66 At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. 67 "If you are the Christ, “they said, "tell us."
Jesus answered, "If I tell you, you will not believe me, 68 and if I asked you, you would not answer. 69 But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God."
In our verses for today we are presented with the Jewish nation’s official judicial body – the elders, chief priests and the teachers of the law – meeting at dawn to make a fast and furious decision regarding Jesus. Their verdict would be held tight by the nation – they were the final word. This group who taught and explained the Law in the schools and the synagogues were well versed in the Holy Scriptures. They, of all people should have been acquainted with and have had the correct interpretation of God’s saving purpose wrought through Jesus yet we find them here opposing what they should have embraced. Never mind the miracles He had performed confirming His Deity – their preconceived opinions regarding their profile of a messiah had blinded them. They who taught truth did not recognize Truth when they came face to face with Him. John the Baptist addressed them as such:
7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. Luke 3:7-8 (NIV)
In like fashion, Jesus using the same severe language, states the following regarding these people:
33 "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Matt 23:33-35 (NIV)
Interestingly, vipers were very poisonous snakes that appeared as harmless sticks. People would accidentally pick them up when gathering firewood; their bite caused great suffering and often death. These snakes appeared to be something good yet were very deadly. Sadly, in their unwillingness to see Jesus as their Savior, these religious leaders were just as deadly to those who followed them. Pity - He just did not fit their description or definition of what a Messiah should look like. I wonder, does Jesus fit our description? Let’s think about this for a minute. The end results in the Book of Revelation sound grand but what about the cross? A triumphal entry with charging white horses and laden with victory is certainly palatable but what about the terms humble suffering servant or self-denial? Like these religious leaders, does He upset our definition of a messiah? Do we like Him as long as He does not mess with our way of thinking or our little world?
“Grace is totally alien to human psychology. We want to get our house in order and then let God love and accept us. The psychology of works-righteousness and self-certification is foundation to the human psyche and totally at odds with grace. The deep-seated way humans resist divine grace helps us understand something about the fear of love. While some people fear any love, what most of us resist in unconditional love—perfect love. The reason for this is that such love demands surrender...I am willing to accept measured doses of love as long as it doesn’t upset the basic framework of my world. That framework is built on the assumption that people get what they deserve...what humans want is to earn the love we seek. The Christian God comes to us as wholly other—so different from the gods of my imagination, so far beyond my control...God invites us to let him rid us for our fears and heal us by his love.” David Benner, Surrender to love
The elders, chief priests and teachers of the law had prejudged Jesus – they had determined that He was not the Christ yet they could not explain away the miracles He had performed – crucifixion seemed to be their way of silencing Him. They wanted a different king – one that they delighted in, one that fit their description.
“Do not let the false delights of a deceptive world deceive you.” Clare of Assisi
“In the greatest display of obedience (and love) that will ever be known, Jesus took the full chalice of Man’s sin and God’s wrath, looked shuddering, deep into its depth and in a steel act of his will, drank it all”. Kent Hughes