Mark 14:53-65      Kangaroo Court

Rev. David Holwick  L

First Baptist Church

Ledgewood, New Jersey

April 3, 2011

Mark 14:53-65


KANGAROO COURT



  I. Some cases get bounced all over the place.

      A. Prosecuting the leaders of 9/11.


            Khalid Sheik Mohammed is the most notorious al-Qaeda leader

               held by the United States.

            The congressional September 11 Commission called him "the

               principal architect of the 9/11 attacks."

            He is alleged to have a role in many of the most significant

               terrorist plots of the last 20 years.

            These include the original bombing of the World Trade Center

               in 1993, the nightclub bombing in Bali which killed 202,

                  and the beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl,

                     which Mohammed claims to have personally done.


            Mohammed, who is often referred to by the initials KSM, has

               been at the Guantanamo Bay detention center for 5 years.

            In 2008, the military charged him with 2,973 individual

               counts of murder and sought the death penalty.

            They built a $12 million court complex in Guantanamo.

               At the trial, KSM defended himself without an attorney.


            The military trials were controversial, suggesting that the

               United States could not win in a regular court.

            So in 2009 the military dropped its charges against KSM

               and the federal government took up the case.

            The trial was proposed to take place in New York City, but

               that idea caused another firestorm and was soon dropped.


            In February 2010, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told

               CNN that KSM is "going to meet justice and he's going to

                  meet his maker.... He's likely to be executed for the

                     heinous crimes he committed."

            This was immediately criticized for violating the principle

               of the presumption of innocence.

            On top of that, KSM was subjected to heavy waterboarding and

               this may taint much of the evidence against him.


            One great irony - three years ago KSM sent a note to the

               military judge saying he wanted to confess and plead

                  guilty.

            He can't wait to be executed.                          #63438


      B. A different trial, but similar issues.

          1) The most infamous trial in history was that of Jesus.

              a) He was brought before a succession of authorities -

                    religious, political and even foreign.

              b) He was accused of being a threat to the government.

              c) The primary impetus for the outcome was public opinion

                    rather than reasoned conclusions.

          2) The unjust trial had a righteous outcome.

              a) If the innocent had not been condemned, the guilty (us)

                    would not have a chance at exoneration.

              b) By God's mysterious will, a horrible travesty of justice

                    brought about the salvation of the world.


II. The procedure of the trial of Jesus Christ.

      A. It was more complex than many realize.

          1) You are probably aware that Jesus was shunted from one

                character to another, with lots of abuse in between.

          2) But there were strict guidelines that had to be followed.


      B. There was a reason for the complexity.

          1) Romans allowed local people to have their own laws

                and enforce them.

          2) However, the one area reserved for Roman authorities

                was the death penalty.

          3) So the trial of Jesus was actually divided into a

                hearing before Jewish leaders and a trial before

                   the Roman representative, Pilate.


III. The religious hearing.

      A. There was testimony that Jesus threatened to destroy the temple.

          1) The Jews were very possessive of their temple.

              a) It represented the presence of Almighty God in their

                    midst.

              b) Later, the Apostle Paul found out that even the hint

                    you acted improperly in the temple area could get

                       you killed.

              c) Even today, many riots have been generated on the

                     Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

          2) There is an element of truth in the charge.        John 2:19

              a) Jesus said it after cleansing the temple.

              b) This got the leaders upset because they were very

                    protective of their temple and their lucrative

                       ministry.

          3) But Jesus had actually said, "[If you] destroy this temple,

                I will raise it up in three days."

              a) He was not saying he would destroy the temple.

              b) He was giving a hypothetical point on the results if

                    others did it.

                  1> And note that he was speaking metaphorically,

                        about them killing him and his resurrection.

          4) It is interesting that the temple testimony is rejected.

              a) The witnesses were inconsistent in their claims.   14:56

              b) This shows that the leaders had some concern for

                    following legal correct procedure.              14:55


      B. The charge of blasphemy.

          1) In Judaism, this is the most serious crime of all.

              a) It is related to the Third Commandment, to not take

                    the name of the LORD in vain.

              b) Committing this crime carried the sentence of death.

          2) Later Jews said God's name, YHWH, had to be mentioned for

                blasphemy to be committed.

              a) In Jesus' response to the high priest, he doesn't do

                    this.

              b) Instead, he refers to God as "the Mighty One."

          3) So where was the blasphemy?                            14:62

              a) Some think it is when he agreed he was the Son of the

                    Blessed One, since God isn't supposed to have a son.

              b) More likely, it is because Jesus identified with the

                    prophecy in Daniel 7:13, referring to the Messiah.

                  1> It was not blasphemy to claim to be the Messiah.

                  2> However, it was blasphemy to say you would be

                        seated at God's right hand, sharing his throne.

              c) As far as the leaders were concerned, this was worthy

                    of death.

                  1> But there was one more step before they could

                        accomplish this.


IV. The trial before Pilate.                                        15:1

      A. The religious charge of blasphemy doesn't work for Pilate.

          1) Romans did not execute for that.

          2) So the Jewish leaders bring up insinuations of disloyalty.

          3) Jesus claims to be a king (Messiah) and this is a threat

                to Rome.

              a) They are painting him as a KSM figure.

              b) Pilate seems to understand that Jesus is a different

                    kind of king, religious rather than political.


      B. He is motivated by expedience.

          1) He finds no valid reason to execute Jesus.

          2) He even tries to release him, but is thwarted.

          3) Rather than incurring the wrath of the Jews, he goes along

                and condemns Jesus to death.


  V. Was Jesus' trial fair?

      A. Many irregularities have been detected.

          1) Jews had clearcut guidelines for conducting capital trials.

              a) It had to be held in daytime.

              b) It had to be held in a courtroom.

              c) It must begin by hearing the defense of the accused.

              d) It must not reach a conviction on the same day.

              e) It must not be held on the eve of a religious festival.

              f) One Jewish writer adds that there can't be a unanimous

                    verdict because that would seem like something was

                       rigged.

          2) This trial violated all of these.

              a) However, these rules were codified 200 years after this

                    trial so they may not have existed then.

              b) Also, the religious part of the trial is really more of

                    a hearing since they could not sentence to death.

              c) Nevertheless, the Jews did try to follow some of them,

                    such as making sure the conclusion was held in

                       daylight.                                     15:1


      B. The political trial didn't have to be fair.

          1) Jesus was not a citizen of Rome.

              a) Pilate was free to do to him as he wished, even

                    scourging him before he is sentenced.

              b) Since there were accusations of political ambitions,

                    he would not lose sleep over executing Jesus.

          2) The trial was legal, even if it wasn't just.


VI. How do we deal with injustice?

      A. The belief that life isn't fair can kill you.


            A British study has found that people who think they are

               often the victims of injustice are 55% more likely to

                  have a heart attack in the next decade.


            The study found high levels of cardiovascular disease among

               those who most strongly agreed with the statement,

            "I often have the feeling that I am being treated unfairly."


            Researchers theorize that the stress and anger caused by

               that feeling can lead to high blood pressure, narrowed

                  arteries, and bad habits like overeating.

                                                                     #875


      B. Jesus responded with silence.

          1) In Jewish law, defendants have the right to silence.

              a) Interestingly, the ruling that established the Miranda

                    rights quoted Jewish law.

              b) But Jews went one better - they say you can never

                    testify against yourself even if you want to.

              c) So it was wrong for the high priest to demand Jesus

                    to answer his question.

          2) Jesus' silence was not only a response to injustice, but

                a fulfillment of prophecy (Isaiah 53:7).

              a) He only speaks to affirm the greatest truth of his

                    existence: he is the Son of God, he is the Messiah.


      C. Our own trial is coming someday.

          1) Every human will stand before God and be judged.

              a) It will be perfectly just and fair.

              b) And we will deserve to be condemned, just like Khalid

                    Sheik Mohammed.

          2) Our only hope is to have an advocate.


             Romans 8:34 --

             "Who is he that condemns?

              Christ Jesus, who died -- more than that, who was raised

                 to life -- is at the right hand of God

              and is also interceding for us."


          3) Will Jesus plead for you?

              a) Do you believe he is the Christ, the Son of God?



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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:


#  875  Life Really Isn't Fair, The Week magazine, page 21, October 10,

           1993.


#63438  Can Such A Trial Produce Justice? by Rev. David Holwick.  Most

           of the facts in this illustration are derived from "United

           States v. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed," Wikipedia.org



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