“A sham trial”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Wednesday, July 24, 2024 Matthew 26: 57-68 (Forward, p. 87) CEV p. 1020
Those who have suffered through a miscarriage of justice, a distortion or misuse of the judicial system, can surely feel a certain connection with what Jesus endured, a certain sympathy. Frank Morison, in his masterly book, Who Moved the Stone, describes in detail just how far from the normal regulations and requirements this sham trial of Jesus went:
-the trial could not be held at night. -witnesses found to be giving false testimony would be subject to the same punishment as the one on trial (so, in this case, seeing as this was a capital offence, they would be executed). -there could be no direct questioning of the prisoner, no self-incrimination. -there had to be a breathing space, some time, between sentencing and punishment, to allow for second-thoughts or further consideration.
And the list goes on. Clearly the authorities already had a verdict in mind, and so there really wasn’t any interest on their part in giving Jesus a ‘fair’ trial. They wanted Jesus dead, out of the way for good, and that was that—and they were willing to do anything in their power to make that happen. Indeed, as we would later see, when they appeared before Pilate, they changed their tune. Instead of accusing Jesus of blasphemy, which they knew would never ‘stick’ with Pilate, they then accused Jesus of insurrection, of claiming to be king.
So, how does this connect up with us? Well, years ago, I realized that Jesus, during His earthly life, went through everything that any of us will ever endure. So, being betrayed, forsaken, misunderstood, slandered, lied about, falsely represented, accused, abused—whatever it might be that we endure, are not at all new to Him. He too has experienced these things and so knows what it is like. Furthermore, He stands with us in these things and can help us through them as no other person ever could. Thanks be to God.
Forward notes: “He deserves death” (verse 66).
“When I was young, I loved attending Holy Week services. My family still jokes about the time my sister and I played ‘Holy Thursday,’ washing each other’s feet and giving each other ‘communion’ with watered-down cranberry juice and white bread we had smashed flat and cut into circles. And even though the Passion Gospels on Palm Sunday and Good Friday were long, and I would get tired of standing during them, I realized something deep was happening in them. We read them in parts, and when it was our turn to read as a congregation, we would shout the chilling words of ‘the People:’ things like ‘Crucify him!’ and ‘He deserves death!’ I still hate how it feels to say those words, and they make me uncomfortably aware of how my choices and actions hurt others. I know that all too often, I am sinning and selfishly crying out, ‘Crucify him! He deserves death!’ It hurts to know this is how I treat Jesus instead of washing the feet of others, as Jesus commanded me to do.”
Moving Forward: “When faced with the choice of death and hatred or life and care, how can you ask God to help you make the right choice?”