The Son of God
The evening before his execution, some Jewish leaders brought Jesus before the elders of the people in order to find a reason to condemn him to death. At one of these trials, the high priest commanded Jesus, “I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.”
The following text recounts the true historical narrative of this event and the answer Jesus gave to this question:
Mark 14:60-64 And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses? Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.
The Question of Jesus’ Accusers
“Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”
1. Why did they ask this question? According to the context, these leaders wanted to find a reason to put Jesus to death, not to find out the truth.
Mark 14:55 “And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death...”
2. When did they ask this question? They asked this question only after not finding any cause of guilt in Jesus.
Mark 14:55-56 " And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none. For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together."
3. What did they mean by this question?
“Art thou the Christ…” - The title “Christ” refers to the Savior that God promised through the ministry of the Old Testament prophets. The High Priest was asking if Jesus was the One who fulfilled all these prophecies? “Tell us if you are God's promised Savior.”
“Art thou…the Son of the Blessed?.” – The title “Son of the Blessed” or, in other texts, “Son of God” has been a subject of much discussion. In order to understand the meaning of “Son of God”, it is important not to think of your own ideas, but to ask the question, “What did the high priest and the people of his day mean by this title?” By looking at two key passages, you can better understand what the title “Son of God” meant during the life of Jesus.
John 5:17-18 “But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.”
John 10:30-33 “I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
When did Jesus make Himself God? In the context, Jesus said that He and the Father are one. But even more so, shortly after this, Jesus said “...Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?” Jesus made Himself God when He said He was the “Son of God.”
Again, it is important to emphasize that this title, “Son of God,” must be understood by its meaning during the life of Jesus. The meaning was never that God has physical relations with a woman!
According to these two passages, this title meant “to make oneself equal with God” or “to make oneself God.” If someone ever called himself the Son of God, it was an affirmation that he was God Himself. This is exactly what the high priest understood by this title what he said this to Jesus.
Jesus’ Answer to His Accusers
And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
1. How did Jesus answer this question?
In this text, the answer that Jesus gave is indisputable! Jesus simply said, “I am.” This means that Jesus categorically accepted and declared that he was the Son of God.
The morning following, the leaders again asked this same question, Luke 22:70 “Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am.” It is clear, once again, from historical context, that the idiom “Ye say that I am” is another way of clearly agreeing to the fact or accusation.
There are many other texts where Christ clearly identified himself as the Son of God. Consider the following:
John 9:35-37 “Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou has both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.” (also see John 5:25, 11:4)
At the baptism of Jesus, something extraordinary took place: Matthew 3:17 “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
One day, Jesus asked his disciples a question regarding his identity -
Matthew 16:15 “He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?” Carefully follow what happens next, Matthew 16:16-17 “And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed are thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”
Again, consider the testimony of the enemies of Jesus when they mocked him as was being crucified, Matthew 27:43 “He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.”
Finally, listen to the words of the demons that were confronted by Jesus, Mark 3:11 “And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God."
There is no doubt that Jesus of Nazareth presented himself as the Son of God, that he absolutely accepted to be the Son of God, and that others of his day understood both his claim and the meaning of it.
2. What did Jesus mean by the following statement?
Mark 14:62 “And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”
Jesus is referring to a prophecy found in Daniel 7:13 which describes the Messiah as the Sovereign Lord of all, reigning for eternity.
“Son of man” is a title referring to the Messiah, not only in the Old Testament, but is also the most common name that Jesus used for himself in the Gospels.
In other words, Jesus was not denying who He was, nor changing the meaning of the title “Christ” or “Son of God,” but was simply confirming that He was the Christ, the Son of God.
After being asked if He was the Christ, the Son of God, Jesus agreed that He was. From these passages and according to the meaning of this title, Jesus clearly and fully claimed to be God.
The Verdict of Condemnation
“Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses? Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.”
1. Why was Jesus condemned to die?
According to the context, Jesus was condemned to die for the sin of blasphemy. In the passage, blasphemy is the sin of claiming to be the one true Creator God. All the men with Jesus that night clearly understood Him to be saying that He was God. They had no doubt that this is exactly what He was saying and they agreed that He must be punished by death.
2. Why was death the punishment for blasphemy?
According to the Old Testament law, the sin of blasphemy was to be punished by death:
Leviticus 24:16 “And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death…”
Later the next day, the Jews explained to the Roman official, Pilate, why Jesus must die: John 19:7 “The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.”
Jesus was condemned to die because He claimed to be “The Son of God.” That means that Jesus claimed to be God. According to the Old Testament law, if this was not true, such a claim was blasphemy and was to be punished by death.
How important is this truth?
It is an indisputable fact that Jesus of Nazareth presented himself as the Son of God. In the end, Jesus Christ was put to death for this very claim. Even prior to the time of Jesus, as God spoke through the Old Testament prophets, it was clearly prophesied that the Messiah would be God Himself. Consider the following text:
Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of peace.”
Because God is all-powerful, we know that He is able to become a man. The question is “why did the Eternal, all-powerful God become a man?” Again, according to the prophets, He did this in order to give His life as a sacrifice for our sins:
Isaiah 53:5, 10, 12 “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities…when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin….and he bare the sin of many.”
God became a human being in order to die for our sins, in order to save us eternally, in order to forgive us, and in order to give us eternal life. But, please understand, the gift of God’s salvation in Jesus Christ is not automatically applied to each of us. There is a condition that must be met!
In order to receive salvation in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, you must believe in him alone as your personal Savior. What will you do with Jesus?
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