Worthy of Death

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

WORTHY OF DEATH

Mark 14:63-65

63 The high priest tore his clothes. "Why do we need any more witnesses?" he asked. 64 "You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?" They all condemned him as worthy of death. 65 Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, "Prophesy!" And the guards took him and beat him.

NIV

We are still at the house of the High Priest and soon we will be in the courtyard with Peter, but for now, we need to consider what occurred after the high priest heard Jesus’s answer, saying “I am”, which meant he admits being the Christ, the Son of the Most High. This was more than these men could bear, they were so afraid of losing their grip on controlling the people, and losing their positions of authority. This tearing of his clothes was an expression of great grief or calamity. This high priest would have been in his ordinary clothes, as it was forbidden for him to rent his priestly garments as they were handed down from father to son over the generations. Nevertheless, it also could have been nothing more than a big show to demonstrate his own piety in front of the whole Sanhedrin. It may not be that far off from today when there are people who appear to be so holy when in front of other believers. True humility forbids such exhibitions. They condemned Jesus as worthy of death. The one who has no sin whatsoever, the holy one of God, the Lamb who was slain for our sin, was considered worthy of death. We are the ones who are worthy of death, but Jesus took our place. How can we be anything but contrite when we consider how unworthy he was of death yet he orchestrated his own death to gain victory over it so we, who are so worthy of death, could have life. What is so troublesome is how they treated Jesus after their condemnation of him. These were supposed to be holy men, leaders of a spiritual nature, serving in the worship of God, the care of His temple and yet they spit on Jesus, and blindfolded him. Why bother to blindfold him? They taunted him, wanting him to be able to tell them which of them were hitting him. Mark does not give us all the details of this gruesome behavior of these holy men, which was all done in the name of God. However, Jesus was the one true holy one, and he was the only worthy one. Yet while we were yet sinners, he died for us. As horrific as this action was by these men, it was so that the will of God would be accomplished, and thus what was meant as evil, God meant for good. Is not the narrative of Joseph and his brothers a forerunner to this event of Christ? His brothers meant evil against Joseph, hoping for his demise, selling him off into slavery, but God meant it for good, as Joseph turned out saving all his family from certain death by starvation. What these men meant for evil, God meant it for our eternal good, for we are worthy of death.