Good Morning Friends,
“The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were
looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. ...
The high priest said to him, ‘I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell
us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.’ ‘Yes, it is as you say,’ Jesus
replied. ‘But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man
sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of
heaven.’ Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘He has spoken
blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the
blasphemy. What do you think?’ ‘He is worthy of death,’ they answered.”
(Matthew 26:59, 62-66)
The answer Jesus gave to the high priest is the
declaration that separates.
The leaders of the Jews heard that statement,
convicted Jesus of blasphemy and put Him to death. They could not accept the
truth of what He said, they were not willing to even consider it. He did not
look like or act like the Messiah they were looking for and they were unwilling
to consider that they might be wrong.
For us, the same statement inspires faith,
confidence and hope. What Jesus did -- His miracles, His death, His resurrection.
What Jesus taught -- His authority and teaching. How Jesus lived -- His
sinlessness and compassion. All of these things combine to say that what He
said to the high priest is not blasphemy, but TRUTH. He declared it clearly and
openly and some accepted what He said and responded in faith and others
rejected what He said and responded in horror.
Jesus -- who He was and what He did is a
“stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has
called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
(1 Corinthians 1:23-24)
It is amazing that people can look at Jesus and
come away with such opposite answers about Him. He is the dividing point of
history, the separation point between men. Stand firmly on His side!
His, by Grace, Steve
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