Part 3 / Christ before the High Priest / Lesson # 281 / Thursday March 13, 2014 Matthew 26: 67-68 [New King James Version] 67 Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, 68 saying, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck you?” Good morning from Theodore. Then they spat in his face. Turn to Luke chapter 22, verse 65; And many other things spake they against him, reviling him. To spit in the face has been an insult in all ages and in all lands. See Numbers 12:14 ; Deuteronomy 25:9 ; Job 30:10 . Jesus, having stood out for examination, is now given back to the officers to be led away into the council chamber. These officers received Jesus with many indignities. They seek to make his high claims contemptible, and to make it appear that instead of being divine he is hardly worthy to be regarded as human. Either Luke has inverted the order of the narrative, or our Lord twice endured this highly contemptuous treatment. The latter supposition appears to me to be probable. And yet, I have no doubt that the servants were emboldened to spit on Christ, and to strike him with greater insolence, after they had seen that the council, so far as their decision had influence, condemned him to death. The object of all these expressions of contempt was, to show that nothing was more unlikely than that he should be a prince of prophets, who, in consequence of being blindfolded, was not able even to ward off blows. But this insolence was turned by the providence of God to a very different purpose; for the face of Christ, dishonored by spitting and blows, has restored to us that image which had been disfigured, and almost effaced, by sin. Verse 66 Caiaphas the high priest then asked the council, What think ye? - What is your opinion? What sentence do you pronounce? As President of the Sanhedrin he demanded their judgment. They answered, He is guilty of death - This was the form which was used when a criminal was condemned to die. The meaning is, he is guilty of a crime to which the law annexes death. This sentence was used before the Jews became subject to the Romans, when they had the power of inflicting death. After they were subject to the Romans, though the power of inflicting capital punishment was taken away, yet they retained the form when they expressed their opinion of the guilt of an offender. The law under which they condemned him was that recorded in Lev 24:10-16, which sentenced him that was guilty of blasphemy to death by stoning. The chief priests, however, were unwilling to excite a popular tumult by stoning him, and they therefore consulted to deliver him to the Romans to be crucified, under the authority of the Roman name, and thus to prevent any excitement among the people. Verse 67 Then the servants of the high priest, and the officers who had Jesus in hold, spit in his face. Thy saw that he was condemned as guilty of death, and thought they might as well insult him, and use him in the most indecent and barbarous manner; therefore, in a way of contempt, they spit in his face, hereby a prophecy is fulfilled. [Isaiah 50:6]. But they not only spit in our Lord’s face, but buffeted him; boxed him with their double fists, and buffeted him; cuffed, or boxed him with their double fists: and others smote him, with the palms of their hands; gave him many a slap on the face with their open hands, or struck him on the face with rods, as the word will bear to be rendered: they rapped him with the wands they had in their hands, and struck him on the head with the rods or staves they had with them; whereby was accomplished the prophecy, in Micah 5:1, they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. All these indignities were done to Christ; see Isaiah 50:6. Verse 68 They did all this to our blessed Lord; they spit in his face etc, and then cried out in utter contempt: Saying, prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Not that they owned him to be the Messiah; but because he asserted himself to be the Messiah, and his followers believed in him as such, they call him so; and in an ironical and sarcastic way, call upon him to divine, and tell them who the persons were, that used him in this manner; suggesting, that if he was the Christ, or Messiah, he would know all things, and what were done to him: who is he that smote thee? for they had covered his face, or blindfolded him, as the other Evangelists say, Mark 14:65, and then bid him tell them who smote him last. Christ did not think fit to give them an answer to this question, but he will let them know hereafter, who the particular person or persons were, that smote him; and when it will appear to all the churches, and to the entire world, that he is the Lord God omniscient. ***************************************** Well, we did not get the dusting of snow that was predicted, but, boy, is it cold! God bless you, and keep smiling. Have a great day everyone -Theodore
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 10:11:11 +0000
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