Rev. David Holwick L
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
April 3, 2011
Mark 14:53-65
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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
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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