Jesus Before The Kangaroo Court

 

"Those who had seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together. But Peter was following Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and entered in, and sat down with the officers to see the outcome.

Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death. They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on two came forward, and said, "This man stated, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.’" The high priest stood up and said to Him, "Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?" But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, "I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God." Jesus *said to him, "You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."

Then the high priest tore his robes and said, "He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; what do you think?" They answered, "He deserves death!"

Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, and said, "Prophesy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?"

Matthew 26:57-68

 

Good Morning my beloved,
 
We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're glad to have you here with us today. As I had mentioned before, we are extremely blessed to be able to partner with Vanessa Taylor at  Go Ye Kids children's ministry in providing printable biblical resources for children, many of them free. Please be sure to thank her and let her know that you heard about her here.   

 

I'm sure most of you have heard the reports of Christian persecution increasing in recent days in a number of countries throughout the world. I humbly ask you would join us in praying for our brothers and sisters who are facing severe persecution, that their witness would help to turn the hardened hearts of their persecutors, leading others to Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. that their suffering would not be in vain, but glorify our Lord. 

 

 

The unrest of the world in recent years have divided families, ended life-long friendship and even the loss of life. Fear and hatred, typically benign, has risen to their highest levels in decades. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, social relationships, economic conditions, combined with political agendas, government restrictions and policies, regardless of party, have impacted just about everything in our lives. It's impossible to keep track of everything that’s happening in the world today. However, nothing in all creation, even the smallest detail, is hidden from God’s sight, for which one day we will all give an account.

 

In the very beginning of God's Word, in the book of Genesis, the concept of government was introduced when God told Noah and his sons that a government of law would be established to protect the lives of men. Whether we like them or not, all government institution are ordained by God, therefore, the government deserves not only our obedience but honor. Paul writes in Romans 13, "Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves." 

In a godless society, it's fair to say, because government is corrupt, that’s the bitter pill for us Christians to have to swallow. That said, the power of an establish governments belongs to God, and there are times when we should disobey the authorities when they commands us to do something that directly goes against God's Word, and compels us to commit sin. In that instance, as Christians, we must always obey God. Any other kind of activism, protest or civil disobedience, is in direct violation of God's Word.

In Jesus day, they didn’t live in a democracy; they had no choice about who would rule them, since they couldn’t vote and once someone was in power, they couldn’t really do much it. Today, we have taken our God given freedoms for granted and power of the government far too lightly. If we don't stand up for our freedoms, praying for those who are elected to not only seek the will of God but to obey it, it won't be long before our democracy will come to an end. It is He alone Who determines the beginning and the ending of nations and those who are in power. No government operates against the divine purposes of God. Even wicked and evil rulers are part of God’s plan, to allow evil to run its course toward destruction. 

 

If the past several election cycles has told us anything, it's that the world stage is set to worship the one who is commonly known as the Antichrist. The spirit of antichrist is already in the world, we are moving toward global world government and religion. I believe it is an understatement, to say the most people are concerned about the current state of the world economy and the cost of living. We have a global economy, because of foreign trade and that is precisely what Revelation chapter 18 describes about the condition of world prior to the return of Jesus Christ and the time of the final judgment of sinners. The world is becoming so evil, that even with all the preaching and biblical warnings, the reaction for the most part is negative, a wilful choice in rejecting God's truth. Make no mistake about it, we are heading toward the end of man's day. We’re getting a picture of the political, economic, a religious world system at the end time. 

 

According to  recent study conducted by Barna Research, suggested that the decision by Christian churches to shutter during the pandemic wasn’t helpful for the American public because it left people unprepared for the challenges of a post-pandemic society. The world is set to receive a global religion. "During times of crisis, every generation turns to their worldview to navigate the challenges. Sadly, because syncretism is the prevailing worldview of each generation in America today, the response of Americans to the pandemic and the political turbulence it facilitated have been every bit as muddled and chaotic as the worldview on which they are based," wrote George Barna, director of research at the Cultural Research Center on the findings from his research.

 

 

Let us pray

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Father, we thank You for Your Word. We come to You today with grateful hearts, so full of praise and thanksgiving. Help us to rejoice, knowing that Jesus is coming, no matter how bad it is getting in this world. Lord, we pray for those who are yet lost, even some who are amongst us today, that You would soften their hardened hearts, open their blind eyes, their deaf ears and that they would turn to You in repentance, surrendering to Christ and His Lordship. Let the light of the truth shine through us as the world continues to get worse and worse. Lord, You know our hearts, often filled with our desires and passion, we lose sight of the people around us, we speak hastily, react recklessly. Help us to walk away from all of that, remind us to be humble and meek, to speak kindly to people, even as we try to bring others to Christ. All for Your glory and for Christ's sake.

In His name we ask and pray

Amen

Today's Message: Jesus Before The Kangaroo Court

I believe we've said something or heard something said that instantly changed the mood or entire environment. Perhaps you've said something in frustration or anger your mom, your dad or your children that you instantly regretted. Or maybe you've hurled an insult at someone that really hurt them, and found yourself wishing you could just take back. Our words are powerful, and have the ability to negatively or positively impact the lives of others. That's why the Word of God says we must choose our words wisely, and are to be seasoned with salt.

As we return our study of Matthew chapter 26, in today’s passage, we come to the mock trial of Jesus, where something is said that changes everything. The foundation of the justice system that that we have in America, which has benefited the entire world, finds it's origins in Deuteronomy 16:18-20, which says, "You shall appoint for yourself judges and officers in all your towns which the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. You shall not distort justice; you shall not be partial, and you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous. Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue, that you may live and possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you."

 

A kangaroo court, is an of unofficial court held by a group of people in order to try someone regarded, especially without sufficient evidence, as guilty of a crime, it's a mock court in which the principles of law are blatantly disregarded and justice is perverted. It's a mockery of the whole Jewish justice system, characterized by irresponsible, unauthorized and illegal procedures, to obtain a desired result. In other words, it a complete sham. It was criminal procedure, because everything was to be open and exposed, to ensure that no one could be framed without just trial taking place. No one could be convicted unless they were proven to be guilty by two or three witnesses. No unjust act was permitted to proceed behind closed doors. We still have the same guarantee in our courts today. And by the way, if the witnesses falsely

accused his brother of wrongdoing, they would pay the very same penalty they sought to bring upon the person he witnessed against. False witnessing was a very serious crime.

 

The Sanhedrin was composed of around 70 men who were elders, 24 chief priests, 24 elders, 23 scribes plus the high priest makes 71. They acted as judges and jury, and were not out for justice, they were not out there to find out the truth. They were only out to find Him guilty in order to kill Him, by seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put Him to death. That was the plan. Ironically, the Jewish leaders have always prided themselves on their sense of fairness, their sense of equity, their sense of justice. Sanhedrin is a Hebrew term transliterated right off of a Greek term which means "sitting together," and were like the U.S. Supreme court in that they were the final authority on decisions that affected the religious and political life. However, the Roman Empire retained the authority to accept or reject their verdicts and to ultimately decide whether or not to carry out penalties. They knew the Romans would care about a charge of blasphemy against God, so they changed the charge against Him to treason. Everything about Jesus' trial was a violation of everything in their system! But was in perfect alignment with God’s design.

 

Open your Bibles to the Gospel of Matthew, chapter twenty-six. Matthew 26:57-68. I invite you to follow along with me as I read to set the text in our minds, as we look at today's text through the eyes of Matthew, inspired by the Holy Spirit. So, let's open our hearts and our minds to see what the Spirit of God has to say us today. Matthew 26:57-68.

 

"Those who had seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together. But Peter was following Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and entered in, and sat down with the officers to see the outcome.

Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death. They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on two came forward, and said, "This man stated, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.’" The high priest stood up and said to Him, "Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?" But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, "I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God." Jesus *said to him, "You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."

Then the high priest tore his robes and said, "He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; what do you think?" They answered, "He deserves death!"

Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, and said, "Prophesy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?"

 

Let's look at verse 57, "Those who had seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together."

 

Matthew tells us they led Him away to Caiaphas, then he goes right into the trial. While John in chapter 18, he fills in the whole story. "So the Roman cohort and the commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him, and led Him to Annas first; for he was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was expedient for one man to die on behalf of the people." Thankfully, each of the Gospel writers emphasizes different aspects of the same scene. So, He was led to the house of Annas, the former high priest, who is behind everything, where He is bound. 

 

Allow me to just mention that in Psalm 118, it says "Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar." Jesus being bound is the fulfillment of the sacrificial requirement. The Lamb of God is bound to be offered as the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of the world. Being under the influence of Satan himself, Annas, who was removed from the office of high priest for amassing so much power, maintained control because his five sons and one son-in-law, Caiaphas succeeded him. And he despised everything about Jesus. Remember, he was the head of all the buying and selling in the temple, so the temple mafia, was really a family affair. In fact, it was called "the bazaars of Annas." 

 

Every sacrifice brought into the temple had to be examined by the priests, to see if it was without blemish. Needless to say, if it didn't meet the temple requirements, you had to purchase an approved animal, at about three times the price, from the temple stockyard to offer to the Lord. The first thing Jesus did when He came into Jerusalem, was cleanse the temple, calling it a "house of robbers," and wouldn’t let anybody carry anything out of there. Then, they were furious with Jesus because He healed people on the Sabbath. They really prided themselves on how they meticulously kept to the Sabbath. So, you start to get the idea of why Annas didn’t like Jesus, because he his own little racketeering system going where he was getting filthy rich, they were all getting in on a piece of the action.

 

Then, in verse 58, Matthew says "But Peter was following Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and entered in, and sat down with the officers to see the outcome." 

John tells us there was also was another disciple who followed behind them. "Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest, but Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter in." We know it’s in the middle of the night, because the cock hasn't crowed three times yet, the first crowing often occurred around midnight. And, the second crowing could be expected before daybreak. Morning was not the only time roosters crowed. Meaning that Peter would have several opportunities to deny Him, as well as validate his early claim, that Jesus is the Son of God. By the third the third time the rooster crowed, Peter would have lost his opportunities to defend Jesus, as he said he would do. We know that after the fact, when Peter finally realized the accuracy of Jesus’ words, and he went out and wept bitterly.

So, after Annas bound Him, he sent Him to Caiaphas, in the middle of the night with no witnesses, no indictment, no arraignment, no charge and no crime. The whole process is illegal, not to mention, Annas had no legal authority to do any of this. By the way, anything Annas hates, Caiaphas hates, he is every bit as greedy and as power hungry as Annas. The Sanhedrin is gathering, Jesus being at Annas’ house provided them with the time to get everybody together. I believe based on Mark's account, who said Joseph of Arimathaea was "a good and righteous man," he wasn't there. When He went to Annas’ house, He was in a courtyard, and Matthew tells us Peter was following Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest he can probably see into the room where this is all happening to Christ, as He’s confronted with the Sanhedrin and Caiaphas. Now, to be clear, the law states that no one is to be tried, except for in the Hall of Judgment. But since wasn't being held during daylight hours, or in public, because the Sanhedrin was judge and jury, not a prosecutor, this whole thing violates the Law. In others words, they not only had to invent a crime and then try it, because Annas failed to bring a charge against Him, so all they had was a sentence.

The bribery of Judas was illegal, the time was of day was illegal, the place was illegal, the procedure was illegal, the function was illegal and they were doing this on a feast day. Let alone He never did anything wrong; everything about this was in violation of the Law. Even if I didn’t know Jesus Christ was completely innocent, the way this incident alone was handled would convince me that He was. No one could find anything that He did wrong. It's more than obvious that all of Hell and Satan's earthly agents are running this show. That's only way you can put an innocent man to death, especially the sinless Son of God.

Verse 59, "Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death." 

 

They did everything they could to put Him to death. But since there was never a crime, they needed to find false witnesses to give false testimony against Him, because liars were the only people who could condemn Him of anything. And the Law says you have to have two or three witnesses.

Verse 60, "They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on two came forward."

 

That's just how ridiculous this whole thing is; even though many false witnesses came, yet they found none. Even their liars couldn't give a viable testimony, nothing they said made sense. Mark 14 says, "For many were giving false testimony against Him, but their testimony was not consistent. Since there’s no legitimate facts to contend with, they couldn't get two of them to agree! In other words, everybody came up with a different lie. You can just imagine the frustration building and building, that is until at last two false witnesses came. When someone appears before the court, there must be someone who brings a charge against the accused

Verse 61, "And said, "This man stated, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.’"

 

Matthew give us the first man's testimony, this man said, "I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.’Mark gives us the second man's testimony, "We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.’" Not even in this respect was their testimony consistent." They completely misrepresented what He said.

Verse 62, "The high priest stood up and said to Him, "Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?" 

Well, that certainly got Caiaphas' attention! He finally has something to go on, he doesn’t even care if the information is true, or if their testimonies aren't consistent, apparently they were close enough for him to run with it, even if that is not exactly what He said. The problem was they didn’t have the authority to put Jesus to death, which is what they wanted and they couldn’t just turn Him over to the Romans for crucifixion without "a legitimate reason." John 2, tells us what He actually said, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews then said, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?" We know that Jesus was prophesying about His body, not the temple in Jerusalem. But he’s trying to get Jesus to say something regarding all the accusations that are being leveled against Him. Jesus didn’t need to defend Himself. This moment was ordained by God before the foundation of the world!

 

Verse 63, "But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, "I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God."

 

This is really a 3-ring circus, first, in the Jewish judgment. He was sent to Annas' house for a pretrial, then to  Caiaphas' house for another trial, where He appears before the Sanhedrin. Frustrated, the high priest then levels a charge of a solemn oath that, according to Jewish tradition, Jesus would be forced to answer. This is Caiaphas trying to take charge, he's got to get something on Him and soon. And since Caiaphas demanded the Truth, doesn't refute what the high priest said, He gives the Truth to Him. 

 

Verse 64, "Jesus *said to him, "You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."

 

What a statement of Truth! Jesus is referencing two Old Testament passages, Psalm 110:1-2, "The Lord says to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet." The Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, "Rule in the midst of Your enemies."

Follow along as I read Daniel 7:13-14, "I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. "And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away;
And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed."

 

In one statement, He's making it perfectly clear that He is not just the Messiah, I am the Son of Man, I am the One who sits at the right hand of the Father, I am the One who comes on the clouds, my enemies will bow before me, I have everlasting dominion, all the peoples of the nations will serve me, and my kingdom will never be destroyed! Needless to say, he didn’t care much for Jesus’ statement very much, he was outraged that Jesus would dare make such a claim.

 

Verses 65-66, "Then the high priest tore his robes and said, "He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; what do you think?" They answered, "He deserves death!"

 

This was the moment they had been waiting for, in their eyes they didn’t need any more witnesses. Jesus' statement about Himself, provided them with more than enough evidence to condemn Him to death. By the way, Caiaphas accompanied his accusation of blasphemy with tearing his robe, which was a sign of extreme distress and absolute disgust to signify when one witnessed blasphemy. Jesus is absolutely right to say this because He indeed is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, but the high priest went into his his theatrical little show, his dramatic display piety. Though he acted so horribly grieved on the outside, you can bet inside, he was saying to himself, "We've finally got you!" Of course, they all answered, He deserves death, they've wanted this for sometime. Jesus' unjust trial should not have been held within a small group of people, in secret, where He had no access to fairness. It was done to prevent any degree of accountability to obtain the result they desired. Jesus was denied a public trial, so they could deny Him a fair procedure in justice. The whole procedure was illegal, and at the very least, questionable. Trials should never be conducted in the middle of the night, but they weren't out for justice, they were out for murder.

Then, the humiliating treatment of Jesus began. That brings us to verse 67-68, "Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, and said, "Prophesy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?"

In Closing..

 

Soon we'll see the charges that they laid on Him in the Jewish court are quite different charges than those they laid on Him in the Roman court. They were doing whatever was needed to put Jesus to death. In less than 12 hours, He would be accused, trial and on the cross.All their hatred and evil schemes against the Son of God, is finally come to fruition. Such evil, wicked men, so pius and self-righteous in their own eyes, driven by their insatiable blood thirsty lusts for power and greed. Such travesty.

 

I am reminded of Peter's piercing words on the Day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2, "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death."

 

Jesus, will soon be murdered by the hands of law of lawless men, but according to the divine plan of God, all for your sins and mine, and all who would believe on His name! I long for the day, when sin will finally be destroyed and righteousness will forever reign.

 

The Truth is, we are all going to stand before Christ and give an account for our lives, the only question is whether He will be our judge or our Savior.

 

Just as none of us had anything to do with the day and time of our birth,  we'll not know the precise day and time of our death. One thing is for certain, unless Christ returns before we die, none of us are getting out here alive.  If you don't know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, may I encourage you to do it today? I pray that you will.                                

 

 

May it be so..
 
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen

 
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