A 5-day per week study.
February 25– Reading Mark 14:53-65
Read and believe in Jesus.
“And they all condemned Him as deserving death.” Mark 14:64b
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The Gospel according to Mark 14:53-65
After the Passover meal, Jesus and his disciples went to the Mount of Olives. Jesus took His inner three to go apart into Gethsemane to pray with Him. While they slept, He prayed earnestly three times that the “cup” would pass from Him.
What that “cup” involved, we really can’t understand. It was not just the physical pain, nor the degrading treatment and language hurled at Him, but for the perfect, sinless Son of God, it also meant bearing the despicable SIN of all who would ever believe in Him. It meant being judged by God, His Father, as guilty of death. And finally, brutal execution.
But Jesus had settled it. By the time Judas led His captors into the privacy of the garden, Jesus had “set his face” towards the cross. For me. For you.
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Vss. 53-59
Jesus was led to the High Priest’s house, and then to where the entire Council (the Sanhedrin, made up of 70 members) could interrogate Jesus in privacy.
(It’s interesting that when they were arresting Him in Gethsemane, Jesus made this statement, ‘Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me.” Consider now the differences.
- THEN, it was in the bright daylight; NOW, it was the darness of night, with flickering candles and oil lamps.
- THEN, Jesus was in the open. Adoring crowds surrounded Him. NOW, He was surrounded only by enemies who hated Him.
- THEN, He could walk away (or disappear in the crowd). NOW, he was shackled between members of the temple guard.
- THEN, Jesus confounded the religious leaders and made them look stupid. NOW, in their pomp and privacy, they would get their revenge.
- And it was all HIS choice.
While Peter waited outside in the courtyard (we’ll look at him tomorrow), the mock trial of Jesus began.
The chief priests sought testimony against Him that would condemn Him to death. But alas, they found none. They did find two men who claimed Jesus said He would destroy the temple and build it again in three days. But even they couldn’t agree. According to the letter of the law (Deuteronomy 17:6, 19:15), at least two witnesses had to exactly agree.
(NOTE: If you want to read what Jesus REALLY said, see John 2:18-22)
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Vss. 60-65,
And now it was nearing dawn. Frustrated at not being able to charge Jesus with a crime, the High Priest stood up and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?”
Silence.
Finally, the High Priest demanded, “ARE YOU THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE BLESSED?”
“I am,” Jesus said. (Why did they not fall back in fear at the covenant Name of God? I AM = Yahwey)
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Then Jesus continued, quoting from Daniel 7:13-14,
“You will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of Heaven.”
This was a direct claim to be the Messiah and the Son of God.
And the High Priest of Israel recognized it.
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He tore his garments. (a ceremonial and here, a contrived display of grief and indignation at someone dishonoring God’s name.)
“What further witnesses do we need? You have heard His blasphemy. What is your decision?” Caiaphus asked the court.
“Guilty! Death!” was the unanimous answer.
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And they began to spit on Him.
They covered His face, hit Him, and demanded that He “prophesy” who hit Him.
The guards struck Him with blows from their fists.
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And so it begins. The horrendous work Jesus came to do for you and me. To save us.
Morning Meditations 