DAY ELEVEN -- Accused
You will understand that spitting scene that night when God lets you see your own heart. —Alexander Whyte
Reflect
Prayerfully come before your Father this morning. Rest in His presence.
Consider for a moment that Jesus’ death on the cross was the ultimate sacrifice. Yet, in every event leading to the Cross, He must continually let go of things that are rightfully His. Read the following verses:
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:5–8 NASB)
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9 NASB)
What specific things did Jesus give up in coming to redeem you? Speak these things aloud in a prayer of thanksgiving from your heart. Read
But Jesus kept silent. (Matthew 26:63 NASB)
By now almost the entire Sanhedrin has gathered in the palace of their chief priest. Caiaphas is confident they will convict the Carpenter from Nazareth of blasphemy. The law requires nothing short of death for such a charge. He flushes in anticipation.
Weariness is beginning to show on Jesus’ face. He waits quietly while Caiaphas summons the witnesses. One by one they bring charges against Him, but no two are alike. Every priest knows that the law requires two witnesses to convict.
Caiaphas scowls, calling for more testimony. Finally one man proclaims that he heard Jesus plotting to destroy the temple. Another agrees, but the details of their stories don’t match.
Frustrated at the weakness of their case, Caiaphas addresses Jesus, who has not yet spoken. “Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?”
But Jesus kept silent. Every member of the council watches their leader to see how he will handle the prisoner’s impudence. Things aren’t going according to plan.
In a flash, Caiaphas sees his political power and social prestige vanishing before his eyes. Storming from his lofty chair, he thrusts a bony finger in Jesus’ face. “I command You, by the living God, tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.”
His voice echoes throughout the chamber. Jesus raises His eyes and surprises everyone by answering: “I am. There will come a time when you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
“BLASPHEMY!” Caiaphas screams as the room breaks into angry chatter.
He rips his cloak down the center seam, signaling his offense at Jesus’ claims. How dare He quote the sacred Scriptures like that? How dare He speak with such audacity! He signs His own death sentence.
“We have all the witnesses we need right here! You have heard it for yourselves. What do you think?”
In unison they cry: “He deserves death!”
Chaos ensues as some of the council members rush up to Jesus. Gathering around Him, they begin to push Him back and forth. Hands tied and unable to catch His balance, He stumbles, completely at their mercy.
Something wet hits His neck, then His chin, His cheek, His eye, until His face is covered. What must it be like to realize people are spitting at you? To know you are the object of such utter contempt? To be incapable of even wiping off the filthy spittle?
One of the temple guards grabs his own sash and blindfolds Jesus.
Whack.
“Who hit You? Tell us if You know—why don’t You prophesy for us?”
Whack.
Laughter fills the room. “Come on, Messiah. Tell us who hit You that time. Surely You know—after all, You are the Son of God.”
Does He long to respond? To astound them with answers in the midst of their juvenile cruelty? To prove in this absurd arena His claim to Deity?
Whack.
Whack.
Whack.
Jesus staggers with each blow, but those around Him are too caught up in their game to care about His condition. Dizzy and weak, He finally gives in, letting them throw Him about.
The wounds have begun in earnest for the sacrificial Lamb. Vile and vain, the religious leaders taunt Him—jeering, spitting, and pummeling His face with their palms.
But Jesus kept silent. Not a word passes His lips, either in protest or in pain.
Finally they tire, drifting off in twos and threes to await the dawn. Caiaphas glances back at the battered prisoner. Let Him be. He won’t be going anywhere in His condition.
When morning finally comes, the guards drag Jesus to His feet, pushing Him along the way to the temple for the “official” trial. This time they seek no witnesses as He stands before them. Caiaphas asks the critical question: “If You are the Christ, then tell us right now.”
Carefully Jesus mouths an answer through swollen lips. “If I tell you, you won’t believe Me, and if I ask you, you won’t answer.”
At first the elders are put off. This won’t do—it isn’t blasphemy. But Jesus isn’t finished. “From now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”
Frustrated with the way His words seem to go in circles, Caiaphas demands: “Well, are You the Son of God, then?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Blasphemy! Let us take this impostor to our governor.”
Among the worshipers in the temple courtyard, Judas shuffles anxiously about, regret eating at his insides. Upon hearing the verdict against Jesus, he bursts into the council chambers where a few priests remain. He tries to give back the money he earned for the betrayal, perhaps to assuage his guilt.
When they will have no part in his atonement, Judas hurls the coins at their feet and runs out. While the priests are still pondering this new development, a tormented Judas enters an empty field and hangs himself from a tree, branding the annals of history with his death. Guilt with no relief . . . sin without forgiveness . . . despair with no way out.
The death of Jesus, too, will soon stain the pages of perpetuity. Though he has no personal guilt to expunge or sin to atone for, he will hang from another kind of tree, spilling His precious blood for a world lost in darkness, and who knew Him not.
Respond
Contemplating the details of Jesus’ trial is a painful preamble to His gruesome death. But it is important to do so, because His suffering did not begin on Calvary. Spend a few minutes imagining the scene at the house of Caiaphas. Jesus chose to speak only at certain times, most of the time remaining silent. This greatly angered the chief priest.
Do you demand answers from Jesus that at times He chooses not to give? How do you respond? Anger? Rejection? Discouragement? Lack of faith?
Contemplate what Jesus must have felt when the taunts began. Imagine the nauseous feeling of other men’s saliva on your face when your hands are bound behind you. Think what it would be like to be one of those doing the spitting.
This is the living God, and there is no reason He should endure this kind of treatment. No reason except one: Love—divine and incomprehensible. Confess your unwillingness to accept Christ’s silence at times. Pour out from your heart expressions of gratitude and adoration for your Savior, who loves with this kind of intensity. Write a few sentences of response in your prayer journal.
A Prayer
Oh, precious Redeemer. What can I say to You—You who have been spit upon and ridiculed. You whose face is now misshapen by the blows of sinners. You who bleed and fall and yet utter not a word. I cry, but my tears seem a trivial testament to the torment You endure. What can I say? Nothing. Silent sorrow is my only recourse. I pray Your heart can sense my grief.
Reprinted by permission. Contemplating the Cross: a Forty Day Pilgrimage of Prayer, Tricia McCary Rhodes, 2004, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved. Copying or using this material without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited and in direct violation of copyright law.
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