Jesus Before The Council
Or
The Council Before God
Sunday May 21, 2023
Scripture To Consider:
“Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him. And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, ‘Prophecy! Who is the one who struck You?’ And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.”
“As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Jesus into their council, saying, ‘If You are the Christ, tell us.’ But He said to them, ‘If I tell you, you will by no means believe. And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go. Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God.’”
“Then they all said, ‘Are You then the Son of God?’ So He said to them, ‘You rightly say that I am.’ And they said, ‘What further testimony do we need? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth.’” Luke 22.63-71
Something To Consider:
Isaiah, regarding the future treatment of the Messiah, reported in Isaiah 53, “But He [Jesus] was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him.” Jesus underwent a violent and brutal beating because of our sin. But this cruel and harsh punishment of Jesus had just begun.
They did not simply beat Him, but they blindfolded Him and then beat Him. It is a known fact that the body working in connection with the brain has an ability to absorb a blow when it is perceived as approaching. They removed that built-in reflex capacity by blindfolding Jesus before abusing Him. Therefore, “He was [cruelly] bruised for our iniquities.”
Jesus was also wounded for our transgressions. He was severely bruised for our iniquities. And the chastisement or judgment for our peace was placed upon Him who was without sin, without iniquity, and without transgressions. Therefore, because of His tremendous suffering for us, are we now experiencing the peace of God that passes all understanding?
And if not, why not? We must understand that as we approach the end of this age, many of the faithful few will suffer as did Jesus just as many others in past generations have suffered for the gospel of Jesus Christ. As true believers in Jesus desiring to live godly lives in Christ Jesus, we will suffer persecution! Does that statement cause you and me to desire to stand firm in our allegiance to Christ? It should!
Something Else To Consider:
Jesus was being held, mistreated, abused, and mocked by a group of men appointed by the religious council of leaders. For it was illegal for the actual council, probably the Sanhedrin, to meet under the darkness of night. But Luke declared, “As soon as it was day, the elders [religious leaders] of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Jesus into their council.”
These religious leaders have seen with their own eyes, and have heard with their own ears, but they still asked Jesus, “If You are the Christ [Messiah], tell us.” But Jesus merely confirmed their stubborn unbelief by stating, “If I tell you, you will by no means believe. And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go. Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God.”
Then in unison the man-ordained religious council asked, “Are You then the Son of God?” Jesus did not deny but said what they wickedly wanted to hear, “You rightly say that I am.” How would we answer the question, is Jesus the Son of God? In other words, was Jesus before the council, or was the council before God?
Of course, it was in reality both! It was predestined by God the Father that Jesus stand before the religious but ungodly council of man-ordained leaders. Many of us alive at this time in the history of the earth will also stand before religious but not spiritual ungodly so-called councils. And in doing so, we too will be persecuted and cast out of religious circles and eventually killed for our steadfast faith in Christ and in the Word of God.
Therefore, what will be our on-the-spot response when asked, “Is Jesus the Son of God?” or “Is Jesus the Christ, the soon coming Messiah?” We must then be reminded that at that moment, we will be standing not only before the council of earthly minded ungodly religious leaders, but we will also be standing in the presence of our Almighty God, hopefully filled with His Holy Spirit and willing to confess Christ.
Something More To Consider:
And with the declaration of Jesus, “You rightly say that I am”; the council convened. They had heard all they needed to hear. And yet, they had heard only what they wanted to hear and nothing of what they truly needed to hear.
How many times in the course of our own lives do we hear only what we want to hear, and see only what we want to see? As Jesus stood before that blood thirsty ruling council, His enemies only heard and saw that which threatened their power and positions as so-called religious leaders.
Yes, Jesus stood before the council that day, but that religious pretending council of deceived and false leaders without knowing it, stood before God. The time for all in every generation, dead and or alive, to stand before a Holy and Almighty God is fast approaching. What will our eternal destination be proved to be by our earthly standing for Christ or our standing against Him and His Word?
A Few Final Words:
We must keep in mind the words of 2 Corinthians 1.5; “For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation [comfort] also abounds through Christ.” The writer of these words, the apostle Paul, certainly knew of the sufferings of a Christ-like soldier of faith in the army of the Lord!
Jesus proclaimed in our Scripture to consider, “Hereafter the Son of Man [Jesus] will sit on the right hand of the power of God.” And in Matthew 28.18, Jesus informed us, by stating; “All authority has been given to Me [all power, all authority, religious, political, military, and whatever power exists] in heaven and on earth.” Praise the Lord!
A person’s answer to the question, “Is Jesus of Nazareth the Son of God?” will determine the eternal destiny of that individual, and may also influence others in their own eternal quest. And according to Luke, “Then they all said, ‘Are You then the Son of God?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘You rightly say that I am.’”
Prayer:
Our Father in heaven, open our spiritual eyes and ears that we may not be deceived by any cold-hearted unbelief of others or of ourselves. Give us the faith and willingness to stand firm and to stand fast in the midst of evil and end time lawlessness as we faithfully declare our allegiance to You Father and to Jesus Christ our Savior, Lord, and soon coming conquering King. In Him Always, Amen!
According to Jesus 