Gen. Jim — 12/3/23
Jesus, before Caiaphas (Israel’s high priest), reminds us of “false” charges that will be brought against the loyal & faithful disciples of Christ. The “religious” flakes & snakes that were overseers over all Jerusalem, had to lie & twist the truth in order to get a conviction to have Jesus crucified. Sound familiar?
Caiaphas & some of his cartel assembles at night in the hope of gathering evidence against the Lamb of God who “takes away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29). But they were unable to find witnesses whose testimony agreed on any point. Because a Jewish court would not have convicted Jesus, hence, the gathering at night. Perhaps Caiaphas was more guilty then either Pilate or even Judas, for he was the prime mover in the MURDER of the Son of God. He himself, not Jesus, was involved in “subversive activity” (the accusations against us, my wife & myself & others, have been that we were training men, women, boys & girls to OVERTHROW the U.S. gov.!!! When we were finally arrested/convicted/imprisoned, we were still “suspect.”
Read the account of Jesus’ “sham” trial (Mt. 26:57-68). My main point in this short article is the question of Jesus’ relationship with God: “…I adjure thee by the Living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God,” –Mt. 26:63. Jesus’ answer: “Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, & coming in the clouds of heaven,” -Mt. 26:64.
Jesus was accused of claiming Messiahship. True, He was slow to make this claim, not least because the title carried earthly/nationalistic connotations among the Jews. The Jews were awaiting their Messiah… who would, they believed, come as “warrior” to drive the Romans from their land.
Let us compare the two: Jesus & Caiaphas. Could there be a more striking contrast? Caiaphas = hateful, vile, & murderous. He was shrewd, deceitful & clever. Jesus was submissive (to His Father), guiltless in candor, patient & loving. Caiaphas was champion of the “law”/ “Jewish system”; Jesus was champion for the oppressed, used, abused people – the sick, diseased, demon possessed. Caiaphas was very unscrupulous, had no heart for the downtrodden, the crippled, the crazy. Jesus was a light in gross (religious/social) darkness… which all Israel lived in and lived under.
I ask, what chance had Christ in such a world? What chance do His true disciples have in today’s world? In Jesus’ day (as in ours) the swords & the money are in the hands of evil men /women /nations, and always the people of God (true ones) seem defenseless, yet the Kingdom of God ENDURES… a MIRACLE!… but not without mockings & prosecutions.
Verses 67 & 68 shows us the very contempt for the Lamb of God – spit, buffet, & mockery. Yes, folks, we’re all very familiar with these.
When I first went to jail (before going to prison), one inmate spit in my face, cursed me, & threatened to murder me (many times my wife & my brother-in-law were threatened, cursed also).
To spit in a man’s face (or woman’s) is always & everywhere a sign of utter contempt. To slap a helpless man’s face, to mock is also a sign of contempt. In the case of Jesus, crowd psychology was at work – violence almost always draws a crowd. A mean crowd can also quicken BLOOD LUST!
God was not idle when His Son was mocked – He took note of those who conspired to have Jesus MURDERED. It was the Father’s sovereign will to repay the Jews for what they did. A.D. 70 was/is proof.
Christ was humiliated by the Jewish nation: Israel was humiliated by the Romans.
Do you suppose that those responsible for Jesus’ death would believe that their cruel action would cause their “victim” to become the ONE who would be worshipped in every nation of the world? They themselves would be hated of all nations in years/centuries later. They remain only as a WARNING & an EXECRATION, i.e. a cursing, a denouncing, a detestation world-wide. (note: look at how many nations peoples at this time –because of the Israel/Hamas war- are AGAINST the nation of Israel.)
Let us never be ashamed to be identified with the Son of God. We are BLESSED!
It is a shame today that soooo many “Christians” are more identified with the world than with Him. The contemporary Church has become a SHAME-to-HIS-NAME. She has become a well-groomed WHORE that is leading multitudes down the Broadway… to HELL! Time to “Repent” & “Return” to Him.
