At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. 67 “If you are the Messiah,” 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.” 70 They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?” He replied, “You say that I am.” 71 Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips” (Luke 22:66-71).
This is the third and final phase of the Jewish trial. The full Sanhedrin was now present, and it took place on Friday (Mark 15:1; Matthew 27:1; Luke 22:66-71). At the earlier trial before Caiaphas, Jesus was condemned as being guilty of blasphemy. That trial, however, had been held at night. Only after daybreak could a legal trial take place for the Sanhedrin to gain approval for the death sentence. Therefore, this meeting was necessary to legalize that decision.
The accusers asked: “If you are the Messiah — tell us.” Jesus simply responds, “If I tell you, you will not believe me.” Then Jesus made another bold statement in verse 69: “But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.” In this passage, Jesus didn’t specifically say, “I am the Son of Man,” but they all knew he was referring to himself and that is why they were so outraged. According to the prophet Daniel, the Son of Man was an exalted person who reigned as king, with everlasting authority and sovereign power (Daniel 7:13). There was no more discussion after that — Jesus was condemned to die.
A number of years ago a Jewish writer wrote a book called The Passover Plot, in which he suggested that Jesus’ death occurred because he was a helpless victim when the Jewish and Roman authorities turned against him. Jesus, however, was not helpless! The Bible makes it clear that he had (and still has) all power and all authority. He could have called on legions of angels to wipe out his oppressors, but he didn’t do that, because in a very real sense, his death and resurrection was all part of God’s plan from the very beginning.
Our Lord is the exalted Son of Man that Daniel wrote about and he is one who reigns forever. We are now given the privilege of being born again through faith in Jesus Christ, and we have a living hope because we have a living savior! In a world filled with lies, fake news, empty words, and broken promises, we can have complete confidence in what Jesus says about himself!
Prayer
Lord, we are very grateful that you are more than a man and that you reign over the whole world. Reign over us, King Jesus. Be our ruler and our guide. We surrender our plans and our expectations and trust you to direct our steps.
Question
Jesus was very intentional in how he lived, and it cost him his life. How would you describe your purpose for living?