Falsely Accused, Rightly Convicted

Mark 14:53-65

Verse 55  The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put Him to death, but they did not find any.

    When the lamb or kid was chosen for that first Passover meal, it had to go through an extensive examination to make sure it was unblemished.  It could have no cuts or breaks.  It needed to be checked over thoroughly before it was allowed to be sacrificed.

    Jesus as our Passover Lamb had to go through a thorough examination but those examining Him were not choosing Him as their Passover Lamb, they were looking for blemishes for their own evil reasons.  The religious leaders were looking for any reason they could to get rid of Him forever.  Their desire wasn’t to just send Him away, they wanted Him dead.

    There was a problem with their mission, there were only certain things Jewish law allowed a person to be put to death for.  Leviticus 20 lists a bunch of them, everything from sacrificing their children to the idols of their enemies, sexual immorality and people who acted as or consulted those who contacted the spirits of the dead.  Another thing a person could be killed for was blaspheme against the Lord (Leviticus 24:16).

    They brought Jesus before the 72 panel of religious rulers and started asking Him questions.  Questions they hoped would lead to a conviction, the problem was Jesus had never done anything wrong.  Even with all their bonus laws the leaders couldn’t find anything which would allow them to put Him to death.  The religious leaders went as far as to try to pay people to lie about Jesus so they could have Him put to death, but putting Him to death wasn’t good enough in their book, they wanted Him crucified which meant the Romans had to judge Him too.

    While their intentions were evil the result was the same as the lamb for the first Passover.  It was a sacrifice for salvation.  The first Passover lamb didn’t clear them for an eternity with God but it saved their oldest to go to the Promised Land with them.  Jesus was giving Himself as the permanent sacrifice, paying our debt of sin.  A perfect Lamb.  His saying He was the Messiah wasn’t blaspheme because it was truth.  He was sacrificed because He was the Promised One of God.

Making It Personal

    What does it mean to you that Jesus was perfect?  Do you ever try to find things against another person so you can justify not liking them?  When have you been falsely accused?

Making It Personal Kids

    Have you ever had someone blame you for something you didn’t do?  Have you ever blamed someone for something they didn’t do just because you don’t like them?  What does it mean to you to know Jesus was perfect?

Closing Prayer

    Father, You had planned this Passover sacrifice since the fall in the Garden of Eden and knew each of us by name who You would call to be covered by His blood.  Give us hearts which desire to see Your sacrifice and embrace the love You have for us.  In Jesus’ name, amen.