And they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. And Peter had followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire. Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but they found none. For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimony did not agree. And some stood up and bore false witness against Him, saying, "We heard Him say, 'I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands'." Yet even about this their testimony did not agree. And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, "Have You no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against You?" But He remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" And Jesus said, "I AM, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." And the high priest tore his garments and said, "What further witnesses do we need? You have heard His blasphemy. What is your decision?" And they all condemned Him as deserving death. And some began to spit on Him and to cover His face and to strike Him, saying to Him, "Prophesy!" and the guards received Him with blows. --Mark 14: 53-65
Here's what one commentary had to say about the proceedings: "Lawyers who have studied these proceedings say the trial of our Lord was a travesty of justice and a mockery of legality. The place where Jesus was tried was illegal. The Sanhedrin was required to hold its hearings in the hall of stones in the temple, but Jesus was tried in the private residences of Annas and Caiaphas. A case could not be tried at night, yet Jesus was tried at night. A person was not to be tried on a feast day, yet Jesus was tried during Passover. The proceedings themselves were illegal as the judge was the prosecutor and the one who actually pressed the case against Jesus. The witnesses had to agree, but these witnesses did not agree. Jesus was convicted before He was tried." (Ref: https://www.family-times.net/commentary/mark-14-53/ ).
I saw something interesting in my study of this passage, with some help from Greek scholars online. Verse 55 says they were trying to find witnesses to testify against Jesus. The word for "witness" used here is martyria, from which we get our English word "martyr." We all know what that means--someone who stakes his life on his testimony, and is willing to lose his life for the sake of the Truth. In the trial of Jesus, there were people who gave false witness, and the Greek word used there is pseudomartyreo. We all know the word "pseudo" means not genuine, or a sham. When you put the prefix pseudo in front of the word martyr, you either get someone who is willing to give up his life for a lie, or someone pretending to stake his life to his words (but not really.)
So the trial was illegal, the witnesses were telling blatant falsehoods and contradicting each other, and the high priest asks Jesus to say something in His own defense. Jesus remains silent. Isaiah 53:7 says, "He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth." This is why Jesus is the perfect sacrificial Lamb.
He was perfect, without blame. The book of Leviticus sets out the rules for blood sacrifice, and each time the lamb is mentioned, it is emphasized that it must be spotless, without blemish. Many stood to accuse Jesus, but their accusations did not stick, because they were patently false and easily contradicted with truth. He was sinless, without blame.
His blood was sprinkled by the priests. Leviticus states that the priest should take the blood of the lamb and sprinkle it on the altar, making atonement for the sins of the people. In other places the priests were to lay their hands on the animal, transferring their guilt to it. In this violent scene outlined in Mark 14, the priests were likely the first ones to draw blood, beating Jesus about the head and shoulders before handing Him off to the soldiers, who continued the beating. If He was bleeding before this, then by slapping Him in the face they sprinkled His blood on themselves. His blood was literally on their hands.
He was acceptable to God. Many of the sacrifices in the Old Testament were burnt offerings, and God's acceptance was noted by the phrase, "an aroma pleasing to God." Being from Texas, I know that a good barbeque can have a pleasing smell, and the aroma can be carried throughout the air. I think, though, that God was speaking there not so much about burning flesh and the smell of it as the pleasant scent of obedience to His commands. So when the high priest asked Jesus if he was the Son of the Blessed One (that it, God), Jesus answered, "I AM." This was the name that God called Himself to Moses, and the priests all knew that. Furthermore, Jesus prophesied that He would be seated at God's right hand, and would come down on the clouds from His exalted position to be seen and worshiped by all men one day.
It is interesting that the one argument that is recorded from the false witnesses was what Jesus had said about the Temple. John 2:19 says, "Jesus answered them, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up'." A couple of verses later it is explained that "He was speaking about the temple of His body." In their pseudo testimony, they used the phrase "not made with hands." The writer of Hebrews says that Jesus became our High Priest, and continues the same metaphor.
But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. --Hebrews 9:11-14
Because of His sacrifice and His position as High Priest, we who are chosen by Him are assured a place in heaven. 2 Corinthians 5:1 says, "For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."
Jesus was condemned by a sham court and sentenced to death so that we might be covered in His blood so that we are not condemned and can attain eternal life. Praise God for His unspeakable gift!
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