Mark 14:55-62

On a recent shopping trip to Wal-Mart I noticed one of those new Honda Element vehicles in a handicap parking space. I thought that might be a good vehicle for someone with disabilities: easy to get in and out of. No one was in the vehicle but I saw what appeared to be a very able person unloading groceries in the back of the van. “Hmmm,” I thought, “does anyone ever get caught illegally using a handicap sticker?” I lingered for a bit until the person I believed to be the offender finished unloading groceries and was pushing the cart back into the store. “Some people have nerve,” I thought.

Then I saw her continue pushing the cart back to the checkout where an elderly woman was trying to place a few meager items from her wheelchair basket up to the counter. Things are not always what they seem and I let preconceived notions cloud the facts.

In the hours before Christ was crucified, He stood before the chief priests and Sanhedrin guilty in their minds but not guilty in the law. The authorities needed evidence to fit their pre-conceived notions of Jesus. They won their conviction when Jesus finally spoke admitting that He is the “Blessed One”. The truth was beyond the understanding of the accusers but they twisted it to fit their needs.

 

The truth of Jesus is staring us in the face but we often ignore it in order to justify our actions.

 

Dear Father, Help us to keep the truth of Jesus at the forefront of all we do. Help us not to twist His truth to fit what we think is justified. In your sons precious name we pray. Amen

--Ben Ball