Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.”
Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest.
At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. “If you are the Messiah,” they said, “tell us.”
Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe me, and if I asked you, you would not answer. But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.”
They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?” He replied, “You say that I am.”
Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.”
Luke 22:52-54, 66-71
Questions
Jesus submits quietly and peacefully.
Jesus is condemned by religious leaders.
What was their fear?
Meditation
Have you ever pondered at how many Biblical characters spent time in jail in the Bible? Paul and Silas, Jeremiah, Joseph, John the Baptist, the Apostles, and Daniel, to name a few.
And what were the reasons for being arrested? Were these imprisonments justified? Were these cut throat criminals? Or were they pushing up against something else… something with power… that felt threatened by their message? No matter how much we want to believe that our justice system is just, we’ve all heard stories of how it’s failed. False witnesses. Tampered evidence. Biased conclusions. We’ve all seen the stories of someone let out of jail decades later because of new DNA evidence that proved they didn’t do it. We’ve all seen the political fugitive emerge half a life later because the political power they spoke against has changed hands. We all know that in even in our best attempts at justice, there can emerge an unjust sentencing.
Jesus partook in the consequences of injustice.
He was condemned in an unjust system. He was put on trial by a religious establishment that felt threatened by His message. He had false witnesses testify against Him. Even when they brought Him to Pontius Pilate and asked for Him to be executed, Pilate asked
“What has He done?”
You know… when they shouted “crucify Him!”… that meant in a few hours they all got to watch Him die right in front of them. Not on screens. Not from stadium stands. Just on the side of the road as they ran some errands. I believe in our capacity for kindness and goodness. But I also know that hiding in the shadows is our immense capacity for cold bloody murder. Here’s a quick summary of some of Jesus’ crimes:
Restoring justice.
Expanding human dignity.
Disarming oneself.
An upheaval of the status quo.
A reshuffling of resources.
Expansive belovedness.
The thought here is that even when life seems unfair, when condemnation comes for doing what is right, we can trust the God who is in control that He’s got it – and that’s comforting and calming.
Jesus is condemned. But Jesus is in control. Then and now – He is in control.
Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, no matter what befalls me, may I always trust You are in control.