Daily Devotional
By Pastor Jerry Teboe
A Closer Walk with Christ in 2026
A Walk with the Master Series
Atrocity
Mark 14:53-65
And they led Jesus away to the high priest: and with him were assembled all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes. Mar 14:54 And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire. Mar 14:55 And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none. Mar 14:56 For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together. Mar 14:57 And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying, Mar 14:58 We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands. Mar 14:59 But neither so did their witness agree together. Mar 14:60 And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? Mar 14:61 But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? Mar 14:62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Mar 14:63 Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses? Mar 14:64 Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death. Mar 14:65 And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands.
The arrest of Jesus was totally illegal in so many ways. The Romans and the Jews both had a judicial system that was supposed to regard a person as innocent until proven guilty. But Jesus was taken and convicted as guilty even before there was a trial. The following is a description of how Jesus was convicted by the mock trial and condemned.
Both the Jewish trial and the Roman trial were in three stages. The Jewish trial was opened by Annas, the former high priest (Joh_18:13-24). It then moved to the full council to hear witnesses (Mar_14:53-65), and then to an early morning session for the final vote of condemnation (Mar_15:1). Jesus was then sent to Pilate (Mar_15:1-5; Joh_18:28-38), who sent Him to Herod (Luk_23:6-12), who returned Him to Pilate (Mar_15:6-15; John 18:39-19:6). Pilate yielded to the cry of the mob and delivered Jesus to be crucified. By the time the soldiers arrived at the palace of the high priest, Peter and John, heedless of the Lord’s repeated warnings, followed the mob and even went into the courtyard. Jesus that night had sweat “as it were great drops of blood” (Luk_22:44), but Peter was cold and sat by the enemy fire! The two disciples could not witness the actual trial, but at least they were near enough to see the outcome (Mat_26:58; Joh_18:15). Throughout this time of false accusation, our Lord said nothing (Isa_53:7; 1Pe_2:23). But when the high priest put Him under oath, Jesus had to reply, and He testified clearly that he was indeed the Son of God. The title “Son of man” is messianic (Dan_7:13), and the members of the council knew exactly what Jesus was saying: He was claiming to be God come in human flesh! This claim, of course, was blasphemy to the Jews, and they declared Him guilty and worthy of death. Since it was irregular for the Sanhedrin to vote on capital cases at night, the council met again early the next morning and gave the official sentence (Mar_15:1). (Copied)
The entire trial of Jesus was a sham. They had predetermined the outcome; therefore, we can see the atrocity of that event.
However, we know that the Lord is sovereign and that He has an eternal plan for the redemption of us all. Jesus had to die on the cross to provide the forgiveness of sin. We hate everything that Jesus had to endure but are very thankful that His love for us was so great that He willingly died in our place.
Praise the Lord for our great Savior who loved us that much!
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Bible Reading for the Year
May 28th, 1 Chronicles 28-29; John 11:47-57
Prayer Needs
Please continue to pray for Shirley Deans. Shirley received a good report from her CT scan, but she will have a biopsy on her lymph nodes Thursday.
Please continue praying for Jennifer Teboe Buchamer. She was released from the hospital on Monday with a change in her meds. She is better but still has some pain. Please continue to pray for complete healing.
Thank you for praying for Dr. Joe Jordan. He is being discharged from the rehab facility Thursday, to go home. Please continue praying as he continues PT at home.
Please also pray for Kenny Deans. He is continuing treatment for his leg. He will also be seeing a doctor about possible kidney stones.
Please continue to pray for Peggy Warren. She is having PT and is doing better.
Please continue to pray for Robbie Harvey who has MAC lung disease. He fell and broke several ribs, but he is feeling better now. He has started a new medication for his lung disease.
Please continue to pray for Marvin Silverthorne for his eyesight to improve.
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Pray for our Missionaries!
Sue Singleton and the mission in Cambodia
Dr. Joe Jordan and the CBM (Cross and Bible Ministries)
Travis and Caroline Fennessy – IBM missionaries to Southeast Asia