Jesus faces the Sanhedrin
After His betrayal and arrest in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was brought to Caiphas, the high priest where the scribes and the elders were assembled. Fast testimony was sought against Jesus to put Him to death. When many false witnesses could not prove anything, two of them came forward and accused Him of having stated that He was able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.
When Jesus answered that He was the Christ, the high priest arose, torn his clothes and said that this evidence was enough. Before the Sanhedrin, Jesus could have defended Himself by stating that He meant only His body as the temple of God. But He chose to be silent.
These days, when we are arraigned before the court of law, we engage a battery of lawyers to give false evidence. Spouses are brought by their husbands/wives to the judgment seat by adducing of false evidence just to get a decree of divorce. Even many churches have gone to the court of law and given false evidences in civil cases. Do we follow Jesus Christ?
Then Jesus broke His silence when the high priest said to Him, "I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God". When the high priest of God wanted Jesus to adjure by the living God, Jesus was forced to speak the truth. From the word of truth as spoken by Jesus, the high priest picked up a piece of evidence to prove the charge of blasphemy. In many Muslim countries, the only weapon being used against Christians and Christian missionaries is the charge of blasphemy. Now they laid the charge of blasphemy against Jesus and justified the penalty of death to be imposed on Him.
Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying, "Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?" ( Matt.26: 57-68). Prophecy is not meant to reveal the name of a person who harms a child of God. Nowadays, many children of God approach the self-appointed prophets or the servants of God gifted with the gift of prophecy, telling, "Prophesy unto me…. Whether I can marry X or Y? Or whether I can go abroad?" Let us not say, "Prophesy unto us" as the scribes and the chief priests did. God would send prophets to you with His message. You need not go in search of them. The true servants of God like John the Baptist are indeed in the wilderness. You can go in search of them, not to seek any words of prophecy but to minister to them so that the Lord may bless you abundantly. They will not come to you with begging bowls.
The high priest then asked Jesus about His disciples and His doctrines (John 18:19-24). During the interrogation, Jesus was cool and composed, answering His interrogators. He told them that He taught openly and not in secret. He told them, "Why askest thou Me? Ask them which heard Me, what I have said unto them: behold, they know what I said".
According to the law of evidence, the jury should not decide a case on the basis of the statement given by an accused which is called "self-incriminating evidence". According to the law of Moses, every charge has to be proved through the mouth of two or three witnesses ( Duet.17: 6). His accusers should have collected evidence from those who had heard from Jesus. At this stage, Jesus showed His holy anger because the chief priests and the high priest who were supposed to uphold the law transgressed the same. When Jesus had said this, one of the officers who stood by struck Him with the palm of his hand, saying, "Answerest thou the high priest so?" Jesus answered him, "If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou Me?"
The high priest of God could not find evidence of the evil supposed to have been spoken of by Jesus. The officer was not at all justified in beating a just Man in the absence of any prima facie evidence, just to please the unjust high priest. These days, there are many in our midst that do not question the people in authority or the church leaders who judge the innocent people based on presumptions and not based on evidence.
Dearly beloved in Christ Jesus, have you faced the Sanhedrin in your life? Has justice been denied to you either in the court of law or in your place of work/business? Facing the Sanhedrin in your life and denial of justice for you will in fact draw you very close to God. Every one of us should face the Sanhedrin in this world where the worldly law of jurisprudence fails to dispense justice to us. There are some sisters in the USA with whom I am fellowshipping. They have been forsaken by their husbands. They have been denied justices by their beloved husbands. Today, the Lord has picked them up and uses them for His glory. The One who has faced the Sanhedrin in His life once and for all is with us. He understands the agonies in our hearts as we undergo the same system of jurisprudence. Today He stands by your side as your Advocate and Jury because He Himself had undergone the same system of jurisprudence on our behalf. Ultimately, you will get justice, though delayed. According to the law makers of this world, delay in justice is denial of justice. But our Lord who is the Judge for us allows this worldly system of jurisprudence to mould us by patience and long suffering so that He gives us victory at the end of the tunnel.
Praise God for the Sanhedrin in your life today as we meditate on the Passion of Christ..
- Job Anbalagan