Luke 22:66-71

When daylight came, the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the scribes, convened and brought him before their Sanhedrin. They said, “If you are the Messiah, tell us.”

But he said to them, “If I do tell you, you will not believe. And if I ask you, you will not answer. But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”

They all asked, “Are you, then, the Son of God?”

And he said to them, “You say that I am.”

“Why do we need any more testimony,” they said, “since we’ve heard it ourselves from his mouth?”

God had promised the Jewish people that a Messiah would come to save them and the rest of the world. Jesus was that Messiah, but the leading Jewish officials did not recognize Him. Standing before them was their Messiah, the Son of God, the hope of Israel and the world. But they couldn’t see Him. Instead of believing, they rejected Jesus, and condemned Him as a heretic and a blasphemer.

Jesus, you are the Son of God and the hope of the world. The promises God made were kept and fulfilled in you. Help us to believe in you, and to trust that you are who you say you are. Amen.

Ask God to search your heart for anyone you may need to forgive. Pray that he will give you boldness and strength to do so.