The Trial of the Sanhedrin
Luke 22:63-71
December 27, 2020
This morning we continue on with our narrative of suffering of Christ.
And we come to what I am calling “The Trial of the Sanhedrin”,
But I hope you don’t misunderstand the title.
As we said last time when we looked at the Trial of Peter.
• Throughout these final chapters we see multiple individuals who take their opportunity to question Jesus or to put Him on trial.
• BUT DO NOT MISUNDERSTAND.
• Though Jesus is standing before these various men or groups, Jesus is never the one who is actually on trial.
I would call your attention to Psalms 11
Psalms 11 “In the LORD I take refuge; How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain; For, behold, the wicked bend the bow, They make ready their arrow upon the string To shoot in darkness at the upright in heart. If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?” The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD’S throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates. Upon the wicked He will rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup. For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face.”
I’ve always loved Psalms 11 because it is such an encouragement for us
When we face moments of injustice and helplessness.
• You have David there who is undoubtedly facing some sort of injustice and danger.
• You have David’s friends who have obviously told David to “flee as a bird”
• Because the danger is real and the system is corrupt.
• In fact they ask the question, “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”
That would be a good vantage point to talk about these trials that Jesus is a part of.
• They are all corrupt.
• They are all bogus.
• And Jesus can’t seem to get a fair trial.
But INSTEAD OF LOSING HOPE David reminded his friends
That there is a higher court and there is a final judge.
“The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD’S throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates. Upon the wicked He will rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup. For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face.”
David reminded his friends that there is indeed a trial going on,
But it’s not the one you think.
David is standing before corrupt judges on earth,
But what those corrupt judges don’t realize is that
They are at the same time standing before the God of the universe.
And so the question is:
WHO IS REALLY ON TRIAL HERE?
That is what we talk about here in regard to all these “trials” of Jesus.
• Yes, Jesus is standing before men…
• Yes, these men are asking all the questions…
• Yes, these men will render verdicts…
• Yes, these men will carry out their punishments…
But who is really on trial?
They will kill Jesus and in 3 days He’ll be alive again.
BUT THEIR DECISIONS WILL BRING UPON THEM
A JUDGMENT THAT WILL LAST FOR ETERNITY.
When I call this the trial of the Sanhedrin, I don’t mean to say that it is the Sanhedrin’s trial of Jesus, but rather Jesus’ trial of the Sanhedrin.
The decision they make will have eternal consequences.
IT IS A BIG DEAL.
Incidentally, every man is at one point or another on trial like this.
• Every time the gospel confronts you
• And bids you to repent of your sin
• And to trust in Christ, you are on trial.
• Every time you reject Christ, the God of the universe is watching.
THIS IS SERIOUS.
This Morning We Come TO THE TRIAL OF THE SANHEDRIN.
(Incidentally, this is the only trial by them that Luke includes.)
As we talked about last week, there were actually 3 trials that took place by the Jews before Jesus was sent to Pilate.
• After Jesus was arrested, He was taken to Caiaphas’ house for trial.
• But in the courtyard Jesus was first confronted by Annas – that was trial 1
• Jesus was then taken into Caiaphas’ house for trial 2
This is the 3rd time they will put Jesus on trial.
But it’s the ONLY ONE of the 3 that Luke references.
And as always, THERE’S A REASON.
We begin by asking: What is Luke’s main point in including on this trial?
Certainly we see again that truth of JESUS IDENTIFYING WITH US.
That is still obvious.
• We saw Him in the garden suffering grief as a sinner…
• We saw Him approached by Judas and mocked as a fraud…
• We saw Peter draw the sword and defend Him as a rebel…
• We saw Him ultimately arrested as a thief…
We still see Him identifying with us.
• Here we see Him punished as a false prophet…
• We see Him tried as a liar…
• We see condemned as a blasphemer…
Jesus was none of those things,
But again the point is made that He is identifying with us.
• He has taken upon Himself our sinfulness
• He is suffering at the hands of men because of it.
• He will soon suffer at the hands of God because of it.
Jesus, as Luke already mentioned and as Isaiah prophesied, has been “NUMBERED WITH THE TRANSGRESSORS.”
We never want to overlook that because that is a major point for Luke.
In fact only Luke is going to reveal that statement from the thief on the cross who basically points out that Jesus is not being treated as He deserves.
Luke 23:41 “And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”
Only Luke includes that because it makes this continual point that
Jesus is being treated as a sinner when He was not a sinner at all.
It is His identification with us.
And you see that still here.
BUT WHAT JUMPS OFF THE PAGE IN THIS TEXT
(and what is most certainly the main point)
Is the claim that caused Jesus to be condemned.
JESUS CLAIMED TO BE GOD.
You can’t miss it.
It’s the massive story in the text.
Earlier we have Jesus claiming that Isaiah 53 was about Him.
Now we have Jesus claiming that He is in fact God.
• Luke doesn’t include that trial of Annas where Jesus claimed to be innocent…
• Luke doesn’t include that trial of Caiaphas where Jesus faced false witnesses who testified that He was going to tear down the temple…
Luke includes only 1 piece of evidence
That ultimately led to the condemnation of Jesus,
And that was that Jesus was condemned of blasphemy
Because He claimed to be God.
And that is what jumps out throughout this entire trial.
So let’s break this text down into 3 points.
#1 A CONTEMPTIBLE CLAIM
Luke 22:63-65
What we mean here is that Jesus’ claim to be God
Was one that immediately brought contempt upon Him.
Now, without the other gospel accounts you might not immediately understand the cause of what is happening here.
We have here “men who were holding Jesus in custody”
And they “were mocking Him and beating Him”
And if all you have is Luke’s gospel you might be tempted to ask, “WHY?”
But Matthew’s gospel answer the question.
Matthew 26:63-68 “But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; what do you think?” They answered, “He deserves death!” Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, and said, “Prophesy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?”
What you understand then is that the treatment Luke references
That Jesus is receiving from these men
Is in direct response to Jesus claim to be the Son of God.
This was at trial #2 in Caiaphas’ house
• Where they illegally forced Jesus to testify against Himself.
• But when Jesus acknowledged being the Messiah, the Son of God
• They immediately cried “He has blasphemed!” and passed judgment on Him.
Verses 63-65 demonstrate the response of the officers
And that is they held Jesus in contempt for His claim.
(63-65) “Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking Him and beating Him, and they blindfolded Him and were asking Him, saying, “Prophesy, who is the one who hit You?” And they were saying many other things against Him, blaspheming.”
It’s just flat out contempt.
• They hate Him for what He claimed to be.
• They are mocking Him for what He claimed to be.
• They sought to humiliate Him for this claim.
They would blindfold Him, and take turns punching Him in the face
And ask Him to “Prophesy, who is the one who hit You?”
And the irony of it all is that He knew every time who it was.
Psalms 139:1-4 “O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all.”
John 1:48 “Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
John 2:24-25 “But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”
• Jesus knew every single one of these men.
• And who knew who hit Him every single time.
• He even knew who was going to hit Him before they knew it.
And yet, the PASSIVE OBEDIENCE and MEEKNESS of Jesus
Is on tremendous display.
They mocked Him in contempt, and yet He willingly bore it.
Isaiah 53:7 “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.”
Peter would later give commentary on this very scene and say:
1 Peter 2:23 “and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;”
Did you catch that?
While Jesus was on trial, He knew where the real trial was;
He knew who the real Judge was.
While these men mocked Him in contempt,
Jesus simply kept His mouth shut
And waited for the real Judge to render a verdict.
And in case you missed it.
We have the actual verdict of the real Judge included here.
(65) “And they were saying many other things against Him, blaspheming.”
Luke included it.
These men were guilty of blasphemy.
Jesus wasn’t on trial here.
Jesus didn’t have anything to prove.
Jesus just announced to these men that He was God,
THE REAL TRIAL was how they responded to His claim.
THEY FAILED.
They should have worshiped, instead they blasphemed.
To them Jesus claim was a CONTEMPTIBLE CLAIM
#2 A CONFIRMABLE CLAIM
Luke 22:66-70
Again I remind you of what is going on here in the Jewish scheme.
We read, “When it was day, the Council of elders of the people assembled, both chief priests and scribes, and they led Him away to their council chamber”
As I told you last time there many legalities that were broken in regard to the way they were trying Jesus.
• According to Rabbinical Law you could not hold a trial at night, it had to a
public affair so that any possible witnesses with acquitting evidence might be
readily available.
That meant that before the Sanhedrin could legitimately condemn Jesus They at least had to have some semblance of a public and daytime trial.
That is what you are seeing here.
And if you’ll notice, they really only have one objective.
They just want Jesus to repeat publicly what He already said last night.
They just want to get Him to say again that He is the Son of God.
That’s the goal.
Now understand that Jesus has already been really abused
For making this claim earlier in the evening.
A man seeking to avoid any more abuse would stay away from that claim.
Certainly a man who wasn’t God would never say that again.
But here we are, and the council gets right to the point.
(67) “If You are the Christ, tell us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe;”
And certainly you understand the Lord’s answer.
• Just a few hours ago He had told these same people that very thing.
• And when He told them who He was, they did not believe Him.
• Instead they cried, “Blasphemy!” and started beating Him.
HE KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE UP TO.
They are just trying to get Him to say it again so that everyone can hear and they don’t have to explain how He already admitted it in their secret and illegal trial.
And Jesus continues:
(68) “and if I ask a question, you will not answer.”
What is Jesus referring to there?
He’s referring to trial #1 when Annas interrogated Him.
John 18:19-24 “The high priest then questioned Jesus about His disciples, and about His teaching. Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret. “Why do you question Me? Question those who have heard what I spoke to them; they know what I said.” When He had said this, one of the officers standing nearby struck Jesus, saying, “Is that the way You answer the high priest?” Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?” So Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.”
Jesus asked 3 questions there:
• “Why do you question Me?”
• “If I have spoken wrongly, testify of the wrong”
• “Why do you strike Me?”
But of course you notice that they never gave Jesus an answer.
So Jesus knows what is up here at trial #3.
• He knows what they are after.
• He knows that nothing He says will cause them to believe
• He knows that no defense He offers will cause them to answer.
• He is wise to their act.
Which is what makes His next statement so amazing.
A man seeking to save His own life would then say,
• “I know what you want, but you’ll get nothing from Me.
• You illegally arrested Me, tried Me, and beat Me.
• Why don’t you explain to all these people how I ended up here.”
BUT THAT’S NOT WHAT JESUS DOES.
Instead, He willingly gives them everything they wanted.
He repeats the very phrase that got Him condemned earlier
(69) “But from now on THE SON OF MAN WILL BE SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND of the power OF GOD.”
It is actually a mixture type reference
To two different Old Testament passages.
One is:
Daniel 7:13-14 “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.”
• Daniel received these night visions that terrified him regarding the coming kingdoms of the world.
• In particular it was the kingdom of the Anti-Christ that really terrified him.
• But Daniel also saw the final kingdom as that of Christ coming to rule the world.
The notable thing there is that the coming Savior is referred to as the “Son of Man”. Jesus assumed this title for Himself.
The other passage referenced here is:
Psalms 110:1 “The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”
Jesus sort of put both of those passages together
To identify Himself first at the Messiah
And secondly as the Son of God seated at God’s right hand.
Now, up in Caiaphas’ house
They immediately understood what Jesus was saying.
But now they are in the middle of the public trial,
And that statement is a little too cryptic for the average onlooker.
They don’t just want Jesus to give that statement again,
They want Him to admit what He meant by it.
They want to make sure everyone understands what He just said, so they push Him further.
(70) “And they all said, “Are You the Son of God then?”
In a courtroom scene it would be like the prosecuting attorney saying, “Here now under oath, so that the jury can understand exactly what you just said…are you saying that you are the Son of God?”
And notice the confident and absolutely confirmable answer:
“He said to them, “Yes, I am.”
Jesus unequivocally claimed to be the Son of God.
(incidentally: Son of God means God)
There was no denying it.
JESUS CLAIMED TO BE GOD.
And that leads us to the 3rd point.
Contemptible Claim; Confirmable Claim
#3 A CONDEMNABLE CLAIM
Luke 22:71
Caiaphas now had the evidence he wanted.
Jesus had now said it publicly, in the daytime, before everyone.
“What further need do we have of testimony? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth.”
And with that, they will lead Him to Pilate and ask for death.
They heard Jesus claim to be God and they condemned Him for it.
And this is all the evidence Luke includes.
• No sin mentioned…
• No witnesses shown…
• No evidence submitted…
From Luke’s perspective Jesus was condemned for one thing
And that was that He claimed to be God.
But they would have all done well to ask themselves one question:
IS HE?
Here we have a man who was just beaten for claiming to be God
And now, knowing that He faced death if He stuck to it, He states it again.
Jesus claimed to be God
At a moment when it was not beneficial to Him to do so.
They should have wondered why.
They should have asked, whether or not He really was.
INCIDENTALLY, YOU KNOW THAT HE IS.
We remember in the upper room when Philip told Jesus to show them the Father.
John 14:9-11 “Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.”
And that is such a simple test to run.
Do you know anyone else who can:
• Raise the dead? (Jairus’ daughter and Lazarus)
• Give sight to the blind?
• Cleans lepers?
• Restore a withered arm?
• Cast out demons?
• Command the sea?
• Multiple a meal to feed 5,000?
• Command all the fish in the sea to gather on one side of a boat?
His works prove who He is.
• Or consider that He told the disciples that they would pray to Him.
• Or that the disciples worshiped Him and He did not rebuke them.
• Or that Thomas called Him “My Lord and my God” and Jesus said nothing.
But perhaps the greatest statement of Jesus comes in John 5
Where Jesus claimed to be God and they confronted Him.
John 5:18-23 “For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. “For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel. “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”
They accuse Jesus of claiming to be God’s equal and He doesn’t flinch.
HE MERELY POINTS OUT
• That He shares the Father’s Passion
• That He sees the Father’s Plan
• That He shows the Father’s Power
• That He shares the Father’s Praise
WHO DOES THAT IF HE IS NOT GOD?
JESUS IS GOD.
And incidentally, that is important for you theologically.
Jesus is about to go to the cross to bear the sin of all the elect for all time.
Only God can bear eternal wrath.
Only God can bear that much suffering.
He has to be God or there is no way He can atone for our sin.
That is why the N.T. writers were adamant about the deity of Jesus.
PAUL:
Philippians 2:6 “who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,”
Colossians 1:15 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”
Titus 2:13 “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,”
WRITER OF HEBREWS
Hebrews 1:1-3 “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”
PETER
2 Peter 1:16-18 “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased” — and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.”
JESUS IS GOD AND IT MATTERS.
But what we see here is
Jesus was condemned by the Jews for declaring it.
I know, at first glance, it looks like Jesus is on trial, but He isn’t.
These men were and they just condemned themselves.
These men were just put on trial and they didn’t even know it.
• Standing before God they were simply asked to acknowledge that He is who He says He is.
• They were simply asked to acknowledge Jesus as God.
• They said, “No” and rejected Him.
They were a living fulfillment of passages
Like the one we just studied on Christmas day.
Isaiah 50:2a “Why was there no man when I came? When I called, why was there none to answer? Is My hand so short that it cannot ransom? Or have I no power to deliver?”
Or like we read in Psalms 2
Psalms 2:1-3 “Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!”
God stood in their midst and they rejected Him.
They scorned Him
They mocked Him
They sought to kill Him
They would have done good to remember that
Both Isaiah 50 and Psalms 2 had warnings in them too.
Isaiah 50:10-11 “Who is among you that fears the LORD, That obeys the voice of His servant, That walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. Behold, all you who kindle a fire, Who encircle yourselves with firebrands, Walk in the light of your fire And among the brands you have set ablaze. This you will have from My hand: You will lie down in torment.”
Psalms 2:10-12 “Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”
The warning was clear.
• Do not reject God when He reveals Himself.
• Do not turn on Him, for it won’t work out well for you.
That also helps us understand the preaching of the apostles in the book of Acts.
Listen now to what Peter preached at Pentecost.
• He was answering with regard to the coming of the Holy Spirit.
• He pointed out how the Jews had crucified Jesus
• And How God had raised Him up.
Acts 2:36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ — this Jesus whom you crucified.”
• He is sitting at God’s right hand.
• Peter would go on to say you must “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus”
Later when Peter would preach again:
After healing the lame man,
Acts 3:13-19 “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. “But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. “And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all. “And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. “But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;”
And again:
Acts 4:10-12 “let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead — by this name this man stands here before you in good health. “He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone. “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
And again:
Acts 5:29-32 “But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. “He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. “And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
You hear it over and over in the preaching of Peter.
When Jesus came you put Him on trial.
What you didn’t realize is that
It was actually you who were on trial, and you blew it.
You crucified the Lord of glory!
You crucified the Son of God!
And you had better repent, because there is a higher court.
There’s the message or warning to everyone this morning.
When Jesus is revealed to you, rejection is not an option.
• It may seem to you like at that moment you are being asked to make a judgment regarding Jesus…
• It may feel like Jesus is before you, and you are being asked to make a ruling on whether or not He is God or not…
THAT IS NOT THE CASE
• He is God, you’re ruling won’t change that.
• But at that moment, you are on trial.
• You are being watched by the higher court.
• What you do with Jesus will be documented and remembered by the God of the universe.
IT IS A SERIOUS THING.
YOU MUST SUBMIT TO HIM.
• Instead of blaspheming Him, you must worship Him.
• Instead of condemning Him, you must confess Him.
• Instead of mocking Him, you must trust Him.
• Instead of rejecting Him, you must submit to Him.
He is God, and to Him every knee will eventually bow.
Psalms 2:12 “Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”
Is that you?
• Have you don’t homage to Him?
• Are you taking refuge in Him?
• Or have you pushed Him aside and rejected Him?
