Trials

Greetings.

In my previous post, the central character of the story was Peter, and it told the story of his denial.  Starting in verse 63, and going to the end of the chapter, the focus returns to Jesus.  Here is my translation of Luke 22:63-71:

63 The men guarding Jesus mocked and beat him.  64 Then they blindfolded him and questioned him, saying, “Prophecy, which one of us hit you?”  65 They said many other blasphemous insults to him. 

66 When dawn was breaking, the elders of the people came together with chief priests and the scribes.  They led Jesus into their council chamber. 67 They said, “Tell us whether you are the Messiah.”

Jesus replied, “If I tell you, you won’t believe it, and if I ask you a question, you won’t answer it. 69 But from now on, the Son of Man will sit at the right hand of the power of God.” 

70 They all said to him, “So  then, are you the son of God?”

He responded, “You say that I am.”

71 Then they declared, “Why do we need to have more testimony? We have heard it from his own mouth.”

Peter has fled the scene to weep privately, and Jesus is left in the hands of those whose intent is to kill him. There is no need to place guards on Jesus.  He is there willingly and has not put up any kind of fight with his captors.  Never-the-less, he is under guard and these guards begin to mock and beat him.

In their mocking and beating, they blindfold him and punch him, and mock him by saying, “prophecy, which one of us hit you?”  

Of course, Jesus could have told them which of them had hit him, and that would have stunned them a little perhaps, but Jesus chose to remain silent.  Like Isaiah 53:7, "Like a lamb before his shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”  Their mocking includes many other insults.  Many modern English version translate this as ‘insulting things,’ but word in Greek is actually βλασφημοῦντες (Blasphemountes).  Ironically, Jesus is being charged with blasphemy, but it is his captors and those insulting him, whoa are guilty of blasphemy. 

In verse 66, we see that dawn is breaking.  This process has been an all-nighter, and it is still really in the early stages. Jesus is now taken into the council chamber, where the elders, the chief priests and the scribes had gathered.  It appears, from taking all four Gospel accounts into consideration, that Jesus had six trials in the course of the Thursday night and Friday morning:

• Before Annas (John 18:13)
• Before Caiaphas (Mark 14:55-64, Matt. 26:59-66) 
• Before the Jewish council, possibly the Sanhedrin (Matt. 276:1, Luke 22:66-71)
• Before Pilate. (All four Gospels)
• Before Herod (Luke 23:6-12)
• Before Pilate again. ((Luke 23:13-16)

Here the council has gotten up early for this trial, as it is meeting at sunup.  Perhaps, they too have been up all night, in anticipation of this trial of Jesus. 

In Luke’s account, the trial’s questioning begins with the command, “Tell us whether you are the Messiah.”  Jesus’ first words neither confirm nor deny his divinity.  He states, “If I tell you, you won’t believe it.” Then he says, “If I ask you a question, you won’t answer it.”  In these two statements Jesus is saying to his accusers that it is pointless to respond to this question, because it doesn't matter what he says.   Their minds are made up, and they are going to execute him no matter.  

They have refused to answer his questions in the past, becuase Jesus had always outsmarted them, asking questions that either answer put them in a difficult spot.  Now he doesn't even bother to ask. 

But, Jesus doesn’t stop with his non-answer.  He finishes with “But from now on, the Son of Man will sit at the right hand of the power of God.” So he doesn’t come right out and say, “Yes, I am the son of God.”  His answer, however, more than implies this.  He implies that he is going to be seated at God’s right hand.  He is the Son of Man, whom God has given all authority and power.  

Darrell Bock points out that Jesus’ response here indicates that the tables will be turned.  Right now, they all sit in judgment of Jesus, but moving forward, from this point on, Jesus, the Son of Man will sit in judgment on them.  (Bock, 1797.) This is a declaration of Jesus’ sovereignty.  He is the one with all of the power, even if it doesn’t appear that way at the moment.

Jesus’ accusers catch the drift of what Jesus is saying here.  He has not come right out and said it, but his implications are hard to miss.  They respond, “So, then are you the Son of God?” Jesus’ implication is to hold a unique position of power, seated at God’s right hand.  They want to hear him say it absolutely, so that they can have merit for their sentence of execution.  

Jesus’ response continues to avoid giving them exactly what they want.  He says, “You say that I am.” Again, Jesus neither confirms or denies, but it is enough for his accusers.  When Jesus responds, “You say that I am.” the chief priest asks, “Why do we need to go any further?”  To his accusers Jesus has presented enough evidence to support their claims.  Whether it was his inference, or his lack of a denial, they claim to have all that they need for the verdict of guilty. 

Of course the outcome of this mockery of a trial was never really in doubt anyway, and everyone present knew it.  Jesus was going to be condemned to be executed.  

               Darrell Bock, Luke: Volume 2 - 9:51-24:53, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Academic, 1996.