Author: Bill Hall

Mark 14:64 “You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think?”
And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death.”

   So, he was asking for an immediate verdict. Notice the unanimous judgement. Obviously, this conspiracy against Christ was strong. And that is just what it was, a conspiracy. It didn’t really matter to these men if they had legitimate cause to kill Christ. They were jealous. They didn’t want him holding sway over the people any longer. And, they were scared. They were afraid of the Romans, and of what Jesus might do to the delicate balance of power.

Heavenly Father, you have given us our very lives. How can we thank you enough? And yet, you give us abundance of life, joy, and peace. What valuable things! We can find our strength and foundation in Christ. He is our Fortress, our Help. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 14:63 “Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “What further need do we have of witnesses?”

   Surely these men asked themselves at some point if the true Messiah would do differently from Jesus. Surely their hearts were pricked. And, we know that some did later believe. But many did not and the bulk of Judaism to this day rejects Jesus of Nazareth.
  The tearing of the clothes was not strange. It was a standard way of expressing strong feelings. The question the priest asks reveals the purpose for his question to Christ before this. He knew an affirmative answer from Jesus would be the ‘last straw’ so to speak. The trial was over from their end of things. Now they had to find a way to kill him as they desired.

Heavenly Father, blessing is your prerogative. How could we ever question your fairness? Yet we always ask for more. And why? Because your blessings are wonderful. We love your care for us. It’s just like having good parents, kind friends, or helpful neighbors. But it is worth so much more! We will live to serve you every moment of every day, for you are truly amazing. Our value increases as we submit to your will. And we will do this not just because you are good to us, but because we love you so much! Thank you! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 14:62 “Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

  For those who claim that Jesus never affirmed his divinity, this is one of many verses that must be deleted. Jesus clearly identified himself as the Son of God, and the Messiah that was promised. To sit on the right hand of the ‘Power’ means to sit at the right hand of Almighty God, a place of honor accorded only to the Messiah. Why would Jesus answer as the high priest expected him to? Becuase it was the truth. Jesus could have objected to the question. But that would have accomplished nothing. They needed a noose to hang him with, so he handed them one. His sacrifice of himself was done willingly.

Heavenly Father, you are gracious, loving, good, kind, and patient. You don’t allow man’s shortcomings to derail your Divine plan. You have set down in order all of our days, and you know them from the beginning to the end. Thank you for having a lite hand with us! Thank you for mercy! All that we should say about you could fill all of our lives for all time. We cannot ever exhaust the vast storehouse of your greatness. The wisdom you show in everything you do is amazing! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 14:61 “But He kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”

  What must be understood here is that if Jesus answered this question honestly his trial was over. And why? Because it was blasphemy for a person to claim to be the Son of God. Unless, of course, that person was actually the Son of God. However, this truth was hidden from them because of their sinful unbelief. So, the high priest was asking Jesus to, in thier minds, incriminate himself. And Jesus obliged. This trial was a farce. Even their star witnesses could not condemn him. And they resorted to asking the accused to incriminate himself. They were desperate.

Heavenly Father, thank you for being honest with us! Your Word is full of truth for us. Thank you for it! We don’t have to doubt. You are worthy of our absolute devotion. You are worth so much! We cannot ever thank you enough for revealing yourself to us. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 14:60
   We always take note of the fact that Jesus remained silent. However, understand that he wasn’t really allowed to defend himself either. In other words, though asked here about what was being said against him, it wasn’t an offer to let him make his own defence. He would only be allowed to respond to the accusations. The priest wanted him to incriminate himself by his answers. This becomes very obvious in the next verse.

Heavenly Father, thank you for teaching us to be Christ-like. That is what it means to be a Christian. We cannot ever forget your love for us. The love of Christ, and his willingness to serve, is what we must have from you. Thank you for working in our lives by the sacrifice of Christ. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 14:59 “But not even then did their testimony agree.”

   In other words, this testimony still did not meet the constraints of the law. In a courtroom today it would be thrown out. And, is that at all surprising? No. The truly amazing thing about Jesus’s life is that he never did anything even remotely wrong. Though we often forget it, this point was very important for the Jewish leaders. They were frustrated beyond measure that they could find no cause for accusation. Even those points which they pushed the most they couldn’t make stick. For example, Jesus’s teaching concerning the Sabbath, which led to much contention with the Jews. Though they didn’t approve, they couldn’t actually condemn him with it.

Heavenly Father, thank you so very much for the Lord Jesus! Though salvation through him is beyond wonderful, it is also a blessing to have the example of his life to look to. We can see and understand his perfection. It isn’t an intangible principle, but a recordable reality. We can look at his words and see that he is right. Jesus is Lord and Savior, and his leadership is a blessing because he is the best. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 14:58 “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.’ ”

   Jesus did say that ‘this temple’ would be destroyed, and that he would raise it up in three days.  He did not say he would destroy it, or that it was a temple made with hands. These witnesses confused and fused his words from multiple occasions together. Their account was not succinctly stated, and their were inconsistencies. However, this particular accusation is mentioned because it was the evidence for his guilt in the minds of most of the Jewish leaders.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the truth of your Word! It is such a blessing to be able to depend upon it. We can be certain about it and live by it without fear of being let down. Thank you! You are worthy of all the praise. I love you! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 14:57 “Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying,”

   All of the testimony against Christ was false. However, some accounts were closer to the truth. Unfortunately, that which is closest to the truth is the most dangerous and deceptive. It is usually always easier to weed out a boldfaced lie than a half-truth. It is a wonder that anyone would lie about Jesus. However, we have to remember that lying is a weapon with a blade all around. You can’t touch it without being cut. Thus, even those propagating these lies were themselves deceived. Most of them genuinely felt they were doing God a favor. How wrong they were!
   We are not free from such deception even in this day. Indeed, many now feel the persons involved in the condemnation of Christ are to be commended for helping God bring about salvation. How deceived can we be? You should never do evil that good may come!

Heavenly Father, rescue us from lies! We can never live so hopelessly as when we live naively. Thank you for your wisdom, and for making it available to us. You can give us truth for our lives. I praise your Name! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 14:56 “For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree.”

We have all heard of ‘poetic justice’ haven’t we? Ah, the trial of Christ contains plenty of it. These religious leaders were corrupt enough that Jesus was still condemned. But, going by legality, the rules of the law of God, he would never have been condemned. Indeed, to have such a popular public figure as Christ and yet no two of his detractors could be found to agree, was this not amazing? It is a testimony to his integrity. His enemies could not even agree on their accusations, let alone substantiate them. What a contrast this is to the public figures we see flaunting themselves about in our day! Jesus was above reproach.

Heavenly Father, when we look closely at your Word, we realize what a gift you have given to us. Christ is all that we could ever ask for! He is precious beyond measure! He is worth our every praise! Thank you for him! What a Savior! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 14:55 “Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none.”

These men didn’t plan ahead for this aspect of Jesus’ trial. Or, at least, they hadn’t checked to be sure that their informants agreed with one another. This would be an embarrassing legal situation. However, since their was no defence, and only a prosecution, the issue was bothersome but not a showstopper. The only thing requiring them to find agreement among the witnesses was the law itself. It was to the law that they had to give at least token obedience. They felt they could stretch it and interpret it as they saw fit, but some points were inescapable. By the law they must have two witnesses who agreed with each other.

Heavenly Father, the same law that these men pretended to follow told them of your plan of redemption. Thank you for that plan, and for making it known to your people. You could have chosen to do all of this a different way. But you didn’t. Your wisdom is so apparent. Thank you! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.