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The Stations of The Cross - Third Station

Jesus condemned by the Sanhedrin.

Mark 14.55-64

(Caiaphas to the court)
‘Let us now consider together, the prisoner,
This self-styled prophet – Jesus Bar Joseph’
accused of breaking the Law of Moses.
That he bragged to such a high degree,
That no one could perform miracles as he.
You will all agree, I’m sure, how necessity
Should dictate the course we must take,
So, he shall be condemned for all our sakes.

And Let us not be mistaken,
To avoid at all cost the threat that he
And his followers pose to the nation.
That by his seditious preaching, he brings
Down the wrath of the occupying power.
And in that hour, for those who cannot flee,
Shall we then see wives, sons, and daughters slain?
And for that, who here will then take the blame?’

Some gave false testimony against him,
So, subverting his innocence to plea.
But as witnesses, no two could agree.
So, did he say, or did he not, that should
He chooses, he could destroy the temple,
And then build the same again in three days?
None cared; no two witnesses could agree.
Was it then sedition, or was it, blasphemy?

‘Jesus Bar Joseph, hearken, and answer
To me now upon the most Sacred Oath.
I shall adjure you by the Living God,
That you testify to the truth’.

‘Are you the Messiah, the Christ of Israel?’
‘I Am’
‘Again, do you claim to be the Son of God?’
‘I Am’
‘Blasphemy! What further need is there of proof?
Out of his own mouth he slanders the truth!’

‘Jesus Bar Joseph, aged thirty-three,
A carpenter by trade, from Galilee.
Tried before the Sanhedrin, for blasphemy.
Convicted, not by witnesses, but out of
Your own mouth, to the worst possible degree.
The sentence of the court must now be death’.

(Caiaphas aside)
It has now fallen upon me,
To carry this burden; to judge
This man, for preaching sedition
To the nation. Now my robe is rent,
And my anger has been spent.
We now have the necessary sentence.
That this man, who must now die, will,
By dying, be the means of sparing us all.

Images from Wikimedia Commons: Jeremias de Decker

© D G Moody 2023

Poetry by D G Moody