“Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?”61 But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62 “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 63 The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. 64 “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” They all condemned him as worthy of death. 65 Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him.” Mark 14. 60-65
Like a lamb led to the slaughter, he did not open his mouth (Isaiah 53:7).
The Fourth of July just passed, bringing with it the memory of our freedom from England and our independence as a nation in 1776, two hundred and forty-eight years ago. Not only that, but we also remember the many wars and conflicts we have fought since to gain national freedom. The countless lives lost in these wars and the sacrifices made are too numerous to count.
If the independence of the USA was bought with millions of lives, the freedom from sin was bought with one. Jesus paid the price that no one else could pay. His sinless life allowed him to take a stand against sin, death, and evil.
When Jesus is brought to the high priest, he speaks only the truth. When asked if he is the Messiah, the Holy One of God, he answers with the name of God – “I AM.” He also tells him of his future posture as the “Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Of course, the Jews did not believe, and thus Jesus’ persecution began as he was struck, mocked, spit upon, and beaten. Jesus, the Word of God, could have prevented this attack, but he obeyed the Father and submitted to suffering and death so we could live, gain freedom, and have everlasting life with God.
I’ve been to a few Civil War battlegrounds and seen cemeteries of both Union and Confederate soldiers who gave their lives for causes they believed in. Yet nothing compares to visiting Golgotha, Gethsemane, or the Garden Tomb and seeing where Jesus spent his last days, battling evil by taking the sin of the world upon his shoulders.
If you have not yet received this gift of Christ, please do so today. As Paul writes, “Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God,” (Romans 6:8-10).
“O Lord God, you are good. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for allowing me to run from evil, sin, and selfishness, and turn to you. Even when temptation attempts to strike me down, you are good, and you are God. Come now, Holy Spirit, fill me with your love. Thank you for the freedom I have in Christ. For you are good, and your love endures forever.” Amen