July 29 - Injustice
By Audrey Bauman
Mark 14: 53 - 72 NLT
Jesus before the Council
53 They took Jesus to the high priest’s home where the leading priests, the elders, and the teachers of religious law had gathered. 54 Meanwhile, Peter followed him at a distance and went right into the high priest’s courtyard. There he sat with the guards, warming himself by the fire.
55 Inside, the leading priests and the entire high council (Sanhedrin) were trying to find evidence against Jesus, so they could put him to death. But they couldn’t find any. 56 Many false witnesses spoke against him, but they contradicted each other. 57 Finally, some men stood up and gave this false testimony: 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this Temple made with human hands, and in three days I will build another, made without human hands.’” 59 But even then they didn’t get their stories straight!
60 Then the high priest stood up before the others and asked Jesus, “Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?” 61 But Jesus was silent and made no reply. Then the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
62 Jesus said, “I am. (Exodus 3: 14) And you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
63 Then the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror and said, “Why do we need other witnesses? 64 You have all heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?”
“Guilty!” they all cried. “He deserves to die!”
65 Then some of them began to spit at him, and they blindfolded him and beat him with their fists. “Prophesy to us,” they jeered. And the guards slapped him as they took him away.
Peter Denies Jesus
66 Meanwhile, Peter was in the courtyard below. One of the servant girls who worked for the high priest came by 67 and noticed Peter warming himself at the fire. She looked at him closely and said, “You were one of those with Jesus of Nazareth.”
68 But Peter denied it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, and he went out into the entryway. Just then, a rooster crowed.
69 When the servant girl saw him standing there, she began telling the others, “This man is definitely one of them!” 70 But Peter denied it again.
A little later some of the other bystanders confronted Peter and said, “You must be one of them, because you are a Galilean.”
71 Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know this man you’re talking about!” 72 And immediately the rooster crowed the second time.
Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he broke down and wept.”
The trial in the high priest’s home was a farce. They couldn’t actually get any incriminating evidence that they thought the Romans would accept. It wasn’t until the high priest asked Jesus - “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” - that they felt they had a good case they could present to the Roman governor. Jesus’ reply (“I am. And you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.”) could be interpreted as a threat to the Roman rule. The beating and harsh, disrespectful treatment began at the high priest’s house, even before they took Jesus to Pilate.
The disciples had fled, but Peter snuck into the courtyard of the high priest’s home to be able to see what was happening. When he was confronted by various servants and people in the courtyard about being associated with Jesus, Peter denied it. When that rooster crowed the second time, Peter was devastated.
The verses we’ve read today strike me in two ways. The first is our need to pray. Jesus prayed for the strength to face the horror ahead. In prayer, he went from extreme stress, sweating drops of blood and falling on the ground to being able to be kind to his disciples who kept falling asleep, and also able to treat the Temple guards with a peaceful calm. It’s from God that we get the strength to be able to face the challenges that life brings. Jesus comes right out and says, “pray, so that you will not give in to temptation.”
Prayer is something we desperately need to do. I know that I struggle with prayer and I suspect that many of us do. In our busy lives, it’s hard to find time to pray. We have a tendency to think we have the mundane events of each day under control, and we just go through our day with little thought of talking with God. It’s when crisis strikes that we remember to pray. We need to realize that we need God every moment of each day, and that prayer is necessary.
The fact that Jesus was so kind to the disciples when they completely failed him is amazing. They fell asleep when he asked them to pray. They ran away when the Temple guards arrested Jesus. Peter managed to sneak in to see what was happening, but then denied vehemently that he knew Jesus at all. God’s love for us and his forgiveness for our failures is so hard to comprehend. He is so patient with us.
“Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?” (Romans 2: 4 NLT)
We can know in this loving relationship we have with God because of Jesus’ sacrifice, that our failure can be forgiven. Remember it’s a loving relationship, so it’s not a relationship where we keep on doing whatever we want, expecting God to put up with us. That wouldn’t work in any human relationship either. But, it is amazing that God is patient and is willing to forgive. He does so much for us.
“But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” 1 John 1: 9
Our song for today is Made New by Lincolm Brewster.