He was oppressed and afflicted,

yet he did not open his mouth.

Like a lamb led to the slaughter

and like a sheep silent before her shearers,

he did not open his mouth.

That’s Isaiah 53 verse 7. Its just one of hundreds of Old Testament passages that predicted what Jesus was going to do. For centuries God laid out what Jesus was going to do when he came so that people could see his faithfulness… and be confident that Jesus really is the one he promised to send. Some of the passages are a little obscure. Many of them are precise and obvious.

In fact… when I first read that chapter, Isaiah chapter 53, to my oldest son when he was five… I read it to him and then asked who it was talking about. And he said straight away… Jesus.

In Matthew 26 verse 57… Jesus says to the mob that’s come to arrest him in the dark:

“Have you come out with swords and clubs, as if I were a criminal, to capture me? Every day I used to sit, teaching in the temple, and you didn’t arrest me. But all this has happened so that the writings of the prophets would be fulfilled.”

They may be unfaithful to their calling… but they can’t escape the word and plans of the faithful God.

They take him to the house of the High Priest where the whole Jewish religious council is meeting, the Sanhedrin.

They’re meeting illegally. They’re not aloud to hold a trial like this at night… but they don’t care.

They call witnesses to accuse Jesus of things that they can put him to death for. These are… false witnesses. Matthew tells us they’re false… and its obvious from their words. God’s Old Testament Law says that a person can be put to death on the accusation of two or three witnesses. That shouldn’t be hard, right? But when people are making up stories… their stories aren’t going to agree… and so it becomes obvious that they’re all false.

At which point the trial should’ve changed.

In The Old Testament… In Deuteronomy 19 verse 18… God said this:

The judges are to make a careful investigation, and if the witness turns out to be a liar who has falsely accused his brother, you must do to him as he intended to do to his brother.

These false witnesses are trying to get Jesus killed… which means… the judges should condemn THEM to death. They’re plainly the guilty ones.

But these are unfaithful judges. They’re part of this crime against Jesus. They deserve the same death as these false witnesses. And so they ignore the guilty… and keep trying to condemn the innocent. When they finally find two witnesses who agree… Jesus doesn’t respond. He stays silent, just like God had said he would all those years ago.

Finally, in frustration the High Priest says to him in verse 63…

“I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”

This would be a big enough claim for Jesus to make. But Jesus goes further and claims a title… the Son of Man… that means God will make him the ruler of the universe. Jesus says:

“You have said it. But I tell you, in the future you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Jesus is referring to what God said would happen in Daniel, chapter 7. Listen to what happens to this Son of Man as he comes before the throne of the living God.

He approached the Ancient of Days

and was escorted before him.

He was given dominion

and glory and a kingdom,

so that those of every people,

nation, and language

should serve him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion

that will not pass away,

and his kingdom is one

that will not be destroyed.

You see… they’re standing there judging him… relying on the witness of liars and fakes… ignoring the evidence of the last three years of Jesus’ public ministry… ignoring the testimony of the whole Old Testament that faithfully predicted all these things Jesus would do…

But one day… they’re going to bow before him… he’ll be their king… and judge.

This is their last moment to pull back from their evil… but instead… just like the faithful God had said would happen… they declare an unjust verdict… and sentence him to death.

Some time before this… the Romans had taken away the Jews right to put someone to death. And so to have Jesus legally condemned… they need to take him to the Roman governor… Pontius Pilate. The Romans prided themselves on… pretty much everything… but one thing in particular was their law. They thought of themselves as blessing the world by conquering people and then giving them access to their law.

So this should be good news for an innocent man.

At this trial, the priests and leaders of the Jews stop being the judges and become… the witnesses. The ones giving evidence against Jesus. But remember… They don’t care about the truth.

In this trial, again, Jesus is silent… faithful to what God said about him all those years ago. And Pilate’s amazed. In Roman law… if you don’t defend yourself… you’re treated as guilty. In verse 13 he says to Jesus:

“Don’t you hear how much they are testifying against you? But he didn’t answer him on even one charge, so that the governor was quite amazed.

Pilate realises pretty quickly that Jesus is innocent. He knows that the chief priests are just envious of him. “Why’s everyone listening to him instead of us? Let’s kill ‘im.” So Pilate should… Just put an end to it, right? Just let him go.

But Pilate’s worried that there might be a riot if he does that… so he comes up with a scheme.

In his prison… he’s got a condemned man… A man named Barabbas. This guy’s famous for being bad. Everyone knows he’s guilty. Everyone knows he deserves to die. And Barabbas would’ve got up that morning, knowing that in a few hours he’d be nailed to a cross and left to rot.

Pilate offers the crowd a choice. Should he release Jesus… or Barabbas. This is a clever trick. Who on earth would ever want Barabbas released? Verse 20 tells us, though, that:

The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to execute Jesus.

Again… they’re all condemning themselves. They know Barabbas is guilty. And when Pilate asks what Jesus has done wrong they all call out… crucify him! Because there is no answer.

So Pilate eases his conscience with the lamest excuse in all of history. In verse 24 we read:

He took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. See to it yourselves!”

What a joke. He’s the judge. Its his call. He can let Jesus go, but he doesn’t. Of course he’s not innocent.

But even more chilling is the crowds response. In verse 25:

All the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”

And so Pilate’s been unfaithful… The crowd have been unfaithful… no-one ever thought Barrabbas was faithful… and the Jewish priests and elders have been unfaithful.

The only one who’s truly innocent, is the one about to be crucified.

But of course… That’s why he’s come. To die and take the death of those who deserve it. Isaiah 53 verse 5 says:

But he was pierced because of our rebellion,

crushed because of our iniquities;

punishment for our peace was on him,

and we are healed by his wounds.

But that’s a story… for next time.