful that in considering Old Testament passages and prophecies that they don't, in a sense, blind us to what the people are saying at that time.

120. 53:23

     Jesus had endured distress and anguish in his soul in anticipation of all that would befall him. He'd been betrayed by a close friend. He'd been bound for hours without sleep. He'd been forced around Jerusalem.

121. 53:46

     He'd stood trial in six separate sittings. He'd been hit, slapped, mocked, ridiculed, spat upon. He'd been scourged close to death and now stood before them wearing a crown of thorns and Pilate says, look at the man.

122. 54:08

     Crucify him was their reply. Take him yourselves and crucify him for I find no guilt in him. Pilate is arguing with the people. He doesn't want to have Christ crucified and the crowd is beginning to swell like a tempest. There's a frenzy in the air and a riot could break out at any moment.

123. 54:33

     But when Pilate hears for the first time Christ referred to as the Son of God, he takes him back into the palace. Where are you from? who are you?

124. 54:58

     Christ's endurance, his response to such suffering, makes Pilate question his origins. He knows he's already, he knows already he's from Galilee. Let's just clear that up. We know that from Luke chapter 23. he has an inkling that the man before him is divine. It's from heaven.

125. 55:29

     And not only Pilate takes note, I think, but maybe a centurion does too, listening keenly for a response from Jesus. But he gave them no answer. No answer. When the centurion, all those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, truly, this was the Son of God.

126. 56:00

     So Pilate makes one last attempt at trying to persuade them to have Jesus released by trying to show the people the insanity of their claims. Because when Pilate again sought to release Jesus, the Jews call out, if you release this man, you, Pilate, are not Caesar's friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.

127. 56:29

     They've brought his boss into it, haven't they? They've escalated it. Can I speak to your manager? We do that, don't we? they've done the exact same thing. Pilate, who is meant to wield the power of Rome, is powerless. Isn't that incredible?

128. 56:53

     Now, traditional interpretations of what happens next sees Pilate sit upon the judgment seat. Yet, we know, don't we, that Pilate has already washed his hands of Jesus. Jesus. He would not proclaim a verdict over Jesus. He's told the Jews to crucify him themselves.

129. 57:16

     And Moffat's translation of the New Testament provides a fascinating translation of what happens. On hearing the people's claim that Jesus has made himself king, Pilate sits Jesus in the judgment seat. and says, Behold your king.

130. 57:44

     They cried out, away with him. Away with him. Crucify him. Pilate said to them, Shall I crucify your king? The chief priest answered, We have no king but Caesar. So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.

131. 58:10

     Who is your king? There is a glory to come, isn't there? There's a glory to come after the suffering. The redemption of Christ's damaged body, the resurrection glory after the destruction of Golgotha. anger. But can't we see the glory in the suffering?

132. 58:38

     Can't we see a man in the midst of extreme pain and anguish yet gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty.

133. 59:12

     And this is the glory that we seek now in this life, in the midst of our own suffering, that we too may be asked, where are you from?