God in the Dock

Mark 14:53-64

Introduction

God in the Dock – this is the title of an essay written by C.S. Lewis, which was published posthumously. The title is another way of saying, “God on trial.” In criminal cases in English courts the accused was placed in a half-height open-topped box, which was called the dock. “God in the dock” means God is on trial. Lewis wrote of how modern people have the audacity to think they stand in moral superiority to God, to put God on trial. Lewis said,

“The greatest barrier I have met is the almost total absence from the minds of my audience of any sense of sin... The early Christian preachers could assume in their hearers, whether Jews…or Pagans, a sense of guilt…. Thus the Christian message was in those days unmistakably the Evangelium, the Good News. It promised healing to those who knew they were sick. We have to convince our hearers of the unwelcome diagnosis before we can expect them to welcome the news of the remedy. The ancient man approached God (or even the gods) as the accused person approaches his judge. For the modern man, the roles are quite reversed. He is the judge: God is in the dock. He is quite a kindly judge; if God should have a reasonable defense for being the god who permits war, poverty, and disease, he is ready to listen to it. The trial may even end in God’s acquittal. But the important thing is that man is on the bench and God is in the dock.”[1]

We’ll get to Lewis’ point momentarily, but let’s start with his title – God in the Dock. What a perfect word picture for our text this morning. Last week Jesus Christ was arrested and this morning we find him on trial before the Sanhedrin. The eternal Son of God, the 2nd person of the Holy Trinity, the Word made flesh (John 1.14), tried by sinful men; God in the dock.

Lutheran theologians have historically emphasized the importance of understanding both Law and Gospel. That’s a good framework for us this morning as we witness the trial of Jesus of Nazareth. We vividly see those who broke the law standing in contrast with the one who brought the gospel.

Those Who Broke the Law

Let’s start with those who broke the Law. Mark tells us that Jesus is brought to the chief priests, elders, and scribes. This was the Sanhedrin; in fact, the word translated, “council” in verse 55 is the Greek word συνέδριον, Sanhedrin. This was the governing body in Israel. They ran the temple. They were the ones in charge of interpreting, teaching, and enforcing the Law.

We won’t spend time on this today but in anticipation for our next sermon in Mark verse 54 tells us that Peter followed at a distance. Mark will contrast the testimony of Jesus Christ with the testimony of Peter who denies Jesus. Pastor Kevin is going to preach that in two weeks but for now Peter is in the background. It’s humbling to remember that most scholars believe that Mark’s Gospel is the eyewitness account of Peter. And so what Mark is about to tell us comes from the sanctified memory of Peter himself.

And what Peter saw was a sham of a trial. Verse 55 says that the council was seeking testimony against Jesus in order that they might put him to death. The criminal justice system in the United States is ideally predicated on the assumption that the accused is innocent until proven guilty. This was not the case with the trial of Jesus of Nazareth. The Jews had their guilty verdict in hand. What they needed to figure out was how they were going to convict him. They needed charges; they already had their verdict.

Everything about the trial of Jesus was unlawful. Under Jewish law a trial would not have been held in the living quarters of the chief priest, but the Chamber of Hewn Stone, the normal meeting place of the Sanhedrin. Trials could not be held at night, on the Sabbath, during festivals, or even on the eve of Sabbath or festivals. Capital crimes had to be decided two days in a row to ensure that justice was properly sought. It was very difficult under the Law to rule death penalty. There had to be at least two witnesses, and three was preferred. And the story of these witnesses had to match completely.

None of these protocols were upheld in the trial of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus was tried at night during the festival of Passover. The testimony of the witnesses did not agree. These Jewish men who were experts in the Law, these men who would have been PhDs in Old Testament, knowingly and with intent disregard the Law to murder Jesus.

Mark tells us that many bore false witness against him (vs. 56). The Law experts are breaking the 9th commandment; you shall not bear false witness. Deuteronomy 17.6 says, on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses the one who is to die shall be put to death; a person shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness (cf. Num 35.30; Deut 19.15). But the council could not even find two false testimonies that would agree.

We are missing an important truth if we don’t see ourselves in this law-breaking mob. I’m normally not a fan of Bible-based movies. Movies like The Passion of the Christ bother me, not because they’re bad in and of themselves, but because of the reaction of Christians. Christians have had one of two reactions to these movies: (1) they think everyone is going to get saved because of a movie, which is silly, or (2) Christians complain because the film doesn’t line up with the Bible. This is also silly because, guess what, it’s Hollywood. What did you expect?

That being said, I remember my parents taking us to see The Passion of the Christ when it premiered in theatres and I appreciate something about the film. Mel Gibson was the director and he wrote himself into the movie. He plays the part of the Roman solider who nailed Jesus to the cross. Now I’m not here to comment on whether or not Mel Gibson is regenerate but to some degree he understood that there is a sense in which he himself nailed Jesus to the cross.

Until you come to that understanding, you really haven’t understood the Law. In Adam we have all sinned. We are guilty. We have all broken the 10 commandments in thought, word, and deed by what we have done and what we have left undone.

But C.S. Lewis is correct when he says the modern man rejects the idea of sin. Modern western culture believes there is no such thing as sin, or it redefines sin to mean something other than falling short of the glory of God (Rom 3.23). Modern man doesn’t view God as the holy judge, but places himself in the role of judge and puts God on trial, God in the dock. Like Jesus on trial before these lawbreakers, people believe they can stand in moral superiority to God.

“If there is a God then why do bad things happen? I could never believe in a God that would murder his own son. I could never believe in a God that would send anyone to hell. I reject the idea of a God who cares what people do in their own bedrooms. The God of the Old Testament seems like a vengeful, murdering God and I could never believe in that God.”

These are legitimate apologetic questions that Christians need to be prepared to answer. Our own Pastor of Member Care Brett Eckel is currently doing his doctorate in apologetics because it is important that Christ Community Church know how to engage these questions. But what I’m telling you is that theologically these questions are not neutral. They exist because the hearts of people are dark. We are dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph 2.1).

The Law reveals that we are guilty. No one is righteous; not one (Rom 3.10). On our own we are condemned to suffer the wrath of a holy and just God forever in hell. Do you believe that? Do you understand that’s what you deserve? Do you see yourself in the mob that murders Jesus? Until you surrender to that bad news there is no way to embrace the good news.

The One Who Brought the Gospel

And thanks be to God there is good news. The good news is the one who is standing trial. It’s amazing to me that the Sanhedrin, the men who would have known the Old Testament better than anyone is the world, did not see all of the prophesies fulfilled by their very actions. They are blind. We read from Isaiah 53 in the call to worship. Now Jesus stands before them oppressed and afflicted and he doesn’t open his mouth (Isa 53.7).

In their false witness against Christ they say, “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’“ (vs. 58). Mark hasn’t told us that Jesus said something like this, but John does:

“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken (John 2.19-22).

Jesus predicted the destruction of the temple and his resurrection as the final temple of God. Jesus is the place where God and man meet. Jesus is the true holy of holies where heaven and earth collide and where sin is forgiven. In fact, the word translated, “temple” in verse 58 is not the typical Greek word for temple. It is the word ναός, which refers to the sanctuary; the holy place. Jesus is the true holy of holies.

Through his death and resurrection Jesus is the true temple of God and he is building a new temple, his church. 1st Corinthians 3.16-17 says, do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. 1st Peter 2.4-5 says, as you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Jesus told the woman at the well that the old covenant people worshipped at the temple but through him the people of God will worship in Spirit and truth (John 4.23). The church is the New Covenant temple of God. It is the place where Jesus reigns as prophet, priest, and king. It is where he dispenses his means of grace through the Word and sacrament.

This is why regardless of what the world says, we must gather as a church. We must gather, give, serve, and love one another.  We must physically and collectively sit under the preaching of the Word. We must take the bread and wine of the Eucharist together every week. We must gather to baptize converts in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We must sing together. We must pray together. If we don’t we destroy God’s temple. There is nothing more important for you and your family than living life in the local church.

We also see Jesus fulfilling the Old Testament with his own words. Jesus stays quiet until the chief priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” 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 (vs. 62).” Jesus’ response, “I am,” seems harmless enough in English, but that would have been a seemingly blasphemous answer to the Jews.

In Exodus 3.14 YHWH appears to Moses in the burning bush and calls him to lead Israel out of slavery in Egypt. Moses asks the LORD who he should say sent him. God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” When the chief priest asks Jesus this question Jesus responds, “I am.” In Greek it’s the phrase, Ἐγώ εἰμι. It’s the same Greek phrase in Exodus 3.14 in the LXX.

Jesus is saying, “I am YHWH.” I am the God who gave the Law that you’re currently breaking. I am the creator and sustainer of the universe. I led Israel in the Exodus and I have come to lead the true and final Exodus. Jesus of Nazareth is simultaneously the Law-giving God of Israel and the only Law-keeping Israelite.

Jesus also quotes Psalm 110 and Daniel 7 speaking of his resurrection and ascension. Remember not to make the mistake in thinking that Jesus is referring to his second coming here. When we preached through Mark 13 we did a deep dive into why Jesus is referring to his ascension and not his second coming. Go back and look up those sermons if you missed them. Jesus will physically and visibly return to raise the dead, judge the world, and make all things new, but that’s not what he’s speaking of here.

Daniel 7 speaks of the Son of Man who comes in the clouds to God. Psalm 110 says that he sits at the right hand of the Father. Jesus says that his hearers would be alive when this happens. And these men would have heard 43 days later when Jesus ascended to heaven.

Jesus is the fulfillment of Exodus 3.14, Psalm 110, and Daniel 7. He is the Son of Man who earns the kingdom, the power, and the glory through his righteous life, substitutionary death, and victorious resurrection. He is the final prophet, priest, and king of the people of God. This is the gospel. The good news is that even though you’re guilty and deserve God’s wrath, Jesus earned your righteousness through his life. He paid your penalty through his death, and he won your resurrection through his resurrection.

You must repent of your sin and trust in Jesus alone. When we repent we know that Jesus is at the right hand of the Father now interceding for us. He has been enthroned as the king of the world. He has returned in the clouds to God.

There is a sense in which the gospel is a one-time thing. When we repent and believe we are justified forever. Our sin, past, present, and future is eternally forgiven. But there is a sense in which the gospel is a daily thing. We have to wake up every day and follow Jesus. We need to keep repenting of our sin. We need to keep following everything Jesus taught us. We need to fight every day for our marriages. It’s hard work. It can’t be set on autopilot. We need to keep discipling our children. It’s hard work every day. It can’t be set on autopilot.

After the council hears this they all condemn him deserving death. They began to spit on him and mock him, hitting him and saying, “prophesy who hit you.” The most powerful being imaginable, the creator of all things, subjected himself to this humiliation. He allowed himself to be placed in the dock.

On Ascension Sunday we saw from the book of Hebrews that Jesus Christ is our great high priest who was tempted in every way as were are, yet without sin (Heb 4.15). Jesus identifies with us. Have you ever been lonely? Abandoned by loved ones? Have you ever been mistreated or made fun of? Jesus knows what that feels like.

All of his best friends abandoned him. He was spit on. He was hit in the face and mocked. He was treated unjustly. No one has ever experienced injustice like Jesus of Nazareth did. He was without sin and he was unlawfully condemned to death. Jesus knows what it’s like. There is nothing or no one else in your life that can identify with you in your weakness and is also strong enough to pay for your sin and offer you eternal life. Rest is Jesus today.

Conclusion

The trial of Jesus Christ is the moment in history where God was in the dock. He willingly endured a kangaroo court and an unjust condemnation. The innocent one died in the place of the guilty ones. He did so for his glory and for our good. When Jesus returns he will not be in the dock, we will. The Creed tells us that he will come to judge the living and the dead. On that day Jesus will be on the bench and we’ll be in the dock. And you can either plead, “guilty,” or you can plead, “Jesus.” What is your plea?

[1]CS Lewis, The Timeless Writings of CS Lewis, 464.