“I Am” -- Mark 14:55-65

One of the most interesting things about the last day of Jesus’ life is how so many people seemed to think they were in charge of things.

Judas realized very quickly that he was not in charge when we tried to renounce his actions, only to be told that it was too late and that those whom he approached no longer cared what he thought nor did they need him anymore. The hurling of his 30 pieces of silver at the ones who paid him was a sign of his frustration at realizing he had no control over anything.

When Jesus stands before Pilate, it became immediately apparent that he had no control over Jesus or over the fate of the man who stood before him. Pilate repeatedly sought to release Jesus, but backed down when he was vociferously opposed. Pilate backed down rather than demonstrate his control over the matter.

In the passage we look at today, it might be assumed that the high priest and members of the Sanhedrin were in control, but a quick read shows they quickly lost control of the situation.

In fact, as we look at Jesus’ last day, the only one who is really in control the whole time is Jesus Himself.

Central Truth: Jesus’ testimony shows us that it is He who controlled when He would lay down His life.

The trial of Jesus:

The set up (55-59)

The rules of law as handed down from Moses was that a person could only be found guilty of a wrong on the testimony of at least two people. Without that testimony, the accused was not to be found guilty. Knowing this, the high priest and those who had planned Jesus’ trial worked to line up witnesses.

It should have been easy to find two people who could testify against Jesus. After all, Jesus had lived His life in a public way. There were numerous times He spoke publicly or acted publicly. Jesus didn’t hide His ministry from anyone, so it should have been easy to find at least two people who could agree on something Jesus had said or done that could prove He had blasphemed and deserved death.

And yet, the very first verse we look at shows they were unable to find any evidence against Jesus. That had to be discouraging and frustrating for them. It was clear what they were about—they wanted to kill Jesus and do so in a way that could be couched in legal mumbo jumbo. They knew that Jesus was favored by the people, and it may have been this sense of wanting to cover themselves with a legal basis for His death that the leaders were looking for. They just needed two people to agree that Jesus had blasphemed.

“Many testified against Him, but their statements did not agree” (v. 56). In reading the Gospel accounts, it seems fairly obvious that witnesses were brought in who, for a small favor, would tell something bad about Jesus. And there were many witnesses who did say something bad about Jesus. It’s just that no two of them could agree on exactly what Jesus said or did that would condemn Him. We might think that going to the trouble to pay someone to lie in court would also entail telling them what to say. Maybe the “witnesses” were trained in what to say, but when the time came to say it, they couldn’t get their stories straight.

Finally, some of the witnesses claimed Jesus would Himself destroy the Temple and make another one in three days, but even they could not agree exactly on what it was that Jesus said. At least not to the degree that it would provide the legal cover for the Sanhedrin.

It’s not unusual for us to assume we are in control when we try to do things for God instead of letting Him work through us. We plan, we prepare, we begin to execute the plan, only to discover that we are quickly in over our heads. Usually, it is only at this point that we realize we need God’s direction and so we turn to Him in humility and seek His will and His way.

We have no idea how long this trial went on, but I imagine it was becoming apparently rather quickly that things were spinning horribly out of control early on. When these last batch of witnesses failed to provide the convicting evidence, someone needed to step in and take over.

The High Priest’s question and Jesus’ reply (60-62)

Having failed to find convicting evidence against Jesus with the use of paid witnesses, the high priest decided he would take a more direct charge of the events. Dismissing the witnesses, the high priest determined to question Jesus himself.

We need to remember this is not an American court and our legal rules do not apply in this trial. It is not out of the question that a judge will not question a witness directly in an American court, but it is rare and generally limited to clarification. If a judge decided that the prosecutor in a criminal case was failing miserably, it would unthinkable for the judge to take over the questioning in such a way as to guarantee a conviction. Such an action would be immediately appealed and overturned, and the judge could quite easily be disciplined and sanctioned for his injudicious action.

While American rules do not apply in Jesus’ trial, still, the fact that the high priest, officially the chief judge in the hearing, decided to question Jesus directly, was outside the rules of such a hearing. Judges are always to be impartial, or at least have the appearance of impartiality. For the high priest to begin questioning Jesus as he does is wrong.

Yet he does it, anyway.

At first, the high priest tries to get Jesus to address the accusations against Him thus far. As we know, there was no need for Jesus to speak up for Himself, if for no other reason than no case had been made against Him. So what the high priest is trying to do is get Jesus to confess and give them what they wanted.

There is a lesson to be learned in Jesus’ silence throughout the trial. The lesson we need to learn is that sometimes silence is the best argument we can make. Jesus stood on trial, and person after person came to accuse Him, yet no two could agree, and there really was no reason for Jesus to speak up. Couple that with the determined mind of the entire Sanhedrin to find Him guilty, Jesus would have been wasting His breath to speak up. Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount that we are not to cast pearls before swine, and this is a perfect example of words being wasted. When someone already has their mind made up and no reasoned argument or demonstration of false thinking will do, then there’s no reason to speak up.

When confronted by the high priest, Jesus stood silent. There was no reason to say anything.

Frustrated by this continued silence, the high priest finally asks Jesus to convict Himself. “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” (v. 61a). The question was a double-edged sword. If Jesus denied He was the Christ, then it would point out that His ministry was a lie, that His followers had been scammed. If Jesus denied He is the Christ, then He would lose all credibility and His followers would quickly reject Him and abandon Him. In such a scenario, the Sanhedrin, while not killing Jesus, would certainly destroy His ministry and make Him irrelevant.

On the other hand, for Jesus to answer in the affirmative would be to invite accusations of blasphemy. For someone like Jesus, born the son of an unwed mother in out-of-the-way Nazareth, an unschooled craftsman, to claim that He was God’s Son would be to condemn Him for putting Himself equal with God.

It is here that Jesus demonstrate the One who is really in control.

There are those who insist that Jesus was compelled to answer, that the high priest asked his question in such a way that Jesus was forced to answer. Matthew writes that the high priest prefaced his question with, “I charge you under oath by the living God” (Matthew 26:63). Luke hardly mentions the trial before the Sanhedrin, and John seems to indicate that the trial there was more a question and answer between Jesus and Annias, the high priest.

Yet, even if Matthew’s words are correct, Jesus was not compelled to answer. The fact that Jesus finally spoke is because He was ready to speak, He wanted to speak, and He wanted to confirm that He is the Christ, the Son of God.

And so Jesus answers, “I am.”

John has a series of statements that Jesus makes beginning with the words, “I am.” The idea of “I am” is very clearly identified with the name God spoke to Moses when Moses asked who was sending him to the Israelites. The implication of the “I am” statements is that Jesus was demonstrating His divine nature.

In this case, Jesus could have chosen to answer in another way instead of “I am.” He could have said, “What you say is correct,” or words to that effect. But I do not believe Jesus was ever careless with His words. I believe He chose to answer exactly as He did. Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One? I Am.

Jesus wanted there to be no doubt of His divine nature as He stood in a kangaroo court before the religious leaders of the land. He knew they wanted Him dead. But more importantly, Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to lay down His life, only to pick it up again. The same resolution that caused Him to walk purposefully to Jerusalem now led Him to answer the question, and embellish it.

“I am” would have been enough to convict Jesus of blasphemy, but He adds, “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” (v. 62). It’s almost as if Jesus is saying, “I most certainly am God’s Son, and in case you missed it, let Me be clear. I am God’s Son in whom He is well pleased. I am the Son who will reign and who will return. When I return, I will bring judgment against all who denied Me and My Father.”

Jesus’ words are a strong declaration of Who He is and What He is, and it was said with such force and determination that there can be no doubt that He had taken control of this proceeding.

The court’s reaction (63-65)

When someone experienced deep sorrow or horrible news, it was the custom of the day and of the society in which Jesus lived for the one who received the bad news to tear his or her clothes as a symbolic gesture.

Imagine what it must have been like in that room as Jesus stood trial. The noise and shouting and clamor, the confusion and tension of the place. Imagine the dead silence in the room that must have arisen when the high priest asked his question: “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?”

I imagine we could have heard a pin drop as the entire room waited for Jesus’ response. “I am.”

There are two ways this could have played out. As soon as Jesus spoke His words, there could have been an immediate uproar. But I prefer to think of it as a pregnant silence as Jesus’ voice died out in the room. Everything they had wanted had just been handed to them by the accused Himself. All the witnesses had failed. Now, Jesus had said exactly what they wanted and needed Him to say.

I think the room was still silent as the import of the words sank in. Finally, the high priest dramatically reaches up to the neck of his robe, grabs it and tears his robe open. Then he speaks, in voice mingled with elation, anger, hatred and triumph. “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” (v. 63).

Immediately the room erupts with angry voices shouting out their conviction of Jesus. The men in the room probably rose as one, surging toward the hated Jesus. The Bible says those who were close enough spit on Him. Some in the room took the opportunity to blindfold Him and hit Him, mocking Him.

I find it interesting that the last line is, “The guards took Him and beat Him” (v. 65b). Where were the guards when Jesus was blindfolded, spat upon and mocked? Who were they guarding? Clearly, it wasn’t Jesus.

The mob mentality had taken over. The pent-up frustration of the night had finally yielded the results they had so fought for. Now it was time to rise up as one and pour out their hatred and righteous anger on Jesus and His blasphemy. How dare He stand in their presence and proclaim to be the Son of God? How dare Him proclaim that He would sit at the right hand of the Father and that He would return as judge? How dare Him?

And with that, the mob lost all control. Jesus was abused and beaten and taken to Pilate, because stoning wasn’t good enough for Him. Jesus needed to hang, and for that, they needed Roman approval. They needed Pilate to agree with them, and so complete the conspiracy.

Conclusion

It’s easy to see the events of that night as one where Jesus was being dragged here and there, where He was being taken where He did not want to go. But remember, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. Jesus knew the cup that He was to drink from. He knew that the whole reason for His giving up His place in heaven had come to this point.

Jesus, in the words He speaks and the things He does and allows to happen to Him are all part of the plan. God is in control, and Jesus, the obedient Son, is exactly where He wants to be and needs to be.

In our lives, are we so in tuned with the Father that we don’t let the circumstances around us shake us? Are we walking with God in such a way that we know He really is in control, freeing us from worry, doubt and fear?

Are you resolute in your walk with God?