A Meditation on:
Matthew 26:57-66 Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. And Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with the guards to see the end. Now the chief priests and the whole Council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, 60 but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward and said, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.'” And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.”
Caiaphas had a knack of it. Being around when things were said that were true, but not in the sense the person speaking them intended. You remember this one that came from his own mouth, “It is better that one man should die for the people lest the whole nation perish.â€Â Well here we have recorded yet another unintended prophetic word spoken in the presence of the high priest Caiaphas. After Jesus answered the question of whether he was the Christ, Caiaphas, robed torn in recognition of Jesus’ claims, asked the council for their judgment. They said, “Guilty of death he is.â€Â   Yes, the verdict of the court gathered in the court yard. The sentence demanded of one who committed blasphemy.   The rendered liability accessed for one who says that his proper place is at right hand of the father or coming on the clouds.
We know this verdict to be in one sense the most unjust ever issued by any court. But we stop this day to realize that the decree was not solely theirs. It was not only the judgment of those seeking to kill Jesus. It was not the word of the council alone.
No, “Guilty of death he is†was also the judgment of God placed upon his son. No, not guilty of blasphemy spoken from his own lips. But guilty all the same. Yes, when he beheld his son, his justice cried out. “Guilty of Death he is.â€Â For when he beholds Jesus, he sees the skin of the fruit Adam and Eve ate in the garden now lodged in Jesus teeth. Upon his hands, he sees the blood of Abel crying out for vengeance. He sees the lust of David dancing in his eyes.
He sees the stain left on his tongue from your crude talk. He sees a nose uplifted from your self-important pride.   He sees the sneer curled into his lip by your hateful thoughts.
Guilty of death he is. Your sin is upon him.  Jesus would later exclaim, “Why have you forsaken me?†at his father. I suppose if the Father has answered that question, what he would have revealed would have caused all of us to run for the closets in shame.
Jesus indeed is the Christ. The one anointed to wear your sin and bear your every weakness.  One day indeed he would sit at the right hand of God and come on the clouds. But on that blessed Friday he hung at the right hand of the malefactor and labored under the darkness of the storm bearing billows. The one anointed to wear your sin and bear your every weakness. Jesus indeed is the Christ.
Worthy of life are you. Your sin is gone. Your death swallowed up. Your life made new. Gone at the font. Swallowed in the words of absolution. Made new in the meal. Gone. Swallowed. Made new.
Guilty of death he is. The judgment of those seeking to kill Jesus. Guilty of death he is. The judgment of the One seeking to save you.  Worthy of life are you. The judgment of the Christ. Amen.
Written for Pre-Lent Retreat 2011, Kansas District LCMS, Order of Terse
