The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. 64 They blindfolded him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” 65 And they said many other insulting things to him.

66 At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. 67 “If you are the Messiah,” they said, “tell us.”

Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe me, 68 and if I asked you, you would not answer. 69 But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.”

70 They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?”

He replied, “You say that I am.”

71 Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.” (NIV)

Have you ever been insulted in some way for being a Christian? You are in good company. In fact the best. Jesus went through this, and far worse. He understands. Can you imagine the restraint it must have taken for Him to not smite His enemies there and then? But He kept in time with the Father’s plans, and was prepared to walk the pathway of suffering obedience all the way to the Cross. (Meyer suggests it must have been hard for the twelve legions of angels to restrain themselves!!)

Jesus knew that He was the Messiah, and He answered them in Messianic terms that would be familiar to them (69).

‘Our Lord answered not a word to all the false accusations that were leveled against Him. He left the false witnesses to refute each other. But as soon as His divine claims were challenged, He could not keep silence. It is very noticeable that, in this Gospel, which lays such stress on Christ’s pure humanity, Luke makes it so clear that the unwavering affirmation of His equality with God was the cause of His death, John 5:18 . Is there not a sense in which the eye of faith always beholds Him seated at the right hand of God’s power?’ F.B.Meyer