Mark 14:53-65
Before the Sanhedrin
53They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, elders and teachers of the law came together. 54Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.
55The 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. 56Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.
57Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: 58"We heard him say, 'I will destroy this man-made temple and in three days will build another, not made by man.' " 59Yet even then their testimony did not agree.
60Then 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?" 61But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.
Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?"
62"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."
63The high priest tore his clothes. "Why do we need any more witnesses?" he asked. 64"You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?"
They all condemned him as worthy of death. 65Then 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.
Jesus goes before the High Priest and the Sanhedrin in all the gospels, after His arrest...Although in John's Gospel, the Sanhedrin is not mentioned, St. John does write about the High Priest questioning Jesus...Jesus is questioned by the High Priest before He goes on trial in front of Pilate, who is His judge and jury...Jesus is for the most part, quiet in front of the High Priest and Sanhedrin...He does not put up much of a defense for Himself, and doesn't respond to the accusations against Him...
But there is one question Jesus does answer...The High Priest asks Him, if He is the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One"?...This question Jesus does respond to...Jesus says "I AM, and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on clouds of heaven."....
Jesus, in answering this, is mysterious and seems part Saint, or part Prophet, or part Mystic...But as we read the four gospels, we feel He is much, much more...I think, C. S. Lewis explains this best...Lewis tells us that this is not the first time He has responded in a similar fashion -like He did here to the High Priest...The High Priest has just ask Jesus, who He is...And Jesus responds, that He is the One, that was to come...He is the Anointed One...He is the Messiah that we have all awaited, from the Old Testament...Jesus also has throughout all the gospels went around telling people, "I forgive your sins."...This would be okay, if someone had sinned or done Him wrong...But He was forgiving people of sins they had committed against other people...He is telling us He is the One that sets our morals...We are sinning against Him and His Image...He can only forgive our sins and those sins He has committed against others, if He is in fact, the Son of the Blessed One...Lewis continues his thought on "Who Jesus is" by writing that one particular phrase is often overlooked...Jesus says I AM sending you prophets and wise men and teachers in His woes to the Pharisees (Matthew 23:34)...He does not say God sent or was sending these men...He comes right out and says I AM the One who is sending these prophets and sages and teachers from God out to you...Jesus is claiming to be the One with the power that all through the universe and past history and centuries to have been sending the prophets to us, to quote Lewis...Jesus also tells His disciples, and the Pharisees, they do not have to fast as long as He is on earth...His very presence is suspending all the normal and natural law and rules...Jesus also, is always teaching His followers like all the people He talks to are sinners... That His Mere Presence somehow has an authority...And as I read the gospels, I do feel this authority...Jesus says He is the begotten One from the One and Only God, and says before Abraham, I AM (John 8:58)...This is a statement of eternal self-existence...Jesus is clearly claiming He is divine...The words I AM were not to be spoken, and it was death to utter this statement...Yet He did say this...This is definitely blasphemy, if He is not the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One...If He is not, then He has committed a most serious claim against our One and Only God...
Jesus statements do boil down to two choices for us...We either choose to believe that He is, in fact, the Son of God, or He is not...The well educated and well read and versed in Scripture, High Priest and Sanhedrin do not believe Him... Others did believe...There will be times when we deny Him and do not feel close to Him, as the disciples and Peter did after His arrest and the day before His resurrection...But denying, doubt, and days of lower days of faith does not keep us from losing our faith...The disciple's faith strengthened after His resurrection...We must keep the faith and realize He is the Son of the Blessed One...Jesus after His resurrection, overcame death and the universe...He was and is the One to come...