In the Silence
In the Silence
In this week's passage from the gospel of Mark (14:53-72), Jesus appears before the Sanhedrin, the high priest, the chief priests, the elders, and teachers of the law.
Let's think back for a moment to the past twenty-four hours or so of Jesus' life at this point. He had celebrated the Passover with His students and friends. He had washed their feet He had served and loved them, even Judas. He instituted a new commandment: Love one another as I have loved you.
He went to the valley, the foot of the Mount of Olives in the Garden of Gethsemane. He prayed earnestly to the Father to "take this cup from me." He prayed to the point that His sweat ran like drops of blood down His face (Luke 22:44). And while He had asked His friends to stay and watch with Him, they fell asleep, not once, but three times. In the dark of night, soldiers, led by Judas, came to arrest Jesus. They took Him before the courts.
While before the Sanhedrin, men hurled accusations at Jesus; Peter stood in the distance. What must Jesus have been thinking? The Christ, the Son of God, the Alpha and the Omega, the Lamb of God, the Light of World, the Living Water, in whom all things were made, standing before a court who had no authority over Him - men who were blind to the reality of the King of Kings submitting to their weak, fallible, and temporal systems of power.
The Eternal stands before men, judged by men. How does Jesus respond? Silence. He does not answer. He stands before them in the fullness of who He is and certainly grieves the entire scenario. What is in that silence? The whole of eternity, the salvation of the world, His sorrow, His betrayal, His torture, His death, and most certainly, His resurrection.
Spend some time in prayer with this scene. What would you see if you were there? What would you hear? What might the weight of the air feel like against your skin? Who is moving? Who is talking? Who is silent? Ask God to show you the truths of that evening.
Let's think back for a moment to the past twenty-four hours or so of Jesus' life at this point. He had celebrated the Passover with His students and friends. He had washed their feet He had served and loved them, even Judas. He instituted a new commandment: Love one another as I have loved you.
He went to the valley, the foot of the Mount of Olives in the Garden of Gethsemane. He prayed earnestly to the Father to "take this cup from me." He prayed to the point that His sweat ran like drops of blood down His face (Luke 22:44). And while He had asked His friends to stay and watch with Him, they fell asleep, not once, but three times. In the dark of night, soldiers, led by Judas, came to arrest Jesus. They took Him before the courts.
While before the Sanhedrin, men hurled accusations at Jesus; Peter stood in the distance. What must Jesus have been thinking? The Christ, the Son of God, the Alpha and the Omega, the Lamb of God, the Light of World, the Living Water, in whom all things were made, standing before a court who had no authority over Him - men who were blind to the reality of the King of Kings submitting to their weak, fallible, and temporal systems of power.
The Eternal stands before men, judged by men. How does Jesus respond? Silence. He does not answer. He stands before them in the fullness of who He is and certainly grieves the entire scenario. What is in that silence? The whole of eternity, the salvation of the world, His sorrow, His betrayal, His torture, His death, and most certainly, His resurrection.
Spend some time in prayer with this scene. What would you see if you were there? What would you hear? What might the weight of the air feel like against your skin? Who is moving? Who is talking? Who is silent? Ask God to show you the truths of that evening.
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