Jesus was bound and led away from the home of Annas the priest to appear before the Sanhedrin, a council of seventy-one Jewish elders who served as a kind of Supreme Court for the Jews. The Sanhedrin met daily in the temple courts, except during festivals and on the Sabbath. They answered questions about the Law of Moses and decided cases when the Law was broken.

Their trial involving Jesus was a rushed affair. The council couldn’t come up with any charges against him because there were no reliable witnesses to accuse him of a crime. Jesus had no one to defend his case and he refused to testify on his own behalf. The only time he spoke was to confirm something someone said that was true.

It was very early Friday morning and the Council wanted to be done with the trial so they could go home for Passover and then get ready for the Sabbath. There was nothing about these proceedings that was normal, just or fair.

Jesus Refuses to Defend Himself

Jesus didn’t resist arrest and he didn’t struggle as the soldiers led him away to be tried. He stood quietly throughout his accusers outrageous testimonies.

“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?’

Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.” Mark 14:60-61

The witnesses tried to portray Jesus as an insurrectionist, but they misquoted Jesus when they said he had threatened to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days. He actually said,

“Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” John 2:19

The temple he was talking about was his own body. It was a prophetic statement that his disciples remembered later, when the prophecy was fulfilled.

“After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.” John 2:22

Jesus didn’t correct the witnesses or defend himself. But when the high priest asked him one particular question, he answered, because it provided an opportunity to invite his listeners to put their faith in him.

Jesus Answers the High Priest

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

‘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.’” Mark 14:61-62

The high priest wasn’t looking for confirmation that Jesus was the Messiah. He was looking for a reason to condemn him, so instead of accepting that he was the Messiah, he charged Jesus with blasphemy.

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

“They all condemned him as worthy of death.” Mark 14:63-64

Luke adds a bit more to this conversation.

“At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them.

‘If you are the Messiah,’ they said, ‘tell us.’

Jesus answered, ‘If I tell you, you will not believe me, and if I asked you, you would not answer. But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.’

They all asked, ‘Are you then the Son of God?’

He replied, ‘You say that I am.’

Then they said, ‘Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.’” Luke 22:67-71

Jesus wasn’t trying to save his life by saying these things, he was just telling the truth. But what he said could have saved the souls of those who heard him if they had listened and believed.

They were in the presence of the Messiah, the Son of God. They could have put their faith in him, but instead they condemned him.

Peter Denies that He Knows Jesus

Peter followed Jesus when he was bound and taken away, but he was not prepared for the situation he found himself in. There were armed guards everywhere. It was cold, dark and confusing in the courtyard outside the place where Jesus was held. Torches made shadows dance, and people asked him unexpected questions. Peter knew he could be arrested just for being a follower of Jesus.

“While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by. When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him. ‘You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus,’ she said.

But he denied it. ‘I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about,’ he said, and went out into the entry way.” Mark 14:66-68

The entry way was also the exit; Peter seemed to be edging away from danger. But the servant girl saw him again and said to the people around him, “This fellow is one of them.” Mark 14:69

Again Peter denied knowing Jesus.

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

He began to call down curses, and he swore to them, ‘I don’t know this man you are talking about.’” Mark 14:70-71

“The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: ‘Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.” Matthew 26:61-62

Judas Feels Remorse

“When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. ‘I have sinned,’ he said, ‘for I have betrayed innocent blood.’ Matthew 27:3-4

The officials didn’t want the coins back because it was blood money, used to betray a man to his death. They also had no concern for the soul of the man who betrayed his Rabbi. So Judas threw the silver onto the temple floor and went out and hung himself. The priests picked up the money and used it to buy a burial plot for people who had nowhere else to be buried.

Judas’s story is unsettling – to think that a man chosen by Jesus to be an Apostle, who walked with him for more than three years and saw and heard everything Jesus did, could betray him to death. Judas was sorry after he did it, but it apparently was too late for him to repent. Sadly, Jesus told his Father in John 17:12,

“While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.”

Someone was going to give in to the temptation to betray Jesus, and it turned out his name was Judas Iscariot. He was not mandated by Scripture to do it; Scripture merely foretold that someone would.

Two Different Betrayals

Satan has many people to tempt when he sets out to do evil and he doesn’t care who ends up cooperating with him. Judas served Satan and after the deed was done he died alone in despair. He shed tears of remorse for the horrible choice he made, but he didn’t repent.

Peter also betrayed Jesus by denying that he knew him, and he also went out and wept with bitter regret, but Peter was not Satan’s man. He belonged to Jesus and when Jesus looked at him he wept tears of repentance.

The Lord knows we will sin even when we have chosen to follow him. But we can take heart from the story of Peter. When he failed, and the Lord looked at him, Peter  remembered who he belonged to and began to make his way back to Jesus.