Scripture Verses
Mark 14:53-65 (NIV)
Before the Sanhedrin
53They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, elders and teachers of the law came together. 54Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.
55The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. 56Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.
57Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: 58"We heard him say, 'I will destroy this man-made temple and in three days will build another, not made by man.' " 59Yet even then their testimony did not agree.
60Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?" 61But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.
Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ,[a] the Son of the Blessed One?"
62"I am," said Jesus. "And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."
63The high priest tore his clothes. "Why do we need any more witnesses?" he asked. 64"You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?"
They all condemned him as worthy of death. 65Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, "Prophesy!" And the guards took him and beat him.
Devotion
In the story leading up to the crucifixion, we have a scene of Jesus on trial. Jesus stands before the Sanhedrin, the second of three “trials” against Him on the path leading to the cross. While reading this passage, it’s easy to stand on the outside and point our finger at the Sanhedrin and call them the villains of the story. What’s interesting is that the Sanhedrin sought to obey God, but their own ambitions and jealousy of Jesus’ growing popularity twisted their thoughts so that they may have thought that they were doing the work of God by prosecuting Jesus.
Although we seek to obey God, Satan can use the inner workings of our minds through insecure or jealous or angry thoughts to try to thwart God’s plan, just as he was able to use the insecurities of a group of religious men to move them to charge and prosecute Jesus falsely and to seek to put Him to death. How many times have we let fury blind us to God’s goodness simply because of our own insecurity, jealousy, or unmet ambitions?
How many times have we been reluctant to support others or served ourselves as major roadblocks to those working to fulfill God’s plan? Perhaps we wanted to be in control and felt insecure letting someone else be the lead.
We are all sinners in the eyes of the Lord, and just like the Sanhedrin, our sins sent Jesus to the cross. Although our sins sadden God, He’s still in control and uses us, even when we’re not in a Godly mind, to further his plan. The Sanhedrin trial illustrates that God’s perfect purpose will still come to pass, sometimes in spite of us.
Prayer
Dear God,
We confess that sometimes we can become blinded to Your goodness by our sins. We pray that you continue to use us to fulfill Your perfect plan. While we confess our sins, please open up ours lives to Your will.
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