Mission Accomplished!

For Tuesday, March 19, 2024:

Mark 14:55 NLT: “Inside, the leading priests and the entire high Sanhedrin council were trying to find evidence against Jesus, so they could put him to death. But they couldn’t find any.”

Jesus, who had done nothing wrong, would face six trials or judgments, three before a religious court, and three before a Roman court. No one could find any evidence against Jesus, but his adversaries persisted.

Nowadays we would call this a “kangaroo court,” an unjust group which is without proper authority and characterized by dishonesty. This trial of Jesus was totally illegal according to Jewish law. Just like in our country, there was much in the Jewish legal process to protect the rights of the accused. Those rights were deliberately ignored by those who were determined to put Jesus to death.

Surprisingly, Jesus’ oppressors couldn’t even put together a decent case for their position. Their witnesses kept contradicting each other!

Remember that Jesus was on a mission trip to earth. While he taught and healed people, I believe his primary mission was to take the sin of the world upon himself, deliver it to the place of the dead, thereby leaving believers pure, forgiven, acceptable to join the Lord in heaven.

As bad as this all seems, it was fulfilling God’s plan for mankind’s rescue. We should be grateful to Jesus for obedience, for following God’s masterplan for our rescue. And we should thank the Lord for a second chance, for an opportunity to repent and return.

When this entire scenario draws to a close, Jesus could shout out, “Mission accomplished!”

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship