"Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" Jesus said, "I am"

 

 And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and with him were assembled all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes.  But Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest.  And he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire.   

 

Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none.  For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree.  Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, "We heard Him say, 'I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.'"  But not even then did their testimony agree.  And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, "Do You answer nothing?  What is it these men testify against You?"  But He kept silent and answered nothing Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?"  Jesus said, "I am.  And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven."  Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "What further need do we have of witnesses?  You have heard the blasphemy!  What do you think?"  And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death.  Then some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, and to say to Him, "Prophesy!"  And the officers struck Him with the palms of their hands.

 

- Mark 14:53–65 

 

On Saturday we read that, immediately, while Jesus was still speaking to His disciples in the garden of Gethsemane, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.  Now His betrayer had given them a signal, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him and lead Him away safely."  As soon as he had come, immediately he went up to Him and said to Him, "Rabbi, Rabbi!" and kissed Him.  Then they laid their hands on Him and took Him.  And one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.  Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?  I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me.  But the Scriptures must be fulfilled."  Then they all forsook Him and fled. Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body.  And the young men laid hold of him, and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked.

 

  And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and with him were assembled all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes.  But Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest.  And he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire.  In our previous reading (see above), we read of the young man (frequently thought to be the Evangelist Mark himself, or possibly John) who fled naked after He tried to follow Christ.  Here we read that Peter managed to follow at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest.  This sets the stage for the challenges Peter will face in our next reading.  

Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none.  For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree.  Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, "We heard Him say, 'I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.'"  But not even then did their testimony agree.  Here we see the desperate search by the authorities (the chief priests and all the council) to find witness testimony that will convict Jesus.  Here are many false witnesses whose testimonies did not agree.   

And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, "Do You answer nothing?  What is it these men testify against You?"  But He kept silent and answered nothing Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?"  Jesus said, "I am.  And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven."  Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "What further need do we have of witnesses?  You have heard the blasphemy!  What do you think?"  And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death.  Then some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, and to say to Him, "Prophesy!"  And the officers struck Him with the palms of their hands.  Jesus testifies Himself, in answer to the question of the high priest, "I am."  In Greek this is ego eimi/Ἐγώ εἰμι.  It is the divine name of God as given to Moses in Exodus 3:14, as reported in the Septuagint version of the Scriptures commonly in use at the time.  (When Christ quotes from what we call the Old Testament, it is the Septuagint version reported in the Gospels.)  My study Bible comments that the use of this divine name here, the I am, indicates a theophany, or revelation of God Himself.  The use of this Name by a human being was considered to be blasphemy and was punishable by death (Leviticus 24:16; see John 8:58), hence the response of the high priest. But because Jesus is fully God, His use of this Name is not blasphemy.  Rather, He is revealing His unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  My study Bible adds that it is only in Mark's account that Christ's answer is this direct.  To sit at the right hand of the Power is to share authority with the Father.  This statement was clearly understood by the high priest to be a claim of equality with God, and therefore results in his response. 

 

 Our systems of justice today, particularly in the West, reflect our understanding of the injustice carried out against Jesus Christ.  We know what false witnesses are, we know and accept that the innocent -- and in this case, the profoundly and truly Innocent -- can be falsely convicted through false witnesses.  Even in ancient times, a false witness was unacceptable in legal systems.  Enshrined into our laws today is that this is so, even for defendants despised by the society for all kinds of reasons.  The same is true for testimony that is contradictory.  But the extraordinary thing about this hearing we read about today is that the ultimate witness is Christ Himself.  What is the case when it is the truth itself that people despise and want to reject?  In this case, the One who referred to Himself as the way, the truth, and the life is being rejected for stating clearly who He is.  What are we to make of that kind of a trial and conviction?  How do we see it?  How do we look at it?  What does that tell us, in fact, about our own propensity to reject the things we don't like, the things that threaten us, or take away our own righteous sense of ourselves?  But let us look at Christ Himself, for He came into the world to proclaim His gospel.  Luke tells us that as Jesus went into the synagogue of His hometown of Nazareth, He read the prophecy of Isaiah, saying:  "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord" (Isaiah 61:1-2; Luke 4:16-30).  To these words Jesus added, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing," thus rendering indignant to the point of murder the people of His hometown -- who could not accept that Jesus could be the Christ.  Thus we have this similar response in the high priest and members of the Council.  Jesus' truth is unacceptable for them.  It is too threatening to their places and the ways of life they know, the things they hold most precious, just as the people of Nazareth were indignant of their own perceived positions in relation to Jesus and His family.  If Jesus' words were true, what would that mean for them?  How would they have to change their own minds about life, about themselves and their places?  How would they have to change?  So, we must also ask ourselves what we're willing to do to accept a truth we might not like.  Are we prepared to go wherever it is that Christ would ask us to go?  This is the position the disciples were in at this time.  And there is a greater question here.  We know where Jesus will go, and we can see it previewed in the actions of those who spit on Him, mock Him, beat Him, blindfold Him demanding prophesy while they do so.  He will be treated with the contempt of those meting out violence and torture and the cruelty of crucifixion.  From this, we understand Christ's blood shed for us, for telling us His truth, for bringing us the gospel and the good news of our faith.  So as we are baptized into His life, what can we endure for this faith and this truth?  Do we at times find ourselves paying the price for our faith, for those who are indignant at our faith?  How do we know to accept this reality, to bear it even with humility and dignity if there is nothing we can do to change others and their response?  Can we change ourselves to accept our own suffering for His name's sake?  We make many decisions in life, and even the smallest choice can reflect our faith.  Christ declares Himself openly here before the high priest, knowing that His human death is coming.  There are all kinds of ways in which we may also suffer for our choices, some very small.  Those persons who have shared Christ's death for the sake of their faith we call martyrs.  In ways we can't completely understand, their suffering becomes the fertile ground of the Church, and there are martyrs today suffering for the sake of their Christian faith around the world.  For each of us who enter into His life through baptism and the Eucharist, we should put into perspective the times we go through difficulties for our faith, for we enter through participation in His cup, even in small ways, separating ourselves from the way of the world for His way when called to do so.  Let us consider His strength and courage and the power hidden from these men in Christ's truth, for it is there for each of us as well. For when we also find His strength and faith to continue through difficulties, and carry our own cross, then we in turn bring and share it with others as well and help to build His kingdom in this world.  Let us be true to who we are and follow Him.