Rev. Ronald C. Purkey,
Pastor
___________________________________________________________________________
The following Bible study outline was
prepared by Rev. Ronald C. Purkey for
the Adult Bible Class at Paul’s Chapel where
Rev. Purkey is the teacher.
___________________________________________________________________________
INTRODUCTION:
The chief
priests and scribes had already determined to kill Jesus, but they wanted to do
it after the Passover. Since Jesus was a popular person, and
Six
times in
Falsely Accused
At about
Initially, Richard Jewell
was hailed as a hero. But a few days later several media outlets named him as
the primary suspect in the bombing itself. Their information was based on leaks
from the FBI.
Several months later the
FBI formally cleared Jewell of any wrongdoing. He indeed was a hero, he indeed
had helped to save many lives, and he was innocent of every accusation. But
great damage had already been done. Jewell lost his job, was abandoned by many
of his friends, became burdened by huge debts, and found his reputation in
ruins.
We would like to think that false accusations and judicial
error -- including those of “the court of public opinion” -- are the stuff of
repressive regimes. Some people and some judicial systems are flawed in spite
of good intentions. Some are flawed, however, because of self-interest,
character defects, and “political realities.” – Author Unknown
I. JESUS BEFORE THE COUNCIL
(Mark
A. The chief priests and all the council sought to put Jesus to death. (
The
meeting of the Sanhedrin was illegal since it was at night. Their method was
likewise illegal. They heard only witnesses who were against Jesus.
B. Many were willing to bear false witness against
Jesus, but no two agreed. (14:56–59)
A charge had to be
established in the mouth of at least two witnesses. Many were willing to bear
false witness, but no two agreed. Of
course Jesus did not say that He would destroy the temple and then raise it up
in three days. He said, “Destroy this temple”; that is, you destroy this
temple, and John explains, “But he spake of the
temple of his body” (John
C. Jesus claimed to be the
Messiah, the Son of God. (14:60–62)
1.
Jesus did not defend Himself against such obvious falsehood.
Again He was fulfilling prophecy: “… as a sheep
before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his
mouth” (Isa. 53:7). The silence of Jesus surprised
and annoyed the high priest. He wanted Jesus to answer to see if He might
condemn Himself. Finally, the high priest put Him under oath. Under oath Jesus
claimed to be the Messiah, the Son of God. He could make no higher claim.
2.
Jesus added a claim that could pertain only to the Son of God.
“I saw in the
night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of
heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people,
nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting
dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be
destroyed”
(Dan.
3. The high priest understood what
He said and all the implications of it.
The
high priest displayed his intense emotion by tearing his garment. In doing
this, he broke the Mosaic Law, as the garment of the high priest was not to be
torn.
D. The council condemned Jesus to die because He claimed
to be the Messiah. (14:63–64)
They condemned Him to die because He claimed to be
the Messiah. The charge was changed when they went before Pilate (see
As a schoolboy, I worked with my father during the
summer months. Each morning we stopped to pick up the early edition of the
newspaper at a small grocery store.
One morning when we got to work, my father found
that by mistake he had taken two newspapers instead of one. He first thought of
paying the man the extra price the next morning, but then after a moment’s
consideration he said, “I had better go back with this paper. I don’t want the
man at the store to think I’m dishonest.” He got in his car, drove back to the
store, and returned the paper.
About a week later, someone stole money from the
grocery store. When police pinpointed the time it occurred, the grocer
remembered only two people being in the store at the time—and one was my
father. The grocer immediately dismissed my father as a suspect, saying, “That
man is really honest. He came all the way back here just to return a newspaper
he took by mistake.” The police then focused their investigation on the other
man, who soon made a full confession. My father’s honesty made a big impression
on that non-Christian storeowner, and on me.
Does your Christian walk square with your Christian
talk? Is your honesty above question'
II. JESUS BEFORE PILATE
(Mark 15:1-2)
A. The chief priests, the
elders, the scribes, and the whole council delivered Jesus to Pilate. (15:1)
1.
The reason
that they did this was that the Sanhedrin could condemn Jesus to die, but they
could not carry out the execution.
Only
2.
Pilate is the Roman governor who is in
Pilate’s headquarters was down on the seacoast and
had a delightful climate. He liked that place; he did not like
3.
Pilate was a politician.
Expediency rather than Roman justice was the
motivating force in his life. He actually sought to release Jesus when he
discovered He was innocent, but at the same time he wanted to please the
religious rulers. Yet, if you will notice here, he could not really get the
cooperation from Jesus that he hoped to get. He thought that, if Jesus would
cooperate, he could please the religious rulers, too.
A Cheap Politician
Someone has
said: “Pilate is a typical example of a cheap politician who is unloosed from
the noble moorings of honesty and integrity and ‘carries water on both
shoulders,’ seeking to compromise and to please all sides. And when you try to
do that, you please no one.” – Author Unknown
B. Pilate
asked Jesus if He was the King of the Jews. (15:2)
Pilate
asked Jesus if He was the King of the Jews, and Jesus answered, “Thou sayest it.”
That would be the same as saying, “You’re right. I am.”
A. The crowd chose Barabbas to be released and not
Jesus. (15:12–13)
1.
A very remarkable and unheard of thing is taking place here.
It was evident to Pilate that the charges brought
against Jesus were false. Here he had on his hands a prisoner who was an
outstanding criminal named Barabbas, and so he makes the comparison between
Jesus and Barabbas.
2.
Pilate let the crowd make the decision.
“But Pilate answered them,
saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews? For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy.
But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas
unto them.”
(Mark 15:9-11) Pilate was so shocked when they asked for Barabbas to be
released that he, the judge, asked the people in dismay what he should do then
with Jesus.
Respect for the Word of God
What
is the best-selling book in history? The Bible? You’re
right! Think of its effect on Western culture: inspiration for countless works
of art, for great writers such as William Shakespeare and C. S. Lewis, and for
freedom movements such as the American Revolution and the abolition of slavery.
The English language is indebted to the Bible for some choice idioms: “the salt
of the earth” and “Woe is me!” are just two.
But,
ironically, the Bible may well be less read than many other books. Barna Research Group does frequent scientific polls on
things religious. This group has discovered, for example, that two-thirds of
Americans don’t read the Bible regularly and don’t know the names of the four
Gospels. It seems that acknowledgment of the Bible as the Word of God does not
radically affect how people actually live!
All of this should not surprise us, since the Word
of God who came in the flesh (John
B. The crowd had been instructed to demand that
Jesus be crucified. (
Here we see mob rule with a vengeance. The mob had
been instructed to demand that Jesus be crucified. When Pilate asked what evil
Jesus had done, they simply cried out more and more. “Crucify him.” No mob is
prepared to reason or to use its head or use good judgment. All they can do is
cry out, “Crucify him.”
C. Pilate, yielding to the will of the crowd,
released Barabbas and condemned Jesus to death. (
Pilate obviously was a weak, vacillating
politician. He yielded to the cry of the mob, and he delivered the Lord Jesus to
be crucified. Roman justice certainly went awry here. An innocent man is to
die. But wait a minute – Jesus Christ is taking my place and I am not
innocent. He is taking your place too!
CONCLUSION: Professor
and pastor Darrell L. Bock notes that the religious leaders only thought they
were holding a trial to convict Jesus: “Jesus simply and confidently [told
them] that [the] position at God’s right hand would be his and that God would
justify his claim to that position. In fact, he said that he would one day
judge the very leaders examining him. The real trial one day would be his.”
– David C. Cook Publishers, Bible-in-Life
THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: God will achieve His
purposes either through you or in spite of you. It’s your choice!
PASTOR RONALD PURKEY’S OFFICE
E-Mail: Pastor Ronald Purkey
·
Return to Other Bible Study Outlines