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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mar_14:53-65
53They led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes gathered together. 54Peter had followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the officers and warming himself at the fire. 55Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, and they were not finding any. 56For many were giving false testimony against Him, but their testimony was not consistent. 57Some stood up and began to give false testimony against Him, saying, 58"We heard Him say, 'I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.'" 59Not even in this respect was their testimony consistent. 60The high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, "Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?" 61But He kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" 62And Jesus said, "I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." 63Tearing his clothes, the high priest said, "What further need do we have of witnesses? 64"You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?" And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. 65Some began to spit at Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists, and to say to Him, "Prophesy!" And the officers received Him with slaps in the face.
Mar_14:53 "They led Jesus away to the high priest" Joh_18:13 a mentions Annas, but Caiaphas was High Priest from a.d. 18-36 (cf. Mat_26:57). The Synoptic Gospels do not record the interrogation by Annas. He was the previous High Priest and really the power behind the office (cf. Joh_18:13 b).
▣ "all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes" This phrase was used to designate the Great Council, the Sanhedrin (cf. Mar_14:55). See Special Topic at Mar_12:13.
Mar_14:54 This verse sets the stage for Peter's denials in the courtyard. Peter could not stay away, but would not/could not identify himself with Jesus. What irony!
NASB "he was sitting with the officers"
NKJV "he sat with the servants"
NRSV "he was sitting with the guards"
TEV "he sat down with the guards"
NJB "was sitting with the attendants"
This is a periphrastic imperfect middle (deponent) participle. It seems to imply that Peter tried to act like one of the servants/attendants. He wanted to melt into the group, but the light on his face and the Galilean accent gave him away. Peter remembers this night well!
Mar_14:55 This was not a legal trial; it was a sham trial (cf. A. N. Sherwin-White, Roman Society and Roman Law in The New Testament, pp. 24-47).
Mar_14:56 "For many were giving false testimony against Him" The imperfect tense (in this verse twice and in Mar_14:57; Mar_14:59) shows the repeated attempt at false testimonies, but no two agreed. This was a parade of bad liars!
▣ "their testimony was not consistent" In the OT it took the testimony of two witnesses to convict (cf. Deu_17:6; Deu_19:15). Also in the OT if someone bore false witness they were to bear the penalty of the accused.
Mar_14:58 "'I will destroy this temple'" This verse is a good example about Jesus' use of metaphors to describe upcoming events. The word "temple" stands for two things and two time frames.
1. Jesus' body (cf. Joh_2:19-22) crucified, but resurrected in three days (i.e., the sign of Jonah, cf. Mat_12:39-40; Luk_11:29-32). This was to happen within hours.
2. Herod's temple in Jerusalem was going to be destroyed by the Romans in a.d. 70 and not rebuilt. This was a future judgment in about 40 years, but it reflects an eschatological judgment (i.e., 2 Thessalonians 2; and Revelation).
It is easy to see how Jesus' temporal, yet eschatological, kingdom and its ethics could be misunderstood by dogmatic, legalistic religionists, both then and now.
▣ "'in three days'" This time reference (cf. Mar_8:31; Mar_9:31; Mar_10:34) is linked to OT prophecy in 1Co_15:3-4. The "three day" time frame is linked both to a "new temple" and the new resurrection body. Jesus intentionally merged these two. The temple of the new age is the believer, both individually and corporately (cf. 1Co_3:16; 1Co_6:19).
▣ "'I will build another made without hands'" This is an awesome prophecy of Jesus' death and resurrection. As the temple was central in OT worship, now it will be Jesus Himself. He is the rejected cornerstone! He is the new focus of worship!
He has the power to lay down His own life and pick it up again (cf. Joh_10:11; Joh_10:15; Joh_10:17-18). He is in total control of His life and death and resurrection.
Mar_14:60 "The high priest stood up and came forward and questioned" The High Priest was trying to get Jesus to incriminate Himself. This was illegal under Jewish law, as was a night trial and a trial and punishment on the same day.
Mar_14:61 "He kept silent" This may be fulfillment of Isa_53:7 (cf. Mat_26:63; Mat_27:12-14; Mar_15:5; Luk_23:9; Joh_19:9).
▣ "Again the high priest was questioning Him" Mat_26:63 adds that he put Him under an oath.
▣ "Christ" This is the Greek translation of the Hebrew term Messiah which meant "an anointed one." In the OT prophets, priests, and kings were anointed as a special symbol of God's choice and equipment for an assigned task. The term came to be used for the special royal "Son of David" (cf. 2 Samuel 7) who would redeem and restore Israel.
▣ "the Son of the Blessed One" "Blessed One" is a common Jewish title (i.e., circumlocution) for God. The Jews did not expect the Messiah to be God incarnate, but a gifted/empowered human, like the Judges. But Jesus used this family relationship to assert His fully equality with the Father (cf. Joh_5:18; Joh_10:30; Joh_10:33; and also Mar_1:1).
Mar_14:62 "'I am'" This may have been an allusion to the OT name of the Covenant God, YHWH, which was from the Hebrew verb "to be" (cf. Exo_3:14; Deu_32:39; Isa_41:4; Isa_43:10; Isa_46:4; Joh_4:26; Joh_8:24; Joh_8:28; Joh_8:58; Joh_13:19; Joh_18:5). See Special Topic: Names for Deity at Mar_12:36. This very straightforward answer is similar to Luk_22:70. Matthew records a much more cryptic response (cf. Mat_26:64).
It is Mark's Gospel that depicts Jesus' self understanding from the very beginning as God's Son and Messiah (cf. Mar_1:1). The demons also recognized Him as such and verbally affirmed Him (cf. Mar_1:24; Mar_1:34; Mar_3:11), but the disciples were slow to understand (cf. Mar_8:29) both Jesus' person and work. They still looked through first century, Jewish eyes (as did the High Priest).
▣ "'the son of man seated at the right hand of Power'" This is an allusion to Psa_110:1. It was an anthropomorphic metaphor for the place of authority. The term "power" is a circumlocution reference to YHWH. Jesus (i.e., the Son of Man, cf. Mar_14:21; Mar_14:41; Mar_14:62) is asserting in eschatological terms which they would have understood that He was YHWH's Messiah. Even though Psa_110:4 has a priestly connotation, this verse has a royal connotation (cf. Heb_1:3).
It must be reiterated that the High Priest's understanding of the question in Mar_14:61 was different from Jesus' understanding (the same is true of Pilate's questions in Mark 15). The High Priest understood it as a threat to his power and authority and Rome's power and authority. The OT concept of the Messiah as a conquering King was equally shared by the Apostles (cf. Mar_10:37).
Jesus, however, saw His kingdom as future and spiritual (cf. Joh_18:36). This is why He quotes these eschatological passages from Psalms 110 and Daniel 7.
There is surely a paradox involved in the two comings, one as humble, suffering servant and one as glorified King and Judge. The OT presents both, but the Jews focused only on the second. This is the same theological tension as the Kingdom of God—inaugurated, but not consummated! It is so hard for us to imagine how difficult it was for Jewish people of Jesus' day to understand His message.
▣ "'coming with the clouds of heaven'" This is a quote from Dan_7:13. It is a phrase that asserted the Deity of Jesus in very clear OT terms. No one rode on the clouds except YHWH, but now His "Son" does also (cf. Mar_13:26; Act_1:9; Rev_1:7).
Mar_14:63 "Tearing His clothes" This was a sign of a deeply disturbed spirit caused by the supposed blasphemy. The penalty for blasphemy from Lev_24:15 was death by stoning. Jesus deserved to die on the basis of Deu_13:1-3; Deu_18:22 if He was not the Coming One, the Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior of the world. There is no middle ground here. Either He is who He claimed to be or He is a blasphemer who deserved death (cf. Josh McDowell's, Evidence That Demands a Verdict).
Mar_14:64 "blasphemy" Speaking falsehood about YHWH deserved the death penalty by stoning (cf. Lev_24:14-16).
Mar_14:65 "to spit at Him" This was an OT symbol of rejection (cf. Num_12:14; Deu_25:9; Job_17:6; Job_30:10; Isa_50:6). Members of the Sanhedrin and the Roman soldiers (cf. Mar_15:19) spit on Jesus.
▣ "to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists, and to say to Him, 'Prophesy!'" They blindfolded Him, hit Him and then asked, "Who hit you?" They were mocking His claim to be God's prophet. The rabbis of Jesus' day had interpreted Isa_11:3 that the Messiah could judge by smell, not just sight. This may or may not refer to this incident. It certainly relates to Isa_52:14. The rabbis interpreted this verse by saying the Messiah would have leprosy, but I think this refers to these severe beatings by several different groups of soldiers.
Several Greek manuscripts expand this text in Mark to reflect Mat_26:68 and Luk_22:64.
NASB "to beat Him with their fists"
NKJV "struck Him with the palms of their hands"
NRSV "to strike him"
TEV "hit him"
NJB "hitting him"
This account of Jesus' abuse uses the Greek terms kolaphizô, which means to beat with the fist, and hrapizô, which means to slap with the open hand (cf. Mat_26:67). The slap with an open hand is an Oriental symbol of contempt (cf. Mat_5:39; Joh_18:22; Joh_19:3). These same terms refer to "beating with rods" in Act_16:27.
Both the Sanhedrin and the Roman soldiers humiliated Jesus as well as physically abused Him (cf. Isa_52:14; Isa_53:4).