Theological term
Sanhedrin
4 sermons · All terms
The Trial of Jesus Before the Jews
John 18:13–27 interweaves two scenes: Jesus standing firm under unlawful interrogation before Annas, and Peter collapsing three times before servants in a courtyard. The passage exposes the trial of Jesus before the Jews as a juridical farce engineered to secure a death warrant from Pontius Pilate, while the Sanhedrin — the very experts in the law — trample every evidentiary requirement their own law demanded. Peter's threefold denial is set in deliberate contrast to Christ's unflinching confession, calling believers to examine whether a willingness to die for Jesus necessarily includes the daily courage to live and testify for Him.
The Hearing before the Sanhedrin, Part 3
Matthew 26:65–68 records the formal charge of blasphemy leveled against Christ by the high priest Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin's unanimous verdict that he is deserving of death. This sermon, the third in a series on Christ before the Sanhedrin, examines three movements in the text: the high priest's indictment, the Sanhedrin's verdict, and the physical mistreatment of the Son of Man. The central irony running through the passage is that the one charged with blasphemy is the eternal Son of God, while those bringing the charge are themselves blaspheming — misrepresenting and condemning the Holy One of Israel in fulfillment of the very Scriptures they profess to uphold.
The Hearing before the Sanhedrin, Part 1
Matthew 26:57–61 places Jesus before the Sanhedrin in what the preacher demonstrates was not an impartial criminal trial but a predetermined hearing whose guilty verdict had been settled before any witnesses were called. The sermon maps the political and ecclesiastical machinery of the Sanhedrin — its composition, its lack of authority to execute, its violations of due process, and its need to construct a charge sufficient to deliver Jesus to Pilate — and addresses the charge that the gospel accounts of these events are colored by anti-Semitism. Against that background, the contrast between the faithful witness of Christ and the fearful, distanced discipleship of Peter issues a direct call to close, unashamed allegiance to the Savior, and an invitation to unbelievers to come to the One who restores even those who deny him.
The Third Announcement of Jesus' Death
Matthew 20:17–19 records Jesus' third and most detailed formal announcement of his coming death, functioning as a table of contents for the remainder of Matthew's Gospel. The passage identifies four prophetic elements: the betrayal of the Son of Man to the Sanhedrin, the Jewish council's condemnation, the delivery to the Gentiles for mocking and scourging, and the triumph of resurrection on the third day. This announcement is grounded in the Covenant of Redemption — the pretemporal compact between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — the fulfillment of Old Testament Scripture, and the necessity of saving God's elect from their sins. The sermon calls the church to receive, embrace, and worship in response to the gospel, and calls the unbeliever to flee the wrath of God by faith in Christ crucified and risen.