To follow Jesus, you will need courage. It will take boldness. You will be tested and tempted. It will take courage to speak the truth in love. It will take courage to trust God when life is difficult. It will take courage to share Jesus. It will take courage when you are being opposed for what you believe. Following Jesus will take courage.

1 Corinthians 16:13 says, “Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong” (NLT). There will be times you will need to stand firm in your faith. You will need to plant your feet on the solid ground of God’s truth when the winds of the world begin to blow against you and the kingdom of darkness comes against you. You will need to be on guard. You will need to be courageous and do what what’s right and say what’s right. You will need to be strong.

Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord” (NLT). It takes courage to wait on the Lord to do something. It takes bravely to not get ahead of the Lord. Waiting patiently on the Lord is a sign of courage. So don’t get in a hurry with God. Your God is an on time God.

Today, we are going to get a glimpse into the courage of Jesus. He will show us how to be brave and courageous when you are in the middle of God’s will but being attack because of it.

They took Jesus to the high priest’s home where the leading priests, the elders, and the teachers of religious law had gathered. 54 Meanwhile, Peter followed him at a distance and went right into the high priest’s courtyard. There he sat with the guards, warming himself by the fire. 55 Inside, the leading priests and the entire high council were trying to find evidence against Jesus, so they could put him to death. But they couldn’t find any. 56 Many false witnesses spoke against him, but they contradicted each other. 57 Finally, some men stood up and gave this false testimony: 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this Temple made with human hands, and in three days I will build another, made without human hands.’” 59 But even then they didn’t get their stories straight! 60 Then the high priest stood up before the others and asked Jesus, “Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?” 61 But Jesus was silent and made no reply. Then the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62 Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 63 Then the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror and said, “Why do we need other witnesses? 64 You have all heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?” “Guilty!” they all cried. “He deserves to die!” 65 Then some of them began to spit at him, and they blindfolded him and beat him with their fists. “Prophesy to us,” they jeered. And the guards slapped him as they took him away. (Mark 14:53-65, NLT)

Let’s see what God has for us today.

Verse 60

In verse 60 we are told, Then the high priest stood up before the others and asked Jesus, “Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?” You can hear the frustration in his words. The high priest was angry at Jesus but he couldn’t find a charge against Jesus. The bribed witnesses had many accusations against Jesus but they couldn’t keep their stories straight. So the high priest said directly to Jesus, Aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself? Jesus didn’t need to say anything to defend himself. The legal case against him was crumbling on its own without Jesus speaking a word. Despite all the corruption in this religious court, the legal system was working. They desperately wanted Jesus dead but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t find a crime against Him.

That’s the way it should be for you and I. It should be hard to find anything against us. We should be people of integrity, truth, honesty, and virtue.

Verse 61

Mark tells us how Jesus answered the high priest in verse 61, But Jesus was silent and made no reply. Jesus just stayed quite. He didn’t even give them an answer. This is exactly what the Scriptures said Jesus would do. Isaiah 53:7 prophesying about Jesus and this event says, “He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth” (NLT). This would not be the only time Jesus would be silent before His accusers. He would be this way before Pilate later in the night when charges would be leveled against Him.

At this point the high priest was desperate. He used a hail-Mary pass and played the blasphemy card because nothing else was working. In the Gospel of Mark, and many times in the Gospel of John, Jesus identified Himself as the Son of God. If the high priest could get Jesus to claim that he was the Messiah, the very Son of God, that would be a crime. To them, Jesus was not the Son of God and if they could get Jesus to admit that He was, they could execute Him.

So, the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” Matthew gives us a little more insight about the way the high priest asked Jesus the question. Matthew says the high priest asked Jesus, “I demand in the name of the living God—tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God” (Matthew 26:63, NLT). We don’t see it in our English version but the phrase “I demand in the name of the living God” means to place someone under oath. This was the heaviest oath possible. He essentially said to Jesus, “You know God punishes liars. Under oath the living God who hates liars and commands us to speak the truth, tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” Do you see the incredible paradox? They demanded Jesus speak the truth to them about his identity while they were hiring false witnesses to lie about him at this trial.

Jesus was silent up to this point. He had expressed no anger or hatred toward anyone, even though they constantly lied about him and falsely accused him. The only thing Jesus had done was love people and heal Malchus’ ear after Peter chopped it off. Jesus also knew that if He answered the high priest’s question truthfully, it would push the Sanhedrin over the line. They would execute Him for charges of claiming to be the Son of God when in reality he told the truth, because he is the very Son of God. In moment of courage under pressure, Jesus did not back down but spoke, even though He knew the consequences that would follow.

Verse 62

This brings us to verse 62 which says, Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.” This is a packed statement. Jesus says three very significant things.

Jesus says, I am.

We don’t see this in our English translations, but in the original language Jesus did more than just say, “I am.” Jesus used a phrase that God used to describe Himself in Exodus 3:14. God told Moses to go to the people and tell them God had sent him to the people. Moses asked God what name or description he should give of God to the people. God told Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14). This title “I AM” refers to God. In that one little statement God is declaring, “I am the creator, I am the provider, I am the past, I am the present, I am the future, I am love, I am mercy, I am grace, I am redemption, I am salvation!” It was a title only given to God!

Jesus had used this title once before about a year earlier. In John 8, the Pharisees asked Jesus, “Who do you think you are?” Part of Jesus’ answer was, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!” (John 8:58, NLT). With that statement, Jesus was declaring Himself to be God, which was blasphemous to the Pharisees and punishable by death. This explains their reaction. According to John, “At that point they picked up stones to throw at him” (John 8:59, NLT). The thing is that Jesus’ statement was true. It was not blasphemous because Jesus was actually God in the flesh.

So, Jesus starts off his replied to the high priest by saying, “I’m God.”

Jesus says, And you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand….

Then to drive home His point even further. Jesus says, And you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand…. Jesus is quoting Psalm 110:1 which says, The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet” (NLT). In the Old Testament, the seat to the right of God was for the Messiah. Jesus is saying to them, “I am the Messiah and you are going to be humbled and be made a footstool under my feet.”

Jesus says, And you will see the Son of Man… coming on the clouds of heaven.

Then Jesus says, And you will see the Son of Man… coming on the clouds of heaven. That is a reference from the Old Testament (Daniel 7:13-14) the image of coming on the clouds of heaven refers to His return to judge the world of their sin including the people standing before Him at that moment. That is a subtle statement about His resurrection and return, but it is an in your face statement about Him being the judge.

When you pull all this together Jesus answered them by telling them, “Yes, I am God. I am the Messiah. I have all authority and I will return in glory to judge and reign over the earth.”

Verse 63-64

So what was the high priest reaction to Jesus’ statement? Verse 63 tells us, which says, Then the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror and said, “Why do we need other witnesses? 64 You have all heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?” “Guilty!” they all cried. “He deserves to die!”

Why did the high priest tear his clothing? It was an expression of immense grief (Gen. 37:29; Leb. 10:6; Job 1:20; Acts 14:14). The high priest was forbidden to tear their clothes except for when God was blasphemed in some way (Lev. 21:10). The high priest did not believe Jesus to be the Son of God, the Messiah, or God in the flesh. When Jesus declared Himself to be God the high priest saw it as blasphemous.

According to Leviticus 24:16, anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord should be put to death. They were convinced Jesus’ answer was a lie, so he deserved to die. The problem is they completely ignored the last three years of Jesus’ life that were filled with evidence that he spoke the truth. They conveniently forgot that he raised the dead, calmed the storms with a word, healed thousands of their diseases instantly, and created food out of thin air. The evidence of Jesus’ life backed up the claims He made. Jesus is the Son of God because He did things only God can do.

In some ways, I think a lot of us are like the high priest. I don’t mean tearing our clothes when God is blasphemed. I mean we are like him because we don’t see God working right in front of us. We ignore all the signs of God working in our life and we can’t see the very presence of God in our marriages, our families, our work, and other relationships.

In verse 64 the high priest says, You have all heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?” “Guilty!” they all cried. “He deserves to die!” This is ironic. Jesus was actually innocent of all sin and deserved to live, while the religious leaders were guilty of sin and deserved to die. But we are all like that.

  • God’s Word tells us that we are all guilty of sin. Romans 3:23 says, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” Everyone here has sinned and struggles with sin. When you become a follower of Jesus, it does not mean your battle with sin and selfishness is over. Jesus isn’t guilty of sin, we are. The high priest did not understand that.
  • God’s Word tells us that we all deserve to die. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death….” Your sin has separated you from God, but there is hope. The Sanhedrin all said, “He deserves to die!” but in reality, we deserve to die because of our own sin. However, Romans 6:23 goes on to say, “… but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” That means Jesus died for your sin and my sin so that we could be forgiven and have eternal life in heaven when we die.

Verse 65

Once they found Jesus guilty in their mind what did they do? Verse 65 gives us the horrible scene saying, Then some of them began to spit at him, and they blindfolded him and beat him with their fists. “Prophesy to us,” they jeered. And the guards slapped him as they took him away. They began to physically and verbally abuse Jesus.

  • Some began to spit on Jesus. Spitting on someone is a way to show extreme disrespect.
  • Then they blindfolded him and began hitting him in the face and body. They began to “beat him with their fists.” When you can’t see a punch coming, you can’t brace for the punch. I’m sure the Lord’s face started to bruise, swell, and blood began running from His nose and mouth.

All of this is a demonstration of the Lord’s courage and commitment to the Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation. None of this surprised Jesus. Back in Mark 10:34 Jesus said all this would happen. He knew that once He declared Himself God the beating and torture would begin, but He spoke the truth anyway.

Conclusion

As you follow Jesus, you too will need courage to make the right decision, to be ridiculed for what you believe and how you live. There will be people who will not like you, understand you, or accept you because you are a follower of Jesus and choose to live in such a way that honors Him.

So, “Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong” (1 Cor. 16:13, NLT) and “Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous” (Psalm 27:14, NLT).