Accusations against Jesus
According to Mark 15:3, Jesus was accused of many things instigated by the chief priests. The following are some of the things that Jesus was accused of for which I am going to defend him.
- According to Matthew 26:61. Jesus is charged that he said “I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in 3 days”
- Matthew 26:65. He is accused of speaking blasphemy because he said he is the son of God.
- Matthew 27:11. Accused of being the King of the Jews
- Mark 14:61b. The chief priests accused him of being Christ the son of the “blessed one”
- Mark14:57. They said they heard Jesus saying “I will destroy this man-made temple and in 3 days will build another not made by man.
- Luke 22:66 and 70. He was accused of being Christ the Son of God
- Luke 23:1-3. Vs found subverting the nation by opposing the payment of taxes to Caesar and claimed to be Christ (Messiah) the King.
- Luke 23:13. Inciting the people to rebellion.
- John 18:30. A criminal.
- John 19:12. Opposing Caesar.
Defense
All these accusations are false as can be seen by the conflicting evidence, in fact, Judas who betrayed him died after hanging himself because of the guilt of betraying innocent blood. Although some of these accusations are true they have been misinterpreted in a way to show that Jesus was a criminal who he was not.
The main accusation is that Jesus claimed to be the Christ (Messiah), the King of the Jews, and the son of God. Indeed, Jesus was the son of God, to prove this if you carefully analyze his genealogy, you will realize that his lineage goes way back not only to Abraham and David but to Adam and God Himself. This information is readily available in Luke 3:23-38 and Matthew 1:2-16. We have witnesses who even heard the voice of God proclaiming that he was his son, this is when he was being baptized by John the Baptist (Luke3:22). Besides, Jesus has been able to perform so many miracles that no one else has ever done. He raised people from the dead like the daughter of Jairus a prominent synagogue ruler (Mark 5:21-43), he also raised from the dead Lazarus the brother to Martha and Mary (John 11:1-44), he raised from the dead the only son of the poor widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-17). He also healed the sick from across the country and if we were to bring all the people he healed into this room, no space would be left. He cast off demons,(Mathew 8:28-33) made the blind see and the mute talk (Mathew 9:27-33). No one can do this unless he has the powers of God; throughout the history of our land, no one else has ever been able to do this.
The other accusation is that he did not pay taxes and was inciting the people against the ruling authority of this land; this was not true because it is on record that Jesus told his disciple not only to pay taxes but to obey the authorities and paid taxes himself. This is recorded in the books of Mark 12:13-17, and Matthew 17:24-27.
Jesus at no time did he ever incite the people against the authorities, however, he was very strong against such social vices as divorce, murder, revenge, adultery, and violence. During his arrest, he never resisted in any way and when one of the soldier’s ears was cut off by one of his disciples he rebuked him and miraculously fixed the soldier’s ear back (Mathew 25:51-54). By the time of his arrest he was at Gethsemane where he was praying, surely such a person cannot be opposed to the authorities.
The other accusations are that he said he could destroy the temple and rebuild it in 3 days. What Jesus said was misinterpreted to mean that he had the intention of destroying the temple we have today here in Jerusalem. Jesus did not mean the physical structure but he meant that he was the temple that would be crucified and would resurrect on the 3rd day. He respected the temple and was quick to whip those who were trading in it; this is recorded in the book of Luke19:45-48.
Jesus is not a criminal as it has been indicated, rather he was a law-abiding citizen of this country who emphasized the need for forgiveness and love for one another. This has been demonstrated by the way he has carried himself during the whole process of his arrest. He has not insulted anyone, retaliated back when hit but has forgiven all those who have wronged him.
Kindly let Him free!
Works Cited
All scriptures lifted from: The Holy Bible: The New International Version: International Bible Society 1984.