Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe:
This belongs to Jesus' examination before the Jewish rulers, the council, the Sanhedrin, when they asked Him whether He was the Christ, although they had already determined to condemn Him. Jesus knew and told them that if He told them, they would not believe Him. He knew His judges would not believe Him if He identified Himself as the Christ and declared Himself to be so.
Their question was not asked in faith or as a sincere search for truth, but was hypocritical. Exulting priests and judges pressed close around Him, hiding malicious satisfaction and pretending they could hardly believe what they had heard, while He looked calmly at them. Their questioning shows the enmity between Christ and the forces of evil, in which professedly righteous people can act against Him from envy, jealousy, and religious bigotry.
Their hearts were set against the light of heaven, so further evidence would not change their minds and no power could change them. He could have traced the prophecies concerning the Messiah to prove that the very things then taking place fulfilled what was predicted and to silence them, and He could have pointed to His mighty miracles. Even the prophecies and His mighty miracles would not persuade them, because they had already set their hearts against the light. Their unwillingness to believe and to answer His questions or release Him kept the trial from making progress.
He spoke so they would have no excuse, openly confessing under oath that He was the Christ, the Son of God, and warning them that they would see the Son of Man seated at God's right hand and coming in the clouds of heaven. That confession pointed to a reversal of the trial: He will be the supreme Judge, and His enemies will face His judgment. The leaders rejected His answer and used His words and claim as grounds to condemn Him, while seeking a charge that the Roman authorities would treat as political and worthy of death. After the Sanhedrin condemned Him, they brought Him before Pilate for legal condemnation, but the later examination found the accusations contradictory and without value, and Pilate declared Him faultless.
This belongs to Jesus' examination before the Jewish rulers, the council, the Sanhedrin, when they asked Him whether He was the Christ, although they had already determined to condemn Him. Jesus knew and told them that if He told them, they would not believe Him. He knew His judges would not believe Him if He identified Himself as the Christ and declared Himself to be so.
Their question was not asked in faith or as a sincere search for truth, but was hypocritical. Exulting priests and judges pressed close around Him, hiding malicious satisfaction and pretending they could hardly believe what they had heard, while He looked calmly at them. Their questioning shows the enmity between Christ and the forces of evil, in which professedly righteous people can act against Him from envy, jealousy, and religious bigotry.
Their hearts were set against the light of heaven, so further evidence would not change their minds and no power could change them. He could have traced the prophecies concerning the Messiah to prove that the very things then taking place fulfilled what was predicted and to silence them, and He could have pointed to His mighty miracles. Even the prophecies and His mighty miracles would not persuade them, because they had already set their hearts against the light. Their unwillingness to believe and to answer His questions or release Him kept the trial from making progress.
He spoke so they would have no excuse, openly confessing under oath that He was the Christ, the Son of God, and warning them that they would see the Son of Man seated at God's right hand and coming in the clouds of heaven. That confession pointed to a reversal of the trial: He will be the supreme Judge, and His enemies will face His judgment. The leaders rejected His answer and used His words and claim as grounds to condemn Him, while seeking a charge that the Roman authorities would treat as political and worthy of death. After the Sanhedrin condemned Him, they brought Him before Pilate for legal condemnation, but the later examination found the accusations contradictory and without value, and Pilate declared Him faultless.