The Glory of His Arrest and Trial
The Righteousness of Christ · AD 30
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Romans 10:4
Christ was righteous — spotless, without sin, and without fault even in the eyes of His enemies. In this unit we follow Him through the unjust hours of April 7, AD 30: His agony in the garden of Gethsemane, His betrayal and arrest, His illegal trials before the high priests, Pilate, and Herod, and His condemnation to death. At every turn the Righteous One is falsely accused and convicted so that the guilty might be declared innocent in Him.
Read: Matthew 26:36–68; John 18:1–40; Luke 23:1–25
The Agony in Gethsemane
After His final sermon and High Priestly Prayer, the Lord led His disciples out of Jerusalem, through the Kidron Valley, to the garden of Gethsemane at the base of the Mount of Olives. It was one of His favorite places to pray. This night He came to prepare Himself to be unjustly arrested and tried by lawless men, and the weight of the world rested upon Him as He entered.
Taking Peter, James, and John a little farther, Christ was greatly distressed and troubled. He knew what He was about to drink: a cup filled with the fury of God's wrath. Though innocent, He would soon be made sin for us, bearing our guilt and shame by legal imputation so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Falling to the ground, He prayed that the cup might pass — yet He did not flee. Instead of hiding from the wrath of the Almighty, He continued His downward climb into the abyss, submitting His will entirely to His Father. An angel came and strengthened Him, and in His anguish His sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground. Meanwhile His disciples, weighed down with sorrow, slept.
Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.”
Matthew 26:38
saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
Luke 22:42
Betrayed and Arrested
While Christ prayed, Judas was leading a band of soldiers and temple officers — carrying lanterns, torches, swords, and clubs — to seize Him. Judas had given them a sign: the one he kissed was the man. Walking up to his Master, Judas greeted Him, “Rabbi,” and kissed Him. The Lord looked at His friend and asked, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”
Then Christ stepped forward and asked, “Whom do you seek?” When they answered, “Jesus of Nazareth,” He replied, “I am he” — and at those words the whole armed band fell backward to the ground. It would have been impossible to arrest Him had He not chosen to surrender Himself. Willingly He gave Himself up, asking only that His disciples be let go.
Peter drew his sword and struck the high priest's servant, Malchus, cutting off his right ear. But Christ commanded, “No more of this!” healed the man's ear, and told Peter to put away his sword. He would drink the cup His Father had given Him. As the soldiers bound Him, the disciples fled, and He was left utterly forsaken — bearing the shame of rejection though He was thoroughly spotless.
When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
John 18:6
So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”
John 18:11
Tried Before the Sanhedrin
Christ was escorted through Jerusalem to the high priest's palace, where He was first questioned by Annas and then sent bound to Caiaphas. Nothing about this midnight meeting was legal: the council had already determined the verdict and now sought only a superficial cover for their murderous intent. Though they brought in many false witnesses, they could find no two whose testimony agreed, for there was no fault to be found in Him.
When Caiaphas put Him under oath to say whether He was the Christ, the Son of God, Jesus would not deny His Father as Peter was denying Him. Down in the courtyard, warming himself at a charcoal fire, Peter denied his Lord three times, even calling down curses on himself — and then the rooster crowed. Catching sight of Jesus, he broke down and wept bitterly.
At this Caiaphas tore his robes and cried, “He has uttered blasphemy!” The council agreed that He deserved death — all but two, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, righteous men and secret disciples, who would not consent. Then they spat in His face, blindfolded Him, struck Him, and mocked Him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” Yet He did not revile in return, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.
And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
Mark 14:62
Tried Before Pilate and Herod
When Judas learned that his Master had been condemned, he was seized with remorse, confessed to the priests, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” and threw down the thirty pieces of silver. Finding no cure for his guilt, he went out and hanged himself in the potter's field — fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah. The chief priests, unable to execute anyone themselves, then dragged Christ to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate.
Unable to charge blasphemy under Roman law, they fabricated a charge of treason, claiming He forbade tribute to Caesar and called Himself a king. Questioned by Pilate, Christ explained that His kingdom is not of this world. Pilate found no guilt in Him, and when he learned Jesus was a Galilean, he sent Him to Herod Antipas, who mocked Him, arrayed Him in kingly robes, and sent Him back.
Pilate sought to release Him, offering the crowd a choice between Jesus and Barabbas, a notorious insurrectionist and murderer. Stirred up by the chief priests — and unmoved even by the warning of Pilate's own wife that Jesus was a righteous man — the people demanded Barabbas and chanted, “Crucify him!” Pilate washed his hands, publicly declaring himself innocent of the blood of a Man he knew to be guiltless.
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”
John 18:36
So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.”
Matthew 27:24
For Reflection
Down, down, down the King of Righteousness descended. Though He was innocent before God and man, He was condemned as a blasphemer and insurrectionist — unjustly arrested, unjustly tried, unjustly treated, and unjustly condemned. To be righteously judged by the Father for our sins, He had to be unrighteously judged by fallen men. There was no other way to drink the cup of God's wrath than to submit Himself humbly into the cruel hands of His enemies.