Episode Details

More than than They Bargained For

Mark 14:53-62, Remsen Bible Fellowship, 06/15/2025

Introduction

Revelation 1:5b-7, “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and has made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.”

Turn with me in your Bibles to Mark’s gospel, chapter 14.

They had all run. Fled. Turned tail and disappeared into the darkness in a desperate attempt to avoid being taken, with him, by the authorities. The mob with their swords and clubs marched him off into that same night, headed back into the city.

Their destination? The home of Ciaphas, the high priest. There, in his large upper room, the council of elders and chief priests and scribes came together. The seventy men of the Sanhedrin, not meeting in the market halls as they normally would, but instead gathered in this home. No gathering of this size could rightly be called secret, but the darkness of the event was pregnant with meaning. The workers of darkness had gathered under the cover of night in order to do the works of darkness. Verse 53, “And they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together.”

But for the reader, we feel a flicker of hope when we read the following verse. 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.” Here is Peter, who had boldly pledged his allegiance to Jesus in v29 & v31, had impulsively cut off an ear in v47, and then turned tail with the rest of the disciples in v50—he’s back. He followed—yes, at a distance, but followed nonetheless. He has not utterly abandoned his Lord.

But he is hanging back. Outside the home of Ciaphas the high priest, Peter stands out here warming his hands against the chill of a cool spring night. Far enough to, hopefully, not be noticed. But near enough to hear what’s happening inside.

And what’s happening inside could best be described as a banana court, a proceeding that has nothing to do with the execution of justice and everything to do with looking for a pretense to convict. The courtroom has more in common with a lynch mob than a hall of justice. The chief priests and the council weren’t looking for the truth—they were looking for a pretense: V55-56,

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.

They sought testimony to condemn him, but they couldn’t find any. The reason is simple, and Pilate will identify it in the following chapter (15:14): Jesus had never done or said anything evil. He had never broken any law, let alone a law which carried the death penalty.

That doesn’t stop our enterprising adversaries from trying to get witnesses for their cause, though. You don’t need much imagination to picture the same people who had paid Judas to turn Jesus over also finding a whole stable of false witnesses—many bore false witness against him—but the problem was they hadn’t paid enough money to get their story straight. We can be understanding, of course: they were in a hurry, what with this hurried nighttime courtroom scene. No one had time between changing out of their pajamas and rushing down to Ciaphas’ house to stop for a story-coordination meeting.

Mark even gives us an example of one piece of false testimony in v57-59,

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 wi