Reading of the Word of God

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

You are a chosen race
A royal priesthood, a holy nation
People chosen by God
To proclaim his wonders.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

Luke 22, 66-71

When day broke there was a meeting of the elders of the people, the chief priests and scribes. He was brought before their council,
and they said to him, 'If you are the Christ, tell us.' He replied, 'If I tell you, you will not believe,
and if I question 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 said, 'So you are the Son of God then?' He answered, 'It is you who say I am.'
Then they said, 'Why do we need any evidence? We have heard it for ourselves from his own lips.'

 

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

You will be holy
Because I am holy, thus says the Lord.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

The story of Jesus� trial unfolds in several different phases. The first phase takes place before the council of the elders of the people together with the high priests and the scribes. It is the �way of the cross� that passes through the palaces of the powerful, and here in the first palace the spectacle has already become a shameful farce. Even as they called on God, the men gathered there tried everything they could to condemn Jesus, the Emmanuel, to death. The evangelist tells us the one question that Jesus cannot refuse to answer. They ask him if he is the Christ, the Son of God. For Jesus, it is absolutely impossible to remain silent when asked such a question. The entire Gospel is contained in this question, the Good News that Jesus had been communicating to the people since the beginning of his ministry. And so Jesus answers the high priest, �You say that I am�. This is exactly what the cunning group of religious men wanted. If for Jesus those words are the confession of the Gospel of God, for them they are blasphemy. Satisfied, the hands of death take hold of Jesus.