Jesus Undergoes Trial

GOLDEN TEXT: “He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not ‘His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth.” —Isaiah 53:7

MARK 15:1-15

IN HEBREWS 12:3 we read of the “contradiction of sinners against” Jesus. There was a very striking demonstration of this when he was on trial, first before the religious authorities of Israel, and then before the civil rulers who represented the Roman Empire. The accusation against him before the religious tribunal was that he claimed to be “the Christ, Son of God.” This was construed to be blasphemy against God, punishable by death.

Actually, Jesus was the Son of God. It was not merely a claim on his part, but a reality. This being true, he was not a blasphemer. But the religious leaders of Israel didn’t believe this and since Jesus did not deny the charge, he was judged by them as worthy of death.

But the religious leaders of Israel were powerless to inflict the death penalty without the consent of the Roman authorities under which Israel was a subject people. Thus it was necessary to take Jesus to Pilate to have him condemned under the civil law of Rome.

They knew that Pilate would not be concerned with the charge that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. To him this would be merely a religious issue among a subject people, having nothing to do with the administration of Roman law. So the accusation these jealous and hypocritical religious leaders brought to Pilate was that Jesus claimed to be a king. Pilate could not justifiably ignore this charge, for, if true, it meant treason to Caesar.

So Pilate asked Jesus, “Art thou the King of the Jews?” To this Jesus replied, “Thou sayest it.” John reports this reply in greater detail, which reads, “Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear Witness to the truth.” (Mark 15:2; John 18:37) While Jesus willingly acknowledged to Pilate that he was born to be a king, he explained that his kingdom was not of this world.—John 18:36

Many have taken this to mean that it was not the plan of God for Jesus to rule over the peoples of earth. But this is not the thought. The Greek word here translated “world” is kosmos, meaning order or arrangement. In this context it simply means “the present social order of sin and selfishness. What Jesus meant was that he would not rule over the present social order, nor would his kingdom be established by human methods. “If my kingdom were of this world,” Jesus explained, “then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews.”—John 18:36

The establishment of the kingdom of Christ means the overthrow, the destruction, of the present social order. This was foretold by the Prophet Daniel. See Daniel 2:44. There is reason to believe that we are even now living in the time of the fulfillment of this prophecy.—Rev. 11:15,17,18

Pilate, of course, not knowing the plan of God, did not realize that Jesus’ explanation implied that his kingdom would be no threat to the Roman Empire as it was then constituted. Jesus had acknowledged that he was born to be a king, so technically Pilate had no legal right to ignore the charge which Israel’s religious leaders had brought against him.

But even though Pilate did not understand the plan of God pertaining to the future kingdom of Christ, he sensed that Jesus, with no army to support him, and never having shown any belligerent attitude toward Rome, was no real treat to the realm. He sensed that it was envy on the part of his accusers that had brought about this situation. He reasoned with them as best he could, but without avail, and they cried, “Crucify him.”

It was the custom, at the time of the passover feast, to release one prisoner to the Jews. So now Pilate gave them a choice between Jesus and Barabbas. Barabbas was actually guilty of insurrection against Rome, and had even committed murder in his rebellion. Had Jesus’ accusers been sincere they would have at once indicated that Jesus, not Barabbas, should be set free. But they were not sincere. In their jealousy, which was as “cruel as the grave,” they wanted only that Jesus be crucified.—Canticles 8:6

Jesus was accused of many, things, the record states, to which he made no reply at all, thus fulfilling the prophecy of our Golden Text, that he “opened not his mouth” in self-defense. Thus, he voluntarily gave himself to die as the Redeemer and Savior of the world.

QUESTIONS

What were the two main charges which led to Jesus’ death?

When and how will Jesus’ kingdom be established?

How did Jesus fulfill the prophecy of the Golden Text?

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