He Said, She Said

Preached by Benjamin Vrbicek

October 19, 2014

This morning we are in Mark 14:53-72. This passage begins what is the “trial” portion of the Gospels—the time when Jesus is tried by both religious and civil authorizes. The trial portion of the Gospels leads to the crucifixion, and the crucifixion leads to Jesus death, and his death leads to his resurrection. Which means, in our passage we are not at the end yet, but we are very close. Another way to say this is that when we turn to Mark 14:53, it’s like we just put in a movie to the DVD player, and we skipped to the last 30 minutes. Therefore, the action is intense, the stakes are high, the main characters stretched, and the verdict is up in the air, or so it seems.Typically, we read the passage and then pray, but this morning, in the interest of time, I’m just going to pray and we will read the passage as we come to different portions of it. Let’s pray…

Introduction

If you watch any TV at all, you’ll know that nearly every set of commercials has at least one commercial selling a vehicle. They tend to highlight things like style (the way the car makes you feel when you drive it, or how others feel when they see you driving it), or speed (the car can go 0-60 in ‘something-point-something’ seconds). Another highlighted aspect of a vehicle is safety (how well can the car will stop, ABS brakes; or what happens if it is hit from the side, side impact air-bags; or when what happens when backing up, is there a camera to avoid hitting things or worse, people).When I bought my last vehicle, which is a mini-van—a black, sexy Dodge caravan (don’t be jealous)—you probably know which feature was plugged the most: was it style, speed, or safety?Safety is a good thing. For the most part, I like to be safe and do you too.Even if you like riding roller coasters at Hersey Park like the “Great Bear” or “Skyrush,” you really only like ‘the appearance of danger.’ Deep down, you still want to be safe. Deep down, you want that roller coaster to stay adhered to the track.Hand sanitizer is a good thing. Tying shoelaces is a good thing. Walking with scissors and walking along the side of a pool, are good things. I commend them to you. Antilock brakes and side impact air-bags are good things. Making children hold your hand as you cross the road and wear safety glasses when they have airsoft wars, are good things.I commend these things to you, because behind the desire for safety, there is the desire for self-preservation, which is also a good thing (cf., we are made in the “image of God” and our lives matter; Paul in Ephesians 5 builds principles of marriage upon the fact that “For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it”).When women and men do heroic things, and we celebrate them, we are not saying that they didn’t care about their own lives. Of course they cared about their lives. What we celebrate is that they valued something more than self-preservation; we celebrate that they put something ahead of their own safety.And that gets to the issue. The problem is not safety or self-preservation. The problem is when self-preservation becomes an ultimate thing, when safety becomes god. When this happens, bad things happen.And we will see this in Mark 14, in both the religious leaders and in one of the disciples named Peter; and if we are honest, we can see this temptation in our own lives, the temptation to value self-preservation as god.In your Bible, our sermon passage is probably broken in two parts, and so let’s look at them closer in that way, in two parts. We’ll look at the two trials taking place. The first trial happened inside of a house, and the second on the outside. Jesus was led by guards to inside the high priest’s house, and Peter followed at a distance to the outside the house. And in both places there was an epic trial of ‘he said, she said.’ And an there is an epic battle for self-preservation, at least by most of the people in our passage.

1. The Trial Inside

Let’s start by looking closer at the trial that happens inside. Let me read vv. 55-59,

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.

What’s going on here? The words “council” in v. 55 is the Sanhedrin. It was the ruling religious body of the Jewish people. There were 70 members in it and together they decided things. Now, they were not supposed to go about it like this. I’m not going to go into all ways they violated protocol, but as Jason said last week, “this is not on the up-and-up.”Here, Jesus was on trial, and there were witnesses and there was testimony. And is often the case with false witnesses, their testimony did not agree. Eventually, they got two men to say something that was sort of in agreement, namely, that Jesus said he would destroy the temple and raise it up again.That interested me as I read it for two reasons. First, it looks a lot like something Jesus said in John chapter 2, but upon closer examination, there is a significant difference. Jesus did not say that he would destroy the temple, but merely that it would be destroyed. Second, I found it interesting that they latched on to this phrase. I mean, of all the things that Jesus said, wasn’t there something more potentially incriminating than this?Maybe, but what Jesus said in John 2 (talk of the temple doing down), was volatile stuff. We might say, “Them’s fighin’ words.”Let me put it like this: You know that you don’t ever say, “If there is a bomb on this airplane, I’ll take care of it” because you might quickly have an undercover air marshal telling you, “Excuse me sir, you need to come with me.”Or, if I say, “Burn the Declaration of Independence, and in three days, I will write a new one,” because that might get the FBI reading emails and listening to phone calls, because “Burn the Declaration of Independence” sounds a lot like “I will burn.” And so much so, that unless you had great reason to say so, you would not risk your safety to say something remotely like this because you wouldn’t want to be misunderstood.In many ways, the temple was a focal point of religious life. In the OT, once when the prophet Jeremiah spoke of the temple’s looming destruction, it nearly cost him his life, and if fact, it did cost the life another prophet, a contemporary of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 26, esp. vv. 20-23).All that to say, they were false witnesses, and they didn’t get it right, but Jesus risked his own safety, because he knew that he, not the temple, was to become the center of their religious life.Let me read the next verses. Vv. 60-65,

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.

As they mock Jesus’ ability to prophesy, his very prophesy is coming true (cf., three times in Jesus has said he is going to Jerusalem where these very things would happen; also, Peter is presently outside the house denying Jesus which was fulfilling prophesy.)The high priest asserts himself, demanding a response. Jesus does not give one, and it’s hard not to hear the famous prophecy from Isaiah 53 about the Messiah remaining silent before his accusers (v. 7).But one question does get Jesus to open his mouth. He was asked point blank if he is “the Messiah and the Son of the Blessed,” and oh does he answer that question.Jesus says, “I am.” And then he says that they will see him “seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” I am not going to go into the details here, but in saying this, Jesus took two separate, pointed, loaded, exalted passages about the coming Messiah from the OT, and he smashed them together and applied them to himself. He said, Yes I am the Messiah, and I am also the Son of God, and in fact, God himself.Least you think “Well, surely Jesus didn’t really just say all of that,” let me point out that the experts in the OT picked up exactly Jesus was throwing down. They called it blasphemy and as deserving of death.And they were right, Jesus did deserve to die, unless… unless what he said was true. They didn’t stop to consider that what Jesus said might be true. And so they go on to mock him and hurt him.In v. 60, the phrase “as deserving of death” is used because at the time, the religious leaders didn’t have the power to carry out executions (cf., John 18:31). Which leads to the last thing I want to say about this trial on the inside of the house.At this time, the Jewish people were being ruled by the Romans, and the Romans gave them some leeway to handle their business, but at the same time they could not do some things without permission.Anyway, what I want you to see was that behind all of this mockery of a trial and the false witnesses, was the desire for self-preservation. Jesus was a threat to the power and authority and praise and livelihood of the religious leaders and they had to, for their self-preservation, shut it down.Things were dicey with Rome as it was, they can’t have some renegade rabbi going around turning over money tables in the temple, and talking about the temple being destroyed, and all the while winning the hearts of the people. This has to stop. Now. It’s not safe. This is why Caiaphas, the high priest, said in another place that it was better “that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish” (John 11:49-51; cf. 18:14).In other words, this isn’t safe, we are not going to make it; therefore, kill Jesus.And you can see it, can’t you? Self-preservation just became god, and all threats must be eliminated.If that was the trial on the inside, what of the trial outside?

2. The Trial Outside

As we look at this, I think you will be surprised that a similar thing is taking place. We won’t go as slowly through this portion, but let me read the verses. Vv. 66-72.

66 And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, 67 and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, "You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus." 68 But he denied it, saying, "I neither know nor understand what you mean." And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed. 69 And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, "This man is one of them." 70 But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, "Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean." 71 But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, "I do not know this man of whom you speak." 72 And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times." And he broke down and wept.

This is a trial, was it not? Peter was questioned. And this time, the witnesses were more truthful than the ones on the inside.Peter, unlike Jesus, was as committed to self-preservation as the religious leaders were on the inside of the house. Now, we do give him some credit that he followed closely, right? I mean, that does count for something.But, in the end, what we see is that Peter exchanges true discipleship for “safe” discipleship. And when he does that, a “safe disciple” looks a lot like those that are not disciples at all.Let me tell you what I mean. When asked about Jesus, Peter did two things. First, he lied. This is fairly obvious to see. We know that Peter knows Jesus and so did everyone else there. This is just like the false witnesses inside.Second, Peter tried to evade the questions all together. The does this in two way. In v. 68, he tries to escape. It says, “And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed.” The first rooster is a wakeup call, but he hits the snooze button and evaded the issue. And he evaded in another way. Did you notice that Peter doesn’t say Jesus’s name? He only said, “I do not know this man of whom you speak” (v. 71).In the trial on the inside of the house, the central question about Jesus (was he the Messiah? Was he God?) was evaded. The religious leaders didn’t wrestle with that question. And on the outside, the same thing happened. Questions about Jesus were evaded.And in both cases, the desire for self-preservation, became god-like, something that demanded absolute allegiance, and bad things happened.

Applications

So what? What do we do with this passage and these people? I don’t know about you, but I find myself an awful lot like Peter. I can see a lot of my own sinful tendencies in what happens here. And maybe you can too.No one has every threated my life because I am a follower of Jesus. It might happen to me someday and it certainly does for other today. But I know that too often, I am a waffler. I don’t if that’s even a real a word, but that’s what I am. Someone asks a hard question, maybe a hard question about Jesus, and I feel this internal check inside me: this isn’t safe. My reputation is on the line here. So I waffle—you know what I mean; I knock the rough edges off Christianity; I make it more palatable to the modern mind. And it’s wrong. And I’ve been guilty of that.With those statements I have in mind the mostly people outside the church that have I have played it safe with. But I can be just as prone to self-preservation with you as well. Here’s what I mean. I know there have been times, since I have been here this last year when it would have been right for me to be more open, to let down my guard, to let a few key people in on a struggle here and there. But I know several times, I didn’t do it. I’m not talking about bearing my soul in a sermon or some public prayer time, but there have been a few times when I think to myself, “It would sure be nice to open up here; it would sure be nice to let people know that I don’t have it all together, and that I don’t have all of the answers.”I’m not sure why I do this. The gospel teaches that I am not perfect, but that I am counted as perfect by Jesus, so why do I still fake it.I’ve thought a lot about this recently. Maybe it’s because of my age and my role here at this church. On the one hand, I know I’m younger than many of you and I’m your pastor. And as soon as I say that, I want to scream, “Hey guys, I’m a grown man with a mortgage, four children, and 10 years of marriage, and I’m the same age as Jesus when he died for the sins of the world.”But the question is why do I feel like saying that? I think it’s because I’m a lot more into self-preservation than I ought to be. And so, it’s not safe to let people know I’m not perfect. If I’m going to a young teaching pastor, well then, I better have all of the answers.Maybe you are a lot like me and a lot like Peter. Have you ever waffled before? Has a co-worker ever said, I see saw you reading your Bible at lunch; what’s that about?” And you said, “Ahhh…. I’m not sure what you are talking about? I do not know this book of which you speak? I have to go back to my cubical now.”Or maybe you are not a young guy trying to prove himself in this church. Maybe you are older. And you look around and you see a bunch of young folks at this church, and in fact that guy on the sage he’s pretty young too. And maybe you think your voice, your influence, is being drowned out. So maybe you think, “Well, I’ll take my voice where it will be heard.” Or maybe you think, “I’ll just stay here, and here I’ll get louder.” Why? Have you thought about that?Or maybe at work it is ultra-competitive, and you are in this fight to prove your value and worth. Your job is up in the air the second you don’t perform. So maybe you take credit for another’s work, or when you do do something great, everybody has to know about. Because self-preservation is god-like.Or maybe in high school, every decision you make is about preservation: who you sit with, who you talk to, who you are friends with. It’s wrong.If you and I were living the truths of the gospel, how might we relate to each other differently? How might we have the boldness to speak to the outside world? If God loves us, who can be against us?Here’s the deal: God is God, and we are not. And all of us need each other; we need each other not to pretend have it together but to point the one that does.In v. 72 Peter heard the rooters a second time. When he heard that, he wept. Maybe someone of use, in tears, we have some apologies to make, whether to people here, or elsewhere, or maybe to God.

Conclusion

I’m want to close putting one last verse on the screen. It’s Mark 16:7.

But go, tell [Jesus’] disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.

Do you know who says that? We will get to this passage in November, but an angel speaks that verse while he sits inside an empty tomb. The angel says, “Jesus is alive; go tell all those people that follow him, but especially, tell Peter. Peter has to know.”Jesus gave up his safety and self-preservation, and he lost his life so that he could find it, and so that you and I could find it as well. May God give us the grace to follow his example.