Written ~ 04-01-2024
Read Luke Chapter Twenty-Two
Luke22
In this chapter of Luke we will read about how Judas agreed to betray Jesus; we will sit at the table of the Last Supper; Jesus will predict Peter’s denial of Him; we will walk with Jesus to the Mount of Olives and witness His prayer to the Father; then Judas will betray Jesus with a kiss; soon after Jesus is arrested Peter will deny that he even knew Jesus. After all these events take place; before long we find ourselves watching Jesus being brought before the High Council because of the hateful accusations of the elders, leading priests and teachers of religious law. Let’s look at Luke 22:66-71…
66 At daybreak all the elders of the people assembled, including the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. Jesus was led before this high council, 67 and they said, “Tell us, are You the Messiah?”
But He replied, “If I tell you, you won’t believe Me. 68 And if I ask you a question, you won’t answer. 69 But from now on the Son of Man will be seated in the place of power at God’s right hand.”
70 They all shouted, “So, are You claiming to be the Son of God?”
And He replied, “You say that I am.”
71 “Why do we need other witnesses?” they said. “We ourselves heard Him say it.”
Here we see in verse 22:67 that the High Council told Jesus to tell them He was the Messiah. But His response did not confirm nor deny that He was. “If I tell you, you won’t believe Me.”
In Luke 20:1-8 Jesus is being questioned “By what authority are You doing all these things…” Let’s read those verses…
1 One day as Jesus was teaching the people and preaching the Good News in the Temple, the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders came up to Him. 2 They demanded, “By what authority are You doing all these things? Who gave You the right?”
3 “Let Me ask you a question first,” He replied. 4 “Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?”
5 They talked it over among themselves. “If we say it was from heaven, He will ask why we didn’t believe John. 6 But if we say it was merely human, the people will stone us because they are convinced John was a prophet.” 7 So they finally replied that they didn’t know.
8 And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Jesus knew these men would not accept whatever answer He were to give. So He always answered them with another question. Each time Jesus threw back a question to the religious leaders, they would talk among themselves and give a “non-answer” to save their own reputations. Those corrupt leaders did not want to believe that Jesus received His authority from Heaven and from God.
In our passage for today, when the elders wanted confirmation from the lips of Jesus that He was the Messiah, it wasn’t so they could worship Him. No, they wanted a reason to condemn Him.
But when Jesus says in verse 22:69,
69 “…from now on the Son of Man will be seated in the place of power at God’s right hand…”
The whole courtyard erupted with shouting and further defamations. The elders, the leading priests and teachers of religious law were absolutely indignant when they heard Jesus call Himself the Son of God.
Verse 22:70a,
70a They all shouted, “So, are You claiming to be the Son of God?”
And again, Jesus did not fully answer their question, His response was calm and without a hint of anger towards the men who were questioning Him. He simply responds…
70b “You say that I am.”
When Jesus says those few words, that seemed to be all the answer they needed to accuse him of blasphemy and as a result condemn Him to death. Those religious leaders felt they had made their case. It was an open and closed case. That’s all they required to further His judgment which would eventually lead this innocent man to the cross.
Here’s how they responded…
71 “Why do we need other witnesses?” they said. “We ourselves heard Him say it.”
We’ll see in tomorrow’s reading in Luke 23:1 that they continued to press this issue and the entire council brought Jesus before Pilate, the Roman Governor.
We all have a decision to make.
Are we going to believe who Jesus says that He is: the Son of God?
Or are we going to stand on the side with those religious leaders who wanted to condemn Jesus of blasphemy and refuse to accept His claim as being the Messiah?
As we continue our journey through the New Testament, my prayer, my hope is that each of us will see who Jesus is; to have a very real encounter with Him. To claim Him as the Son of God and the Lord and Savior of your life.
Praying for each of you…
~AMEN~