Jesus, the Sanhedrin, the crowd, & Pilate

And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. And Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" And he answered him, "You have said so." And the chief priests accused him of many things. And Pilate again asked him, "Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you." But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed. Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. And he answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?" For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. And Pilate again said to them, "Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?" And they cried out again, "Crucify him." And Pilate said to them, "Why? What evil has he done?" But they shouted all the more, "Crucify him." So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor's headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion. And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. And they began to salute him, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him. - Mark 15:1‭-‬20 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

The silence of Jesus

The religious leaders put Jesus on trial without due procedure and very unjust way. The Sanhedrin charged him with claiming to be God. The religious leaders wanted to put him to death, but they could not. The nation of Israel was under the rule of the Romans so death sentences could not be carried out without the Romans. Pontius Pilate was not Jewish; he could care less about religious squabbles. If anything at all, Pontius wanted nothing to do with executing Jesus. As the accusations were spun as high treason against Caesar, Jesus only commented upon the accusations. Jesus did not defend himself. 

Do not take Jesus' silence as accepting injustice. In this instance, Jesus was in the role of the silent sacrificial lamb of God. For us, silence in the face of evil is evil. We are called to point out injustice. The religious leaders were hardened in their stance and desire to have Jesus killed.  Jesus has done miracles and taught in the temples. Even if Jesus gave a water tight argument to them at this time, they would not have listened at all. So it would have been fruitless to argue.

The cry of the crowd

Pilate knew that there was no guilt in Jesus. There was a tradition for the Romans to release a single prisoner during this time of year. Pilate knew that the Sanhedrin was trying to kill Jesus out of jealousy. So Pilate brought out Barabbas, a known revolutionary and maybe even a murderer. The chief priests stirred up the crowd to their desire. Barabbas' name meant son of the father. Ironically, they choose the counterfeit son and rejected the real son of God. 

Perhaps the priests had stirred up the crowd, but in some way, the crowd also rejected Jesus. Loving your enemies is so much harder than fighting them and trying to kill them. The status quo of restoring the nation of Israel was so much more comfortable than accepting Jesus and this kingdom of heaven. 

So it is also with us. We may not cry aloud our rejection of Jesus, but do we not still reject Jesus? Our theology is so at odds with our day to day. We claim to follow Jesus but we chase after money, power, and comfort. Our actions speak of our rejection. Are we so different from the crowd?

Jesus delivered

Jesus was delivered to death so that we could be delivered from it. We, the ones guilty of cosmic insurrection, would find life while Jesus paid for our guilt. He was scourged by the Romans for us. This is the love of God for us. When we see this clearly, we will cry "away with my sin!" This hated of sin and all that distract us from Jesus will become a stench to us. We will run to Jesus and turn from the ugliness in us and in our desires.

Jesus is betrayed

And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard." And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, "Rabbi!" And he kissed him. And they laid hands on him and seized him. But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. And Jesus said to them, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled." And they all left him and fled. And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked. - Mark 14:43‭-‬52 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Deception

Judas came while the disciples were still groggy. It is apparent to the reader by now who Judas is. But the text reminds us, Judas was one of the Twelve. Jesus was not married, so in terms of relationships, this is as close as they could get. Judas saw the ministry of Jesus, the same miracles, lived life together with the rest of the disciples. When Judas came with the armed crowd, it must've been a shock to the disciples. We associate Judas with betrayal, but that is not who he seemed to be. Judas was the keeper of the money bag. He was considered trustworthy, not apt to rash decisions. He was in the inner circle. Judas was ministered to by Jesus. Yet somehow, Judas was an unbeliever. 

So today, we should find this sobering. In our church, renewal presbyterian, there are unbelievers. Not just those who serve alongside us, but even church leaders. C.S. Lewis said there would be three surprises in heaven: 1) that we find ourselves there 2) who we find there with us 3) who we don't find there... Don't depend on that moment of initial conviction to carry us to salvation. Don't trust past service, spiritual office, or past good works. Live a lifestyle of faith and trust in Jesus. Today, live in faith where you are now. Judas looked like he was following Jesus, but he was known for stealing from the money bag. Judas was not driven by kingdom focus but by money. Judas was driven by worldly motivations. He looked outwardly like a believer, but was not. Judas did not take his guilt to God, he never repented.

Assimilation

Judas greeted Jesus with a kiss. This is appropriate in that day and age. That is how rabbis were greeted by their disciples. But consider another disciples, Peter, the rash one. He also betrayed Jesus, but in a different manner. Peter denied Jesus three times. When they came to grab Jesus, Peter grabbed his sword and injured the servant of the high priest. Peter was a believer, but he saw Jesus being seized and jumped to using the world's methods. Judas brought armed men because the religious leaders saw Jesus as the leader of a rebellion. Peter reacted with worldly methods, grabbing the sword. So it is today, many Christians grab the sword to defend the kingdom. But Jesus calls Peter to put away his sword. Kingdom methods are entirely different. 

Jesus heals the servant. Jesus rather than taking up a sword, goes under the sword. This is kingdom minded with kingdom methods. 

Naturalization

Jesus laid down his life to bring us into the kingdom of god. We are constantly bombarded with the world's values and methods. Kingdom values come to believers slowly but surely. We become slow to anger and quick to listen. We stand in the gap for others. As we become more and more citizens of heaven, we will become more alienated from the world. This is hard. There are two reactions that will come to us. First is to hit back at those who strike at us. Second is to hide from the world, to only hang out with Christians. But that is not what we should do. We should go to be alone with Jesus. He will remind us how he handled his enemies. How he brought us in while we were still his enemies. We will find His power to react with kingdom methods.

The garden

And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch." And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. And he came the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand." - Mark 14:32‭-‬42 ESV 

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Real Sorrow

The garden of gethsemane was an olive garden. Jesus and the disciples often visited this garden. There was likely an olive press on this garden, a very apt image. Tonight was a different night however. Judas was going to find Jesus here and betray Him. 

Jesus felt this night a sorrow and deep troubles. A darkness so deep that he felt like he was going to die. He was going to be physically tortured and killed. Jesus is not composed or stoic. But Jesus was not distraught over the physical pain and suffering, he prayed about God removing the cup. This cup was the wrath and fury of God. 

Jesus, the innocent one, who only knew the pleasure and love of God, was going to face the anger and punishment of God. Jesus was going to take on the sins of every person, the eternal punishment for the sins across many generations. This was why Jesus fell to ground in prayer. 

In seeing this, we can see how to relate to God honestly. Jesus, facing this horrible path, prayed to ask if God could provide another path. But not stopping there, Jesus prayed that not his will, but God's be done. So we can be honest when God brings us to difficult circumstances. We can pray in submission because Jesus went before us. Jesus gazed into the jaws of hell and said yes. Jesus saw the agony of hell and separation from God and picked that rather than an eternal separation from us. 

Real Weakness

This scene shows the weakness of the disciples. They fell asleep not once, not twice, but three times. They said they would not desert Jesus. They failed. Peter said he would not deny Jesus. He also failed. Very similarly, we say yes to ourselves and no to God. We say yes to fleeing pleasures and no to the joy of salvation. We say yes to our personal ambitions and dreams and no to the dreams and kingdom of God.

Real Power

Jesus had brought the disciples as his friends, but Jesus didn't do this for himself. He instructs the disciples to pray to be empowered. Jesus prayed so that he could be empowered, the very son of God. How much more do we, sinners, need God's help and empowerment? How much weaker are we than Jesus? 

There is a burning bush and in the Bible, it is not consumed. How is this so? So it should it be for Christians in this life. We can stand in suffering and in trouble and not be destroyed by the power of God in us. This is the power of God.