A 40-DAY JOURNEY WITH THE KING: Lenten reflections from Mark’s Gospel (36)

 


“Some stood up and gave false testimony against [Jesus], saying, “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’” …Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus…“Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” Jesus said, “I am; and

‘you will see the Son of Man
seated at the right hand of the Power,’
and ‘coming with the clouds of heaven.’” (Mark 14.57-62) 

     Jesus came to Jerusalem to fight – not with weapons, but with words.  Like Jeremiah before him, Jesus was convinced that the Temple and its hierarchy had become hopelessly corrupt and was ripe for judgment.  Jesus came to confront those same people who had slandered him in Galilee, those who had accused him of being in league with Satan and of being demon-possessed (cf. Mk. 3.22-30).  Then, Jesus had accused his accusers of blasphemy, and soon, they will return the favour (cf. 14.64).  From the time of his arrival in the capital, Jesus launches an assault on the Temple – first, he curses a fig tree and then proceeds to overturn the tables and chairs of the moneychangers, thus temporarily interrupting the routine of sacrifices and mounting a very public challenge to the authority of the chief priests and the scribes (cf. 11.12-19, 27-33).  Jesus’ adversaries immediately start looking for a way to kill him (11.18), and are only delayed in their plans by the presence of the crowd, who functions as Jesus’ bodyguard for several days as he teaches in the Temple courts.  Indeed, any words or actions that could be interpreted as constituting a threat against the Temple were considered highly treasonous and worthy of death (cf. Ac. 6.12-15; 7.47-60).  Two days before the Passover feast, the chief priests and scribes again hold council in order to find a way to capture Jesus away from the crowd and thus avoid causing unrest among the people (Mk. 14.1-2).  Judas Iscariot – we are not told of his motives – approaches the chief priests and offers to betray his master to them.  They promise to give Judas silver and he begins to look for opportune means to “hand Jesus over” (14.10-11; Gr: paradidomi; this verb occurs 7 times in chapter 14).

     Two days later, the opportunity presents itself – Jesus gathers with his apostles to share the Seder meal, after which they retire to Gethsemane, on the Mount of Olives (14.12-32).  After, Jesus prays to his Father that “the hour might pass from him” (14.33-35).  After submitting to the Father’s will – though Jesus reiterates that all things are possible for God – he returns to find his closest disciples overcome with sleep.  Then, in a quick succession of contradictory phrases, Jesus orders the disciples to both sleep on and to get up, because his betrayer has arrived (14.41-42).  At that very moment, Judas arrives at the head of a crowd with swords and clubs from the chief priests and scribes.  At last, they now have Jesus isolated and vulnerable.  Judas had arranged to identify Jesus with a kiss, upon which the guards seize Jesus and arrest him.  Jesus castigates his enemies for treating him like a “bandit”, when they could have arrested him in the Temple at anytime (14.48-49).  Following this, all of the apostles “abandoned him and fled” (14.50).  Jesus is now alone with his would-be murderers.

     Jesus is brought to the High Priest, who had assembled the Sanhedrin to try him for blasphemy.  The Council attempted to fabricate evidence that would convict Jesus of a capital offense, but the testimony of their “false witnesses” was contradictory.  Interestingly, the charges brought against Jesus concern words he allegedly spoke about the Temple’s destruction (14.57-58; cf. 15.29-30; Jn. 2.19).  When asked by the High Priest to answer the charges, Jesus remains silent.  When the High Priest asks him directly if he is “the Messiah, the Son of the blessed One”, Jesus responds with the enigmatic “I am” (14.62; cf. 6.50; 13.6; Ex. 3.14).  Jesus then continues: “…and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven”.  Again, Jesus quotes Dn. 7.13-14, thereby identifying himself as the king of Israel, the true representative of God’s people, all the while casting the High Priest and the Council in the role of the “monsters” who attack “the holy ones of the Most High” (Dn. 7.17-18).  The Sanhedrin has put Jesus on trial, but in light of the way Jesus is interpreting this event in terms of Daniel 7, precisely the opposite is occurring – it is the chief priests, scribes and elders who are on trial before the “Ancient of Days” and the one they accuse – the Son of Man – will be shown to have been vindicated at the moment of their destruction (cf. 12.1-12).  These words of Jesus are considered to be evidence enough – the High Priest tears his robes in a gesture of desolation and declares Jesus a blasphemer and requests the Council’s verdict, which comes back immediately as “death” (14.64).  In a moment thick with irony, the expert interpreters of the Law and the Scriptures have convicted the ultimate proclaimer/interpreter of the Word of God as a heretic.

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