Evening
April 3

Matthew 26:62-64 62Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?" 63But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." 64"Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."


The political power plays that happened that night are an indication of the heart of those leaders. They took Jesus to Annas first. He was Caiaphas' father-in-law. He had been High Priest years before but still pulled the strings. He was interested in finding out who was a secret follower amongst the Jewish leaders. Jesus would not betray them and kept silent. Then the kangaroo court began. The High Priest was not supposed to conduct a trial before the morning sacrifice, but in the wee hours of the morning Jesus was tried. They try to line up men of questionable character to be witnesses because Judas didn't show up. These men wanted to condemn him. They just weren't smart enough to say the same thing.

Finally, Caiaphas used The Oath of Testimony. This was his ace in the hole. He could command a person to answer a question truthfully by authority of his position. A false answer would condemn the person before God. "Are you the Messiah of God?" he asked. Jesus answered with a verse from Daniel 7:13. All through His ministry He called Himself the Son of Man. In the Daniel passage the Son of Man is led into the presence of the Ancient of Days (God), and comes with the clouds (glory). In that one passage we have the ascension and the Second Coming. Every eye will see that final event.

In emotional fury Caiaphas broke the Law again by ripping the priestly robe, but the Law is not his chief concern. He had what he needed. Now he could order the execution through his influence with the Roman leader. The man who exposed his whole system and hypocritical ways, the man who drew the crowds, would be out of the way. There is one problem. Though Caiaphas did not believe the passage Jesus quoted it came to pass. Jesus ascended to the Father. He will return on the clouds in glory. Caiaphas won the skirmish and lost the battle. His knee will bow, and his tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord of all.

Consider: Just as the ascension took place, so the last part of the promise, the Second Coming, will take place too.