Luke 22:66-23:5

⁶⁶ When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their council, and they said, ⁶⁷ “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, ⁶⁸ and if I ask you, you will not answer. ⁶⁹ But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” ⁷⁰ So they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.” ⁷¹ Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.” 23 Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. ² And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.” ³ And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” ⁴ Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.” ⁵ But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.”

When the elders of the people, including the chief priests and the scribes, questioned Jesus, the first thing they asked him was whether he was the Christ. In the beginning of this Gospel, Luke states many times that Jesus was the Christ, revealing what the leaders now wanted to hear Jesus declare about himself. Jesus told them their questioning was useless. They had made up their minds. Jesus added, “And if I asked you who you think I am, you won’t answer either.” Jesus also declared he would be seated at the right hand of God, referring to himself as the Son of Man. Jesus would soon take the place of honor, not them. Jesus quoted from Psalm 110:1, “The Lord says to my Lord: sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” The right hand of God symbolizes the position of ultimate authority or rule. Though the religious leaders thought they were judging Jesus, in reality, he was the one judging them. The religious leaders considered his statement blasphemous. It would take one equal to God to sit at his right hand. They realized the significance of Jesus’ claim.

Their last question to Jesus was essentially “So are you the Son of God?” They weren’t seeking truth; they just wanted him to say enough to condemn himself so that they could proceed with his execution as quickly as possible. “That’s what you are saying,” Jesus replied. This was enough for the religious leaders. Jesus was as good as dead. Luke leaves the reader with a choice: Which judge would you prefer, the religious leaders of the day, or Jesus at the right hand of God? Though it may be hard to live with the mocking, scorning, and rejection that come from being “judged” by the world as too radical and over the top for the gospel, a day will come when scoffers will be rejected and Christ-followers ushered into a rich reward. Jesus remained calm on the precipice of the greatest suffering any human has ever endured. Jesus was the Christ, the Son of Man and the Son of God. When it comes to following Jesus, let’s make sure we live before the heavenly court. May we never cower before the opinions of man.