Isaiah 53:8-9 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living… (with John 18:12, 13): — The word "prison" should not, perhaps, be taken to designate a particular place of incarceration; for there is no evidence to show that Christ was ever confined in any such penal cell. He was, however, a prisoner. His limbs were bound, and He was held in the custody of the iron-hearted officers of the Roman government. We shall look upon Christ's imprisonment in three aspects. I. AS THE MOST THRILLING CHAPTER IN THE HISTORY OF CHRIST. 1. He was first taken a prisoner from Gethsemane. 2. He was then taken as a prisoner from Annas to Caiaphas (John 18:19-24; Matthew 26:59-68). 3. He was next taken a prisoner from the palace of Caiaphas to the hall of the Sanhedrim. 4. He was next taken as a prisoner from the hall of the Sanhedrim to Pilate (John 18:28-38; Luke 23:1-7; Mark 15:1-5; Matthew 27:11-14). 5. He was then taken as a prisoner from Pilate to Herod (Luke 23:8-12). 6. He was then taken as a prisoner back from Herod to Pilate (Luke 23:13-25; Matthew 27:15-26; Mark 15:6-15). 7. He was finally taken as a prisoner from Pilate to Calvary (Matthew 27:27-50). The cross is the culmination of the whole. II. As THE GREATEST ENORMITY IN THE ANNALS OF CRIME. 1. His imprisonment combined all the chief elements of crime. (1) Here was the foulest injustice. Imprisonment. is for criminals; but had Christ ever been guilty of a crime? (2) Here too is the basest ingratitude. Was there one in Judea, or Galilee, or Samaria, who could refer to one single act of unkindness which He had ever committed towards any? Not one. "He went about doing good"(3) Here is astounding impiety. This Prisoner was the "Son of God," the "Prince of Life." 2. His Imprisonment was effected in the name of law and religion. (1) The law they referred to (Deuteronomy 18:20) had no just application to the case of Christ, and they must have been conscious of its irrelevancy. Christ was not a "prophet" who had presumed to speak a word in "the name of Jehovah" which "He had not commanded;" nor had He spoken in the name of "any other god;" and therefore by this old law of Moses He was not guilty of death. But what if a law authorize a morally criminal act, is the act less criminal? In no measure. (2) But it was in the name of religion as well as law. This makes the crime greater still. The men that instigated the crucifixion of the Son of God were professedly religious men; they were the religious authorities of the country. Under profession of respect for truth and God, they wrought all the enormities which blackened the page of evangelic history. III. AS THE MOST WONDERFUL ENIGMA IN THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD. I know of nothing more wonderful in the universe than the sight of Jesus in bonds. 1. Why does Eternal Justice allow unsullied holiness thus to suffer? 2. Why does Almighty God give men the power to perpetrate such enormities? 3. Why does All-powerful Emanuel Himself submit to these enormities? Does not the vicarious principle stand out in sunny prominence? (D. Thomas, D.D.) Parallel Verses KJV: He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. |
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