See His Cross! It's God's Plan from Beginning to End!

Mark 14:61 But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" ⁶² "I am," said Jesus. "And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."

Who is Jesus? Some say he was a great teacher. Others suggest that he was a martyr for a good cause. If you look around, you’ll find all kinds of answers to the question of Jesus’ identity. When Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Festival of Dedication, the Jews gathered around him and said, “ ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered, ‘I did tell you, but you do not believe’ ” (Jn 10:24). While Jesus stood before the high priest, he was asked the same question: “Are you the Christ?” Here Jesus answered clearly and boldly. He was not shy about who he claimed to be. Nor was he shy about saying what he had come to do. What he said before the high priest also points us to the distant future and the end of the world—judgment day. Jesus challenges us to see his cross both for what he was doing and for what he would do.

The high priest’s question was simple: “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” The high priest certainly knew the Scriptures. He knew the prophecies of the coming of the Messiah. Even using the term Christ indicated that he knew God had anointed one person to come and redeem his people. Every Jew was waiting for Christ’s appearance. Even many Jews today who do not accept Jesus as the Messiah look for this one to appear at some point to rescue them. The ancient high priest knew all the prophecies and phrased the question so that Jesus could not avoid the implication and the significance of his question. He asked, “Are you the Messiah prophesied in the Scriptures?”

In addition, the high priest cited another reference. He wanted to know if Jesus was the “Son of the Blessed One.” By using the term Blessed One to refer to God, the high priest was asking Jesus if he was the Son of Jehovah. Devout Jews were forbidden to speak the name Jehovah because it was so revered. As a matter of fact, the ancient manuscripts did not even give the word vowels. Whenever they read the Scriptures and encountered the name Jehovah, they substituted another term. The high priest used “Blessed One” as a substitute for Jehovah, the revered name of God. For these leaders, one who claimed to be the “Son of the Blessed One” was making himself equal to God.

The question was designed to put Jesus on the spot. It was like so many of the other questions they had put to Jesus, attempting to present a question that would incriminate him. Once they had asked whether it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar. Then Jesus had asked for a coin and said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (Mt 22:21).

This question was like that one. From the perspective of the high priest, Jesus could not give a correct answer. If Jesus said that he was not the Messiah, the Christ, he would be making a mockery of everything he had claimed during his ministry. They would call Jesus a fraud and a deceiver—an admitted false prophet. On the other hand, if Jesus said that he was the Messiah, he would be guilty of blasphemy. That violation called for the strictest punishment. It was a capital crime punishable by stoning. Since these Jews did not believe Jesus could be the Messiah, he had to be a liar and a fraud.

Jesus boldly and clearly answered, “I am.” He admitted to being the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Christ. He confessed that he was the one the Old Testament prophets said would come. In effect, he told the council that night what Paul later wrote to the Christians in Galatia: “When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons” (Gal 4:4,5). Jesus was challenging these leaders to see his cross. He asserted that he had come as the Messiah. That was God’s plan. God had planned for Jesus to be in this court at this time, facing judicial abuse and eventually death. Jesus knew his Father’s will and obeyed. “Yes, I am the Messiah,” he confessed.

What did that mean for Jesus? It meant that he would suffer and die. Jesus knew the Old Testament Scriptures too. Like the high priest, he knew that the Messiah would be despised and rejected by men. He would be pierced for the transgressions of all sinners, crushed for all the iniquities of humanity. He would be wounded and punished in the place of all, including the high priest and those Jewish leaders (Isa 53). The cross was central to the work of the Messiah.

This assertion of Jesus is remarkable. Consider the situation. He had been arrested and bound in the garden. He had been placed in a holding cell in the high priest’s residence, awaiting interrogation. He had been interviewed first by Annas, then by the high priest, Caiaphas. But Jesus was not whimpering or whining about his treatment. He did not apologize for offending the Jewish leaders. Instead, he left no doubt about who he is. He asserted quickly, clearly, and confidently that he is the Messiah. He was not a simple rabbi from the back country of Galilee. He had come as the Son of God, just as God had planned since the first sin in the Garden of Eden. There God had said that Satan would strike the heel of the One who was to come and bring salvation. Here that One was, willing to lay down his life as God had planned.

Why is this so important? First, it is important for us because the world still does not believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One. They will agree that he was a great leader, a philosopher, or a moral teacher. Some suggest that Jesus evolved his sense of identity as he grew up and carried out his preaching. Their opinion is that Jesus never understood his identity. Who could imagine that he was sent by God to rescue sinful creatures from sin, death, and hell? But that is exactly who Jesus is and who he confessed to be.

Jesus knew what he had come to do, and that’s important to us because if he had not died on the cross, we would have no salvation. That is the second reason why it is so important to understand who Jesus is. What he did, he did for us because we could not do it. We could offer God no gift—no dedication—that would make us worthy in the face of his justice. Nor could we offer anything in all the world to create peace between us and God. We are unable to save ourselves; God had to do it, and he did by sending Jesus the Messiah. While we were still powerless sinners, Christ died for us (Ro 5). We are redeemed by his holy, precious blood and his innocent suffering and death—by his cross. What love for us God demonstrated in the cross of Jesus. The Messiah stood before the high priest at the threshold of his passion. He is the Messiah.

As bold and confident as his confession was, Jesus did not simply stop there. He went on with a surprising comment to his accusers. Jesus asserted that he would come again. He proclaimed that he will sit at the right hand of the Mighty One and come on the clouds of heaven. He identified God as the Mighty One, showing the same reverence the high priest did for the name of God, but Jesus added, “Mighty One,” rather than “Blessed One.” Jesus asserted his power. He will exercise all the power of God as he sits at the right hand of God. After he arose from the dead, he asserted the same thing. He told his disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Mt 28:18).

He proclaimed that he will return on the clouds of heaven. He came first as a small child—a baby—in Bethlehem, but he will return in power and glory. Imagine him as he said these words—arrested, bound, and about to be beaten and sentenced to death. He looked like a helpless victim of injustice, not the Lord of heaven and earth. It’s no wonder that the guards ridiculed him. They spit in his face, blindfolded him, struck him, and then taunted, “Prophesy to us, Christ. Who hit you?” (Mt 26:67,68; Mk 14:65). Later they would challenge him to come down from the cross. His power and glory were nowhere to be seen, and they made fun of his bold assertion.

We should make no mistake here. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. He humbled himself to suffer death on a cross. He was the sacrifice for all humanity. His blood is so precious that he cleanses us and the whole world of sin (1 Jn 1:7). The claim of Jesus is remarkable because it forces us to make a decision about him, just as it forced the high priest to make a decision. Is this arrested person a liar, a lunatic, or Lord of all? How can he claim that he will come again on the clouds of heaven unless he’s making it all up and is a liar? If he’s not a liar, then he must be a lunatic with delusions of grandeur. But another choice is that Jesus is who he says he is—the Messiah who came to lay down his life for sinners and later will return to claim them.

We believe that Jesus is who he said he is. It assures us that the sins of all humanity are forgiven in Christ, that God has declared all people righteous in Christ. See the cross clearly. We have an eternal home waiting for us. It’s all part of God’s plan: the cross to redeem you and Jesus’ return to bring you to the home God has prepared for us all.

When Jesus does return, the cross will still be critical. The officials that struck Jesus will see him on that day. Those who pierced him will see him in glory. If they did not see that he suffered for their sins, they will be terrified at the judgment to come. For us, we know the cross of Christ. We understand that he suffered for our sins. His cross has made our peace, and with his wounds we are healed. When he comes, we know he is coming to release us from every evil, every tear, every pain. That’s been God’s plan all along, and the cross is central to God’s plan for you and for me. Jesus says, “I am the Christ, and I will return.” Amen.