Leviticus 14 Matthew 26:51-75

“When the high priest heard this, he tore his clothes and said, ‘This man has said things that are against God! We don’t need any more witnesses; you all heard him say these things against God. What do you think?” The people answered, ‘He should die.’” (Matthew 26:65-66 NCV)

The verdict was in and the sentence was set. All the Sanhedrin had to do was put Him on trial. They had a real problem, though. The witnesses couldn’t make their lies against Jesus agree. Finally, the High Priest got exasperated and asked Jesus if He really was the Son of God. Jesus let him know that those were his words, but, He’d be sitting at the right hand of the Father and then returning. The response is toned down in this version, but it was obvious that He got their death sentence. So, they beat and mocked Him there while preparing to take Him to Pilate to pass the state’s death sentence since Jews couldn’t put someone to death under Roman law.

Jesus’s behavior during this whole illegal trial is a good reminder for those of us who claim to follow Him. He kept quiet until He was forced to speak. We don’t like silence very much. When we’re alone in the house, the radio goes on. When the world is being unjust to us, we fight back. Sometimes we spend so much time defending ourselves that we don’t see people who need ministry. Are they treating us unjustly? Yep. If we get so worried about that kind of treatment that we forget the needs of others, then we have a problem. We’re called to minister to others, not defend ourselves. As the most interesting Christian in the world might say, “Stay faithful, my friends.”

Lord, keep me faithful to Your call. While I must be sensitive to the needs of the world to minister in the world, never let me lose sight of my call to minister to others.

Scripture taken from the New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.