Luke 22:66-71

Luke 22:66-71

And as day became, the assembly of elders of the people, the high priests, and also the scribes were being led together.  And they led Him into their Sanhedrin, saying, “If you are the Christ, say it to us.”  And He said to them, “If I should say it to you all, you all should surely not believe.  And if I should interrogate you all you should surely not answer.  And from now on the Son of Man will be sitting at the right of the power of God.”  And all said, “Therefore, are you the Son of God?’”  And He said, “You all say that I am.”  And they said, “Why do we yet have need of testimony?  For they said, “We heard from his mouth.”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Jesus begins His trial here in this passage.  On one hand, we can give credit to the Jewish leaders.  They did at least give Him a trial.  They gave Him an opportunity to have His say.  On the other hand, we can hear that they certainly didn’t have the same belief in incriminating evidence that we do.  They ask Jesus to incriminate Himself.  They lead Jesus to give answers that they want to hear.  They do give Jesus an opportunity to speak, but it is not a fair opportunity.

Have you ever been given an opportunity to defend yourself only to find out that it was a trap?  Why do human beings enjoy laying traps for other people?

Second Thought:

I also find it interesting to hear that they ask Jesus directly if He is the Messiah and Jesus does not give them a clear answer.  One might think that Jesus, knowing He was going to die anyways, would affirm this in their presence.  However, Jesus does not do this.  Jesus knows that faith is something found within.  God places it within us, we find it and foster its growth.  Jesus’ testimony about being the Messiah would have done nothing except convince them that they were doing the right thing. Therefore, Jesus withholds His testimony about Himself.

Have you ever not spoken your true mind because the people to whom you were talking were not willing to listen?  How do you make the decision when to speak and when not to speak?

Third Thought:

In the end, Jesus knows His destiny.  He will die.  But even more importantly, He will sit at the right hand of God.  The pain of this world isn’t even worth mentioning when compared to the reward of the life to come.

Is it easy for you to focus on the eternal and not the temporal world around you?  Why do you think Jesus is able to keep such an excellent eternal focus?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 23:1-5