Luke 22:67

And he said to them: If I tell you, you will not believe me. But if I also ask you, you will not answer me, nor let me go. Frequently he had said to them that he was the Christ, namely, when he said: I …

They wished not for truth, but were contriving calumny. Because they expected that Christ would come only as man, of the root of David, they sought this of Him, that if He should say, "I am the Christ," they might falsely accuse Him of claiming to Himself the kingly power.

For He had often declared Himself to be the Christ; as when he said, l and my Father are one, (John 10:30.) and other such like things. And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me. For He had asked them how they said Christ was the Son of David, whereas David in the Spirit called Him his Lord. But they wished neither to believe His words nor to answer His questions. However, because they sought to accuse falsely the seed of David, they hear something still farther; as it follows, Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God.

And when day came, the elders of the people, and the chief priests, and the scribes, gathered together, and led him into their council, saying: If you are the Christ, tell us. They did not desire the truth, but were preparing a calumny. For thinking …

And by day the elders and honorable men ask: Is He the Christ? Knowing their thoughts and that, not having believed the works which are more capable of persuading, they would all the more not believe words, He says: "if I tell you, you will …

Saying, art thou the Christ,.... The Messiah, promised and prophesied of by Moses, and all the prophets, and long expected by us: "tell us". The Ethiopic version adds, openly; tell us frankly, freely, plainly, as in Joh 10:24. And he said unto them, if I tell you, you will not believe.

After the revolutions of many ages, it is at length come, Isa. lxiii. And, it is observable, it is in the very first month of that year that the redemption is wrought out, so much in haste was the Redeemer to perform his undertaking, so was he straitened till it was accomplished.

We should notice, firstly, in these verses — the shameful treatment that our Lord Jesus Christ underwent at the hands of His enemies . We read that the guards "mocked" Him, "beat" Him, "blindfolded" Him, and "struck Him in the face." It was not enough to have taken a prisoner a person of most blameless and charitable life — they must needs add insult to injury. Conduct like this shows the desperate corruption of human nature. The excesses of savage malice to which unconverted men will sometimes go, and the fierce delight with which they will sometimes trample on the most holy and the most pure — almost justify the strong saying of an old divine, that "man left to himself — is half-beast and half-devil!" He hates God, and all who bear anything of God's image. "The carnal mind is enmity against God." (Romans 8:7.) We have probably a very faint idea of what the world would become, if it were not for the constant restraint that God mercifully puts upon evil. It is not too much to say that if unconverted men had their own way entirely — the earth would soon be little better than a Hell! Our Lord's calm submission to insults like those here described, shows the depth of His love towards sinners. Had He so willed, He could have stopped the insolence of His enemies in a moment. He who could cast out devils with a word, could have summoned legions of angels to His side, and scattered those wretched tools of Satan to the winds. But our Lord's heart was set on the great work he had come on earth to do. He had undertaken to purchase our redemption by His own humiliation — and He did not flinch from paying the uttermost farthing of the price. He had undertaken to drink the bitter cup of vicarious suffering to save sinners — and "for the joy set before Him, He despised the shame," and drank the cup to the very dregs! (Hebrews 12:2.)

We should notice, firstly, in these verses — the shameful treatment that our Lord Jesus Christ underwent at the hands of His enemies . We read that the guards "mocked" Him, "beat" Him, "blindfolded" Him, and "struck Him in the face." It was not enough to have taken a prisoner a person of most blameless and charitable life — they must needs add insult to injury. Conduct like this shows the desperate corruption of human nature.