Matthew 26:57-68 Mark 14:53-65
|
57 Those
who had seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the
scribes and the elders were gathered together. 58 But
Peter was following Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high
priest, and entered in, and sat down with the officers to see the outcome.
59 Now the chief priests and the
whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that
they might put Him to death. 60 They
did not find any, even though many false witnesses came
forward. But later on two came forward, 61 and
said, “This man stated, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to
rebuild it in three days.’” 62 The
high priest stood up and said to Him, “Do You not answer? What is it that
these men are testifying against You?” 63 But
Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the
living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of
God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have
said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you
will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER,
and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.”
|
53 They
led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests and the elders
and the scribes gathered together. 54 Peter
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. 55 Now
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. 56 For
many were giving false testimony against Him, but their testimony was not
consistent. 57 Some 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.’” 59 Not
even in this respect was their testimony consistent. 60 The
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?” 61 But 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?” 62 And
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.” 63 Tearing
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. 65 Some 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.
|
The trial that ensues after Jesus is “captured” is a mockery
at best. The result of the trial has
already been determined. This is simply
a performance to be able to claim that justice was served. They have no fear of the Lord. They have decided what they believe the truth
to be and will do all they can to maintain that position. When men begin to determine truth based on personal
benefit, they will go to great extent to convince themselves and others of the
alternate view of reality.
THE WITNESSES MAKE CONTRADICTION: The “trial” was arranged
with people who offered to give false testimonies about Jesus, but they could not
get their stories straight. They
constantly contradicted one another and were unable to make any kind of
accusation against Jesus that was worthy of condemnation. Finally, someone misquoted Him as having claimed
that He would tear down the temple and then rebuild it in three days. He had been talking about His own death and resurrection,
but they misunderstood it as being a threat to perfume an act of terrorism in
Jerusalem. They decided this was worth pursuing. It is a testimony to the holiness of Jesus
that there were no accusations that could be brought against Him. This should be the goal of every believer to
live in such a way that we are above reproach and not have people that are able
to make accusations against us.
JESUS MAKES A TRUE CONFESSION: When Jesus was questioned
further about all the temple destruction quote, they finally asked Him straight
out if He was the Christ. He made a true
affirmation about Him being the Christ and that they would see Him seated at
the right hand of the Father. These were
all true affirmations on His part, but they were extremely offensive to those
who considered Him to be just another man.
This continues to be true today.
We all must decide what we believe about Jesus. Either we will believe that He is who He said
He is; or we will be greatly offended by His claims. Because Jesus is God, and because He is perfect
Man; He can pay the price for our sin and be the hope of our future glory for
all eternity. We must choose to believe,
or we will reject Him and lose all of the promises that He offers through
salvation.
THE COURT DECLARES CONDEMNATION: When Jesus correctly asserts
that He is Christ, the high priest tears his clothes, declares that Jesus has
blasphemed and asks for a verdict and sentencing. The verdict comes in as guilty and the
sentencing comes in as death. At this
point, pandemonium breaks out in this mock court as they begin to spit in his
face, hit Him and mock Him. If only they
knew that they were the ones who were committing the sin of blasphemy. One day they will stand before Jesus and bow
before Him in recognition of His deity and glory. They will recognize that they spit in the
face of Messiah. We too fail to
recognize Jesus for who He truly is so many times in our lives. We forget His glory and reject His sovereign right
to rule in our lives. It is important
that we remember that we will stand before Jesus and give an account for how we
have worshiped Him.
APPLICATION: Strive to eliminate areas of our lives that
could open us up to accusations. Know
that in a sinful and broken world we run the risk of being accused and
convicted unjustly. Many people have done
great harm to the kingdom of God while thinking they were serving God. Be prepared to stand before Jesus. Know that His judgment is always right.
Comments
Post a Comment