The Truth Killed Him

Public Meeting, Week 4, Semester 1, 2022

We live in an age of fake news. And the way some people use the term can sound very noble. I don’t trust the news – there’s so much bias. I just want the unbiased truth. It sounds noble as is the pursuit of truth. But in reality it’s unreasonable because that’s not always how truth works.

So for example, if I say I have 2 older brothers and 1 sister. That can be easily verified. But if I say of all our siblings, our parents loved my sister the most. How do you go about fact checking that? Or at a wedding when the guys says to the girl I will love you in sickness or in health. Is that true? You can’t know until the end. But it can only be possible if at the start you believe it and you get married.

Nobody wants to be lied to or worse, to live a lie. I think there’s nothing worse than being lied to your whole life.

So here’s the question: is Christianity true? Is God real? Are you sure this isn’t all some kind of fairy tale? This passage in Mark 14 is fascinating because it doesn’t technically tell us what is true. It shows us where we can find it. And challenges us to decide for ourselves.

No one cared about the truth

If you were here last week, we looked at what happened in the garden of gethsemane. They arrested Jesus by night in secret. We pick it up at v.53.

Mark 14:53 And they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. 54 And Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire. 55 Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none.

They brought Jesus to the high priest’s house. There is a proper way to arrest and charge someone and it’s not by bringing them at night to the high priest’s house. They have police stations and public court houses, city halls, official buildings. And notice how they had already decided on the verdict before there even was a charge. They wanted Jesus dead and this is simply them looking for a legal reason to do it. They first tried using false witness.

56 For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree. 57 And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, 58 “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.’” 59 Yet even about this their testimony did not agree.

Clearly, there was no due process. There weren’t any impartial judges. The evidence and the witness contradict each other. This whole thing is corrupt. Which makes Jesus’ response absolutely intriguing. He doesn’t say anything.

60 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?” 61 But he remained silent and made no answer. 

Why didn’t Jesus say anything? Imagine if Jesus had a defence lawyer, I can totally see the lawyer advising Jesus, just don’t say anything. They don’t have a case against you, even their witnesses are obviously making stuff up. Don’t say anything and we’ll be fine. Silence is as good a defence as any. That’s how I’ve always understood this. But as I thought about it more. Silence as a strategy only makes sense if you have a fair judge who can weigh the evidence and say this is all made up. Case dismissed. But as we’ve seen in v.55, these guys had already decided on a guilty verdict, they were just looking for some way to justify it.

If that’s the case, keeping silent wouldn’t make much of a difference. Sooner or later, by hook or by crook, they will find something even if they have to do some legal gymnastics and bend the law. So why remain silent?

What was Jesus’ waiting for?

This is important to think about because it’s only as we start to see what Jesus is doing that we understand the passage. Remember that Jesus has told the disciples beforehand that this is what will happen. And so Jesus is not some poor passenger trapped in a plane hijacked by terrorists. He’s not a helpless victim. He’s not even the main character in an unfolding story. He is the author who is writing the story. He is in absolute control. That’s why his silence is as important as it is intriguing. What is he waiting for?

61 But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”

It is at this point that Jesus spoke up. You might be surprised to know that the question the high priest asks, isn’t actually a question. In the original grammar it’s a statement with an implied question. It can be a question but it also can be a statement. In Matthew the same phrase is spoken by Peter who said to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” It’s translated as a statement. So the high priest’s question can actually a statement as well originally. Which is ironic, because the high priest unknowingly spoke the truth. He was trying to trap Jesus. They’re trying so hard to condemn Jesus, even making up false witnesses, when in the end what did the trick was something that’s actually true. This is why Jesus responded here. This is what he’s waiting for. The truth. And that’s the point of the passage we are meant to see.

Jesus condemns himself with the truth.

62 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.” 63 And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? 64 You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death. 65 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.

If you look closely at the question and at Jesus’ response, you’ll find a few mixed metaphors. The priest asks are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed, which is a way of saying God without using his name. To which Jesus answers, I am. But then he says and you will see the Son of Man, that’s a different image, seated at the right hand of Power. Again, a different way of saying God without using his name. What does this all mean?

Here’s the key. It’s not actually a crime to claim to be the Christ. It definitely isn’t something that comes with a death penalty. Over the years, people have risen up claiming to be the Christ, none of them were tried and sentenced to death. But look what Jesus does. He doesn’t stop at I am. Jesus doesn’t just claim to be the Christ, he is claiming to be the Son of Man in Daniel 7, which talks about the Son of Man coming on the clouds to judge. Then he puts in a line from Psalm 110, sitting at the right hand of God. Which depending on how you look at it, is a way of saying God without using his name.

If all of that sounds complicated to you, just look at how the high priest reacted. It wasn’t complicated to him. He understood what Jesus was doing, which is claiming to be God. Ascribing to himself what should only be ascribed to God. Because no human being in his right mind would dare to claim to sit on God’s right hand. Do you see? Jesus is claiming to be not just the messiah Christ, he is the Son of Man who is God himself. That’s blasphemy and that is a capital crime. The Jewish leaders were looking for a way to condemn Jesus to death, and Jesus just gave it to them.

Truth that is more true

If we ask why did he do that? We might answer something along the lines of to save us. Right? That is the Christian gospel, Jesus is condemned instead of us, in our place, so that we can be forgiven by God. That’s the answer. But I think we can unpack that a bit more because it’s always easy to kind of assume I already know this. No, don’t do that.

What is the specific contribution this passage makes to the gospel and our understanding of who God is? Think with me about this. Jesus condemned himself with the truth. The fact that he stayed silent at first, and only spoke up when the question was put to him directly, is almost like Jesus wanted to make sure that it is the truth of who he is that ultimately condemned him. In other words, he didn’t want to be condemned based on false testimony. Because if you just look at the passage again, did you notice how many times the word testimony or witness comes up? Look at the passage again.

It’s a theme that’s running through this whole passage. True vs. false testimony. And it is the truth of his identity from which Jesus condemned himself to die. Put it another way, the only truth you need is who Jesus is.

That’s the application here. And it makes sense because of what comes straight after this passage. Peter is challenged by a servant girl. And what did Peter do? He denied Jesus. He chose to lie, not because he didn’t believe the truth about Jesus, but because he was scared. And in that moment, his fear was more true than what he believed about Jesus. Do you see?

This passage pits false witnesses against the truth of who Jesus is. Then we are shown Peter denying Jesus. It’s not that he doesn’t believe Jesus is true. It’s just that he believes something else is more true. Think about yourself now. When you get stressed out at uni, and the anxiety kicks in and you feel overwhelmed such that you don’t focus as much on God or don’t go to church as much as you should, it’s not that you stop believing in God. It’s that something else has become more true for you. That getting a good grade is critical to getting a good job, and becoming successful in life. That you need this more than God. When that happens, remember this passage, and remember what is the truth you can rely on. What is the truth you can even die for. Jesus. Who condemned himself with the truth.