“You say that I am.”

Luke 22:66-71

“When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their council, and they said, “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I ask you, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” So they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.” Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.”

“If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I ask you, you will not answer.”  Jesus was in a no win game; maybe you have had a similar experience at work or home where it matters not what you said you will not be believed, and the other person was so angry or putout with you they would not answer if you ask a question.

But in Jesus’ case they the chief priest and the elders were not all that angry with Jesus, no Jesus was competition, do you recall the account of the people coming to Jesus, “And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them.” (Mark 10:1) And in Matthew 4:23, “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.”  And what about Mark’s account in chapter 6, verse 2, “When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. "Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What's this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing?”

Now these religious guys did not like competition and the final straw was his entry for the last time into Jerusalem.  The is Matthew’s account of that day; “They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: "Hosanna to the Son of David! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!' Hosanna in the highest!" And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?" So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."

It was not that they had not heard or seen what Jesus was doing or saying, for at almost each place they or one of the religious groups was present.  But Jesus was competition and religion’s end game has always been to remove competition, and so they set a plan in motion to have Him killed.  Does it remind you of what is happening at this moment in the Middle East, where Muslims are killing Christians?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice