Luke 22:66-23:7 — The First Trial
READ THIS: Luke 22:66-23:7
66 At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. 67 “If you are the Messiah,” they said, “tell us.”
Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe me, 68 and if I asked you, you would not answer. 69 But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.” 70 They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?” He replied, “You say that I am.” 71 Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.”
1 Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.” 3 So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied.
4 Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.” 5 But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.” 6 On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. 7 When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.
WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?
After Jesus gets betrayed by His friends and beaten by the Jews who detained Him, the religious leaders question Him about who He is. Jesus responds that they put Him in a no-win situation, but either way, "the Son of Man" is going to be with God. The leaders see that He is referring to Himself, point it out, and freak out. Claiming to be the Son of Man is claiming to be the Messiah, who is also in the Old Testament referred to as a king. Technically, though, He still didn't say He was to them.
In a rage, they take Jesus to the non-Jewish authorities, namely, Pilate (think of him as a governor). The Jewish leaders claim that Jesus says He's a king and opposes taxes, which are punishable by Rome. After having a similar conversation with Jesus, just about whether He's a king, Pilate sees nothing punishable. But, the religious leaders keep irritating him, and through that, Pilate finds out Jesus is from Galilee and did some of the offending things over there. That meant Jesus had to be judged by Herod, a different governor-like figure. So, Pilate sent Jesus over to Herod to determine if Jesus should be punished.
THINK ABOUT IT:
1. This is the first time Jesus is in front of a Roman authority being accused of doing something wrong. Everything that happened before this actually happened among religious leaders....including the beatings from yesterday's reading. How does that make you feel? Did you ever realize that the beatings were from the leaders and not Roman guards? (This was a new discovery for me!)
2. Why do you think Pilate wanted to send Jesus to Herod? (Beyond just because of jurisdiction reasons)
TRY THIS:
Come up with arguments for and against why Jesus should be punished. (It will help you get into the perspective of the Jewish leaders and the Romans!)
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