66 And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him into their council, saying, 67 Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe: 68 And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go. 69 Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God. 70 Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am. 71 And they said, What need we any further witness? for we ourselves have heard of his own mouth. (Luke 22:66-71 KJV)
Jesus Before the Council
We are also told how he was accused and condemned by the great Sanhedrin—elders of the people, chief priests, and scribes—who gathered early, about five in the morning, to carry out their plan. They had plotted this in the dark and acted on it as soon as the morning light came (Micah 2:1). They would not have risen so early for any good purpose. We have only a brief summary here of his trial before the religious leaders.
They asked him, “Are you the Christ?” Though many believed him to be the Christ, they couldn’t prove that he had said so in those exact words, and so they pressed him to admit it (Luke 22:67). If they had asked sincerely, ready to believe him if he gave them sufficient proof, it would have gone well for them. But they asked with the intention not to believe and only to trap him.
He rightly complained of their unjust treatment (Luke 22:67–68). As Jews, they professed to expect the Messiah—and at this very time. No one else had come forward claiming to be the Messiah. He had no rival and had performed many miracles that should have prompted a fair investigation. Instead of examining him as a potential Messiah, they treated him like a criminal.
“But,” he said, “if I tell you I am the Christ and give you convincing proof, you will not believe. Why bring the case to you, who have already decided to reject it?” (Luke 22:67). “And if I ask you to respond to the evidence I provide, you won’t answer me” (Luke 22:68). He referred to their earlier silence when he questioned them in the temple (Luke 20:5–7). They were neither honest judges nor sincere disputants. If he wasn’t the Christ, they should have disproved it; if he was, they should have released him—but they would do neither.
He pointed them to his second coming for the ultimate proof that he is the Christ (Luke 22:69): “From now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” Then they would no longer question his identity.
From this they concluded he claimed to be the Son of God and asked, “Are you then the Son of God?” (Luke 22:70). He had called himself the Son of Man, referring to Daniel’s vision of the Son of Man who approached the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:13–14). They understood that if he was that Son of Man, he was also the Son of God. Their question shows that the Jewish people believed the Messiah would be both Son of Man and Son of God.
Jesus affirmed that he was: “You say that I am”—meaning, “I am, as you say” (Luke 22:70; compare Mark 14:62). He confirmed that he was the Son of God and stood by it, knowing he would suffer for it. This was the basis of their condemnation (Luke 22:71): “What further testimony do we need?” They had heard it from his own mouth. But if they were going to condemn him for saying he was the Son of God, shouldn’t they first have proven that he wasn’t? Did they not stop to consider that he might indeed be who he claimed to be? If so, their guilt in condemning him would be beyond words. But they refused to understand. They couldn’t imagine the Messiah coming without worldly pomp and grandeur. Blinded by their expectations, they rushed forward with their plan, like a horse charging into battle.