Jesus said, “I am”!
“Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.” Walter Scott
The sham of a trial given to Jesus was a cluster of mistakes and illegal actions from the start. I often wonder if Judas instantly regretted his decision to betray his rabbi. If, as some believe, his actions were motivated by wanting to push Jesus into being the warrior Messiah he hoped he would be, it become instantly apparent the religious leaders had other plans than to slap Jesus on the wrist. As we discussed when we studied the book of Matthew, the trial of Jesus broke many Jewish laws created to ensure citizens received a fair and proper trial. It was illegal to try a case at night, yet that is what they did. It was also illegal to try a criminal case during the Passover week; to have witnesses in the same room as each other, guilty verdicts could not be passed out the same day as the trial, and all trials were required to begin with people coming forth to testify of the good things the accused had done. None of these precautions were carried out because the priests and leaders had no intention of giving Jesus a fair trial.
In today’s telling of one of the trials of Jesus, we read that the witnesses could not even agree on what they were accusing him of. As R. Alan Cole commented, “It was harder to agree on a consistent lie than to tell the simple truth.” Nevertheless, we see the high priest push even harder as he grasped at any reason to condemn the Messiah to death. Pushing away any pretenses, he openly asks Jesus, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” Remember this verse, my friends. Many people in the world today attempt to gaslight us into believing that Jesus never claimed to be the Messiah (or Christ). Many, especially Muslims, promote Jesus as a misunderstood prophet but nothing more. I have had people tell me I would not be able to find anything in scripture where Jesus himself claimed to be the Christ. This is simply not true. Many times, Jesus made it very clear who he was. When he stood in front of the Sanheidren in his illegal and make-shift trial, he boldly declared, “I am, and you will see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” (Mark 14:62) David Guzik explained this statement like this, “Jesus, when asked under formal oath to incriminate Himself, essentially said, “You now stand in judgment of Me, but I will be the ultimate judge.” These words would have given any wise judge pause but did not slow down His accusers.”
Everything that happened during these last few days of Jesus’ earthly life happened exactly when and how it was designed to. God created this entire scenario as a way to bring mankind salvation. God gave us 300 prophecies concerning the Messiah that Jesus fulfilled. Still, the men who were meant to be the experts on things like this, were blinded by their false sense of importance. They should have been the first to declare the divinity of Jesus, yet they condemned him as a liar. Let us learn from their mistakes. One day we will stand before Jesus the Judge. Our words will be weighed. Our actions measured. Did we allow our view of our own importance to blind us to the work of the Lord? Did we ignore what was before us because it didn’t fit into the plan we had? Let us make sure we don’t believe a convenient lie simply because the truth is harder.
(Written by Keegan Harkins.)
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