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There’s no question that the problems we face in Eastern Europe present a big problem for our nation and the nations of the world. A large military force has invaded a smaller country and threatens several others. It’s just these sorts of situations that the prophets of the Old Testament faced. Much of their message is given in the context of an imperial power threating to invade and then actually invading the smaller and less powerful countries around them.
What the prophets saw was that God was not going to let this go on forever. He would come in power and glory to judge the nations. The problem, though, was that when God called the world to account, how could anyone survive? Yes, Assyria, the predatory imperial power of the day was going to face judgment, but, when Isaiah saw the glory of the Lord, he said, “Woe is me! For I am a man of unclean lips and live amongst a people of unclean lips” (Is. 6:5).
Our own conscience bears witness that we must give an account to God. We will have to answer the question, have we done all that God has asked of us? Have we done what God has forbidden us? In this world, we may compare ourselves to others and feel good about ourselves, but when we come before the throne of God all our games will be put aside, and we will deal with the absolutely holy God whose glory fills the universe.
Then, we will have to admit, “Woe is me! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips!” How can I survive the judgment of God and not be condemned and punished?
That is the key question of our existence, and that is the question to which our text gives the answer.
Jesus Before the Priests of His People
Jesus was going to be judged. The first people to judge Him, though, were not the civil authorities. They would be the religious leaders of His people. “The chief priest and the teachers of the law” oversaw certain aspects of life in Israel. They were the ones who had arrested Jesus, and they were the ones who would judge His people now.
Do you like to be judged? People can get very sensitive about this. Often, people feel judged in church. If you have never experienced court, it’s judgment on a whole different level. It’s serious and stern. It’s not something that you want to experience. Yet this is what Jesus was going to experience throughout this whole day. He was going to be set in front of everyone and judged for what He had done.