The Teachings of Jesus

Sermon Ninety-One

Matthew 26:57-68

(Jesus before the Jewish authorities)

by

Jim Bordwine, ThD

Introduction

We are following Matthew’s account of the last few hours of the Savior’s life. We know that Jesus said some disturbing things during His last meal with the disciples. We know they are more confused than anything else by the time the Lord’s enemies arrive in the garden of Gethsemane to take Him into custody. True to the prediction of Jesus, all the disciples have left Him and He is in the hands of the Jewish officials who have been plotting to destroy Him.

Today, we pick up the story as Jesus appears before the current high priest—a man named Caiphas.

The Text

Matt. 26:57 Those who had seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together. 58 But Peter was following Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and entered in, and sat down with the officers to see the outcome. 59 Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death. 60 They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on two came forward, 61 and said, “This man stated, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.’” 62 The high priest stood up and said to Him, “Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?” 63 But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.” 65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; 66 what do you think?” They answered, “He deserves death!” 67 Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, 68 and said, “Prophesy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?”

The Teaching

There is nothing good to be said about Caiphas, the high priest. He was appointed to this office around AD 18 and served for eighteen years. While Caiphas was the official high priest, he was over-shadowed, at times, by his better known father-in-law, Annas. Annas held the office of high priest from AD 6 to 15, but continued, in an unofficial capacity, to exert considerable influence in the affairs of the Jews in Palestine. Eventually, Caiphas takes the spotlight and is closely involved with the development of the early Church. He was high priest, for example, when Peter and John were brought before the Sanhedrin after they healed a lame man who resided outside one of the gates of the temple.

It is believed that Caiphas is the high priest referred to in Acts 7:1 where we find Stephen delivering his sermon just before he is executed (cf. Acts 7:1). Finally, it appears that Caiphas was the one who gave letters of authorization to Paul so that Paul could persecute and imprison believers prior to his conversion.

Caiphas was no friend of the Church; and his disdain for Christians began with his hatred of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Those who took Jesus into custody led Him to Caiphas, which was the normal routine. Since Jesus is being charged with various violations of Jewish law, it was proper to make Him appear before the ranking religious leader. On this night, Caiphas was presiding at a meeting of the scribes and elders. This convocation was probably in session before Jesus was brought into the room.

It appears that the Jewish officials were spending most of the evening planning to seize the Savior and do away with Him. With Caiphas involved, there was practically nothing preventing the Jews from reaching their goal. The only complication was the Roman government, which had placed certain restrictions on the Jewish government. For the most part, the Romans allowed the Jews to go about their business as they pleased. In this matter, however, one in which an execution was being promoted, the Jews would have to enlist Roman support. For now, the process begins with Jesus appearing before the top religious figure for an initial interrogation.

Matthew notes that Peter followed the men who had taken Jesus; he was able to get as far as the courtyard of the high priest’s residence without detection (v. 58). There, he blended in with some soldiers and waited to see what would happen. We can imagine that Peter is torn in his conscience. He swore loyalty to Jesus shortly before this; when Jesus was taken into custody, however, Peter fled with the other disciples. He still worries about the Master, of course, so he follows and gets as close as he can to the action. What he expected to do is not certain; in fact, I doubt that Peter had any kind of plan. He was compelled, nevertheless, to remain in the vicinity and watch.

I know we all have criticism to offer regarding Peter. As we read this story, we see how rash he could be and how quick he was to speak or act without thinking matters through. But we also should have a measure of sympathy for Peter. It’s clear that he loved Jesus and sincerely wanted Jesus to be safe. He simply didn’t understand what was going on; he is not yet the Peter we see standing fearlessly in the streets of Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost preaching the gospel and pointing the finger of guilt directly at the Jews. He may be timid now and he may lack discernment now, but all this is going to change.

Peter must go through a period of refinement and as he does, we witness one of the most dramatic changes in a man’s perspective that can be found anywhere in the Bible. This man is going to become an outstanding leader and example in the early Church. His word will come to hold great authority and his labors for Christ will be matched by a rare few. There is a reminder here that I don’t want to miss, therefore. Weaknesses, timidity, fear, and even bad character traits can be overcome with the gospel. A man who is walking with the Lord is a man who has practically no limits to the development of a solid Christ-like mind and countenance; in fact, he has what he needs to live a life before God that brings glory to God and honor to the Son.

Even Peter’s horrendous sin, which is coming shortly on this night, will not ruin him forever. Even from that, Peter will be redeemed and restored and go on, as I noted, to become one of the primary figures in the early Church—actually, one of the primary figures in the whole history of the Church. For now, however, Peter is still a prisoner of his flesh and his flesh is full of anxiety and fright. Instead of standing with the Savior, Peter is hiding in a crowd, wanting to see what happens but not wanting to be detected.

The first thing Matthew tells about the Savior’s appearance before Caiphas is completely to be expected: “Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death.” (v. 59) Let’s not forget that the Council, the ruling body for the Jews at this point in history, is composed of men who have given their lives to the study and teaching of God’s law. These are men who have the incredible privilege of laboring in the Scriptures for a living. Of all people, you would assume these men—or at least a few of these men—would know what God had planned for the redemption of His people. And even if no one had discerned that plan from the study of the Scriptures, then surely there must have been someone there that night who could have objected to the dishonest way in which Jesus is being handled.

When we have to admit, however, that not a single man spoke against this action of trying to find false testimony, we must also accept the fact that this was a corrupt and wicked gathering of leaders; these men made a mockery of their offices and of the privilege given to them. They quickly turned away from righteous behavior in order to destroy Jesus. The text implies plainly that their minds were set on one goal, which is the killing of the Savior.

They hated Jesus more than they loved the Word of God; they despised Him more than they feared God. There are several indicators in the Gospels that tell us about the ferocious attitude the scribes and Pharisees harbored against Jesus and this is one of those indicators. It appears that one thing and only one thing mattered to them on this night—and that was the silencing of the bothersome Jesus. How much must you hate a man to be willing to betray what you stand for? How intense must your hatred be to drive you to violate the standard by which you have been trained and for which you have been set apart? The lust for blood that resides in the fallen human soul sometimes shocks us when it is exposed. These men are not acting rationally; they are being driven by hate—and that means nothing else matters at the moment.

Evidence of the Jews’ determination to push forward and end the life of Jesus no matter what is seen in the fact that Jewish law did not allow for a trial at night at which a man’s life was at stake. Yet, Jesus is being tried between the hours of 1:00 and 3:00 AM; moreover, the law even prohibited an investigation from beginning on the eve of a major feast day like Passover. This, too, shows us how willing the Jewish officials were to toss aside their own laws, which they normally defended vigorously, so they could execute Jesus.

One commentator wrote that this was not a trial, but a plot. That accurately describes what we are reading. The façade of a trial is being used to make this event take on the appearance of legality; in truth, however, it’s nothing but a covering so that the scribes and Pharisees can get their hands on Jesus and put Him to death. Their jealousy of Him has reached a peak and it will not be calmed now.

Note now v. 60: “They did not find any [testimony], even though many false witnesses came forward.” This tells us of the determination of the Council to “convict” the Savior one way or another. They gathered men of low reputation to testify. The problem, as we learn from the Gospel of Mark, is that, though there were many witnesses, no two of them agreed. The Council had a problem on their hands—but not for long. Wishing to maintain the appearance of propriety, the scribes and Pharisees needed to find two witnesses who would agree in their accusations against Jesus. Finally, those two men were found: “But later on two came forward, and said, ‘This man stated, “I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.”’” Finally, the Council had what they needed to satisfy the law regarding two witnesses.

When we look at John 2:19, we find that these are not the precise words of Jesus. What He said was: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Savior was speaking of His body and was making a reference to His coming death and resurrection. Not only did the Jews misunderstand, they also twisted His words as is evident from the testimony of the two men mentioned by Matthew. According to them, Jesus declared that He would destroy the temple and then, if He wished, He could rebuild it in just three days. The part of this testimony that caused the stir, however, was the supposed claim of Jesus that He would destroy the temple. This made Him immediately guilty of defaming the temple. A similar charge, by the way, is later made against Stephen and Paul (cf. Acts 6:13; 21:28). Any talk of defacing or dishonoring the temple in any manner was a serious breach in the eyes of the Jews. Though Jesus was not talking about the temple in Jerusalem, but about His own body, the Jews chose to interpret His remarks to suite their agenda.

This testimony is what the scribes and Pharisees and high priest were waiting for. The high priest stood up and questioned Jesus: “Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?” (v. 62) It’s unlikely the Council normally encountered suspects that remained silent. Jesus did remain silent and did not immediately declare His innocence (v. 63). Silence is the one response the high priest could not take; silence did not allow him to make further accusations of giving false testimony as would no doubt have been the case if Jesus had spoken and accused the witnesses of lying. In some ways, the high priest’s questions were a mere formality; with two witnesses giving the same report, the guilt of Jesus was established in a manner acceptable to the Jewish legal system. The problem, of course, is that these two witnesses gave false testimony.

Caiphas then invokes the name of God in an effort to force Jesus to speak: “I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” (v. 63) My suspicion is that Caiphas was hoping Jesus would make such claims so additional charges could be made against Him and so the legitimacy of this whole affair might be further established.

When a man is addressed in this manner, he is supposed to make a response and it is supposed to be a truthful response. Jesus, therefore, now speaks: “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.” (v. 64) Two things need to be pointed out concerning the Lord’s reply. First, He tells Caiphas, in essence, that yes, I am the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus is making that declaration at this moment. Second, by quoting prophetic language from Dan. 7 and Psa. 109, Jesus declares that a judgment is coming and in that judgment, roles will be reversed. Both quotations describe a future event associated with a judgment upon rebellious Israel. This is not referring to the Second Coming but to the day Jesus spoke about recently to His disciples—His words are recorded in chapter 24. After the resurrection of Christ and the establishment of His Church, His coming in judgment in AD 70 is the next great event in God’s plan of redemption. That visitation is here predicted.

Jesus is fully aware of what must come first. He must suffer and die, then He must be raised from the dead. And then, once His Church is well established and strong, God will terminate His covenant relationship with Israel. While I don’t have time to relate all the details of that horrible period when the Romans laid siege to the city of Jerusalem, there are reports that some who were doomed claimed to see a majestic figure coming toward the city riding on clouds, as it were. Whether this is a true account or not, we do know that the most knowledgeable historian of the period, Josephus, interpreted the destruction of AD 70 as the fulfillment of prophecy spoken against rebellious Israel.

As we would expect, the words of Jesus only served to anger Caiphas: “Then the high priest tore his robes and said, ‘He has blasphemed!’ What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; what do you think?” (vv. 65, 66) The high priest declares the Savior’s claim is blasphemy, meaning that, in the opinion of Caiphas, Jesus had spoken the most damning of lies. He has claimed to be the Christ, the Son of God. The delusion clouding the mind of this man prevented him from understanding what Jesus said. In a traditional move of extreme protest and illustration of his grief, Caiphas tore his robes as he called on the others to join his condemnation.

“He deserves death!”, they responded. At this point, the physical abuse of the Lord intensifies. Matthew records that those present spat in the face of Jesus and struck Him with their fists. Others slapped Him in the face while mocking Him (cf.vv. 67, 68). For speaking the truth, Jesus is subjected to this treatment. For owning the role ordained for Him by God, Jesus is attacked. For being willing to sacrifice Himself—sinless and innocent—for the guilty, Jesus must endure the abuse of those He made. For offering Himself for us, Jesus is subjected to cruel and ignorant scorn. This is a marvelous, though troubling, illustration of God’s plan to redeem His people and save them from the curse of Eden.

When the holy God who has been sinned against undertakes to deliver the offenders, that is the gospel. When God provides life in place of our well-deserved eternal death, that is the gospel. When the Son of God gives Himself in my place so that I will not have to taste of the wrath of God, that is the gospel. And folks, when Jesus stood there that night and allowed Caiphas to insult Him and lie about Him and call for His death, and when Jesus did not defend Himself when the dogs beat Him and spat in his face, that is the gospel. One who deserved no humiliation and no punishment being grossly humiliated and punished so that the truly guilty might go free—that is the gospel.

We ought never to forget what the gospel is really about. It’s the only plan by which we could be saved; it required nothing of us and everything from Jesus Christ. It guaranteed us joy everlasting, but guaranteed Him unbelievable suffering and the abandonment of His Father. The gospel is at once beautiful and overwhelming on the one hand, but bloody and unsettling on the other. Sin is not atoned for easily; it is not paid for with a mere wish. When you think about the sin of our race, and about how truly awful we can be, and how far we are capable of going in the commission of wickedness, should we be surprised that the cost was the blood of the Son of God? We ought not to be surprised, but we surely should be profoundly thankful.

Application

As we consider this story, we would probably say there is not much here to encourage us. We read about the mistreatment of Jesus and the wicked way in which His enemies are scheming against Him; and while we are aware of the outcome, we are still bothered by this report. Added to that is the story of Peter, of course. Here again we might say there is not much in the way of encouragement to be found in Peter’s experience on this night. But I want to point out something about Peter that is, in fact, very encouraging.

What, exactly, are we witnessing as we read Matthew’s account of these last few hours? In regard to Peter, we are witnessing the downfall of a disciple, the downfall of one who has confessed faith in Christ. Peter is the one who identified Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” He is the one who most recently protested against the Savior’s prediction that the disciples would desert Him before the night was over. Peter is the one who boldly pledged his life to defend Jesus if need be.

Now, however, we see Peter suffering from a very common spiritual ailment—and that is intimidation. Peter is intimidated by the presence of the Lord’s enemies and he is intimidated to the point of being unable to act on what he really felt in his heart, which was love for the Savior and a desire that Jesus not be mistreated by His enemies. We are witnessing, once again, the downfall of a previously faithful man—with faults, yes, but still faithful. The circumstances of this night have left Peter afraid; he’s afraid to speak, he’s afraid to act, he’s afraid of being discovered. In time, his fear is going to cause him to deny even knowing Jesus and that will be the horrible extent of this downfall. Rather than stand with Jesus, rather than defend Him, rather than allow himself even to be identified as an acquaintance of Jesus, Peter will eventually choose to deny any knowledge of the Savior. Again, a far cry from what he promised not that long ago at the Passover meal.

How is this an encouragement, you might ask. It is encouraging because we know the end of this story. In this passage, we see a man overwhelmed, we see a man collapsing under the pressure of the unbelieving environment. But later, we’re going to see this same man exhibit incredible bravery. We’re going to see him rise far above this failure, far above this momentary lapse and distinguish himself in the Church of Jesus Christ. Knowing that this is how Peter’s life will end is extremely encouraging to me. I know that what I’m seeing now—his fear, his reluctance, his silence—is going to lead to a complete meltdown; but I also know that he is going to recover; he is going to be restored and he is going to live a life of excellence that will far outweigh what happens on this night.

It is an encouragement to know that with Christ, a man can fall and be restored. It is an encouragement to know that with the gospel, I can sin and be revived. What kind of life would we have if our sin remained to torment us for our whole existence? The gospel saves us and the gospel allows for our restoration when we sin. We’ve all experienced this, but I wonder if we have the appreciation for this blessing that we should. Think back to a time when you really got yourself in to spiritual trouble. Would you want to remain in that state? Aren’t you thankful you were able to rise up and resume an honorable life?

That is what Jesus gives to us in His gospel. He saves us and thereafter forgives us as we sometimes stumble. If you are presently wrestling with this kind of situation, take courage. If you are regretting something you said or did or failed to do, take courage. The Savior does not save us to abandon us when we fall. Peter’s transgression was horrible. In this story, we see him edging ever closer to that point where he is going to commit a terrible sin against the Savior. But he’s going to return and his return is going to be brought about by Jesus Himself. That same opportunity is available for you.

Right now, you can call on the Lord for forgiveness and restoration. Right now, you can begin that process of getting past whatever sin you committed this past week or whatever sin has paralyzed you in terms of your happiness and service. Understand that this why Jesus endured all that we are reading about. He did it to deliver His people from the power of sin and from the bondage of our transgressions. So, yes, knowing what I know about Peter, I find even this passage to be very encouraging.

Let’s pray…

Communion hymn

Conclusion

I don’t think we can begin to understand the burden Peter had after trying to hide himself among the soldiers and ultimately denying he even knew Jesus. Once Jesus was put on that cross, Peter assumed he had no opportunity to seek forgiveness and no opportunity to make right what he did. The Gospels indicate that Peter was overwhelmed by shame and sorrow. But then the resurrected Christ spoke to him, encouraged him, and led him back to a path of service.

In large measure, that is what this sacrament is about. It testifies to us that the work of Christ is done and it was done perfectly. It tells us that He did succeed in paying for all of our sin so that we are saved forever. It tells us that we have the privilege of seeking restoration when we sin. I’ll say again, then, that this story and this sacrament are very encouraging to us. We still live in fallen world and we will face times of temptation and we will fall. But then we will turn to our Savior and He will lift us up. This sacrament tells us He can do just that because of what He accomplished on the cross.

Matt. 26: 26 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”