After being arrested, Jesus was brought to Caiaphas, the high priest, where an illegal assembly of the Sanhedrin put Jesus on trial. The purpose of a trial is to find the truth. But the purpose of Jesus' trial was to find a reason to put him to death. The sole purpose of Jesus' arrest was so the Sanhedrin could find a way to get rid of him. Although many false witnesses came forward, the Sanhedrin could not find a reason to put Jesus to death. When they asked Jesus to defend himself, he remained silent.

Then the high priest asked Jesus if he was the Messiah. Jesus replied, "You have said so. From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." At this point, they declared Jesus was worthy of death, mocked him, and beat him. The trial was an illegal, incompetent mess! But Jesus gave himself to them to accomplish not their purpose, but God's: the salvation of the world!

During the trial, Peter sat outside the building where he fulfilled Jesus' prophecy to Peter that he would deny Jesus three times. At the third time, Peter remembered Jesus' words and broke down.


Application: Father, thank you for Jesus who willingly gave himself over so that we could all be saved.
One Word: The Son of Man gave himself in order to sit at God's right hand.