Jesus Before the Sanhedrin: Justice Perverted by Mob Mood

The world exalts justice in its best moods and defeats it in its worst. Everything depends upon the prevailing sentiment of the hour. On the first day of Holy Week, multitudes strewed the way with their garments for their King to ride upon; it was their mood. Five days later, a mob bearing lanterns and torches sought Him as a thief, leading Him prisoner over that same highway. The mood had changed, and mob law prevailed.

The tribunal convened was lawless beyond precedent. Jewish law decreed no court should sit before sunrise; this trial followed immediately upon the midnight arrest while Jerusalem slept. The law required every accused person have an advocate; the Nazarene stood alone, with none to question in His behalf. The law demanded witnesses be summoned; here, none testified. The judge, Caiaphas, had already declared Jesus must die to harmonize the factions of the people.

The indictment crumbled under scrutiny—flawed, confused, contradicted even by bribed witnesses. Their distorted charge concerned His temple saying, which He had applied to His body, not Jerusalem's pride. Yet even their own judges recognized this was no crime.

The prisoner stood sinless among men. No enemy has ever found flaw in His character. By His greatness and goodness, He throws all other human attainment into obscurity. Yet the best character offers no protection against human hatred. The higher the character, the more isolated it stands. His disciples would face identical persecution for righteousness' sake.