Deadly Defense

Mathew 63-66  … And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.  Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.  Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.  What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death.

There was brought many false witnesses against Christ, yet they were ineffective.  A net was spread throughout the land in search of false witnesses.  Such a net is spread in secret, its design and construction engineered for a singular purpose.  This deceptive net was effective in catching the deceiving heart.  So they came, many with an axe to grind, a greedy palm, or zealous of their religious right.  But, try as they might, banding together in concert testimony, their falsehoods would not bear up to the wisdom and counsel of Jesus Christ.  How else do you think none were found among all these false witnesses?  Jesus could not be found guilty of breaking God’s or man’s law and still be the spotless sacrifice.  (Isn’t it good to know we have the best lawyer in our defense against the accusations of Satan?)  In the end, after all of man’s effort, it was Jesus that dealt the deadliest blow to His defense.

What?

It was the witness of truth which found Him guilty.  Every falsehood had been dispelled, vindicated, or revealed.  If it had been in today’s courts Jesus could have pled the fifth.  But, would He?  The last two witnesses had nothing to give but a lead-in to speculation.  There was no meat to their accusation, only a skeleton of innuendo.  Isn’t it amazing when people band together how the absolute of truth is ignored and relevance reigns?  Implication became the trumpeted appeal of the prosecution.  Evil implication is a field prepared for the harvest of wicked deeds.  It was God’s design, bur man’s implementation.  Yes, God designs for the worst and the best.  We do the same on a daily basis.  Our military designs weapons and hopes never to use them.  Our government designs contingencies, hoping never to implement them.  God doesn’t hope.  God knows the hearts of men.  What did God need?  God needed a guilty verdict of the innocent; innocence to suffer for guilt.  We have a saying, “the truth will set you free”.  This saying could never be truer than the truth of Jesus’ defense.

Jesus spoke the truth and it set us free.  Man’s witness could not condemn God before man, but God’s witness was able to condemn God before man, and did.  Through their own implication Jesus turned the defense to God’s purpose and design.  Their implication was that he was the Christ, Son of God.  Jesus simply turned their implication and reminded them that the Messiah would be both Son of God and Son of man.  When Jesus spoke the words “Thou hast said: nevertheless”, He acknowledged agreement with their statement and added to their accusation by referring to Himself as the Son of man.  Some could have interpreted the Son of God as a child of God, but the invocation of “Son of man” left no room for debate.  In the book of Daniel, the Messiah is referred to as the “Son of man”.  Therefore, Jesus made plain His culpability in their eyes.  Without breaking any laws, without defiling the sacrifice, Jesus was sentenced to death.   

Jesus died for our haughty preeminence in service to God. 

He died for our false images in becoming the image of man. 

He died for our vain utterances in uttering forsakenness. 

He died for our forgetfulness on a day to be remembered.

He died for our dishonor by honoring the will of God the Father. 

He died for our murderous hate through merciful love.

He died for our wanderlust in being faithful.    

He died for our theft to give everlasting life.

He died for our lies by telling the truth.

He died for our envy in selfless sacrifice.

In every commandment of God, Jesus never failed or faltered.  He could have called ten thousand Angels, but He died alone, for you and me.  It isn’t about what Jesus could have done, but what He has done.

Rather than fear the consequence of truth, Jesus embraced it and accomplished the healing of lost souls.

Another famous saying is, “Truth hurts.”  And, it does, for a while.  But, after the hurt is the healing.

Oh, the healing power of Jesus through the hurting of the Cross.

Praise God for the Truth and truth.

John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.