Day 39 – Jesus on trial
Mark 14:55-65
The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree. Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.’” Yet even then their testimony did not agree. Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” They all condemned him as worthy of death. Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him.
Liz Nixon writes:
In this short passage, we see Jesus put on trial: God Himself is in the dock. And at the heart of this court case is the question over who Jesus is, the question Mark has been seeking to answer in the first half of his Gospel. And it's clearly not a fair trial - they could not find evidence against Him and incited people to give false evidence against Jesus.
I don't know about you, but I certainly wouldn't have remained silent whilst people were telling lies about me, especially in a trial situation where my life hung in the balance! If there's ever a time for Jesus to speak up, this is it! When He finally speaks, it is not to correct their lies but to confirm His identity. Jesus states "I am", which for those present would have been dynamite - He is repeating the name that Yahweh gave to Moses back before the Exodus. He alludes to prophecies from the book of Daniel with the phrase "Son of Man" and from the book of Psalms with the phrase "sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven". He is saying He is God, adding fuel to the fire of people already desperate to see Him executed.
It seems at this very moment that all power is with these men doing wrong, that Jesus has lost the battle, that darkness and evil deeds have won. But Jesus knows who He is, He knows that they will see Him sat at the right hand of the Father because that is the reality of the Kingdom - even when it doesn't look like it, the Father reigns supreme over all things and Jesus is sat at His side.
Where would you like to believe that God is reigning over all things? Where does it feel like His Kingdom has not yet come in your life, or in the lives of your family, friends, neighbours and community. Ask Jesus to reveal the reality of the Kingdom of heaven to you today.