Luke 22:63-71 [ESV]
63Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. 64They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, "Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?" 65And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him. 66When 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, 68and if I ask you, you will not answer. 69But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God." 70So they all said, "Are you the Son of God, then?" And he said to them, "You say that I am." 71Then they said, "What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips."
63Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him.
These ‘men’ were the Temple guard, not the Romans at this particular time. They were more than likely some of the men who had been to the Garden of Gethsemane to arrest Jesus, and possibly their superiors as well… this was a big deal… Jesus was a wanted man… and I am sure all of them wanted to be in on this event.
were holding - soon-ekh'-on-tess which means to ‘hold’ but carries a picture of that of a ship being funneled into a straight, unable to move about freely… another picture is that of cattle being herded into an area where they are trapped and not able to move so that the farmer can administer a brand or give medicine. The basic picture here is that Jesus was bound tightly and there was no human means of escape… They were determined and deliberate in their binding of Jesus.
mocking him and beat him - em-pie-dzo which means to mock, to tease, to play with, but not in a playful manner!
de-ron-ten which is the word for ‘beat’ and means to beat or to flay, skin, thrash or smite… which leads to an entirely different picture than simply hitting Jesus! They were hitting him but with the strict intention of doing great damage to him…
The mocking was coupled with the beating and the implication here is much more sinister… this was a violent attack, both physically and emotionally on a bound and defenseless man. What Jesus had to endure for us was horrendous.
64They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, "Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?"
Blindfolded - peri-cal-oops-un-tow
This means to be shut off, covered up, covered over, covered all around… the meaning gives the implied perception that Jesus was totally incapacitated both physically by his bonds but also visually because of the blindfold… total darkness with no sense of what was about to happen (from the human perspective)
kept asking - - ep-er-o-tah'-own which is the imperfect indicative meaning that they KEPT ON ASKING HIM… in a taunting and aggressive tone. This coupled with the em-pei-dzo (mocking) reveal a brutal and horrific edition of blind man’s bluff… he was cloaked and blinded from all directions and they taunted and beat Him mercilessly demanding that He prove Himself and prophesy who was doing it… ruthlessly cruel!
65And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him.
Finally we see that this sick game of blind man’s bluff was not all they did but it was Luke wanted to emphasize, but they did far more to Jesus than Luke details… as he tells us in this verse that they did MANY other things against Him… blaspheming Him…
The term ‘blaspheming’ here is not that they were being overt against Jesus as Savior… but it was more that they were being overtly cruel and accusatory toward Jesus from a human perspective…
Another word that could be used here is the word calumniate which is defined as making strong false and malicious statements about OR slandering someone. They were accusing Jesus of many things He had NOT done… These men were possibly the instigators of the crowd that shouted out the next day, “Crucify Him!!” on many occasions!
The point we need to see in these few verses is that Jesus… took all this abuse, without resistance and in fact willfully submitted Himself to this… all on OUR behalf!
Scripture tells us in Isaiah 53:3,7-8 [ESV] tells us,
“…3He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not… 7He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth…”
Jesus did this without resistance on his part… Jesus submitted to this horrible treatment, all because of His willingness to submit to God’s plan for humanity. He did this out of obedience to the Father, but the Bible also reveals that He did it out of love for the father and for humanity!
Have you ever sat and thought about what your Savior truly DID endure for YOUR sake? So many of us speak of the cross, but we have sanitized it in our minds to the point where it is just words… and we feel NOTHING when we speak of His passion for us. Let us NEVER reach the point where we are numb to what Christ has done for us…
66When 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,
When day came… this terrible abuse of Jesus did not last for mere minutes, but it lasted for hours. Jesus was arrested late in the night… and v.66 speaks of daylight coming… this ordeal with the guards and the beating and the ridicule could have lasted for over 6-8 hours…
Day came… and the assembly of elders… the religious leaders… those in authority in the Jewish faith… came together to deal with this man, Jesus. They had longed for this moment, and had been planning for this moment for a very long time. The first time we see religious leaders wanting Jesus taken care of is in chapter 4 when Jesus speaks at his hometown synagogue… they want to throw Him over a cliff.
Then in chapter 5 when Jesus healed the man, but also used the phrase “Your sins are forgiven”… the religious leaders were irritated with Jesus and did not know what to do with Him.
But the discussions on what they might do to get rid of Jesus begin in earnest in the middle of chapter 6 when Jesus heals the man with the withered hand in the synagogue on the Sabbath…
From that point on, they were in a constant state of planning to get rid of Jesus, either by discrediting Him or charging Him with crimes against God. And now they had him in custody… and they were gathering together to make their final decision on HOW they were going to kill him.
I don’t believe there was ever a doubt in their mind as to WHAT to do to Jesus, but the question was HOW were they going to get the Romans to do it…
So as daylight shines its first few rays of light… they begin to gather to discuss just that… how they can kill Jesus! Jesus is retrieved from the guards who had been mistreating him all night… can you imagine what he looked like after a night of being beaten?
They get Him and lead him into the most powerful chamber known to Judaism at that time… the chamber of the Sanhedrin, a council of religious leaders who gathered and ensured that their laws were kept and dispensed judgment on those who did not keep them…
In v.67 they begin their attack on Jesus with a very direct question:
67"If you are the Christ, tell us." But he said to them, "If I tell you, you will not believe,
Here they make the claim that they are seeking for knowledge about the the Messiah… about the Anointed One of God, but Jesus knows their hearts! He refuses to play their game!
He even challenges them with a pretty bold and gutsy statement when he says, “If I DO tell you, you won’t believe me…” The word Jesus uses here for ‘believe’ is from the same root word that is used in John 3:16… it is a term of faith…
Jesus is telling these men that no matter what He said to them at this time, their hearts would not be changed and they would never have faith in Him for who He is…
So we find Jesus in v.68 elaborating on this answer… describing the situation. Jesus knew that this group was 1st not being honest with themselves, but only sought vengeance and retaliation against Jesus and they had couched their hatred in their supposed devotion to God.
But secondly, Jesus knew that this was the plan of the Father and that these people were vessels being used to accomplish the Father’s plan! So Jesus knew if he began to talk… these people would really not respond positively and so Jesus tells them… 68and if I ask you, you will not answer.
In v.69 we find Jesus proclaiming His deity, 69But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God." this further infuriates the leaders as they come back with the statement, “70So they all said, "Are you the Son of God, then?" In other words, “Jesus, are you telling us that what you just said was in reference to YOURSELF?”
Jesus then relents to the plan of the Father by giving these men what they believed they needed when Jesus says, "…You say that I am." Other translations have Jesus simply saying, “Yes, I am…” Which is just what these men wanted to hear so that they could put their plan into action!
However, what Jesus said was, “That is what YOU say…” But to them he was NOT denying the claim and by NOT denying it, He was agreeing with it… so they had what they needed!
So we see them proclaim in v.71… 71Then they said, "What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips."
Here these religious leaders have WON in their minds… He has said what they wanted Him to say! He has said with His own mouth that He was the Son of God and thus making himself equal to God. He had not denied it… and therefore was guilty of blasphemy against God.
Their judgment is swift as they call for his death at this point… but that sentence could NOT come to pass with just their decision, but had to be assigned by the Roman governor… now their job was to convince the Romans to put him to death…
So often this is a picture of sin in our life. As Christ stands in our midst we twist and bend God’s plan to OUR desires… and it doesn’t matter what God tells us, we only hear what we want to hear! I pray that we always listen for God’s voice… and His voice alone! PRAY!
