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“If you are the Messiah, tell us.” He replied, “If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I question you, you will not answer.” ––Luke 22:67-68
The cited exchange takes place between religious leaders and Jesus when he is brought before them for trial. No one relishes the thought of defending oneself before anything called a “council,” and Jesus is under no illusion that this represents a fair and impartial proceeding. The interrogators have no intention of considering the merits of Jesus’ witness. Their sole objective is to get Jesus to condemn himself with his own words. In fact, for their purposes, Jesus doesn’t have to sign a confession or say jackpot words, all he has to do is to not deny what has been said about him. “You say that I am” –– That’s good enough for those combining the roles of accuser, judge, and jury –– “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips!” What? No, they didn’t, for when he was asked point blank –– “Are you, then, the Son of God” –– Jesus simply responded –– “You say that I am.”
The interrogators aren’t searching for truth, they are looking for a conviction and consequences. Truth in this setting would be an obstacle to and an inconvenience for their agenda. Mark Twain said, “The reason we hold truth in such respect is because we have so little opportunity to get familiar with it.” Truth is far too risky to face, so instead of facing it, we tend to spend our time sneaking around it, never more than grazing the fringe of it when seeking our escape. I have to admit that whenever I hear someone proudly claim –– Hey, I’m just telling you the truth –– my first thought is –– No, you’re just telling me your opinion. Actual truth is more than our finite minds can comprehend, and certainly far more than we can fully grasp and hold onto. We can no more hang onto the truth than we can keep hold of a caffeinated greased pig. The closest we will ever get to actual truth is through the grace of Jesus Christ. When Jesus says, “I am … the truth,” he is not boasting, but is simply stating, well, the truth.
In spite of limitless information, literally at our fingertips, we are living in a time when truth is regularly obscured by voices preying upon our vulnerability to fear and our gullibility to conspiracy. Truth becomes inconsequential to conviction when algorithms manufacture our loyalties for us. Just as truth is irrelevant when a parent sees their child called for a foul in a basketball game, so it is when we only trust those voices and outlets who agree with us.
“If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I question you, you will not answer.” Jesus’ response to his interrogators should expose us whenever conviction, arrogance, and pride blind us to the truth of Christ revealed in his character and defined by his love.
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