John 18:19-24

 “The high priest therefore questioned Jesus about His disciples, and about His teaching. Jesus answered him, "I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in synagogues, and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret. "Why do you question Me? Question those who have heard what I spoke to them; behold, these know what I said." And when He had said this, one of the officers standing by gave Jesus a blow, saying, "Is that the way You answer the high priest?" Jesus answered him, "If I have spoken wrongly, bear witness of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?" Annas therefore sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.”

 

This was kind of the preliminary round for Jesus as He aimed for the cross. He was being tried before Annas, the high priest’s father-in-law. Annas asked Jesus about His disciples and His teaching.

 

Jesus’ answer was straightforward. Essentially, Jesus felt no need to say anything about His disciples or His teachings while on trial. His point was that His entire ministry had been public, so it ought to be well-known. If anything that Jesus taught was false, surely there ought to be some witnesses willing to testify against Him.

 

One of the officers standing there struck Jesus for this response. He thought Jesus was being disrespectful to the “high priest”. But Jesus did not apologize. Instead he challenged the man to explain how He had answered wrongly. There is no record of such an answer.

 

But this was enough for Annas. Rather than continuing to question Jesus or seeking witnesses to testify against Jesus, Annas sent Jesus to the actual high priest, Caiaphas. Without anyone having testified against Him, Jesus managed to make progress toward the cross simply by refusing to answer what should have been common knowledge. He was going to a “higher court” without having been convicted of anything in a lower court – and without having tried to defend Himself. It is this sort of thing that shows that Jesus was fully in charge of His destiny. Jesus intended to suffer and die on the cross, and He knew what to do to achieve His purpose.

 

Father, on the one hand, this is a sad testimony to men’s corruption. Without testimony or evidence, the courts had already decided that Jesus needed to be condemned. The religious leaders moved Jesus toward the cross even without having an obvious basis for doing so. I’m sure this upsets You much more than it upsets even me. But at the same time, it didn’t surprise You. It didn’t surprise Jesus. You had sent Jesus on a mission, and Jesus was doing what You had commanded Him to do. At the same time as men were proving their corruption, Your Son was proving His worth and glory. He was taking advantage of the sinfulness of humanity to accomplish Your glorious redemption and overcome sin – the ultimate case of using an opponent’s strengths against him. Thank You for sending Your Son to do Your will. Thank You that He knew exactly what to do, and that He loved You enough to do Your will, no matter what pain He would encounter.