1. Betrayed and Arrested (Mark 14:43-52) 

2. Before the High Priest (Mark 14:53-72) 

3. Before Pilate (Mark 15:1-15) 

Central Truth: Jesus displayed humility in the darkest hours of His life. 

Focus: Observe Jesus’ attitude while on trial and emulate His character. 

Evangelism Emphasis: Christlike responses during difficult times may draw unbelievers to Christ. 

Text: “The high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? But he held his peace, and answered nothing” (Mark 14:60-61). 

INTRODUCTION 

Today’s lesson begins in a beautiful setting—the Garden of Gethsemane. “The name Gethsemane (meaning “oil press”) suggests that the garden was a grove of olive trees in which was located an oil press” (Encyclopedia Brittanica). It is situated near the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. On the night being studied, it would become a place of deepest sorrow. 

1. BETRAYED AND ARRESTED 

A. The Kiss (Mark 14:43-45) 

43 And immediately, while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. 44 And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely. 45 And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, master; and kissed him. 

Jesus had gone to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. He took the disciples with Him, but they slept while He prayed. They had not heeded His admonition to “watch and pray” (v. 38). He now told them the hour had come and they must “rise up [and] go,” for the betrayer was at hand (vv. 41-42). 

It would have been impossible for the disciples to avoid Jesus’ betrayal. Neither could they have averted the tragedy of the events that would transpire within a few hours. It was impossible for these men to have shared with Jesus the sorrow He was experiencing. However, there were some things the disciples could have done. They could have kept watch with Him. They could have strengthened their Master by letting Him know in His struggle that they were keeping vigil. They could have expressed silent sympathy in this lonely hour. 

When Jesus found His disciples sleeping, He showed His understanding of human nature and His empathy with people. He said to them, “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt. 26:41). When He could have condemned them, He understood them. 

The act of Judas in the garden reveals the affectionate terms on which the disciples were associated with Jesus. Judas gave the chief priests a sign by which they might distinguish Jesus from the others in the dim moonlight of the garden. He said, “Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he” (Mark 14:44). So when he came to Jesus, he said, “Hail, master,” and kissed Him (Matt. 26:49). 

The Eastern countries have long practiced the custom of greeting a friend with a kiss. It would seem, therefore, that Judas was only doing what the disciples were accustomed to doing when they met Jesus after an absence. 

The thing that makes this the most dastardly kiss in history is the motive and attitude behind it. This was a kiss of betrayal—an attempt on the part of Judas to get even with Jesus. It reveals the depth to which a person will go in forsaking a friend and in obtaining revenge. What a distasteful way to use friendship and affection! 

—How is Jesus Christ being betrayed today? 

B. The Arrest (Mark 14:46-52) 

46 And they laid their hands on him, and took him. 

48 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and with staves to take me? 49 I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took me not: but the scriptures must be fulfilled. 50 And they all forsook him, and fled.   

Judas arrived with a ragtag militia unit—not the chief priests themselves, but a mob sent by them. The religious leaders themselves were conspicuously absent, for they feared implication if something went wrong. Perhaps they also feared Jesus’ power. Yet, even Jesus described the hilarity of their swords and clubs as if He were leading a violent rebellion (vv. 48-49). However, the religious leaders wanted to prove just that to the Romans, and Judas was complicit. 

After greeting Jesus, Judas did the deed and Jesus was taken into custody after a quick skirmish. He had been handed over, and the narrative grew dreadfully dark. Jesus willfully handed Himself over to His betrayer. 

The words of Jesus in Matthew 26:53-54 indicate He was not taken captive because He could not escape. It would have been easy for Him to scatter His enemies if He had so desired. He said,” “Do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?” (NKJV). 

In these words we see the secret of His voluntary submission to arrest. He came to provide salvation for the world, and in doing this, He fulfilled many Old Testament prophecies and promises. He came specifically to be the Paschal Lamb—to die as the Lamb of God. He was the scapegoat on whom the iniquities of the people were to be laid. He was determined to accomplish the will of God, which could not be done without refraining from the use of His power for a period of time. To do this, He became a willing sufferer. Of His own free will He was taken, tried, condemned, and crucified. 

—Why was Jesus arrested in an outdoor area at night? 

Only Three Years 

A surprising feature of the ministry of Jesus is its length. The Buddah taught for almost fifty years, Muhammad for about twenty years, and Moses led Israel for forty years. Jesus, however, ended His mission after three years. According to New Testament scholar Marcus J. Borg, “Jesus’ ministry was brief, a light flashing momentarily but brilliantly like a meteor in the night sky” (Jesus: A New Vision). Instead, the focus of Jesus’ life and ministry was His death and resurrection, which accomplished what His teaching ministry could not—the salvation of the world. 

2. BEFORE THE HIGH PRIEST 

A. False Witnesses (Mark 14:53-59, 66-72) 

53 And they led Jesus away to the high priest: and with him were assembled all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes. 

55 And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none. 56 For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together.  

Jesus was ushered before the high priest by those who had arrested Him in the garden, which at the time of the arrest included “a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders” (v. 43). John’s account includes a “band of officers” in this multitude (see John 18:3, 12); it is probable that they served police duty at the instructions of the officers of the chief priests. It was according to the orders of Annas that Jesus was sent bound to Caiaphas, the high priest (v. 24). 

John tells us that he himself, being acquainted with the high priest, had gone into the court with Jesus and that he had been instrumental in bringing in Peter, who had been standing outside (vv. 15-16). We now see Peter among the servants of the palace warming himself in the light of the fire. The remainder of the record as to Peter’s conduct is given in Mark 14:66-72. In fulfillment of the Lord’s prediction (vv. 27-31), he denied his Lord three times. 

The officers of the court, who would have been in a neutral position in order to administer justice, were presuming to indict a man. Officers, as such, should be neither for nor against. In this case, they had made up their minds to put Jesus to death. In order to make the case look real, they had to trump up witnesses. Their presumption was that He should die and their procedure was to invent the facts necessary to a conviction. 

They could find no witnesses (v. 55). That is, they could find no one with relevant facts to take initiative against Jesus. However, there are always those who are ready to sell their word and honor to others. Judas had already been paid for an act of betrayal, and now others were bribed to tell lies. They claimed that Jesus said, “I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands” (v. 58). What Jesus had really said was, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). 

The Lord’s word properly understood would have been, “You will destroy my body, but in three days I will raise it up.” Since Jesus’ words were a matter of dispute among the witnesses, they could not provide the basis of conviction desired (Mark 14:59). 

—Why can religious leaders be so ungodly? 

B. Jesus’ Interrogation (Mark 14:60-62) 

60 And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? 61 But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? 62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. 

It appears that the high priest had hoped for Jesus to talk, that He might be enmeshed some way and convicted. Jesus answered by silence. The wise man Solomon had said, “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him” (Prov. 26:4). Insistent upon getting Jesus to talk, Caiaphas impatiently asked Jesus to explain the incoherent and garbled testimonies which had been given. 

Jesus knew His ground and returned no answer to the high priest. It was not His responsibility to explain the meaning of testimonies given. That was the duty of the court. Yet Jesus’ silence was not calculated to spare Himself. He knew His hour had come, and that the evil purposes of men could be carried out within the greater pattern of the Father’s good purposes. 

The question asked by the high priest was the pivotal one in the turn of events. The Lord had repeatedly declared Himself to be the Messiah. He would do so now. His whole mission in the world was to make this known. The hope of Caiaphas himself depended on Jesus’ declaration of the truth of this question. But Caiaphas was not concerned about the benefits of Jesus’ messiahship; he was concerned about condemning and killing Jesus. His purpose not only precluded salvation for himself, but was calculated to destroy the hopes of all people. 

Jesus’ answer was plain, but of a higher significance than those who heard it realized. “I am” (the Christ, the Son of the Blessed) identified Jesus as to His deity. The term “Son of man” identified Jesus as to His humanity—Jesus was both the Son of God and the Son of man. 

When Jesus Becomes Judge 

“‘You, O Caiaphas, and you the chief priests and elders of the Jews, are now unjustly condemning Me as a false prophet and a false Christ,’” Jesus was saying: ‘But the day is at hand when I, who am now a prisoner at your judgment seat, shall sit on the throne of glory as the Judge of you and of all mankind. You are now about to condemn Me to the death of the cross; but I shall then sit in judgment upon you, and condemn you for this terrible guilt of slaying Me, who am the true God and the Judge of the world.’”—The Pulpit Commentary 

C. The Verdict (Mark 14:63-64) 

63 Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses? 64 Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death. 

Rending the garments was a sign of unbounded indignation or grief. A high priest was forbidden to do such a thing as an expression of mere private grief. His act on this occasion might have involuntarily typified the rending of the priesthood both from himself and from the Jewish nation. Certainly it set forth in unquestionable form the issue upon which the nation’s rejection of Christ hinged. The high priest pronounced Jesus a “blasphemer”—it was not the considered conclusion of those present. They simply concurred. 

3. BEFORE PILATE 

A. Jesus’ Marvelous Resolve (Mark 15:1-5)  

 1 And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate. 2 And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto them, Thou sayest it. 

Both Matthew and Mark indicate there were two meetings of “the whole council,” the name given to the greater Sanhedrin. The first meeting was held before daybreak. This later meeting was composed of the Sanhedrin as well as the “chief priests,” the “elders of the people,” and “the scribes.” This larger group hastily assembled to let the rest of the Jewish leaders know of the trial and to decide whether they would defy the Roman edict not to kill. The decision was to bind Jesus and carry Him to Pilate for official Roman action, for the Jews were not allowed to put anyone to death (John 18:31). 

The Jews had found Jesus guilty of a religious crime worthy of the death sentence. They could not, however, have Him tried by Pilate (their Roman governor) on this religious charge; hence, the accusations they made against Him were political in nature. According to Luke, Jesus was accused of “perverting the nation, . . . forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, [and] saying that he himself is Christ a King” (23:2). All of these charges except one were false; therefore, Pilate privately questioned Him concerning only His claim to kingship over Israel (John 18:33-37). 

Jesus did not deny His identity. He could speak only the truth; and even though these words were almost put into His mouth, He could not and would not retract the statement. Jesus had to bear witness to the truth, for He was the truth. 

The “chief priests,” realizing that Pilate was impressed by Jesus, began to lose all sense of reason and filled the air with many false and trivial accusations. The priests showed their lack of character by their frivolous charges; Jesus showed His strength by His silence. 

Jesus did not feel it necessary to answer the continued questioning of Pilate. Instead of being infuriated by the reticence of Jesus, Pilate “marvelled” (Mark 15:5). Never had he seen a man show such humility and love. Pilate, crafty politician and pagan that he was, could not help but see in Jesus something more than a mere man. He, therefore, suggested that Jesus be scourged and released, but the chief priests and elders prevailed against him (Luke 23:16). 

—How does Jesus Christ cause you to “marvel”? 

B. The Prisoner Barabbas (Mark 15:6-11) 

7 And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection. 8 And the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had ever done unto them. 9 But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews? 

For some time, the Romans had been releasing a political prisoner during the Passover Week. The crowd before Pilate was waiting for the release of this prisoner, not knowing who it would be. Pilate thought of giving the people a choice between Jesus and Barabbas, believing Jesus would be released. After all, Barabbas was a well-known seditionist who had committed murder. 

Pilate was well versed in political affairs, and he knew the charges against Jesus were ill-founded and His trial a farce. He also knew of the chicanery and jealousy that prevailed among the Jewish leaders. It was Pilate’s job to know the affairs of his province, and he had been quite aware of the growing influence of Jesus. Pilate was so correct in his appraisal of the situation: Jesus had been delivered unto him “because of envy” (v. 10 NKJV). 

The time had come to make a choice, and what a choice it was! The clamoring mob did not really know what to do and could be swayed one way or another. The religious leaders took advantage of their position of trust and led the ignorant and unsuspecting mob the wrong way. 

Jesus was the epitome of goodness, mercy, and understanding. Many in the mob likely had witnessed His miracles. Barabbas, on the other hand, stood for all that was evil and vile. Now, when they had to choose between the two, the crowd forgot what Jesus had done for them. They also seemed to forget the sins of Barabbas, for all they could do was obey the command of their benighted leaders. 

—Why was Barabbas chosen instead of Jesus? 

C. The Spineless Decision (Mark 15:12-15) 

12 And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews? 13 And they cried out again, Crucify him. 14 Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him. 15 And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified. 

The cry for the release of Barabbas was not enough to change the attitude of Pilate toward Jesus. Although he had been with Him for just a few hours, Pilate felt an attraction for the Son of God that was genuine. Now he feels that if given time to think of what might happen to Jesus, the crowd would change. Something had to be done about Jesus, and Pilate felt that surely these who knew Him so well would not continue to clamor for His life. Pilate was not yet willing to pronounce judgment; he was still wavering and sought help from the crowd. 

The hesitation on the part of Pilate did not influence the mob; it seemed rather to infuriate them. All reason had vanished from the scene and an irrational hatred had taken over. At first, there must have been some voices that were not raised against Him, but now the whole mob was polarized and thought as one. 

The wild cry of the mob was still ringing in his ears when Pilate received a message from his wife saying, “Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him” (Matt. 27:19). Pilate was already afraid to harm Jesus; now came this warning from his wife, who was not influenced by politics or the mob. 

Once more, Pilate tried to help Jesus, asking, “What evil hath he done?” (Mark 15:14). Of course, He had done no evil; for had this been the case, He could not have been our Redeemer. Nevertheless, the senseless mob still raged on and finally could be likened unto a host of savage beasts. 

The wavering Pilate finally had to render his decision. The thing that made him yield was perhaps the threat to his political life. According to John, “The Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend” (John 19:12). This was a charge that Pilate feared, because he was directly responsible to the emperor, and he controlled Judea because of royal favor. Pilate wanted not only “to gratify the crowd” (Mark 15:15 NKJV), he was also afraid that the Jews might report unfavorably to the Roman emperor. So he “ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified” (v. 15 NLT). 

CHARACTER ON TRIAL 

Jesus’ response to the high priest’s question is unequivocal. He is exactly what they believe Him not to be, and one day He will return at the right hand of God himself. Those who seek to categorize Jesus as a teacher of moral truths or a wise philosopher—but not the Son of God—should pay close attention to this passage. Good teachers of ethics don’t go around claiming to be equal to God himself, but Jesus does. 

Already Jesus is condemned and the beatings begin. This is no civil proceeding. Jesus has done no wrong except to reveal His true identity. Yet, He does not shrink back even in the face of torture and death. 

Daily Devotions:  

M.  A Wrong Response to Difficulty (Genesis 4:1-8)

T.   A Right Response to Difficulty (Genesis 6:11-22) 

W.  Jesus’ Silence Predicted (Isaiah 53:7-9) 

T.  Jesus Displays Humility (John 13:1-5) 

F.  Jesus Teaches Humility (John 13:6-17) 

S.  Be Like Jesus (Philippians 2:1-11) 

 *Adopted from the Evangelical Sunday School Lesson Commentary 2020-2021