There are moments in life when everything seems to hang in the balance. All the tubes are hooked up, the machine is beeping in the background, the people in bright garments are gathered around the bed, family holding hands and praying. Beep, beep, beep. Beeeeeeeeeee.
The clock ticks on the scoreboard, five, four, three. The ball is in the air, floating as time seems to stand still. Championship rings at stake. Test results are in today, just a phone call away. Why won’t that phone ring already! College acceptance decision letter has been mailed, due any day. Where is that mailman?
Jesus’ life is the line. The leaders are trying to frame Him, to create a charge that will stick, a charge worthy of His death. But everything they have tried has failed. They can’t even manufacture any evidence.
But since this isn’t a fair trial, the corrupt judge steps into the fray. All the testimony hasn’t agreed. The prosecution’s case has fallen apart, and yet the judge wants Jesus to answer the jumble of accusations. What’s to answer, since they don’t say anything. It is just noise. And the judge knows it.
Jesus chooses to stay silent at this moment. He knows anything He says would be misconstrued. There is no need to defend against garbage. And even if He could defend Himself, He knows death is just around the corner. This is the reason He came into the world. He won’t avoid it. So He stays silent. He doesn’t answer the jumble of charges.
And then the high priest asks Him a direct question about His identity. Is Jesus the Messiah, God in the flesh? This would be the perfect chance for Jesus to tell them they got it all wrong. He could have answered that He was just a man, a foolish prophet who got a big head and began believing His own propaganda. He could backtrack on everything He said about life, God, Himself, the religious leaders. But He didn’t. He could have recanted. He could have saved His own life.
But Jesus tells the whole Truth about Himself. Jesus is not afraid of the Truth. And neither should we be. Even if the Truth leads to our death, we don’t need to be afraid of it. Jesus ups the ante. He declares that He is the fulfillment of all their Messianic hopes and dreams. He is worthy of sitting in the position of power in Heaven because His rightful place of rule is heaven not earth.
By answering ‘yes’ to the high priest’s question, Jesus has sealed His fate. His death is but a few breaths away. They have the ammo they think they need, even though blasphemy isn’t a crime in the eyes of Rome. Rome could care less is someone claimed to be God. All they cared about was law and order. And the claim stated by a carpenter from the backwater town of Nazareth certainly wouldn’t be perceived by Rome as a threat.
The Arnold Journey 