Dec. 08, 2024

We ended last week at the Garden of Gethsemane and the betrayal of Judas and Jesus’ arrest. Upon His arrest, Jesus was first taken to Annas, then to an illegal night court of the Sanhedrin (which Mark will describe next), then to an official daylight trial of the Sanhedrin, then to Pilate, who sent Jesus to Herod, who sent Jesus back to Pilate, where He then went to the cross.

Mark Lesson 22 Study Questions

1.    They led Jesus away to the high priest: This trial of Jesus was terribly _______ according to Jewish law. There was much in the Jewish legal process to protect the rights of the _________, and all of this was ignored and deliberately broken by those who were determined to put Jesus to death.

2.    “this temple made with hands.” : “This is the most diabolical form of _______, because it is an untruth in which there is an __________ of truth. We remember Tennyson’s words: ‘A lie that is all a lie, may be met and fought outright; But a lie that is partly the truth, is a harder matter to fight.’”

3.    He kept silent and answered nothing: Jesus could have mounted a magnificent defense here, calling forth all the various ___________ to His deity, power and character. The people He taught, the people He healed, the dead risen, the blind who see, even the _________ themselves testified to His deity.

4.    In a real sense, it wasn’t Jesus on trial at all – it was more accurate to say that the religious ________ were on trial. They seemed to win, but they really lost. In fact, we all are on trial before Jesus and will be held to account for what we do with Him.

5.    We should bravely bear _____ and __________ for the sake of Jesus ourselves. “How ready should we be to hear slander and ridicule for Jesus’ sake.

6.    I neither know nor understand what you are saying: A ________ man of authority interrogated Jesus. Peter did not face this kind of interrogation, only one of the servant girls. But she was enough to make Peter _______ Jesus. 

7.    And when he thought about it, he wept: Peter finally called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, but he remembered it too late – it was after he had sinned. Then all Peter could do was to ______ bitterly – but he will be __________.

8.    Delivered Him to Pilate: The Jewish leaders took Jesus to Pilate because they did not have the legal right to ________ their own criminals. There were times when the Jews disregarded this prohibition of the Romans and executed those they considered criminals, such as at the stoning of __________. (Acts 7:57-60). 

9.    Pilate marveled: No doubt, Pilate had seen many men grovel for their lives before him. He also stood in ________ of many men as the governor of a Roman province. Yet there was something different about Jesus that Pilate ___________ at.

10.    He was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them: In addition, Pilate was no friend of the Jews. He could see through their manipulation, and he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of ______. This made Pilate want to find a way to ______ Jesus even more.