The Savior Stands Before the Sanhedrin, Part 1

Let's pray together. Father, we thank you so much for all that you have done. Today, we want to praise you for your great work of salvation in our hearts, in our lives, and how it is, Lord, you have exemplified to us your love in a very tangible and incredible way. May we see you in all of your splendor and glory this day, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. The Bible says in 1 John chapter 2, verse number 6, that he who says that he abides in Christ ought himself to walk even as he himself walked.

If you say that you are a Christian and you love the Lord, then you are to walk like Jesus. And I've come to realize that for the most part, we just don't want to be too much like Jesus. Oh, yeah, we want to be sort of like Jesus, but not necessarily exactly like Jesus. And the text before us today in Luke's gospel will help explain that to us all the more. Because in all reality, every time we open the Bible, it explains to us the glory and splendor of our King. And we as Christians should want to be like our King.

You should want to talk like our King, look like our King, act like our King, because we are representatives of our King and his glorious kingdom. And so what better way to know how to walk like Christ than to examine the life of Christ? And for the last nine years, we have spent our time studying Luke's gospel, helping us to understand the life of Christ. And we have spent many weeks on this last night of our Lord, this magnificent night, this monumental night, the most glorious of all nights in the history of the world, to examine exactly what took place in the upper room.

And as they would leave the upper room, cross over the Kidron Valley, ascend up into the Mount of Olives, and be in the Garden of Gethsemane, and all that took place there, leading to his betrayal and then his subsequent arrest, as we saw last week. What began with a celebration in the upper room, gathering together to celebrate that last Passover, and our Lord would institute for us the Lord's table, that which we celebrate today. Having begun that night with that celebration, that night ends not just with a renunciation on the part of Peter, and not just by an interrogation because of Annas and the high priest Caiaphas, but simply with an affirmation, an affirmation, an undeniable affirmation, as to the character and nature of our God.

This long night ends with a declaration by our Lord, affirming and confirming that he is not just son of man, not just son of God, not just Messiah, but simply I am. As the day dawns on the day of his crucifixion, as the sun comes up, that whole night ends with that declaration by our Christ, as to his identity. If you have your Bible, Luke 22 is where we're at, verse number 63. And the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him and beating him, and they blindfolded him and were asking him saying, prophesy, who is the one who hit you?

And they were saying many other things against him, blaspheming. And when it was day, the council of elders of the people assembled, both chief priests and scribes, and they led him away to their council chamber saying, if you are the Christ, tell us. But he said to them, if I tell you, you will not believe. And if I ask a question, you will not answer. But from now on, these son of man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God. And they all said, are you the son of God then? He said to them, yes, I am.

And they said, what further need do we have to test of testimony? For we have heard it ourselves from his own mouth. Our text this morning is a text that has gone from the courtyard to the courtroom. From the denial by Peter, if you talked about last week, to the trial with our Lord this week. And I'm just going to introduce this to you this morning as we embark on the Lord's table and celebrate once again the glories of the Christ. But you must remember that there are two trials, one religious and one political.

Each trial has three phases to it. The text in Luke takes us to the third phase of the first trial. We will take you to John chapter 18, which is the first phase as he is taken specifically to Annas first.

And then he's taken to Caiaphas across the courtyard. And then by the time you come to where we are now in Luke 22, the day breaks and it's the third trial.

One they have to have during the day because they have violated their own law by trying Jesus at night. They will then take him to the second trial, which it too has three phases.

They'll bring him to Pilate. Then Pilate will ship him off to Herod and Herod then will ship him back to Pilate once again. All that will happen before 8 a.m. in the morning. Because by nine o'clock he's on the cross. It takes a while for him to get from where he is to Calvary's cross. And by the time they nail him to the cross, it's 9 a.m. He'll die by 3 p.m. He'll be off the cross in the grave before nightfall and rise again on Sunday. That's where we're going. That's what happens, but it happens rather quickly.

It will take us a while, as it always does, to get through the trials and to get through different phases of the trials. I was talking to my son Andrew this past week and he says, hey dad, are you still in Nehemiah? I said, yeah, I am. You've been in Nehemiah a long time, haven't you? I said, pretty much, Drew. He says, you know what? Nehemiah was able to build the walls around Jerusalem quicker than you are to preach through the book of Nehemiah. I said, that's a good point. That's why I was born now and not back then, because the Lord didn't want me to lead that building project.

We'd still be in the building project if it was up to me from way back then. But anyway, we're going to look at all these trials and the different phases of them so you can come to grips with what is exactly happening in the life of our Lord.

Everything about what the Sanhedrin did was based on a text in the Old Testament. And from that, you'll be able to understand exactly why everything about this trial revolves around not only an unlawful situation, which leads to untrue accusations, which leads to unjust condemnation and unmerciful persecution, but ultimately undeniable affirmation as to the identity of Jesus Christ, our Lord, that He is truly divine and that everything that happens happens under His direct will. And we will see that not only in the trial, but everything that happens after the trial as well, because everything that happens is controlled by the sovereign God of the universe.

And so everything about this trial is based on what the Old Testament said back in Deuteronomy 16, verse number 18. It reads as follows. Deuteronomy 16, verse number 18, "'You shall appoint for yourself judges and officers in all your towns, which the Lord your God has given you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. You shall not distort justice. You shall not be partial. 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.'" Back in the book of Deuteronomy, the Lord set up a system for the nation of Israel to righteously judge people when there was a crime that was committed. And everything that the Sanhedrin did was based off of Deuteronomy chapter 16. The axiom of the Sanhedrin was to save life, never destroy life. And yet when it came to the life of Christ, everything that they had adopted, everything that they believed, they went against.

Back in 1881, Simon Greenleaf wrote a book. And that book was entitled The Testimony of the Evangelists. And in that book, he chronicles everything revolving around the laws of the Sanhedrin in how they were to judge someone who had committed a crime. In fact, they were so concerned about the purity of their justice system that if you brought a false accusation, then what would happen is that you'd have to follow what Deuteronomy 19 says in Deuteronomy 19, verse number 16. For there, these words are spoken.

Deuteronomy 19, verse number 16, says, If a malicious witness rises up against a man to accuse him of wrongdoing, then both the men who have the dispute shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who will be in office in those days, and the judges shall investigate thoroughly. And if the witness is a false witness, and he has accused his brother falsely, then you shall do to him just as he had intended to do to his brother. Thus, you shall purge the evil from among you. In other words, if you were to be a false witness, and you lied on the stand, then you would have to receive the punishment of the one you accused.

That was a harsh law, but it kept people from speaking lies in a judicial system. Well, in this book by Simon Greeley, he goes back and he begins to chronicle all the things about trials conducted by the Sanhedrin during the days of Christ. And he goes to great detail to show you that never were they ever to judge anyone at night. Yet Jesus was judged at night. Never were they to hold court outside of the judgment hall, but they did it in the house of Annas, and in the house of Caiaphas. Never would they allow a man to come before them who was not properly defended, but Jesus had no defense, no one to defend his case.

Never were they to take a bribe in any way in order to accuse someone of a crime, and yet they would take a bribe from Judas. And so what they would do would go against everything they said they believed. In this book by Simon Greeley, he goes into great detail on how it is the Sanhedrin would go overboard to protect someone from death. So much so that if the Sanhedrin was unanimous in their verdict, the verdict was thrown out. Why? Because it would be deemed unmerciful. And yet, in the trial of Jesus, they were unanimous in their conviction of him.

Listen to what Mr. Greenleaf says when he speaks about how when one is convicted, in fact, the law stated that once a man was convicted, they could not enact the penalty until the third day.

The third day. And everything that happened with Jesus happened in the night and in the early mornings, early morning of that Friday. But listen to what it said. It says, on the morning of the third day, the Sanhedrin would return to the judgment seat.

Each judge who had not changed his opinion said, I continue of the same opinion and condemn. Anyone who at first condemned might at this sitting acquit.

But he who at once acquitted was not allowed to condemn. If a majority condemned, two magistrates immediately accompanied the condemned person to the place of his punishment. They executed him on the same day they sentenced him. That was consistent with Ecclesiastes 8, verse number 11. And the lawyer continues, the elders did not descend from their seats. They placed at the entrance of the judgment hall an officer of justice with a small flag in his hand. Second officer on horseback, followed the prisoner, and constantly kept looking back to the place of departure.

During this interval, if any person came to announce to the elders any new evidence favorable to the prisoner, the first officer waved his flag and the prisoner and, I'm sorry, the first officer waved his flag and the second one, as soon as he perceived it, brought back the prisoner.

If the prisoner declared to the magistrates that he recollected some reason which had escaped him, they brought him before the judges no less than five times. If no incident occurred, the procession advanced slowly, preceded by a herald who in a loud voice addressed the people, thus, this man, stating his name, is led to punishment for such a crime. The witness who have sworn against him are such and such a person. If anyone has evidence to give in his favor, let him come forth quickly. At some distance from the place of punishment, they urged the prisoner to confess his crime and they made him drink a stupefying beverage in order to render the approach of death less terrible.

In other words, they did everything they could to preserve life. In the Sanhedrin, in the days of Christ, did everything they could to condemn him. They broke every law they had established simply because they hated Jesus. And it was all under the direction of a sovereign God who would crush his son. When you come to Luke chapter 22, you're at the third phase of the trial.

So let me take you to the first phase. Turn me to John chapter 18. John chapter 18. Now remember, Jesus would demonstrate his power in the garden. They would come to retrieve him. He said, whom do you seek? They said, Jesus of Nazarene. He said, I am. And everybody fell over backwards. And they got back up again. He was demonstrating that he is the God that spoke to Moses from the burning bush. He is the God who has a memorial name that represents his delivering power, his redeeming power, his saving power.

For God said back in Exodus chapter 3, this is my memorial name. I am remembered by this name from generation to generation. You tell them I am. Jesus says in John 18, I am to show his delivering power.

And they all fell over backwards. They got back up again. They would arrest him. And they would immediately take him to the house of Annas. Annas was not the high priest. Caiaphas was the high priest. Caiaphas was the son-in-law of Annas. And yet they would take him to Annas because they had to somehow come up with an indictment. And they thought that Annas would be the man that would allow them to come up with something to convict Jesus. They had to come up with something to convict him that would stand credibility before Rome.

Because Rome had taken away the right of execution from the Jewish nation. And so that's why they had to get Pilate to buy into their scheme. And to buy into their conviction. They had to find something about Jesus that would hold up in a Roman courtroom. So that Pilate would call for his execution. They would think that Annas would be the guy. Annas was like the mafia boss in those days. He would head up all of the evil in the religious system. The temple cleansing by Christ in John 2 and at the end of his ministry was a direct push against Annas's evil system because it was called the Bazaar of Annas.

And they would look for any way in which to rob people of their money that they might gain something for themselves. And Annas along with Caiaphas would hate Jesus. Because he destroyed their economic system. He was against them individually. He was against the system of religion and Judaism. So they would bring him to Annas first because he would be arraigned in front of him.

That somehow they would come up with a crime that would hold up in a Roman courtroom. So Jesus could be executed. And so you come to John chapter 18 verse number 19. It says in verse 12. So the Roman cohort and the commander and the officer of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him and led him to Annas first.

Okay. Now remember Caiaphas and Annas are in the same location only separated by a courtyard. Now all that happens during the trial of Jesus in the first two phases happened at the same time of Peter's denials.

Okay. So now you understand the context and the setting. So they arrest Jesus. They cross over the Kidron. They lead Jesus up to the house of Annas. It says in verse number 19. The high priest therefore questioned Jesus about his disciples. And about his teaching. Think about that. You could never bring a prisoner to be judged unless there was a crime committed. But Annas begins to ask him not only about his disciples, but about his teaching. Annas was clueless as to what Jesus was doing. Clueless.

Who are your disciples? Give me their names. Where are they? Who are your followers? What did you teach? While you walked here in the land, this holy land. Tell me about the messages you preached. Tell me about the things that you did. He had no clue as to what Jesus was doing. And this went against Jewish protocol when it came to their judicial system. Because Annas could not indict someone who would come to him with no crime. But he was looking for a way to see if there was a crime. And so Jesus says, I've spoken openly to the world.

I always taught in synagogues and in the temple where all the Jews come together and I spoke nothing in secret. Why do you question me? Question those who have heard what I spoke to them. Behold these know what I said. You see Jesus indicts Annas because you could never bring a prisoner to be convicted unless there were two or three witnesses specifically to the crime that he committed. So Jesus says, I haven't done anything in secret.

It's all been open. I've hidden nothing. Why don't you call the people in? Ask them. And what he does is such an affront to Annas that the officer next to him punches him in the face. It says, verse number 22, and when he had said this, one of the officers standing by gave Jesus a blow saying, is that the way you answer the high priest? Jesus answers him, indicts him because he had broken Jewish protocol and the man punched Jesus right in the face. Jesus answered him, if I've spoken wrongly, bear witness of the wrong.

But if rightly, why do you strike me? Annas therefore sent him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest. Annas could find nothing. And you will see that no one was able to find anything against the Christ because this is the sinless savior standing before the sinful Sanhedrin. Because he is spotless. There is no sin in Jesus. Annas, having no way to conjure up anything that would even resemble a crime, ships him off across the courtyard to Caiaphas. To understand that scenario, you have to turn to Matthew chapter 26.

Matthew chapter 26, verse number 57. And those who had seized Jesus led him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together. Okay, so Jesus was before Annas without the scribes, without the chief priest, without the Sanhedrin. Sanhedrin were getting together in the house of Caiaphas. All right. And then it 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.

Now the chief priest and the whole council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus in order that they might put him to death. And they did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward, but later on on two came forward. 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. And the high priest stood up and said to him, do you make no 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.

And Jesus said to him, you have said it yourself. Nevertheless, I tell you hereafter you shall see the son of man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven. They bring Christ to Caiaphas and all they have are false testimonies. Now we read to you from Deuteronomy chapter 19 because if anybody gives a false testimony, they are to receive the punishment of the one that they accuse. But yet they would ignore all that. They would try to conjure up people to come up with a false testimony, something that they could hold against Jesus to hold him before Pilate that would condemn him to death.

But there was nothing there. Nothing there at all. Because Jesus had no sin. Now Peter would be in the courtyard. He would be warming himself by the fire. We looked at that last week. And he would be unable to necessarily hear and see all that was happening. He might be able to get a glimpse here and a glimpse there. But under the inspiration of the spirit of God, he would write about this event. He would write about it because the Lord God would want us to understand our Christ. All of his beauty and all of his majesty.

So turn with me in your Bible to 1 Peter chapter 2. 1 Peter chapter 2. And this is what Peter says. As he puts Christ up as our example. Now we began our time today saying that if you say that you abide in Christ, then we need to walk just as Jesus himself walked. If you want to be like Jesus, then you need to be able to do the things that Jesus did. And the only way you can do that is because the power of God that resides within you. This should be our ambition. This should be our example. This should be our testimony.

Peter says, verse 21, 1 Peter 2, for you have been called for this purpose. What purpose is that? That you might somehow inherit a blessing. If you follow Christ, you will inherit a blessing. You'll be honoring Christ. Since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in his steps. Who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth. And while being reviled, he did not revile in return. While suffering, he uttered no threats, but kept entrusting himself to him who judges righteously.

Peter says, in the life of our Jesus, there was no transgression. No transgression. He quotes from Isaiah 53, verse number 9, which states he, the Messiah, had done no violence or no lawlessness. Because the Jews would look at lawlessness as violence against God.

So if you committed a crime, it was a violence against God. Peter says he committed no sin. There was no lawlessness in him. Because he was one who was committed to following that which was true. There was no transgression. No violence in him whatsoever. And Peter says, very simply, our Lord, our Master, our Savior, was one with no transgression. And he says, he was one with no deception. Because there was no deceit found in his mouth. There was nothing about his words that would explain anything sinful.

Because from the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks, right? And we've told you before that the clearest indicator of your spiritual condition is what? The words you speak. Because whatever comes out of your mouth comes from the well of your heart. So however you speak gives us a clear indication as to your heart's condition. And Peter says, there was no deception that came out of his mouth. There was no slander that came out of his mouth. There was nothing evil that came out of his mouth. There was no transgression.

There was no deception. There was no retaliation. No retaliation. Says very simply these words in Isaiah 53 verse number 7. He was oppressed and he was afflicted. Yet he did not open his mouth like a lamb that is led to slaughter. Like a sheep that's silent before shearers. He did not open his mouth. Peter says while being reviled he did not revile in return. So it's clear. Peter says there was no transgression. There was no deception. There was no retaliation and there was no intimidation. No intimidation.

He says he uttered no threats. You know, it'd be very easy for Jesus to intimidate people. Wouldn't you think? I mean he says I am they all fall over. He could have said it again in the courtroom or in the courtyard and they all fell over. He could have very easily intimidated him with his words. He did not. There was no intimidation on his part. Even though he is the sovereign God of the universe who spoke the world into existence who through speaking a word controls the universe. Yet there was no intimidation.

No retaliation. No deception. No transgression. Because he who knew no sin would become sin for us. But notice what there was.

There was only listen oblation. That's a great word. Oblation. Oblation is a religious word which signifies the offering of a sacrifice to God. He just kept entrusting himself to him who judges righteously. He kept rendering himself as a sacrifice to his God. Just gave himself to his father in heaven. Offering himself up as a sacrifice. There was only oblation on his part. A willingness to submit to all that would come his way because everything was about him. Everything was about his plan, his purpose because through his oblation would come our substitution.

And because of his substituting on Calvary's cross for us, we receive redemption. We receive salvation. And Peter would go on to say these words. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross that we might die to sin and live to righteousness for by his wounds you were healed. This is our our salvation. This is because of his substitution. But it came because of his oblation, his willing to offer himself as that sacrifice because he submitted himself to his father who was in heaven. And this becomes our example.

This becomes our model because he offered himself up freely. We now read this and ask ourselves how do we exemplify Christ against our accusers, against our abusers? Do we live a life of no transgression, no retaliation, no deception, no intimidation? But as Paul would say we present our bodies a living sacrifice wholly acceptable unto God which is our reasonable service or when someone accuses us or when someone speaks against us we retaliate. We intimidate them, we put them down, we slander them, we speak against them.

And yet we say we want to be like Jesus. Oh, no. You want to be like Jesus? First Peter 2 is your model.

That's how we know you truly want to be like Christ. You want to offer your life as a sacrifice to God because you entrust yourself to him who judges righteously. You can never judge righteously but God can. And so you commit yourself to him and let him deal with all the things that are happening to you and he will. Because as he did in the life of Christ, so he will do in your life and mine. And today we come to celebrate all that took place not just that night but the subsequent day and all the events surrounding that because everything was leading to the sacrifice.

Everything was leading to Calvary's cross. Everything was leading to how he would die for you and for me and how we would obtain forgiveness of our sins. How we'd be able to obtain the kingdom of God. How we'd be able to attain the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. What began on that night with the celebration that led to that subsequent transformation of the bread and the cup. And Christ saying I will not eat of the bread nor will I drink of the cup until that glorious kingdom day.

And we now have a memorial that we celebrate anticipating the coming of the Christ. That one day we will be with him partaking of the bread and the cup in his glorious kingdom, but always doing it in remembrance of his death. Always doing it in remembrance of how he gave his life away for you and me. And he becomes now our example on how we are to live our lives daily before the people who accuse us. The people who might abuse us. People who speak against us. This becomes the example on how we are to live now our lives.

So as we come together this morning to celebrate the Lord's table, let's never forget our Lord and the sinless life that he led every day. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for the opportunity we have to to be in your word. As brief as it may be this morning, just to be reminded once again of the glories of the cross and the beauty of our God. And our prayer today, Lord, is that as we assemble around the Lord's table and once again have an opportunity to say, thank you. May we be reminded on how you gave your life for us that we might no longer live for ourselves.

But live a righteous life, a holy life like our Lord. Through your power, through your spirit, through your enablement, we can do that. And our prayer, Father, today is as we gather together to celebrate you, we truly would honor your sacrifice for us. And the best way to honor that is to live like Christ. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.