Who Does He Think He Is?

It was a kangaroo court, his accusers looking for an excuse to execute him. His crime was that he had become too prominent, too influential, attracting thousands to follow him. It had gone beyond his constant conflict with their belief system, which systematically stripped away its pretense and showed them up for their hollow hypocrisy. That was bad enough - a nettling challenge to their control. But if that same influence was noticed by their Roman masters, all of the might and wrath of that fearsome empire would come down on them, sweeping away the nation - their nation. And with it, their influence, their coveted corner of power. That could not be allowed to happen.

So, he had to go.

And a surreptitious, private assassination wouldn't do. They had to contrive a public discrediting and condemnation. Something that would depose him in the eyes of the populace, and at the same time, make him, not them, the subject of ultimate Roman vilification. The rights and wrongs of it were irrelevant - what mattered now was expedience.

They took him at night, deserted by his disciples and betrayed by one of his own. They tried him at night -illegal, but speed was what counted. Foregone was all the procedure laid down by law. No public statement of what he was being accused of. No appeal for witnesses to come forward in his defence, and no time allowed for that. The very law they boasted to uphold - the Law of Moses - was conveniently abandoned in order to serve their purpose,

And so here he stood, before them now, at their mercy. The paid liars had uttered their calumnies. Now, looking for something -anything - he himself would say that could be twisted to their advantage, he is challenged:

"The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”"
“You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." (Matthew 26 vs 63,64)

In the original language, the question is heard as a statement with raised inflection at the end to make it a question. Like this:

"You are the Messiah, the Son of God?"

Jesus' reply is simply 'your words!' You said it!
Obviously, he is not toeing their line. But he is not denying their stated truth - he has clearly made this profession elsewhere. Just seeing right through their game. He will not allow them to put their words in his mouth, not for their ends. But then, what an astounding addition:

From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven

 They may account him 'worthy of death', but it is the Lord of life who speaks. He, not they, determines this outcome -"from now on ..." This is stunning. They may well put him to death. But that is not the finale! Jesus is determined that all present hear what he says; it applies to every one of them. Indeed, what they now accomplish will serve two ends:

1. Jesus will reign with his Father
2. Jesus will return to judge

And so it is for us. 

For all who place him 'on trial'. Those who will seek to manipulate what he reveals concerning himself. Those who ask straight questions should be vitally prepared to deal with his straight answers. If he truly is the Promised One of Israel, the Son of God, the time to reckon with the response is now. For those who will not will nevertheless be subject to - be enemies of - his ongoing rule. And, at his coming again, let them ask themselves, where will they then find themselves?

The real question, then, is not 'who does he think he is'. But rather, 'who do YOU say he is'. Because if he is who he says he is, he is the one most important person in all of history to be heard. And heeded.