God Must Open Eyes (Mark 14:53-65)

53 And they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. 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. 55 Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. 56 For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree. 57 And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, 58 “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.’ ” 59 Yet even about this their testimony did not agree. 60 And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” 61 But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” 62 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.” 63 And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? 64 You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death. 65 And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him with blows. Mark 14:53-65

The Jewish Trials

Our previous passage led us to Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. All his disciples fled from him (50). Jesus was left with only his captors, and here we learn they took him directly, in the dead of night, to the high priest. By patching together all the gospel accounts, it's clear their first move was to take Jesus to a retired high priest, Annas, for a private interview before taking him to the sitting high priest's house, a man named Caiaphas. Caiaphas interviewed Jesus alone before instituting a large trial with all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes (53). This group was the Sanhedrin, a 71-man council that governed Israel under Rome's supervision. So when they gathered that night, it was as the judicial body over Israel. Everything about the trial -- its location, timing, and speed -- was against their laws. But they had already decided Jesus should die, so now they would put him on trial in an attempt to stick the death penalty on him. Once the trial began, their quest for testimony against Jesus proved difficult (55). Many ex-lepers, ex-sick, ex-disabled, ex-outcasts, and even ex-dead would have loved to testify about Jesus that night. Instead, these men looked for false witnesses, but even they couldn't agree (57-59). One line of testimony caught Mark's attention: "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 with hands"'" (58). The temple was a big deal to that group. It symbolized the essence of the hope of Judaism but also served as the center of the Sanhedrin's power. Without a temple, they'd have no real authority. Jesus never said he'd destroy the temple. He had privately prophesied that the temple would be destroyed (Mark 13:1-3). And he'd predicted that his bodily temple would be destroyed and raised three days later. But he'd never said he would personally destroy Jerusalem's temple. So even this charge gained no traction as their testimony did not agree (59).

An Astounding Confession

Finally, when the high priest could no longer stand it, he asked Jesus to testify. At first, Jesus was silent and made no answer (61). But then the high priest asked the right question: "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" (61). Are you the Messiah, the Deliverer for whom we've all waited? Are you God's Son? Do you think you're the Divine Son of God, God among us? Up to this point in Mark's gospel, Jesus has adopted a policy of silence on such matters. But now, with the question of the high priest lingering in the air, Jesus unleashed the truth of his identity: "I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven" (62). All along, Mark has portrayed Jesus as the Son of God (1:1). Now, when asked if he is God's Son, Jesus says, "I am" (62). More than that, he is the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, applying words from Psalm 110 and Daniel 7 to himself. These passages referred to a figure who would come in the clouds of God's glory to judge the earth. Jesus, the Ultimate Judge of all flesh, is being judged by these religious leaders. He should be judging them. And he assures them that one day, he will.

Their Response

This was all too much for these religious leaders. They thought they heard blasphemy -- that's why the high priest tore his garments (63). Quickly, they condemned Jesus as deserving death (64). These otherwise dignified religious men began to spit on Jesus before covering his face, striking him, and mockingly telling him to prophesy about who hit him (65). There is much in this passage, but I want to highlight what Mark's original readers might've noticed. For them, the gospel was still a raw and new message. Human civilization would never be the same, but their European roots had not yet been influenced by Jesus. And, as they traveled from place to place, to Jews and Gentiles alike, they rejoiced knowing they had the singular message that could cure mankind of all its ills. And they might've been shocked to find resistance, sometimes of the vehement variety in this passage. Though the Jews had the Old Testament promises about Jesus, though they knew a Son of David would come and deliver them, they were hardened against his message. They would not believe.

The Powers of that Day Were Blinded

This would've helped those early readers know that God must open people's eyes. The leaders in that room on that night were blinded. A veil was over their hearts. Like Pharaoh, whose heart was so hard he thrust himself into the suicidal waters of the Red Sea, this religious court would not budge from their positions. And the New Testament confirms this blindness. Paul spoke of the god of this world and how he has blinded the minds of unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4). He also said every believer used to follow the course of this world, the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2). And John said the whole world lies in the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19). As I'm prone to mention, this does not mean good things cannot come from broken humanity. We should expect glorious things like third-wave coffee, black licorice, and Pixar to bubble up from people created in God's image. But, when it comes to submission to Christ's gospel, God must open our eyes. And he can. Just as he opened the eyes of Paul when he was a persecutor of the church, he can open eyes today. The religious leaders back then were living a charade. They acted as if they were concerned with finding the truth, but all they wanted was to kill Jesus. They didn't really want to know the truth. But God was able to open their eyes, and some of them eventually did turn, repent, and submit to Christ. We must be a praying people, but that's not all we must do to reach out to those without Jesus. We must also be reasonable and loving and give good explanations for the hope within us. We must be exemplary and not spoil our witness. But none of it will be effective without God's help, so we must pray. We must gather together and ask God to open eyes. Gather with your spouse or other believers and intercede for your children and those around you who do not know him. Write down their names. Bring them before God. Together, ask God to take their heart by storm, open their eyes, and bring them into his kingdom. Ask for opportunities -- and take them. And know that it does not depend on you but on God. He must open their eyes.