The Trial in Front of the Jewish Council-Mark 14:53-65; Luke 22:63-71 57 Those who had arrested Yeshua took him to Caiaphas, the chief priest, where the experts in Moses' Teachings and the leaders had gathered together.

58 Peter followed at a distance until he came to the chief priest's courtyard. He went inside and sat with the guards to see how this would turn out.

59 The chief priests and the whole council were searching for false testimony to use against Yeshua in order to execute him. 60 But they did not find any, although many came forward with false testimony. At last two men came forward. 61 They stated, "This man said, 'I can tear down God's temple and rebuild it in three days.'"

62 The chief priest stood up and said to Yeshua, "Don't you have any answer to what these men testify against you?"

63 But Yeshua was silent.

Then the chief priest said to him, "Swear an oath in front of the living God and tell us, are you the Messiah, the Son of God?"

64 Yeshua answered him, "Yes, I am. But I can guarantee that from now on you will see the Son of Man in the highest position in heaven. He will be coming on the clouds of heaven."

65 Then the chief priest tore his robes in horror and said, "He has dishonored God! Why do we need any more witnesses? You've just heard him dishonor God! 66 What's your verdict?"

They answered, "He deserves the death penalty!"

67 Then they spit in his face, hit him with their fists, and some of them slapped him. 68 They said, "You Christ, if you're a prophet, tell us who hit you."

Peter Denies Jesus-Mark 14:66-72; Luke 22:54b-62; John 18:15-18, 25-27 69 Peter was sitting in the courtyard. A female servant came to him and said, "You, too, were with Yeshua the Galilean."

70 But Peter denied it in front of them all by saying, "I don't know what you're talking about."

71 As he went to the entrance, another female servant saw him. She told those who were there, "This man was with Yeshua from Nazareth."

72 Again Peter denied it and swore with an oath, "I don't know the man!"

73 After a little while the men standing there approached Peter and said, "It's obvious you're also one of them. Your accent gives you away!"

74 Then Peter began to curse and swear with an oath, "I don't know the man!"

Just then a rooster crowed. 75 Peter remembered what Yeshua had said: "Before a rooster crows, you will say three times that you don't know me." Then Peter went outside and cried bitterly.

SON OF MAN.

Though Jesus was the Son of God, his favorite title for himself was the Son of Man, Huios tou Anthropou in Greek. It's a somewhat enigmatic title.

In the Old Testament, son of Man always means "human being." Notably, in Daniel 7:13-14, the "Son of Man" refers to a human being who is something more than human. Here and in the New Testament the title has strong messianic connotations and is closely connected with Jesus' second coming.

When taken together, the titles Son of Man and Son of God express the incredible mystery of the incarnation-that the second person of the Trinity came down from heaven to become one of us so that we could be one with him. When Jesus rose from the dead, he ascended into heaven, not just as God but also as a man. C. S. Lewis remarked on this truth, saying: "I seldom meet any strong or exultant sense of the continued, never-to-be-abandoned, Humanity of Christ in glory, in eternity. We stress the Humanity too exclusively at Christmas, and the Deity too exclusively after the Resurrection; almost as if Christ once became a man and then presently reverted to being simply God. We think of the Resurrection and Ascension (rightly) as great acts of God; less often as the triumph of Man."a Praying to the Son of Man The Jesus Seminar is a scholarly think tank that meets to discuss the historicity of Jesus. Its members, some of whom are atheists, vote with red, pink, gray, or black beads to try to determine whe ther the Gospels accurately report what Jesus might have said or done. Red beads mean that Jesus said it. Pink means that a saying is close to what he said. Gray means he didn't say it but that the saying contains elements of his teaching. Black means the saying didn't come from Jesus at all. Several years ago the Seminar concluded that of all the words in the Lord's Prayer as recorded in Matthew's Gospel, the only words that could be conclusively attributed to Jesus were "Our" and "Father."

According to the Jesus Seminar, Jesus was nothing more than a humble sage from Nazareth who never claimed to be divine. Instead, they say that New Testament writers and the gentile church were guilty of inflating his significance. By making such claims, they ignore important evidence to the contrary. Take the passage from Daniel 7 that speaks of Daniel's dream, in which he saw "among the clouds in heaven someone like the Son of Man" (verse 13). According to a prominent Jewish scholar, people in first-century Israel clearly thought of this as a messianic passage. Furthermore, in contrast to all the other passages that seemed to indicate a purely human Messiah, they understood the passage from Daniel as a reference to a divine Messiah.a On the night before his death, Jesus attributed this passage to himself, replying to the high priest's question about whether he was the Son of God: "From now on you will see the Son of Man in the highest position in heaven. He will be coming on the clouds of heaven" (Matthew 26:64). At that the high priest tore his clothes and accused him of blasphemy. Why? Because everyone in the room would have understood exactly what Jesus was saying. He was claiming to be the divine Messiah.

Ironically, the group that is supposed to be dedicated to discovering the historical Jesus has been guilty of spreading a number of historical inaccuracies about him. It is tempting to dismiss their findings by echoing the words of Albert Einstein, who spoke of people who have "been given a large brain by mistake."

The Gospels tell us that Jesus is both "Son of God" and "Son of Man," the one who became like us so that we could become like him. He is the one seated on the throne, destined to reign forever.

Jesus, you are the Son of Man, the long-awaited Messiah who came down from heaven to lift us up. You are the one who has been given power, honor, and a kingdom that will never be destroyed.

Promises Associated with the Name SON OF MAN.

The Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory. Then he will pay back each person based on what that person has done. (Matthew 16:27) Yeshua told them, "I can guarantee this truth: If you don't eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you don't have the source of life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will bring them back to life on the last day." (John 6:53-54)

The Death of Judas 27 1 Early in the morning all the chief priests and the leaders of the people decided to execute Yeshua. 2 They tied him up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.

3 Then Judas, who had betrayed Yeshua, regretted what had happened when he saw that Yeshua was condemned. He brought the 30 silver coins back to the chief priests and leaders. 4 He said, "I've sinned by betraying an innocent man."

They replied, "What do we care? That's your problem."

5 So he threw the money into the temple, went away, and hanged himself.

6 The chief priests took the money and said, "It's not right to put it into the temple treasury, because it's blood money." 7 So they decided to use it to buy a potter's field for the burial of strangers. 8 That's why that field has been called the Field of Blood ever since. 9 Then what the prophet Jeremiah had said came true, "They took the 30 silver coins, the price the people of Israel had placed on him, 10 and used the coins to buy a potter's field, as the Lord had directed me."

Pilate Questions Jesus-Mark 15:1-5; Luke 23:1-4; John 18:28-38 11 Yeshua stood in front of the governor, Pilate. The governor asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"

"Yes, I am," Yeshua answered.

12 While the chief priests and leaders were accusing him, he said nothing. 13 Then Pilate asked him, "Don't you hear how many charges they're bringing against you?"

14 But Yeshua said absolutely nothing to him in reply, so the governor was very surprised.

The Crowd Rejects Jesus-Mark 15:6-15; Luke 23:18-25; John 18:39, 40 15 At every Passover festival the governor would free one prisoner whom the crowd wanted. 16 At that time there was a well-known prisoner by the name of Barabbas. 17 So when the people gathered, Pilate asked them, "Which man do you want me to free for you? Do you want me to free Barabbas or Yeshua, who is called Christ?" 18 Pilate knew that they had handed Yeshua over to him because they were jealous.

19 While Pilate was judging the case, his wife sent him a message. It said, "Leave that innocent man alone. I've been very upset today because of a dream I had about him."

20 But the chief priests and leaders persuaded the crowd to ask for the release of Barabbas and the execution of Yeshua.

21 The governor asked them, "Which of the two do you want me to free for you?"

They said, "Barabbas."

22 Pilate asked them, "Then what should I do with Yeshua, who is called Christ?"

"He should be crucified!" they all said.

23 Pilate asked, "Why? What has he done wrong?"

But they began to shout loudly, "He should be crucified!"

24 Pilate saw that he was not getting anywhere. Instead, a riot was breaking out. So Pilate took some water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. He said, "I won't be guilty of killing this man. Do what you want!"

25 All the people answered, "The responsibility for killing him will rest on us and our children."

26 Then Pilate freed Barabbas for the people. But he had Yeshua whipped and handed over to be crucified.

The Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus-Mark 15:16-19;John 19:1-3 27 Then the governor's soldiers took Yeshua into the palace and gathered the whole troop around him. 28 They took off his clothes and put a bright red cape on him. 29 They twisted some thorns into a crown, placed it on his head, and put a stick in his right hand. They knelt in front of him and made fun of him by saying, "Long live the king of the Jews!" 30 After they had spit on him, they took the stick and kept hitting him on the head with it.

The Crucifixion-Mark 15:20-32; Luke 23:33-38; John 19:16b-24 31 After the soldiers finished making fun of Yeshua, they took off the cape and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

32 On the way they found a man named Simon. He was from the city of Cyrene. The soldiers forced him to carry Yeshua's cross.

33 They came to a place called Golgotha (which means "the place of the skull"). 34 They gave him a drink of wine mixed with a drug called gall. When he tasted it, he refused to drink it. 35 After they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by throwing dice. 36 Then they sat there and kept watch over him. 37 They placed a written accusation above his head. It read, "This is Yeshua, the king of the Jews."

38 At that time they crucified two criminals with him, one on his right and the other on his left.

39 Those who passed by insulted him. They shook their heads 40 and said, "You were going to tear down God's temple and build it again in three days. Save yourself! If you're the Son of God, come down from the cross." 41 The chief priests together with the experts in Moses' Teachings and the leaders made fun of him in the same way. They said, 42 "He saved others, but he can't save himself. So he's Israel's king! Let him come down from the cross now, and we'll believe him. 43 He trusted God. Let God rescue him now if he wants. After all, this man said, 'I am the Son of God.'" 44 Even the criminals crucified with him were insulting him the same way.

Jesus Dies on the Cross-Mark 15:33-41; Luke 23:44-49; John 19:28-30 45 At noon darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 46 About three o'clock Yeshua cried out in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" 47 When some of the people standing there heard him say that, they said, "He's calling Elijah." 48 One of the men ran at once, took a sponge, and soaked it in some vinegar. Then he put it on a stick and offered Yeshua a drink. 49 The others said, "Leave him alone! Let's see if Elijah comes to save him."

50 Then Yeshua loudly cried out once again and gave up his life.

51 Suddenly, the curtain in the temple was split in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split open. 52 The tombs were opened, and the bodies of many holy people who had died came back to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after he had come back to life, and they went into the holy city where they appeared to many people.

54 An army officer and those watching Yeshua with him saw the earthquake and the other things happening. They were terrified and said, "Certainly, this was the Son of God!"

55 Many women were there watching from a distance. They had followed Yeshua from Galilee and had always supported him. 56 Among them were Mary from Magdala, Mary (the mother of James and Joseph), and the mother of Zebedee's sons.

Jesus Is Placed in a Tomb-Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42 57 In the evening a rich man named Joseph arrived. He was from the city of Arimathea and had become a disciple of Yeshua. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Yeshua . Pilate ordered that it be given to him.

59 Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth. 60 Then he laid it in his own new tomb, which had been cut in a rock. After rolling a large stone against the door of the tomb, he went away. 61 Mary from Magdala and the other Mary were sitting there, facing the tomb.

The Chief Priests and Pharisees Secure Jesus' Tomb 62 The next day, which was the day of worship, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together and went to Pilate. 63 They said, "Sir, we remember how that deceiver said while he was still alive, 'After three days I will be brought back to life.' 64 Therefore, give the order to make the tomb secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may steal him and say to the people, 'He has been brought back to life.' Then the last deception will be worse than the first."

65 Pilate told them, "You have the soldiers you want for guard duty. Go and make the tomb as secure as you know how."

66 So they went to secure the tomb. They placed a seal on the stone and posted the soldiers on guard duty.

Jesus Comes Back to Life-Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-10 28 1 After the day of worship, as the sun rose Sunday morning, Mary from Magdala and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

2 Suddenly, there was a powerful earthquake. An angel of the Lord had come down from heaven, rolled the stone away, and was sitting on it. 3 He was as bright as lightning, and his clothes were as white as snow. 4 The guards were so deathly afraid of him that they shook.

5 The angel said to the women, "Don't be afraid! I know you're looking for Yeshua, who was crucified. 6 He's not here. He has been brought back to life as he said. Come, see the place where he was lying. 7 Then go quickly, and tell his disciples that he has been brought back to life. He's going ahead of them into Galilee. There they will see him. Take note that I have told you."

8 They hurried away from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples.

9 Suddenly, Yeshua met them and greeted them. They went up to him, bowed down to worship him, and took hold of his feet.

10 Then Yeshua said to them, "Don't be afraid! Go, tell my followers to go to Galilee. There they will see me."

The Guards Report to the Chief Priests 11 While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city. They told the chief priests everything that had happened.

12 The chief priests gathered together with the leaders and agreed on a plan. They gave the soldiers a large amount of money 13 and told them to say that Yeshua's disciples had come at night and had stolen his body while they were sleeping. 14 They added, "If the governor hears about it, we'll take care of it, and you'll have nothing to worry about."

15 The soldiers took the money and did as they were told. Their story has been spread among the Jewish people to this day.

Jesus Gives Instructions to the Disciples 16 The eleven disciples went to the mountain in Galilee where Yeshua had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they bowed down in worship, though some had doubts.

18 When Yeshua came near, he spoke to them. He said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 So wherever you go, make disciples of all nations: Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach them to do everything I have commanded you.

"And remember that I am always with you until the end of time."

a Chuck Colson, "God with Us," http://thepoint.breakpoint.org/commentaries/13594-god-with-us, November 24, 2009 (accessed December 11, 2009).

a Susan Cavendish, "The Gift of a Miracle," Holt International 51, no.4 (Fall 2009): 13.

a C.S. Lewis, "Reflections on the Psalms," in The Inspirational Writings of C.S. Lewis (New York: Inspirational, 1994), 199.

a David Flusser, The Sage from Galilee (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007), 107-16.

a 2:1 Or "astrologers."

a 2:11 Myrrh is a fragrant resin used for perfumes, embalming, and deodorizers.

a 3:12 Winnowing is the process of separating husks from grain.

b 3:12 A threshing floor is an outdoor area where grain is separated from its husks.

c 4:7 Or "Never put the Lord your God to any test."

a 4:25 A federation often Greek city states east and west of the Jordan River.

a 5:22 Some manuscripts and translations add "without a cause."

a 6:13 Or "rescue us from evil."

a 8:2 "Clean" refers to anything that Moses' Teachings say is presentable to God.

a 10:25 Beelzebul is another name for the devil. See Matthew 12:24.