Reading the Gospels Together

The Trials – Part 1

Once Jesus has been arrested all four gospel writers tell their readers about the “trial” of Jesus and along with it the “trial” of Peter. Clearly they all have the same circumstances in mind and tell much the same story, but again there are important differences. In this section we will need to consider Mark 14:53-15:20; Matthew 26:57-27:31; Luke 22:54-23:25; and John 11:45-53 and 18:12-19:16.

Mark begins his story by providing his readers with another of his famous “sandwiches” in which the denial by Peter encloses the “Jewish” trial of Jesus. Clearly Mark wants his readers to see these two episodes together and to compare them. Jesus was arrested in the dead of night and so Mark tells his readers that he is also tried before the Jewish Sanhedrin during the night. This would have been a highly irregular and basically illegal proceeding which has led some scholars to doubt the authenticity of the story. But, from Mark’s point of view, he is not attempting to provide a story of a just and fair trial anyway. So, there is no reason to doubt the scenario Mark has provided. The Jewish religious leaders have been exposed by Mark as the opponents of Jesus for a long time and were undoubtedly really “out to get” Jesus so regularity is tossed out the window. Mark’s story makes credible sense. Clearly the “trial” was not one in which the religious leaders were attempting to find the truth – they were intent on convicting Jesus from the very beginning. Mark speaks of false witnesses who simply do not agree with one another. It seems one of the main charges they bring against Jesus is his claim to “destroy this Temple made with hands and build another not made with hands.” In Mark’s storyline this is something that Jesus has never actually said! When we get to John’s gospels, however, we will hear words like this on the lips of Jesus in John’s story regarding the “cleansing” of the Temple – so perhaps Jesus did actually say something like this. Reading the gospels together provides us with a clearer picture of what may have actually happened. At any rate, even though Jesus never says these words in Mark’s gospel, it is abundantly clear that Jesus did in fact intend the destruction of the Temple. Mark’s story of the “cleansing” of the Temple is not a restoration project but a story of destruction – for Mark the Temple must be destroyed! So in an ironic way the “false charge” is in actuality true! The Temple in Mark’s gospel is marked for destruction. And if Mark was writing his gospel at about the time of the Jewish War of 66-70 AD then the destruction of the Temple was about to be or perhaps already was a fact! But it is not this testimony that finally leads to Jesus’ conviction. Jesus does not respond to the accusation regarding the Temple – had he done so likely he would have agreed with the charge. Jesus is silent. So, in what appears to be almost a desperate moment the high priests asks Jesus the question that has been looming throughout Mark’s gospel – “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” That the high priest should have used the words “Blessed One” in replacement for the word “God” reflects reality perfectly since the divine name was not to be spoken! It is highly significant that it is at this point that Jesus speaks and his speech is bold and unmistakable. YES, Jesus is the Messiah! In fact Jesus claims for himself the divine name, “I AM!” Throughout his gospel Mark has prevented anyone from speaking the true identity of Jesus. Here the silence is broken and it is broken by Jesus. Of course Mark has already told his readers from the very first verse of his gospel that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. Here that identity is introduced into Mark’s storyline for the first time by a human being who ironically doesn’t believe it. Mark wants his readers to know that this is the true identity of Jesus – he is the “Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One!” And with this revelation Jesus is convicted by the Jewish religious leaders. They have finally got what they wanted. The “Jewish” trial ends and Jesus is doomed to die.

Mark had skillfully mentioned Peter at the beginning of his story and now he returns to Peter in the courtyard below. Mark does not tell his readers how Peter got there – likely he wants them to suppose that, in his attempt to remain faithful, Peter has slipped in. Perhaps Peter will not abandon Jesus after all! But then it all begins to crumble and three times Peter denies Jesus – exactly what Jesus said would happen. At the third denial the cock crows and Peter is moved to tears. What Jesus said would happen did happen! We have seen this “prophecy/fulfilment” scenario a number of times now. This is a dark hour, but readers of Mark’s gospel have heard Jesus say that he would go before his disciples to Galilee and that they would see him there. And even though Mark never tells that story readers of Mark’s gospel can be 100% certain that it will happen. Even Peter’s denial, predicted by Jesus, becomes a strange piece of evidence that the journey to Galilee and the seeing of the risen Jesus will happen. Mark is setting up the ending of his gospel once again. But we must not miss the point that Mark wants his readers to hear the story of the “trial” of Jesus and the “trial” of Peter together – the trial of God and the trial of humanity – that’s why he created the “sandwich” for us. The utter darkness of humanity comes into full view in the two trials. We are all like Peter – all convicted! But this is not the end of the story – the young man at the tomb will tell the women to go and tell the disciples, AND PETER, that Jesus has risen. Mark does not tell us that story either but we know that Peter will be rehabilitated! And all those who find courage to believe in the risen Jesus will also find the rehabilitation humanity so desperately needs. Peter’s denial is the final failure of all humanity and the death of Jesus, the Crucified Messiah, is God’s powerful answer. Jesus will lose his life and in the losing of his life he will gain life for all those who follow him. Peter seeks to save his life and so he loses it. But God’s promise is of new resurrected life given as gift through the death of the Crucified Messiah. It is only when we see ourselves in Peter and his total failure that we too are open to the promise of new life in Jesus, the Crucified Messiah. That is the main point of Mark’s gospel! This is the reason why he has kept the identity of Jesus as the Messiah a secret until the crucifixion, the reason he has painted the disciples in such a disparaging light, and the reason his story enter into such darkness. God is acting to redeem the world helplessly bound in the clutches of death. And the death of Jesus is the powerful act of this redeeming God. So throughout his gospel Mark has been less concerned about providing the actual history of what has happened than he is to proclaim the gospel. Mark has not produced an historical narrative but a narrative of proclamation! And the other gospel writers have done the same. That does not mean that they “made everything up” – the events are historic – but it does mean that they have arranged the events and even adapted the events to proclaim their message. The most important question we need to ask is, “Does Mark’s Gospel proclaim the gospel to us? Does it function as God’s Word bringing us to our own death so that God can raise us to new life?” If Mark’s Gospel does that then he has been successful!