Determined to Crucify Him

Ike's comment, pointed out in the last post, Excitement, Faith, Hope , was that Jesus enemies never discounted the authenticity of His miracles. How disappointed the pharisees must have been that they couldn't do so! In fact, Jesus even proved that He was the Messiah to them according to the pharisees' own writings!

For example, one way He did this was to heal a leper. (He healed more than one) The pharisees had it in their so called rule book that, when they would therefore examine the authenticity of a miracle, a delegate was sent forth to do so, and one miracle, that of healing a leper, when witnessed, would only be possible by the Messiah. Now that's what the pharisees' said in their own rule book. And that's why Jesus would send the healed leper back, to 'show' himself to the pharisees. He was proving to them by their own precious rules, that He was who He said He was. But what is so revealing beyond that, is that as Ike said - since they couldn't discount the miracle - they had to resort to other methods of attacking Jesus' authenticity and questioning Who He was. This goes to show how truly deceptive & wicked their hearts were.

As well, there were many aspects of the arrest and trial, which violated and disregarded whether the arrest and trial was even valid (according to their own laws). Pilate, having washed his hands before the crowd, seemed to know that at any cost, the liars and deceivers would find a way, even illegally, to convict Jesus of Nazareth & crucify Him.

ILLEGAL ASPECTS OF THE TRIAL OF JESUS

Following are some of the illegal aspects of the trial of Jesus:

• Trials could occur only in the regular meeting places of the Sanhedrin (not in the palace of the High Priest)
• Trials could not occur on the eve of the Sabbath or Feast Days or at night
• A sentence of 'guilty' might only be pronounced on the day following the trial

THE ISSUE OF WITNESSES

Deut. 19:15 "One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses."

Deut. 17:6 "On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but no one shall be put to death on the testimony of only one witness."

Mark 14:56 "Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree."

While in the court of the High Priest, He was questioned by Annas (John 18:13)and struck by a soldier (John 18:22) He was then brought to Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin. who sought to put Jesus to death by the false testimony of many witnesses. The witnesses brought against Him did not agree. By the law, no one could be put to death without the agreement of two or three witnesses. Although the witnesses did not agree, He was found guilty of blasphemy when He told them of His identity as the Son of God. He was sentenced to death. Jesus suffered ridicule from the palace guards, who spat on Him, beat Him and slapped Him on the face. (Mark 14:65) During the trial, Peter denies Him three times. The proceedings of Jesus' trial violated many of the laws of His society. Among some of the other broken laws were:(Bucklin)

1. Any arrest could not be made at night.
2. The time and date of the trial were illegal because it took place at night and on the eve of the Sabbath. This time precluded any chance for the required adjournment to the next day in the event of a conviction.
3. The Sanhedrin was without authority to instigate charges. It was only supposed to investigate charges brought before it. In Jesus' trial, the court itself formulated the charges.
4. The charges against Jesus were changed during the trial. He was initially charged with blasphemy based upon His statement that He would be able to destroy and rebuild the Temple of God within three days, as well as His claim to be the Son of God. When He was brought before Pilate, the charge was that Jesus was a King and did not advocate paying taxes to the Romans.
5. As stated above, the requirement of two witnesses in agreement to merit the death penalty was not met.
6. The court did not meet in the regular meeting place of the Sanhedrin, as required by Jewish law.
7. Christ was not permitted a defense. Under Jewish law, an exhaustive search into the facts presented by the witnesses should have occurred.
8. The Sanhedrin pronounced the death sentence. Under law, the Sanhedrin were not allowed to convict and put the death sentence into effect. (John 18:31)