Mark 14:53-59

Passage

The people who arrested Jesus led Him to the high priest.  The whole group of the leading Jews came together.  Peter followed the crowd from a distance, even into the courtyard of the high priest.  Peter sat and warmed himself with the guards by the fire.  The chief priests were seeking testimony through which they could justify putting Jesus to death.  Many came to bear false witness against Jesus, but their testimonies didn’t agree.  They said that they heard Jesus say that He would destroy the temple and build another one not made with hands.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

The group of the leading Jews was called the Sanhedrin.  The Sanhedrin had certain laws in place governing their meetings.  They had to meet in a particular place called the Hall of Hewn Stone.  They were not allowed to meet at night.  If the Sanhedrin decided a case and determined a person would die, they had to wait a night before the person would be executed so that there was time for the Sanhedrin to change their mind towards mercy.  Only the members of the Sanhedrin could speak against the person on trial.  As we can see here and will see in the coming chapter, when it comes to getting rid of Jesus the Sanhedrin freely broke their own rules.  They were meeting at night.  They were meeting at the home of the high priest and not the Hall of Hewn Stone.  They allowed testimony against Jesus.  They would crucify Jesus without waiting a night.

What does this tell us about the hearts of men – especially with respect to getting what we want in spite of the “rules?”  When are you willing to break the rules to get what you want?  What was so threatening about Jesus that the world wanted to be done away with Him? 

Second Thought:

 Peter followed from a distance.  He wasn’t willing to stand with Jesus and die with Him – at least not yet, anyway.  But he was curious enough to follow.  He wanted to know how it would end.  He wanted to know the fate of the guy he had been following for a few years now.  While he wasn’t willing to stand with Jesus, he wasn’t completely convinced to abandon Him entirely, either.

What does this tell us about Peter?  In what way is Peter acting human?  When have you not been strong enough to stand up for the right thing but still curious enough to lurk about and see how the issue resolves?

Third Thought:

The testimony of the people against Jesus did not agree.  I really don’t find this surprising.  There is an old adage.  If you take 5 witnesses and get their testimony, you will end up with 6 stories.  The 6 stories are each person’s witness and the truth.  The reality is that we as human beings always hear, see, and process according to our context.  Our brains are wired to make things make sense according to our understanding of the world and our focus at any given time.  What this means is that human testimony is simply not always that reliable.  In fact, what it really means is that any testimony that is based on human observation is likely flawed at some level.

Are you surprised that the testimony against Jesus came from multiple perspectives?  Are you surprised those perspectives didn’t agree?  Given that Jesus’ ministry was so public, what does it say that the Sanhedrin had a difficult time finding words against Him?

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 14: 60-65