URC Daily Devotion 24 March 2026
St Matthew 26: 57 – 68
Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, in whose house the scribes and the elders had gathered. But Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest; and going inside, he sat with the guards in order to see how this would end. Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward and said, ‘This fellow said, “I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.”’ The high priest stood up and said, ‘Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?’ But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest said to him, ‘I put you under oath before the living God, tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have said so. But I tell you,
From now on you will see the Son of Man
seated at the right hand of Power
and coming on the clouds of heaven.’
Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?’ They answered, ‘He deserves death.’ Then they spat in his face and struck him; and some slapped him, saying, ‘Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who is it that struck you?’
Reflection
The Holy Week passages in the Gospels are so familiar to those who are steeped in years of church going that we might simply scan them assimilating the well-known rhythms and pictures, missing some of the detail. Unless one of course uses one of the deeper techniques such as Lectio Divina.
It was therefore somewhat of a surprise to me when one such hitherto overlooked phrase leapt out at me as I thought about this passage. “They found none, though many false witnesses came forward”. Who are these people? Where did the council members find them? What were the council members actually looking for? If the witnesses were unable to come up with the so-called evidence the council members were seeking, why were they false ? Was it because they did not/could not/did not want to collude in this scam? Were they false because they were honest?
So many questions as I spiralled down this rabbit hole!
It is right that when we read short passages such as those in Daily Devotions, that we read them carefully and critically, seeking to understand the truth that lies within them. Sometimes we need to question what lies behind the words – the back stories and cultural assumptions. But we must not let this become the prime motive for our reading which is seeking to understand the truth as we discern it, guided by the Spirit.
This passage is about the contrast between integrity and duplicity. The integrity of Jesus, the duplicity of the high priest and the council. We know little or nothing about the integrity or duplicity of the witnesses – including the final two. After all, they spoke the truth.
Tomorrow, we shall reflect on how this relates to Peter in the courtyard.
Prayer
God of all truth and light
you are to be found
where we let you Spirit lead –
even in rabbit holes.
For you have yet more light and truth
To break forth from your Word.*
May we always be aware of when
our actions and words
might border on the duplicitous.
May we strive to act with integrity,
seeking and speaking the truth.
And limit not the truth of God
to our poor reach of mind.*
*cf. G Rawson, Congregational Praise 230