Tuesday, June 18, 2024

PT-3 "Intro to Matt. 26:57-68)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/18/2024 9:03 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                               Focus:  PT-3 “Intro to Matt. 26:57-68”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Matthew 26:57-68

 

            Message of the verses:  57 Those who had seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together. 58 But Peter was following Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and entered in, and sat down with the officers to see the outcome. 59 Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death. 60 They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on two came forward, 61 and said, "This man stated, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.’" 62 The high priest stood up and said to Him, "Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?" 63 But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, "I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God." 64 Jesus said to him, "You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN." 65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, "He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; 66 what do you think?" They answered, "He deserves death!" 67 Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, 68 and said, "Prophesy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?’”

 

            The more times that I read over these verses the sadder I get.  I know that in order for me to become a child of God that Christ had to die in my place, but nonetheless it is sad to see what Christ had to go through in order to save me.  I now want to continue to look at more commentary from MacArthur’s commentary as we continue looking at the Jewish laws, which as we will see that the Jews did not follow any of them in order to crucify Christ, it was like mob rule with no laws followed.

 

            “Rabbinical law required that a sentence of death could not be carried out until the third day after it was rendered and that during the intervening day the members of the court were to fast.  That provision had the effect of preventing a trial during a feast, when fasting was prohibited.  The delay of execution also provided additional time for evidence or testimony to be discovered in the defendant’s behalf.

 

            “Simon Greenleaf was a famous professor of law at Harvard University in the last (19th) century.  In his book The Testimony of Evangelists ([Jersey City, JM: Frederick P. Linn, 1881], pp. 581-84) a section written by lawyer Joseph Salvador gives fascinating and significant information about proper Sanhedrin trial procedure.  Because a defendant was protected against self-incrimination, his confession, no matter how convincing, was not sufficient in itself for conviction.

 

            “On the day of the trial, according to Salvador, the court officers would require all evidence against the accused person to read in the full hearing of open court.  Each witness against him would be required to affirm his testimony was true to the best of his knowledge and was based on his own direct experience and not on hearsay or presumption.  Witnesses also had to identify the precise month, day, hour, and location of the event about which they testified.  A council itself could not initiate charges agains a person but could only consider charges brought before it by an outside party.

 

            “A woman was not allowed to testify because she was considered to lack the courage to give the first blow if the accused were convicted and sentenced to death.  Children cont not testify because of their immaturity, nor could a slave, a person of bad character, or a person who was considered mentally incompetent.

 

            “There was always to be presumption of innocence, and great latitude was given the accused in presenting his defense.  In a local council, eleven votes out of the total of twenty-three were required for acquittal, but thirteen were required for conviction.  If the accused was found guilty, the sentence was not pronounced until two days later and, as mentioned above, the council members were required to fast during the intervening day.  On the morning of the third day the council was reconvened, and each judge, in turn, was asked if he changed his decision.  A vote for condemnation could be changed to acquittal, but not the reverse.

 

            “If a guilty verdict was reaffirmed, an officer with a flag remained near the council while another officer, often mounted on horseback, escorted the prisoner to the place of execution.  A herald went before the slow-moving procession declaring in a loud voice, ‘This man [stating his name] is led to punishment for such a crime; the witnesses who have sworn against him are such and such persons; if any one has evidence to give in his favor, let him come forth quickly.’  If, at any time before the sentence was carried out, additional information pertaining to innocence came to light, including the prisoner’s recollection of something he had forgotten, one officer would signal the other, and the prisoner would be brought back to the council for reconsideration of the verdict.  Before the place of execution was reached, the condemned person was urged to confess his crime, if he had not already done so and was given a stupefying drink to dull his senses and thereby make his death less painful.”

 

            I have to say that there is much more to this introduction which is explaining what the laws were like in Israel at the time when the mock, fake trial was going on which would end up in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

 

6/18/2024 9:33 AM

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