Knowing the Truth
Read Mark 14:53-72.
Have you ever heard it said of anyone, "They wouldn't know the truth if it were standing right in front of them"? Truer words were never spoken when it comes to this scene that we call the "trial" of Jesus.
It's late at night. Very late. Trials should have been held in the daytime, not at night. So this was an illegal trial, a kangaroo court. It's doubtful even the full Sanhedrin (Jewish ruling body) was there. This is just a group of whomever they could wake up and get together on the spur of the moment. They're that desperate to see Jesus condemned that they will break every one of their rules to get it done.
You know how we say (but don't always practice) that people are innocent before proven guilty? In this mockery of a trial, exactly the opposite is in play. The leaders are looking for evidence after they have arrested Jesus (14:55). The judgment is already finished, and Jesus knows it. That's why he doesn't bother responding to anything they throw at him (14:61). There's no point. He is condemned already. They're just trying to find a way to legally carry out the sentence they have already decided on (irony, right?).
There is one thing Jesus responds to, however. When he is asked directly about being the Messiah, he says, "I am." Now, here is when Jesus has a real problem. The Messiah, as most understood it in his day, was to be a military leader, a conqueror who would kick Rome out and establish an everlasting throne (in the line of King David) in Jerusalem. In other words—Jesus is a political threat at the moment he admits to being the Messiah. That is why we get the reaction we get from the religious leaders. "Why do we need any more witnesses?" (14:63). He has just condemned himself. He has just given them the ammunition they need to get Rome to execute him as a political criminal.
Right there in front of them is everything they have hoped for, everything the prophets promised and the Scriptures foretold. He is the truth they have been seeking. He is standing in front of these religious leaders, these learned men, the ones in their day who knew the Scriptures better than, most likely, anyone else. And they miss it. They miss the truth. They "know" the truth, but they can't see actual truth even when it's literally a few feet away from them.
So here's the question for us: are we ever in danger of knowing "the truth" (i.e., the Scriptures, the stories about Jesus, the Bible) but missing the real Truth who stands in front of us? Are we ever in danger of merely intellectualizing our faith, knowing so much that we miss Jesus who is the Truth? There is a head knowledge component to Christian faith, to be sure. It's good to study, to show ourselves approved (2 Timothy 2:15). But there is also an experience (heart) component. We must know the truth but we also must KNOW (experience) the truth. It's both head and heart. And when we get that balance right, we shall be set free (John 8:32).
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| In the tomb beneath Caiaphas' house, June 2017 |
Have you ever heard it said of anyone, "They wouldn't know the truth if it were standing right in front of them"? Truer words were never spoken when it comes to this scene that we call the "trial" of Jesus.
It's late at night. Very late. Trials should have been held in the daytime, not at night. So this was an illegal trial, a kangaroo court. It's doubtful even the full Sanhedrin (Jewish ruling body) was there. This is just a group of whomever they could wake up and get together on the spur of the moment. They're that desperate to see Jesus condemned that they will break every one of their rules to get it done.
You know how we say (but don't always practice) that people are innocent before proven guilty? In this mockery of a trial, exactly the opposite is in play. The leaders are looking for evidence after they have arrested Jesus (14:55). The judgment is already finished, and Jesus knows it. That's why he doesn't bother responding to anything they throw at him (14:61). There's no point. He is condemned already. They're just trying to find a way to legally carry out the sentence they have already decided on (irony, right?).
There is one thing Jesus responds to, however. When he is asked directly about being the Messiah, he says, "I am." Now, here is when Jesus has a real problem. The Messiah, as most understood it in his day, was to be a military leader, a conqueror who would kick Rome out and establish an everlasting throne (in the line of King David) in Jerusalem. In other words—Jesus is a political threat at the moment he admits to being the Messiah. That is why we get the reaction we get from the religious leaders. "Why do we need any more witnesses?" (14:63). He has just condemned himself. He has just given them the ammunition they need to get Rome to execute him as a political criminal.
Right there in front of them is everything they have hoped for, everything the prophets promised and the Scriptures foretold. He is the truth they have been seeking. He is standing in front of these religious leaders, these learned men, the ones in their day who knew the Scriptures better than, most likely, anyone else. And they miss it. They miss the truth. They "know" the truth, but they can't see actual truth even when it's literally a few feet away from them.
So here's the question for us: are we ever in danger of knowing "the truth" (i.e., the Scriptures, the stories about Jesus, the Bible) but missing the real Truth who stands in front of us? Are we ever in danger of merely intellectualizing our faith, knowing so much that we miss Jesus who is the Truth? There is a head knowledge component to Christian faith, to be sure. It's good to study, to show ourselves approved (2 Timothy 2:15). But there is also an experience (heart) component. We must know the truth but we also must KNOW (experience) the truth. It's both head and heart. And when we get that balance right, we shall be set free (John 8:32).
So very true
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