You can learn a lot about Jesus by seeing His responses throughout His trial, sentencing, and execution. In today’s podcast I outline the context of this last part of Jesus’ life by sharing 10 reasons why His trial was illegal.

Here is the YouTube Link:

The Trial of Jesus Part 1

The audio links are to the right (iTune, Spotify)

Below is the transcript I used for this episode.

Mark 14:32-15:47… Arrest, Trial, and Execution

I am getting ready to begin the final chapter of Jesus’ life and ministry on earth. Seeing as how it is now December, there seems to be a certain symmetry to finishing Jesus’ story as we begin to celebrate it’s beginning.

In this, His final chapter of His earthly ministry, a couple of things stand out to me. I had just finished recording the podcast, but for some reason did not publish this episode. For the last couple of days, I have been thinking about what I had just read in Mark, and was not satisfied with that podcast episode. Tonight, just past midnight, I decided I would re-record this episode. I am going to circle my wagons around two thoughts.

1. His arrest, trial, and execution showed such boldness and corruption on the part of His enemies as to defy description. The religious establishment boldly defied almost every law their faith had concerning justice. Hiding behind their religious vestments, their religious edifices, using the power of their offices they blithely walked away from the God of their nation, declaring, by their actions, who their master truly was – and it was NOT Yahweh. There was not ONE step of the process they used that could be sanctioned by their religion, let alone God. The enemy of our soul had completely subverted what God, through Moses, had begun centuries earlier. Imagine this horror, if you will – the very One that Israel had been looking for for hundreds of years was about to be destroyed by the religious system built to point to Him.
2. Everything about this “trial” was illegal. Yet Jesus did not protest. He let them do what they wanted to do. Isaiah 53:7 says it best:

He was oppressed and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.

He did not fight back. In the midst of the biggest miscarriage of “justice” of all time – He did not fight back. He was completely in the right… they were completely in the wrong, yet He did not fight back. They were consumed with evil, He with love… and He did not fight back. There’s a lesson for us in that, methinks.

I wonder if Peter had this in mind when he wrote about the innocence of Jesus:

For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.  For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. (1 Peter 3:17-18 NIV)

10 Reasons the Trial of Jesus was Illegal

… He should have never been arrested.

Judas took a bribe from the judges. And those same judges (which included the priests and the elders) were involved in the arrest of Jesus. There was no formal charge of any crime, and no charge was presented at that moment. No warrant was given for the arrest. As the text says, “they took him.”

… No legal proceedings should have taken place at night.

According to Jewish law:

• “Let a capital offense be tried during the day, but suspend it at night.”—Mishna, Sanhedrin IV. 1.
• “Criminal cases can be acted upon by the various courts during day time only, by the Lesser Synhedrions from the close of the morning service till noon, and by the Great Synhedrion till evening.”—Mendelsohn, “Criminal Jurisprudence of the Ancient Hebrews,” p. 112.
• “The reason why the trial of a capital offense could not be held at night is because, as oral tradition says, the examination of such a charge is like the diagnosing of a wound—in either case, a more thorough and searching examination can be made by daylight.”—Maimonides, Sanhedrin III.

According to the New Testament, Jesus was arrested and night and then immediately taken to Caiaphas, the high priest. This, we are told, took place before the rooster crowed, signaling Peter’s denial.

… No trial for a capital offense could begin on a Friday or the day before an annual festival day.

According to Isaac Wise,

“No court of justice in Israel was permitted to hold sessions on Sabbath or any of the seven Biblical holidays. In cases of capital crime, no trial could be commenced on Friday or the day previous to any holiday, because it was not lawful either to adjourn such cases longer than over night, or to continue them on the Sabbath or holiday” (1874, pp. 67-68).

Yet this is precisely what took place. It was likely on the day before Sabbath and on the First Day of Unleavened Bread.

… A trial for a capital offense should take more than one day.

According to the Mishnah,

“If a sentence of death is to be pronounced, a criminal charge cannot be concluded before the following day” (Mishnah, “Sanhedrin” IV, 1).

This would allow for other witnesses or a defense to support the accused. But the trial of Jesus was conducted in under nine hours.

… The judges were not impartial.

The Sanhedrin were the ones bringing the charges and the ones holding the trial. As Mendelsohn comments:

“The only prosecutors were the witnesses in the crime. The witnesses constituted the charge. There was no formal indictment until these witnesses spoke in the public assembly. When they spoke, and the evidence of two agreed together, it formed the legal charge, libel, or indictment.” (Mendelsohn in “The Criminal Jurisprudence of the Ancient Hebrews,” p.110)

The New Testament witness shows that the Sanhedrin were already determined to crucify him. This was hardly a fair or impartial trial.

… The indictments against Jesus were false or unproven.

What exactly were the charges against Jesus? When He was before the Sanhedrin, the charge was blasphemy. According to Mark 14:58, two false witnesses misquoted Jesus and said he was going to destroy the temple.

Furthermore, the very fact that the Sanhedrin went looking for witnesses to accuse Jesus has the entire procedure backward. Witnesses were to bring charges, and then the trial begins. There should have been two or three witnesses, and they had to agree upon the details. But according to Matthew 26:65, the standard was not meant, but the Sanhedrin said there was no more need for witnesses.

They heard what they wanted to hear. They did not give a chance for any defense and went forward with execution based upon the testimony of false witnesses. This points to another illegal aspect…

… The verdict was unanimous.

This one feels a bit contrary to our instincts. After all, if a case is entirely simple, shouldn’t a unanimous decision be considered an open and shut case? But that was not the way Rabbinic law thought of things. As one scholar framed this:

“Contrary to reason as this rule may appear, it is founded on Rabbinic humanity and as a necessary consequence of Rabbinic law. We have just seen that, for very good reasons (n. 326), a verdict of guilty must not be rendered on the day of examination, but where all suddenly agree on conviction, does it not seem that the convict is a victim of conspiracy, and that the verdict is not the result of sober reason and calm deliberation?”

… Jesus was not given a defense.

The law required someone to serve as defense. Jesus was given no defender. Again consider these words of Isaac Wise:

“If none of the judges defend the culprit, i.e., all pronounce him guilty, having no defender in the court, the verdict of guilty was invalid, and the sentence of death could not be executed” (pp. 74-75)

According to Deut. 13:14 the high priest was supposed to “inquire, and make search, and ask diligently.” Yet it seems as if they did this in an attempt to find people to condemn Jesus. They were not looking diligently for defenders. The law in the Mishnah says, “The judges shall weigh the matter in sincerity of their conscience” (Sanhedrin IV, 5). What happened was a far cry from that.

… A death sentence could only be passed in a legal court.

This is what Jewish law states:

• “After leaving the hall Gazith no sentence of death can be passed upon anyone soever” (Talmud, Idolatry, Chapter 1, Vol.8).
• “A sentence of death can be pronounced only so long as the Sanhedrin holds its sessions in the appointed place” (Maimonides in “Sanhedrin” XIV).

This was a capital case, and so the Sanhedrin (every member present) would have been required to meet at the temple at the Hall of Hewn Stones. No capital sentence could be pronounced outside of this place. But according to the New Testament, this all happened at a private residence – with NOT every member present.

… They switched charges when they stood before Pilate.

In the earlier trials of Jesus, treason was never mentioned. But they knew that Rome didn’t care about blasphemy laws. In order to have them carry out the crucifixion, the religious leaders changed the charge from blasphemy to treason. Now treason is something that Rome would care about. And Pilate, when he weighed the evidence, determined that Jesus was in no way guilty of treason (Jn 18:38, 19:4; Matthew 27:18).

10 Reasons the Trial of Jesus was Illegal; Mike Leake; March 20. 2023; https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/reasons-why-the-trial-of-jesus-was-illegal.html

Gethsemane

32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”

35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 “Abba,[f] Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

39 Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. 40 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.

41 Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

Jesus Arrested

43 Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.

44 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” 45 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. 46 The men seized Jesus and arrested him. 47 Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

In the other Gospels we read that it was Peter who drew the sword here. 

John tells us that it was Peter who wielded the sword and that the servant’s name was Malchus (Jn 18:10). Apparently Peter aimed at his head; but Malchus sidestepped, and Peter only caught his ear. Jesus’ rebuke to Peter (Mt 26:52) and the restoration of the ear (Lk 22:51) are not recorded by Mark.

Barker, K. L., & Kohlenberger, J. R. (2004). The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Abridged Edition. Zondervan.

My thinking is that since this Gospel is reputed to be a compilation of Peter’s preaching and teaching about Jesus as recorded by Mark, it doesn’t surprise me that the fact that this was Peter himself who cut off the servants ear was omitted. Beginning here and until the death of Jesus was not Peter’s finest hour. This detail actually makes this Gospel more genuine to me.

I also heard a preacher state that Jesus’ healing of the High Priests’s servants ear was an act of mercy not only to the servant but also to Peter who apparently wielded the sword. Attacking a member of the High Priest’s entourage was a capitol crime – punishable by death. By healing the servant’s ear, Jesus was “destroying” evidence of Peter’s crime. It was also a strategic move by Jesus. By “destroying” the evidence, Jesus removed any proof of violence from the charges that were to be placed against Him. If any violence could be placed at the feet of Jesus in His upcoming trial and sentencing, it would have been an easy thing for Pilate to condemn Him.

48 “Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? 49 Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” 50 Then everyone deserted him and fled.

51 A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, 52 he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.

Jesus Before the Sanhedrin

53 They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law came together. 54 Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.

55 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. 56 Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.

57 Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.’” 59 Yet even then their testimony did not agree.

60 Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 61 But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.

Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”

62 “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

63 The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. 64 “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”

They all condemned him as worthy of death. 

Where was Nicodemus? Where was Joseph (helped bury Jesus after the crucifixion)? Te entire Sanhedrin was not present – only those who would agree to convict Jesus.

 65 Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him.

Peter Disowns Jesus

66 While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by. 67 When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him.

“You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus,” she said.

68 But he denied it. “I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about,” he said, and went out into the entryway.[g]

69 When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, “This fellow is one of them.” 70 Again he denied it.

After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.”

71 He began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.”

72 Immediately the rooster crowed the second time.[h] Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice[i] you will disown me three times.” And he broke down and wept.

The most crushing moment of Peter’s life. For all of his bravado, for all of his bold declarations of loyalty, he ended up revealing his cowardice. When the time came to reveal the kind of man he was, he did just that… and it was not pretty.

I think every man at some point in his life has his greatest weakness or fault exposed to his shame and regret. All pretense is stripped away, and he finally comes to grips with who he REALLY is, and like Peter at his moment of truth, it is seldom pretty. It happened to me when I was fired from my job as a manager in the satellite communications industry. I came face to face with the reality that I was not that great of a manager. Truth be told, I was totally unfit for that job. I ended up walking completely away from the industry, and starting over, completely re-inventing myself at the age of 45 years old. Broke, bankrupt, and emotionally destroyed, I was reduced to having to completely trust God for the day-to-day dollars I needed to avoid becoming homeless. So I get it, Peter – I was broken, and I wept as well.

 

In His Grip

Paige