The Trial of Jesus

The trial of Jesus before the high priest was an attempt to find an accusation against him by which they could condemn him and deliver him to Pilate for execution.  In Luke, we learn several things the men did against Jesus while he was under arrest.

They:

Mocked and Smote Him, Lk 22:63-64.

As Jesus had prophesied,  Mk 10:33-34, the men that held him mocked him.  They also smote him.  To substantiate their claim that he was not the Messiah, they blindfolded him, struck him on the face, and asked him to prophesy who smote him.  He didn’t revile them or threaten them when they beat him. See 1 Pet 2:23.

He didn’t bother to answer; yet, he knows all things, 1 Jn 3:20. He knew their names, the number of hairs on their heads, Lk 12:7, and even their thoughts, Ps 139:2.  If they didn’t believe he was the Messiah by the miracles he had already performed and the prophecies he had fulfilled, they certainly weren’t going to believe if he called their names.

Blasphemed Him, Lk 22:65.

“And many other things blasphemously spake they against him”.  They blasphemed him (spoke reproachful, contemptuous, or irreverent words against the Son of God) when they spoke against him.  In this they were just like Paul before he was saved, 1 Tim 1:13.

Questioned Him, Lk 22:66-70.

Luke doesn’t record what transpired before the questions that you see in this passage.  The chief priests and council first sought for witnesses against him, Mk 14:55-59, Matt 26:59-61.

Initially, there were many false witnesses against him but their witnesses didn’t agree.  At the last, two false witnesses testified against him concerning what he said in Jn 2:19.  But even their witness didn’t agree.  Evidently, one said what Matthew recorded and the other said what Mark recorded, Matt 26:61, Mk 14:58.  So, they couldn’t condemn him based on the testimony of the witnesses, Deut 17:6.

That’s when they asked, “Art thou the Christ”?  He answered, “If I tell you, ye will not believe”.  This is absolutely true, because he did eventually tell them and they didn’t believe him.  He further said, “And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go”.  See Matt 21:24-27, Matt 22:41-46, for examples.

Then Jesus said, “Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God”.  This is referring to Ps 110:1, about which Jesus had asked them in Matt 22, to which Peter referred in Acts 2:34-36, and about which Paul wrote, concerning Jesus, in Heb 1:13.  This is the key to understanding that Jesus is, in fact, the Son of God.

And that’s why they next asked him, “Art thou then the Son of God”?  And Jesus answered, “Ye say that I am”.  This answer is affirmative.  Notice Mk 14:62, “I am” and Matt 26:64, “Thou hast said”.

Condemned Him, Lk 22:71

After his answer, “the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, “What need we any further witnesses?  Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye?  And they all condemned him to be guilty of death”, Mk 14:63-64.

This is very interesting, because when Jesus answered that he was the Christ, they accused him of blasphemy.  They accused him of the very sin they themselves had just committed.  This is so typical of a Pharisee.  Jesus had given the true answer.  They were the ones who were false.

They had all witnessed what Jesus said, so they could present their case for blasphemy to Pilate with sufficient eyewitnesses to support the accusation.  And that’s what they did.

To study the previous lesson, click on Gethsemane and Peter’s Denial.