“But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”” Mark 14:61 ESV
Reflection: what truth are you currently seeking?
If finding the truth is the goal or the end-point, then we can think of the pursuit of truth equivalent to being on a fact-finding journey. Interestingly, while many say they are, and even behave as if they are on this journey to find the truth, they really are not. I’m sure you have noticed that with some people, it doesn’t matter what facts you bring them on a particular topic, because they have already made up their minds of what the truth is. Think of big current-day topics that probably no one has the full truth on, like “climate change”, or the Ukraine/Russia war, their minds are made up. They act as if they know the truth, and will only accept arguments that support what they believe is the truth. Anything counter to that, will be discarded as false. It can be very frustrating to talk with such individuals, because they don’t seem to care as much about seeking the truth. They only want to hear arguments that support their position. It is almost as if their journey is in reverse. They start with the answer, the end-point they want to be true, then build a case to support that answer.
We read in today’s focus verse about the religious leaders hosting a fake hearing to convict Jesus. Their end-point was already set, which was to put Him to death. To get Him out of the way. And, in their backwards journey from that point, they brought all sorts of false witnesses against Jesus, to try to build arguments in support of their preset conclusion. But even these testimonies were so false, so ridiculous, that they canceled each other. The chief priest got so frustrated with this charade that they created, that he got out of his chair, approached Jesus and asked the question directly himself,
“Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”” Mark 14:61b ESV
The NIV translation says “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”Mark 14:61b NIV. As we know, they claimed they were waiting for the Messiah for centuries, AND, they knew all the prophecies describing Him. They most likely already KNEW the Messiah was Jesus. But, the chief priest and all the religious leaders were, of course, not interested in the truth. Jesus did answer him, and it was the only time that He opened His mouth, “And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”” Mark 14:62 ESV.
“I am” (the Messiah). It was the truth. Available for them all to hear and to see. All doubt removed.
But it wasn’t what they wanted to hear, so they still rejected the truth. They rejected the Messiah, who they claimed to be waiting for. “And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death. And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him with blows.” Mark 14:63-65 ESV. It is very hard to read this. To know what happened here, as He came to His own, but they rejected Him.
They rejected God.
There is such a deep reflection for all of us here. Are we really seeking the truth, or support for a position we already have? Jesus called Himself “the truth” which is a bit strange when you first start thinking about that. But we read in John, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples. and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31b-32 ESV. It seems so simple, almost simple minded. Jesus is the truth. But, there is so much here to reflect on. The religious leaders were wise in the eyes of men, but foolish in the eyes of God. Jesus described this idea of Him being the truth, as a journey of discovery together with Him. To “abide” in His word, is to abide in Him. It is to exist within His intention for creation as He is the one who thought it all up. Everything we know about. When we seek the intention of the Creator, then it all starts making sense.
This forward journey, seeking truth, sets us free.
