Today's Readings: New Testament -
Mark 14:53-65
Revelation 16
Old Testament -
Job 38:1-21
Zephaniah 1-2
Click on Text Links to Read Online
Focus Verses: Mark 14:60-64
60 Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?" 61 But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" 62 "I am," said Jesus. "And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." 63 The high priest tore his clothes. "Why do we need any more witnesses?" he asked. 64 "You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?"
Insight:
If Jesus did not believe himself to be the Christ and Son of God, or had he been misunderstood, or misrepresented, his trial before the high priest would have been the perfect time for him to set the record straight. When asked directly about being the Christ and the Son of the Blessed One, Jesus' answer was every bit as direct and clear. "I am," said Jesus. "And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."
The high priest and the assembly clearly understood Jesus' answer to be a boldfaced claim to deity and Messiahship. They considered his words to be blasphemy and the grounds for execution.
Response and Action:
I believe Jesus' claim to be the Son of God. I accept his authority. I believe he has risen from the dead, he has ascended into heaven and is seated at the Father's right hand, where he lives and reigns with the Holy Spirit and the Father, one God now and forever. He will come again to judge the living and the dead, and his Kingdom will have no end.
Thank you, O God, for Jesus, your Son who came to live among us, full of grace and truth. Help me to grow in my relationship with him. Help me to follow him wherever he leads. Amen.
Spiritual Formation Verses: John 3:16-17
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Resources:
Jesus according to Scripture: Restoring the Portrait from the Gospels
by Darrell L. Bock
