Please open your Bible to the Gospel of Mark chapter 14 verses 53 through 65. Our sermon text is Mark chapter 14 verses 53 through 65. We will continue our verse-by-verse study of Mark. I think we have about six or seven sermons left until we finish the book. So we're nearing the end. We've entitled this sermon series, Be a Devoted Disciple. I hope that's true in your life, your marriage, your work, that you are devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us give our full attention to the reading of God's holy and inspired word. Mark 14, beginning in verse 53. And they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. And Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And as he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire, and he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire, now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree. And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another not made with hands. Yet even about this, their testimony did not agree. And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you? But he remained silent and made no answer. Again, the high priest asked him, are you the Christ, the son of the blessed? And Jesus said, I am. And you will see the son of man seated at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven. And the high priest tore his garments and said, what further witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision? And they all condemned him as deserving death. And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to strike him, saying to him, Prophesy. And the guards received him with blows. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Heavenly Father, James 1.22 says that we are to be doers of the word, and not hearers only, lest we deceive ourselves. Father, grant unto us eyes to see and ears to hear, as we ask in Jesus' name and by your spirit. Amen. Recently, I found myself on the website of the United States Department of Justice. As you likely know, it's tasked with carrying out federal law and the administration of justice in our country. On their website, there's a whole page entitled Wrongful Convictions. Here's what it says, quote, the strength of our criminal justice system depends on its accuracy. That is its ability to convict the guilty and to clear the innocent. But we know that wrongful convictions happen. A conviction may be classified as wrongful for two reasons. First, the person convicted is factually innocent of the charges. And second, there were procedural errors that violated the convicted person's rights. Sadly, they estimate that there have been over 3,000 wrongful convictions in the U.S. The title of our sermon today is A Miscarriage of Justice. I've given it that title because our Lord Jesus undergoes the ultimate miscarriage of justice. His trial was rushed and hurried. He endured charges without credible witnesses or evidence. He was not given a proper defense. He received an illegitimate verdict. So from the arraigning to the sentencing, nothing was legal or just. Or you could say he was declared guilty, but he was never found guilty. As we'll see, Israel's authorities commit crimes in order to condemn an innocent man. Shamefully and sorrowfully, this is the darkest day in the history of jurisprudence. But believe it or not, there's a bright side to all this darkness and injustice. From a theological perspective, this is not a meaningless or a gratuitous tragedy. By God's grace, here's the main point I want you to see for today's text. God used for our good what Christ's enemies meant for evil. Please hear that again, our main point. God used for our good what Christ's enemies meant for evil. Six headings, six points, you can see them there on your outline. First, we'll note a dangerous setting. Second, a deliberate search. Third, a dubious statement. Fourth, a deafening silence. Fifthly, a dismal sentence. and then sixthly, a dreadful slap. So first, we'll note a dangerous setting. For this point, we'll look at verses 53 and 54, and here we'll see that a dark and deadly scene is developing. Now let's very quickly set the context. What is the setting to today's passage? Where are we at in Mark's gospel? Well, you should know by this point that it's Holy Week in the life of Christ. Holy Week, or Passion Week, runs from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. Remember, on Sunday, Christ rode a donkey into Jerusalem. On Monday, he cursed a fig tree and cleansed the temple. On Tuesday, he gave his Olivet Discourse. On Wednesday, the Jewish Sanhedrin plotted to murder him. And that brings us to today, Thursday. So far on Thursday, Christ has celebrated the Passover. He's given us the Lord's Supper. He's prayed very intensely in the Garden of Gethsemane. Remember, while he was at Gethsemane, Judas showed up to betray Christ, and he gave him the kiss of death. Christ was seized by the Jewish temple police and the Roman guards. Remember, the police and the Roman guards would have been several hundred men. They carried lanterns and torches. They were armed with swords and clubs. That's the context to today's passage. It's Thursday of Holy Week. It's been a very, very long Thursday. It's late at night, probably after midnight. Christ has just been arrested by the authorities, and now he's a prisoner awaiting a phony trial. That brings us to the court. Look at verse 53. The context, now the court. And they led Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. Who are these people? What's a high priest? What's a chief priest? Who are the elders and the scribes? Well, as we've pointed out multiple times in Mark, these men refer to the Jewish Sanhedrin. Remember, the Greek word Sanhedrin means sitting together or to sit together. It was composed of 71 rabbis, 70 men plus the high priest. They were in charge of all things religious, political, and legal in Israel. They met every day of the week to conduct business except for the Sabbath. Now, the high priest there in verse 53, he goes back to the Old Testament, his office. It stems from the line of Aaron, Moses' brother. It was supposed to be hereditary and lifelong. Remember, only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement to atone for the sins of the people. You fast forward to the New Testament, the high priest ruled over the temple's daily functions. He oversaw its finances and administration. And basically, he was the leader of the Sanhedrin. At this time, the high priest was a man named Caiaphas. Mark doesn't tell you his name, but the other gospel writers do. Caiaphas was a Sadducee. He was known for his political shrewdness. He reigned for almost 20 years, and his family dominated the priesthood for most of the first century. The chief priests are mentioned there in verse 53. With the high priests, they were in charge of temple worship and oversight. The scribes were experts in Jewish law. And then the elders, they were typically from lay families in Jerusalem, many of whom were Sadducees. So Jesus is currently at the court of Caiaphas at his house in the middle of the night. Notice how verse 54 clarifies that they're in the courtyard of the high priests. Caiaphas' house was an elegant mansion It's thought to have been in the wealthier section of Jerusalem. It was likely in the upper part of the city, perched up high for all to see. In fact, a biblical archaeologist think that he had a house with a gated wall around it. And so just as Mark says there in verse 54, there was a courtyard on the property. Notice the curiosity. Who's following? Who's trailing? Verse 54, and Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. As I read this story, I think that Peter is curious to find out what's gonna happen to Jesus. So he follows this kangaroo court at a distance, Mark says, and he shows up out of curiosity. And personally, I believe that Peter is torn by mixed feelings. So he's courageous, yet cowardly. He's assured, but afraid. By the way, notice how Mark says he followed at a distance. That word carries the sense that he's kind of sort of following Christ, but kind of sort of not. So he's keeping Christ at a distance. He's got one foot in, one foot out. He's a lukewarm follower. Now, the definition, the definition of a disciple is somebody who follows Christ closely. You're all in. You're sold out. You're devoted. That's the title of our sermon series, Be a Devoted Disciple. I wonder, are you like Peter? Are you keeping Christ at a distance? Are you a lukewarm follower, one foot in, one foot out? What did Jesus say to Peter in the crowds earlier in the book about following him? What was that comment he made about discipleship? Mark 8, 34, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross Follow me. Matthew 10, 38. Whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. And then Mark makes this comment about Peter, verse 54. And he, that is Peter, was sitting with the guards. Okay, that's probably the temple police. And warming himself at the fire. I think that's meant to be an ironic comment by Mark. Jesus is facing the fire, whereas Peter is warming himself by the fire. The temperature is rising for Peter. He's about to get burned. That's the first point, the dangerous setting. Second, there's the deliberate search. We'll look just at verse 55. And here we'll see the Sanhedrin conducts a phony search against our Lord. We'll consider what they did as well as what they discovered. So what do these men do to your Lord? Verse 55, now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death. Now Mark mentions the whole council there in verse 55. And then back up in verse 53, he says, all the chief priests and the elders were there. But this probably doesn't mean that the whole Sanhedrin was there that night. As we said, the Sanhedrin consisted of 71 rabbis. We know that the Sanhedrin required a quorum of 23 men to conduct business. And so this is probably somewhere about 23, 24, 25 men. But notice they're trying to create evidence against the Lord. They're deliberately searching for evidence. They're searching for something, anything to pin against him. Now, according to Jewish law, the Sanhedrin was not actually permitted to initiate charges. Rather, they could only investigate and adjudicate cases given to them. So in verse 55, what's happening is they're illegally acting as prosecutors while trying to indict Christ. They've already decided his guilt and they're grasping for quote unquote evidence. Again, I think this is more irony from Mark. The Sanhedrin, they're trying to find something wrong with Jesus while all the while they themselves are doing the wrong thing. What did they discover? Nothing. Nada. Verse 55, they were seeking testimony against him, but they found none. Obviously Christ is innocent. He's done nothing wrong. He's blameless. That brings us thirdly to a dubious statement. We'll look at verses 56 through 59. Here we'll see that the Sanhedrin makes some dubious and deceitful accusations against Christ. Notice their false testimony. Verse 56, for many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree. So they're lying in order to manufacture a capital crime. Really, they're breaking the ninth commandment. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. The term witness there in verse 56 is related to the Greek word martyr. A martyr stands for, and it even dies for Christ. They're willing to die a martyr's death, as we say. But in verses 56 and 57, Mark uses the Greek root word pseudo-martyr. The word pseudo means fake, phony, false. That's what's happening to Christ. They're lying in their testimony. and they're bearing false witness against him. And what's more, notice their stories don't even match up. Verse 56, Mark says, their testimony did not agree. Notice the false testimony continues. Look at verse 57. And some stood up, they would stand up at this time to create a more dramatic effect. Some stood up and bore false witness against him saying, we heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands. And in three days, I will build another, not made with hands. Did Jesus say that? Did our Lord actually say, I'll destroy the temple and build another? Technically, he did not. In fact, nowhere in the gospels does he make that statement. The closest thing he says to that is found over in John 2. Remember over in John 2, 19, he says, destroy this temple, and in three days, I'll raise it up. But technically, he didn't say what they're attributing to him in verse 56 and 57. He didn't say, I myself will destroy the temple. Instead, he just predicted the fall of the temple. So they're purposefully twisting his words. They're taking a statement that he made almost three years earlier and they're bending it, distorting it against him. And then notice once again, this phony trial takes a troublesome term. Verse 59. Yet even about this, their testimony did not agree. So these are the leaders of Israel. These are the rabbis, the priests, the Bible experts of the day. These are to be men of the truth. Instead, they're telling bald-faced lies. They're bearing false witness. Fourthly, A deafening silence. We'll look at verse 60 and the first part of verse 61. So a dangerous setting. It's late at night, probably midnight. Christ has just been arrested. He's in Caiaphas' villa. A deliberate search. They're grasping for anything against him. A dubious statement. They lie about things he hadn't said. And now a deafening silence. Here we'll see what Caiaphas said. as well as what Christ said. So we'll look at what Caiaphas said, verse 60. And the high priest, again, his name was Caiaphas, he stood up in the midst. He stands up to create a dramatic effect, to get everybody's attention. And he asked Jesus, have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you? I think Caiaphas recognizes that this is going nowhere. Their testimony doesn't agree. The truth is not being heard. Things are a mess in this fake court. So he barrages Jesus with his own questions. He probably thinks it's his turn to take a crack. So he says, speak up, Jesus. Say something. Defend yourself. Don't just sit there. Do something. Say something. What did Christ say? We saw what Caiaphas said. What did Christ say? Look at verse 61. But he remained silent. and made no answer. I call this the Savior's silence. Or you could call it the suffering servant's silence. Actually, Isaiah 53 predicts that Christ would be silent. Isaiah 53 7 says, he was oppressed, and when he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. I think that Christ is not going to allow these men to twist his words again. R.C. Sproul puts it this way, He says Christ knew what these people were doing. He knew that whatever he said, no matter how accurate or sincere, would be twisted and used against him. It was better to say nothing rather than to say anything that they could use against him. I think there's a good application for you. There's a time and a place to defend yourself, yes. But I think sometimes it's best just to be quiet and to say nothing at all. When that happens, we just be silent. and let it go. We give our worries over to the Lord and we let Him fight our battles for us. It's like what the novelist Ernest Hemingway once said. He said, it takes two years to learn to speak and 60 to learn to keep silent. Fifthly, a dismal sentence. We'll look at the second part of verse 61 through verse 64. So a dangerous setting, a deliberate search, a dubious statement, a deafening silence, and now a dismal sentence. Notice the continued crossfire. Verse 61, again, the high priest asked him, are you the Christ, the son of the blessed? So Caiaphas goes straight for the jugular. He goes right for the knockout punch. He blatantly asked Jesus, who are you? Are you the Messiah? Are you the Christ, the Son of God? In Matthew's gospel, you can really hear his seriousness. He says in Matthew 26, 63, I adjure you by the living God. Tell us if you're the Christ, the Son of God. What does Christ claim? Verse 62. I am. All throughout the Gospel of Mark, Christ will do a sign, a miracle, or a wonder, and he'll say, don't go blab about this. Keep things silent for now. Scholars often call this the messianic secret, because Christ wants to reveal who he is in his own time, in his own way. But now in verse 62, the secret is out, isn't it? He says, I am. That's me, I'm the Christ. Verse 62. and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven. So in verse 62, Christ quotes or alludes to two Old Testament teachings. Let's talk about these two Old Testament truths. Number one, the phrase, Son of Man, let me ask you, it's an allusion to what book? What Old Testament book? Daniel 7, turn back there if you will, keep your hand in Mark, we'll come back. Flip over to Daniel 7, verse 13. I want you to see this. Daniel 7, verse 13 and 14. Daniel's given a vision about the coming Messiah. Look at Daniel 7, verse 13. He says, I saw in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven, that's verse 62, there came one like a son of man, again, Mark 14, and he came to the ancient of days, that's God the Father, and was presented before him. And to him, that is the son of man, Christ, was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom, one that shall not be destroyed. So Christ is saying to Caiaphas, that's me. I'm the son of man, I'm the Messiah, I'm the one coming on the clouds of heaven. Number two, the second Old Testament allusion, when he says, I'm seated at the right hand, I think that's probably a reference to Psalm 110. We won't turn there, but Psalm 110 says that Christ would sit at the Father's right hand. Now, my view is that when he says he's coming on the clouds, I think he's referring to his second coming. So he's saying, Caiaphas, you're judging me now, but there will come a day when I judge you. He's saying, I'm sitting at your feet right now, but there will come a day when you will sit at mine. Look at the conniption. Caiaphas is outraged. Verse 63, and the high priest tore his garments. In Judaism, you would tear your clothes to symbolize grief or dismay. I think Caiaphas is furious. He can't believe what he's hearing and he can't allow Jesus to get away with this bold claim. He keeps going, verse 63. He said, what further witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision? Did Christ commit blasphemy? No, he didn't. It may have been blasphemous to the Sanhedrin's ears, but it wasn't actually blasphemy. In the Old Testament, blasphemy was defined as cursing God's name, and it carried the death sentence. Leviticus 24, 16 says, whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall be put to death, and the congregation shall stone him. the sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the name, shall be put to death. But here, Christ is not cursing God's name. He's just telling them who he really is. He's the Messiah. Finally, the condemnation. Verse 64, and they all condemned him as deserving death. One commentator I read said this on verse 64. He said, normally a decision in the Sanhedrin followed a very orderly process in which members cast their votes one at a time, starting with the younger members so that they would not be unduly influenced by the older members. The votes were then carefully tabulated by a scribe. But on this night, the council was characterized by a mob mentality in which they condemned Jesus as deserving death. So these men didn't even follow correct protocol. In fact, they didn't do anything correctly that night. That fits with our sermon title. This was the ultimate miscarriage of justice. And then sixthly and finally, a dreadful slap. Verse 65. Here we'll see that the Sanhedrin, grown men, spit on and slap our Lord. Notice the cruel action they take. Verse 65. And some began to spit on him and to cover his face. I'll tell you what, spitting on somebody is quite the insult, isn't it? It's childish, immature, it's like third grade recess stuff. In the Old Testament, spitting on someone was meant to shame them and to humiliate them. Although Isaiah 50 verse six says that the Messiah would not hide his face from disgrace and spitting. Next, their cruel actions continue. Verse 65, they began to strike him. You could translate that word as to slap. The old J.B. Phillips translation says they slapped him. Verse 65, they say prophesy. That's ironic because all this was actually prophesied in the Old Testament. So they're telling him to prophesy and all the while they're fulfilling prophecy that night. Then finally, Mark says this about their cruelty. Verse 65, and the guards received him with blows. That probably means they whacked him with their clubs. They may have used a whip to smack him. So a dangerous setting, a deliberate search, a dubious statement, a deafening silence, a dismal sentence, a dreadful slap against our Lord. Let me just end with the contemporary application. I'll pass on to you a handful of practical lessons for your life this week. Number one, you should be a person of the truth. You must always tell the truth. You must live out the truth. As a Christian, you must stand for the truth. You must love the truth. You must defend the truth. In today's passage, lies are flying everywhere, aren't they? This whole story is just lie after lie after lie. Verse 56, many bore false witness against him. Verse 57, some bore false witness against him. Verse 59, their testimony did not even agree. But listen, Christians, you and I, we are to be people of the truth. You're to be truthful in your marriage. You're to be truthful in your job. You're to be truthful in your words. You're to be truthful in how you deal with others. You're to be truthful in the church. You're to be truthful in all things big and small. Exodus 20 verse 16 says, you shall not bear false witness. Proverbs 6 says there are six things the Lord hates. Two of the six are a lying tongue and false witness, someone who breathes out lies. A question 112 of the Heidelberg Catechism asks, what is God's will for you in the ninth commandment? It's a long but a really good answer. Let me read this to you. It says that I never give false testimony against anyone, twist no one's words, not gossip or slander, nor join in condemning anyone rashly or without a hearing. Rather, I should avoid, under penalty of God's wrath, every kind of lying and deceit as the very works of the devil. And in court, and everywhere else, I should love the truth, speak it candidly, and openly acknowledge it. And I should do what I can to defend and advance my neighbor's honor and reputation." That's Heidelberg 112. A second application, you must know Christ, the Messiah. You must submit to the Savior. You must believe in Jesus, the Son of God. So in verse 61, Caiaphas asks Jesus a point-blank question. He says, are you the Christ, the Messiah? And in verse 62, Christ says, I am. As we've seen time and time again throughout Mark, the Jewish leadership has rejected the Messiah. They willfully refuse to believe in Him. But you, you must trust Him. You must know Him. You must believe in Him. Let me just ask you, do you know Christ? Do you trust Him as the Messiah, the Savior? Children and youth, let me talk to you. Look up here, kids. Do you know the Lord Jesus? Have you surrendered your life to Him? He must be your Lord. Adults, everybody, do you know Christ as the Messiah, the Savior? John Calvin, he says, we must seek all the parts of our salvation in Jesus Christ, for we shall not find a single drop of it anywhere else. Elsewhere, Calvin says, without Christ in the gospel, everything is useless and vain. Jesus says in John 14, 6, I'm the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Number three, I'll close with this application for you today. God can use evil for good. That was our main point from earlier. God used for our good what Christ's enemies meant for evil. So the title of our sermon is A Miscarriage of Justice. That's what your Lord experienced before the Sanhedrin, the ultimate miscarriage of justice. It was an illegal trial. It had illegal witnesses. and had an illegal sentence. But as you know, God brought about a greater good through the evil done to Christ, right? Obviously, he brought about our salvation. So his dying means your living. His suffering means your salvation. And his crucifixion means your crown. The same thing is true in your life, by the way. God can bring good out of past failures in your life. He can bring good out of difficulties. He can bring good out of adversity. Romans 8.28 says, for those who love God, all things, what? All things work together for good. John Murray, a founder of Westminster Seminary, he once said this on Romans 8.28. He said, not one detail is meant for evil for God's people. In the end, only good will be their lot. In the end, only good will be their lot. That's what we see in Christ's life. Our Lord took the ultimate miscarriage of justice, but he used it for our salvation. It's like that line in Calper's hymn, God moves in a mysterious way. He says, judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for his grace. Behind a frowning providence, he hides a smiling face. Let's pray together. Almighty God, we give you thanks for your holy and inspired word. Truly, your word is a lamp into our feet and a light into our paths. Father, we ask that you would use your word to produce fruit in our lives and that you would apply this passage to our hearts and our minds. This we ask in Christ's name. Amen.