OUR lord's condemnation by the JEWISH COUNCIL.
Matt. xxvi. 63 — 66. And the high-priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee hy the living God, that thou tell us whether thou he the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him. Thou hast said : nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Sofi of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high-priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy ; ivhat further need have we of tvitnesses ? behold, 7iow ye have heard his blasphemy. What think ye ? They answered and said. He is guilty of death.
THE ungodly in their pursuits often manifest a diligence which may put to shame the lukewarmness of God's most zealous servants. Nor is it only in the gratification of their lusts that they display this ardour, but in their opposition to what is good. They feel themselves reproved by the blameless conversation of others, and would therefore gladly bring down all to their own level. Striking is that declaration of Solomon ; " They sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall^" We have an awful illustration of this in the conduct of the Jewish governors towards
a Prov. iv. IG.
our blessed Lord at all times, but especially at the close of his life. The high-priest and Scribes and elders had been occupied in examining witnesses against our Lord till midnight : yet, apprehensive that they had not gained such information as would warrant them to condemn him, they assembled, even the whole Sanhedrim, as soon as it was day^, in the palace of the high-priest ; and prosecuted their inquiries with redoubled earnestness, in order that they might effect his destruction without delay. The particular circumstances here recorded shall be noticed by us, L In a way of easy illustration —
In this trial of our Lord there are three things that require our attention ;
1. His examination —
[His enemies had endeavoured to substantiate something against him by means of witnesses, but were defeated by the discordance of their testimony. The high-priest, therefore, had recourse to a method which his office authorized*^, and from which he had Httle doubt of success ; he adjured his prisoner, in the name of the hving God, to declare the truth upon oath, and either to avow openly, or plainly to disavow, his pretensions to the office of their Messiah. Now if this had been done in a spirit of candour, and with a sincere desire of ascertaining the truth, we think he would have been fully justified in resorting to the measure : for the question was of infinite importance to the whole nation, inasmuch as their everlasting salvation depended on their receiving him if he were indeed the Messiah, and rejecting him if he were an impostor. The honour of God also was deeply implicated in it : and there- fore it was right that he should exert his judicial authority to have the matter, which had so long agitated the nation, brought to a decision. But there was in the mind of the judge a pre- determination to condemn him: and the adjuration had no other object than that of gaining from the mouth of our Lord himself a plea for effecting his destruction. And it is precisely thus that the inquiries of many about religion are made, not so much with a view to obtain useful information, as for the finding occasion against the Gospel, and against those who profess it.]
2. His confession —
[Whilst the people clamorously brought all kinds of accu- sations against him, our Lord held his peace ; but when the
b Luke xxii. 66. <= Numb. v. 19—21.
1404.] OUR lord's condemnation. 569
high-priest adjured him in the name of the living God, he could no longer keep silence ; but plainly and unequivocally said, *' I am" the Christ ; " I am " the Son of God'^. But, to cut off occasion from those who sought occasion against him, he brought to their remembrance a portion of Holy Writ, with which they were well acquainted, and which they were expect- ing about that time to be fulfilled^. It was universally known that Daniel spake of the Messiah ; and that " the Son of Man" should establish an universal kingdom : and our Lord warns his enemies, that however they might despise him on account of the meanness of his present appearance, they should one day " see him coming in the clouds of heaven," not only to punish Jerusalem, but to judge the world. This should have put them on their guard at least, and prevented that precipitate judgment which they were about to form : but the Scripture has no weight with men who are filled with prejudice ; or rather, an appeal to it does but irritate them the more, and render them willing, though unconscious, instruments of fulfilling its predictions.]