Dangerous Truth

“They led Jesus away to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes convened. Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the high priest’s courtyard. He was sitting with the temple police, warming himself by the fire. The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but they could find none. For many were giving false testimony against Him, but the testimonies did not agree. Some stood up and were giving false testimony against Him, stating, “We heard Him say, ‘I will demolish this sanctuary made by human hands, and in three days I will build another not made by hands.’ ” Yet their testimony did not agree even on this. Then the high priest stood up before them all and questioned Jesus, “Don’t You have an answer to what these men are testifying against You? ” But He kept silent and did not answer anything. Again the high priest questioned Him, “Are You the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One? ” “I am,” said Jesus, “and all of you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “Why do we still need witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy! What is your decision? ” And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. Then some began to spit on Him, to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, saying, “Prophesy! ” The temple police also took Him and slapped Him.” (Mark 14:53-65 HCSB https://bible.com/bible/72/mrk.14.53-65.HCSB)

In the movie, A Few Good Men, Tom Cruise plays the part of a military lawyer who is defending two marines accused of killing a fellow marine at Guantanamo Bay. As the trial progresses, Cruise’s character – Lt. Kaffee, considers a plea deal for his clients but becomes convinced by a fellow attorney that these soldiers would not have acted on their own and must have been carrying out an order by a superior officer. On a hunch, Lt. Kaffee calls their CO or commanding officer, Colonel Nathan Jessep – played by Jack Nicholson, to take the stand and testify. Kaffee then begins to pressure the Colonel to “just tell us the truth.” After several minutes of continuous pressure from Lt. Kaffee, the Colonel explodes in anger: “You want the truth?! You want the truth?! You can’t handle the truth!”

That outburst by the fictional Colonel really sets the stage for Mark’s story that we are considering, today. It is a similar scene: Jesus has been arrested and is now standing before the Jewish High Priest and many from the Sanhedrin Council. He’s being accused by multiple false witnesses regarding His statements about destroying “this temple” and rebuilding it in three days. All of the witness statements have conflicting testimony and they are unable to use their statements against Him. The High Priest grows increasingly frustrated and demands, “Don’t you have an answer to what these men are saying against You?

Jesus does something most of us are incapable of doing, He remains silent as they spew their lies. As the prophecies say, He’s like a lamb silent before the shearers. They seek to discredit Him, but they just discredit themselves and their testimony. The High Priest

What’s interesting about their testimony is a clear misunderstanding of what Jesus said and what He actually meant by those words. Mark records that He told His disciples that not one stone would be left on another and was specifically referencing the Temple, but Mark doesn’t record Jesus’ statements about destroying the “temple” of His body and rebuilding it in three days. These words are recorded for us by John: “So the Jews replied to Him, “What sign of authority will You show us for doing these things? ” Jesus answered, “Destroy this sanctuary, and I will raise it up in three days.” Therefore the Jews said, “This sanctuary took 46 years to build, and will You raise it up in three days? ” (John 2:18-20 HCSB https://bible.com/bible/72/jhn.2.19.HCSB)

It is apparent to us that Jesus is speaking of His own body and not the Temple in this passage. But we have the distinct advantage of hindsight and the Jewish religious authorities nor His disciples had that advantage. After the resurrection, the disciples understood His comments but, even then, not until after they experienced the miracle of His resurrection. But Jesus remains silent regarding these false claims. He had made no such claim so He did not need to defend Himself or His words.

But why was this testimony regarding the status of the Temple central to Jesus’ trial? If the false claims about Jesus’ intent to destroy the Temple could be established by two witnesses, it would serve as sufficient evidence for the Sanhedrin to render a death sentence upon Him. The Sanhedrin had the authority, as granted by Roman authorities, to handle religious legal issues and pronounce judgment on those charges. However, their witnesses could not agree on the details of Jesus’ statements regarding these charges. And the accused refuses to even comment.

What’s really interesting to me is that these false claims use a term that is not even found in Jesus statements regarding the Temple in Mark’s gospel. Notice, “We heard Him say, ‘I will demolish this sanctuary made by human hands..’” The word sanctuary is not the term used for the Temple complex but is a word that is specifically used to reference the Holy place and the Holy of Holies within the Temple (Gr: naos). It is ironic that they looked for testimony against Jesus to put Him to death and they could find none. But in a very real sense, the very thing Jesus is being accused of He is actually going to do through the death sentence they seek to impose upon Him. His death will destroy the need for “this sanctuary made by human hands” and it will be replaced by the only One not made by human hands.

No doubt, the Chief Priest is incensed by Jesus’ silence. In what appears to be a desperate move, the Chief Priest blurts out: “Are You the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” Up to this point, Mark has not overtly referred to Jesus as the Messiah though he tells us of several others who have. Usually, those who made such claims about Jesus were told to stay silent or keep it to themselves. However, the Chief Priest has just asked Jesus in front of the entire Sanhedrin Council to answer this charge. Are You the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?

Surely the Chief Priest can’t be lucky enough to get Jesus to self-incriminate, can he? Jesus had remained silent in the face of the false witnesses and their claims regarding the destruction of the Temple. Surely He’ll continue His silence in light of these allegations, won’t He? I mean, this is serious stuff. I’ll let you listen to His response: “I am,” said Jesus, “and all of you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.” (Mark 14:62 HCSB https://bible.com/bible/72/mrk.14.62.HCSB)

There it is… No hiding it. He was asked, “Are You the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” And Jesus said, “I am…” Mark starts this story with: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” (Mark 1:1 HCSB https://bible.com/bible/72/mrk.1.1.HCSB) From that point on, Mark never again makes the claim that Jesus is the Son of God or the promised Messiah. Others do and Mark records it, but Mark does not. He lets the evidence and the testimony stand on its own. Just who is this man? This man who forgives sin, drives out unclean spirits, makes the blind to see and the lame to walk but stands silent before false witnesses.

But His silence has ended as He boldly declares: I AM the Messiah and you will see the evidence…

I started out today referencing a movie scene in which a fictional military lawyer seeks the truth about an ugly military crime and a brazen colonel declares: “You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth!” Let me ask you, “Do you want the truth? Can you handle it?” The implication the brazen colonel makes in this movie is that we really don’t want the truth. We are more comfortable living in a world in which the ugly truth is conveniently hidden from us and handled by those we’ve charged with dealing with the harsh, ugliness of life. Deal with it but don’t tell me about it. I don’t want or need some ugly truth messing up my perfect, little life.

In some ways, this is exactly why the world rejects the truth about Jesus, who He is, why He came and what that means for you and me. It is an ugly truth that is sometimes considered too harsh for our perfect, little lives. Sin? We don’t want to talk about sin. That’s demeaning, discouraging and unnecessarily harsh. Tell me the good things about God and life. We don’t want the truth. We really can’t handle the truth. So, we act like it isn’t real and never happened. But here’s the thing, ignoring the truth doesn’t make it less true and, ultimately, it doesn’t make it go away. It still impacts us and our lives, our perfect, little lives.

Jesus responds to the Chief Priest’s question with a simple answer: “I am…” I am the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One. No side stepping that response. Now, you can either believe what Jesus said based on the evidence that Mark has presented or you can reject His claim and declare Him a lying heretic and guilty of blasphemy or else a lunatic worthy of a padded room and straight jacket. You can dismiss Him as a liar or a lunatic but you can’t side step Him. Why not? Because He says, “you will see…”

The phrase Jesus uses to answer the High Priest is clearly a reference to Daniel 7:13-14 and Psalm 110:1.

“I continued watching in the night visions, and I saw One like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was escorted before Him. He was given authority to rule, and glory, and a kingdom; so that those of every people, nation, and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14 HCSB https://bible.com/bible/72/dan.7.13-14.HCSB)

“This is the declaration of the Lord to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool.”” (Psalms 110:1 HCSB https://bible.com/bible/72/psa.110.1.HCSB)

What will you see? You will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven. You can ignore the truth until it gets in your face, then you can’t ignore it any longer. If Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One then when He returns it will be as Daniel and the Psalms describe Him, with the power and authority to judge all mankind while God places all those who would oppose Him beneath His feet.

You can either respond to Jesus like the Chief Priest and his cronies did, deriding Him, spitting on Him, taunting and beating Him. Or you can believe Him, surrender to Him and seek to serve Him each day of your life. Personally, I think the evidence supports His confession: Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One? He answered, “I am and all of you will see…” The truth cannot be silenced forever. It will come out and you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming in the clouds of heaven. Will you stand with Him or will you placed beneath Him?