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And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and with him were assembled all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes. But Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire. Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree. Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, "We heard Him say, 'I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.'" But not even then did their testimony agree. And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, "Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?" But He kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" Jesus said, "I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with clouds of heaven." Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "What further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think?" And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. Then some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, and to say to Him, "Prophesy!" And the officers struck Him with the palms of their hands.
- Mark 14:53-65
Yesterday, we read that immediately, while Jesus was still speaking in the garden of Gethsemane, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now His betrayer had given them a signal, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him and lead Him away safely." As soon as he had come, immediately, he went up to Him and said to Him, "Rabbi, Rabbi!" and kissed Him. Then they laid their hands on Him and took Him. And one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled." Then they all forsook Him and fled. Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body. And the young men laid hold of him, and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked.
And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and with him were assembled all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes. But Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire. The scene is set: Jesus is taken inside the house of the high priest, to a night trial. Peter remains outside in the courtyard, where his prophesied denial of Christ will take place (in tomorrow's reading).
Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree. Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, "We heard Him say, 'I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.'" But not even then did their testimony agree. In the various accounts of this trial, we can see that the Council breaks just about every rule they have regarding such a process. It's a night trial, the witnesses contradict one another. Jesus isn't given opportunity to question the witnesses. Even those who come with a trumped up story don't agree in their testimony.
And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, "Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?" But He kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" Jesus said, "I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with clouds of heaven." Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "What further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think?" And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. My study bible points out here Jesus' use of the term I am (ego eimi in the Greek). This is the divine name of God; its use indicates a revelation of God Himself. A note tells us, "The use of this Name by a mere man was considered blasphemy and was punishable by death (Leviticus 24:16; see John 8:58)." But because Jesus is fully divine, His use of the Name can't be blasphemy. Rather, it reveals His unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit: hence, a theophany, or revelation of God. My study bible continues, "Only in Mark's account is Christ's answer so direct. To sit at the right hand of the Power means to share authority with the Father. This statement was clearly understood by the high priest to be a claim of equality with God."
Then some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, and to say to Him, "Prophesy!" And the officers struck Him with the palms of their hands. Once again, we're given a scene of humiliation for Jesus. He's a vulnerable, helpless human being. He shares our traits, our lives, fully human. He's a condemned prisoner, unjustly accused and unjustly tried, and subject to abuse, degrading insults, and contempt.
So here it is. We're at the place where Jesus suffers in His humanity. Ironic that He's just declared Himself to these men who try Him, who look for a way to accuse, a way to condemn, who offer Him nothing but their contempt. He testifies truly, and it becomes opportunity for condemnation. I suppose that unless one has experienced something similar, the impact of such judgment doesn't make itself clear by simply reading the text. It may be hard to believe that so much could conspire to do wrong, all at the same time, so many factors and things that are deliberately against Christ. But there are times in life, and in history if we look carefully, where all kinds of things seem to add up at the same moment to create an astonishing evil, a miscarriage of justice, respite at any possible level denied. And telling the truth, to be condemned for doing so, isn't such a far away reality as we might think if we have not experienced it. A common enough occurrence for anyone trapped in a system without mercy, within a kind of grace that can only come from those who really want the truth, and there's nobody in this room willing to tolerate such an idea. We have to wonder once again why our story goes this way. Why is our Lord brought down so low? Why does He share the fate of the most condemned prisoner, the most unfortunate among us, abused and humiliated? Is this a heroic picture? But if we look at the tradition of the Church, what we see is that this scene of Jesus as condemned prisoner, bound and humiliated, is used as an icon of love. (In the reading that will come up for Thursday, we will see an icon of His captivity in the hands of the Roman soldiers.) This is a picture of how we, too, may be willing to sacrifice when we love others -- what we may endure in the name of love. That's another kind of thinking that seems to be absent in a world caught up with entitlement and image, a kind of heroism that glorifies some sort of superpower. Our hero is the most powerful of all, He's the Word Incarnate -- but His choice is powerlessness as vulnerable human being, right there with the worst of things we can count on our fingers for ourselves, because He's there for us. There are myriad ways we can look at this scene, and endless commentaries that can come from what it tells us. But one thing is for certain: whatever we go through in life, Jesus' story and the way it unfolds teaches us once and for all that no matter where we find ourselves in life, the judgment of who we are inside can never be made merely from appearances, from circumstances. Our worth as persons made in the image of God is something that is in the heart and discernment of God, that demands good judgment and righteousness to truly see. If we can't separate image from identity, then we're going to get this all wrong. We haven't learned the lesson He's been there to teach us: that our identity in Him has nothing to do with what the world might teach us about ourselves or where we find ourselves. That's why we need Him so completely. This is just one of the ways in which the story of Christ crucified is crucial to our own understanding of ourselves; it's only in relation to God that we find who we really are, in the eyes of the One who knows the heart -- and who, out of pure love, has been there with us. Before you judge yourself or another, consider this scene.
