Finally the high priest stood up and took the accusation to
Jesus. He asked Jesus if he had no
defense against what the people were saying in testimony against Him. Jesus stood silent. Then the high priest asked one very important
question. The high priest asked Jesus if
He was the Messiah, the Son of the One Who Deserves Praise. Jesus affirmed that He was. Jesus also said that they would see Him both sitting
at His right hand and coming in power. The
high priest had what he wanted. He
claimed Jesus had spoken blasphemously, he tore his clothing, and the religious
leaders shouted for His condemnation.
Some in the group proceeded to strike Him. Others covered their faces so as to not look
upon Him. Still others commanded Him to
prophesy. They handed Jesus over to the
guards, who treated Him roughly.
Thoughts for Today
First Thought:
When asked about the testimony of others, Jesus remained
silent. This was not between Jesus and
other people. Jesus was not here to
argue for His defense. Jesus had no
desire to incriminate others or even involve them in what had to happen. Like a sheep being led to the slaughter,
Jesus remained quiet.
How difficult do you think it was for Jesus to remain quiet
when people were speaking testimony against Him? How does the fact that the testimony wasn’t even
completely true impact how hard it must have been to remain quiet? What does this point say regarding Jesus’
obedience and submission to God’s plan?
Second Thought:
Jesus also knew that the time had come. Remember all of those times that Jesus
performed a miracle and forbid people to say anything about it? It was now time for Jesus to confess the
truth. If He was going to be condemned,
He would be condemned for the truth.
Jesus wanted to testify about Himself, so that the religious leaders could
hear the testimony from His own mouth and choose themselves to reject Him. He knew they were in no mind to listen; they
hadn’t been in a mind to listen all along.
What does it say about Jesus to know that He spoke the
truth, knowing that this truth was the very thing that would condemn Him? What does it say about His focus? What does this point say about His obedience
and submission to God?
Third Thought:
The religious leaders heard what they thought was blasphemy. They had gotten what they needed. They could condemn someone for putting
themselves equal to God. In their mind,
it was blasphemy. From the perspective
of Jesus, it was truth. They beat Him,
spit upon Him, and turned away from Him in shame because they were unable to
perceive the truth and instead heard His words as blasphemy.
How does our perspective taint what we perceive to be
true? Why does this make it more
difficult to hear God? What must we
remember about our preconceptions in order to genuinely hear God speak to us in
truth?
Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 14: 66-72
No comments:
Post a Comment