Luke 22:63-71
63 The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. 64 They blindfolded him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” 65 And they said many other insulting things to him.
66 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.”[1]
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Among all the oddities and irregularities that make up the trial of Jesus, (it was an illegal court making use of false witnesses intended to convict Jesus although they did not have the authority to carry out the sentence they were aiming for.) one of the most striking features is that Jesus didn’t plead the fifth (not that the law had such a feature) and in so doing, he convicted himself.
The other gospels point out that Jesus was silent initially before the Sanhedrin, and in fact the chief priest was getting frustrated because they couldn’t find two witnesses whose testimony agreed. They case against Jesus was in serious danger of falling apart. Jesus was very close to walking. But then he speaks up, and by doing so provided the evidence that the chief priests were looking for. He handed the trial to them by claiming that He is in fact the Son of God.
We believe and confess that this statement is true. But for the chief priest and elders, who rejected that claim, this was the height of blasphemy, a human essentially claiming to be God. There was one penalty: death. Jesus knew it, but He spoke up anyway.
A few days ago I wrote about how it looked like the chief priests and Judas and their plotting were running the events of the week, but really Jesus was in charge. We really see that here. Having accepted His Father’s plan in the Garden (Thy Will be done), Jesus doesn’t just take a passive approach, He makes sure the Father’s will is done, and by speaking up at the trial, he willingly embraced the cross before Him.
When I pray “Thy Will be done,” is my attitude one of passivity (Whatever you do Father, that’s fine with me), or do I embrace and seek our His will? Even when I know there will be a cost. As we know, following God’s will can be costly. Forgiving someone we don’t want to forgive. Helping, serving, caring when we’d rather be doing something else. Giving when we’d rather spend it for something differing. Sharing our faith when we’d rather be silent.
My prayer today is “Thy Will Be Done” but with a couple of words attached. Not just “thy will be done” to me. But “Thy will be done” by me. So I’m praying that God show me his will and move me to embrace it, even when it’s inconvenient or costly.
[1] The New International Version. 2011 (Lk 22:63–71). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
