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286. Before the Sanhedrin

Numbers 11:16-17, Matthew 26:57-68, Mark 14:53-64, John 18: 12-14 & 19-24
Key Verse: Again the High Priest asked Him, "Are You the Christ, 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 in the clouds of Heaven."
Mark 14:61-62

What is the Sanhedrin anyway? Interestingly enough, the Sanhedrin also has its origins during the Exodus. After the people had been wandering in the wilderness for a year or two and had built the tabernacle where they could meet with God, God established assistance in leadership for Moses because there were so many to lead. "The Lord said to Moses: "Bring Me seventy of Israel's elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with you. I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone." (Numbers 11:16-17) Thus, the Sanhedrin was born as God's appointed governing body for His people. In Jesus’ day, it was headed by the high priest and consisted of other priests and teachers of the law. The positions were probably mostly chosen by lot, although as we can see, especially from John's account of the proceedings, nepotism was also present.

Now this governing body, mostly composed of people who considered Jesus to be an enemy of the state, finally had Jesus where they wanted Him, on trial for blasphemy, though they would have preferred different timing. These particular proceedings were illegal from the outset. No trial was to take place at night. The charges were all false, in violation of the ninth commandment, "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor." (Exodus 20:16) The false witnesses couldn't even keep their story straight. It was a mockery of justice if ever there was one!

Finally, Caiaphas decides to go for the direct approach. He may have thought that Jesus was crazy enough to condemn Himself. Unfortunately, though Caiaphas didn't realize it at the time, Jesus was only speaking what was true. "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" (Mark 14:62)

Sometimes I wonder if this was another temptation for Jesus, another opportunity to get out of this mess if He wanted too. Considering His prayer in the garden that, "If possible, this cup might pass," one does wonder about such things, especially since the tempter, satan himself, was doing what he could to call the shots of the sinful men confronting Him. Jesus, however, does not take the bait. He never lost control of the situation. Instead, for the sake of all of us, knowing who He is, He who cannot tell a lie, said, "Yes, I am." He knew He was handing them what they thought they wanted, but He also knew that He was really doing and being what they needed for their redemption.

The rest was pure theater: Caiaphas tearing his robe in mock offense, the outrage by the leadership. It was for the benefit of the observer. In truth, the men of the Sanhedrin were jubilant. They had what they wanted, a reason, from God's own law, to condemn Jesus to death. Now, it was simply a matter of convincing the Roman authorities to act out their sentence. That would take place because it was "the fullness of time." (Gal. 4:4-5)

Hymn: "I'm But a Stranger Here"

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