Jesus on Trial
June 14, 2021
Commentary
The focus of this passage is when Jesus was asked by the high priest if He was truly the Son of God and He remained silent. After Jesus’ was arrested He was taken to the home of Annas, the former high priest who was the father-in-law of Caiphas who is now the high priest (v. 57) (John 18:13). From there he was taken, in the morning, to Caiphas’ house. The high priest hastily assembled the Sanhedrin, composed of the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes (Mark 14:53). They had already determined that He was guilty, but they wanted to go through the motion of a legal trial. Peter followed at a distance to see what was going to happen (v. 58).
Seeking a case against Jesus, the Sanhedrin had brought in many witnesses; but their testimony was false and inconsistent (v. 59) (Mark 14:56). At this point two men were summoned to come in as witnesses. Their testimony has an element of truth but was evilly motivated. These two witnesses testified that Jesus had claimed He would destroy the temple and in three days build another (vv, 60-61). However, these witnesses failed to provide substantial evidence either. Finally, in frustration the high priest tried to get Jesus to respond to these witnesses, hoping to trap Him with His own statements. Jesus just remained silent which was a fulfillment of (v, 62) (Isa. 53:7).
When Caiphas saw that these false charges were not proving anything he took another approach. He put Jesus under oath. He knew that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God (John 10:30-33) so he asked him to affirm this (v. 63). As soon as Jesus said yes, the high priest tore his clothes as a sign of righteous honor and outrage and declared this blasphemy (vv. 64-65). He put the question of Jesus’ guilt to the Sanhedrin and got a unanimous decision that He deserved to die (vv. 66-68).
Application
When, if ever, I have to defend myself it is so easy to want to tell people all that I know rather than not say anything and let my silence speak.
Matthew 26:57– 68 (NET)
57 Now the ones who had arrested Jesus led him to Caiaphas, the high priest, in whose house the experts in the law and the elders had gathered. 58 But Peter was following him from a distance, all the way to the high priest’s courtyard. After going in, he sat with the guards to see the outcome. 59 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were trying to find false testimony against Jesus so that they could put him to death. 60 But they did not find anything, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward 61 and declared, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’” 62 So the high priest stood up and said to him, “Have you no answer? What is this that they are testifying against you?” 63 But Jesus was silent. The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and declared, “He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? Now you have heard the blasphemy! 66 What is your verdict?” They answered, “He is guilty and deserves death.” 67 Then they spat in his face and struck him with their fists. And some slapped him, 68 saying, “Prophesy for us, you Christ! Who hit you?”
Illustration: The Respected Man’s Silence
It had been a rather stormy board meeting and some very harsh things had been said. One man-always highly respected and unusually wise in his judgments-had said nothing throughout the proceedings. Suddenly one of the leaders in the argument turned to him: “You have not said a word. I am sure we would all like to hear your opinion about this matter.” “I have discovered,” replied the quiet one, “that there are many times when silence is an opinion.” (Bits and Pieces, Sept., 1989).