Who Was Jesus Talking To?

They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?” He replied, “You say that I am.” Luke 22:70 (New International Version, NIV)

This verse is detailing part of the conversation between the Sanhedrin (the Jewish religious court) and Jesus after they had arrested Him. In glancing at it quickly, it appears that Jesus is not speaking truthfully. After all, I have not found it recorded anywhere that the religious leaders actually stated that Jesus was the Son of God. If they had not said outright that He was the Son of God, how could Jesus answer them by saying that they said He was? We know that God does not lie, therefore Jesus had to be speaking the truth. The key to unlocking this little mystery is found in Ephesians.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12 (KJV)

The New Living Translation puts it this way:

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12 (New Living Translation, NLT)

Jesus understood that His real enemy was not the group of men who acused and abused Him. He knew that He was really up against the spiritual forces that controlled and influenced those men. When Jesus said, “You say that I am,” He was speaking directly to the demonic forces at work in the situation. We know from verses like Luke 8:28 that demons knew who He was and had called Him the Son of God.

And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. Luke 8:26-28 (KJV) emphasis mine

This shows that the devil and his demons had said that Jesus was the Son of God. Therefore, at his trial, Jesus was addressing the enemy himself and his demons, not the men. This was a time of intense spiritual warfare and Jesus was responding to the attack of the devil. If we look at Luke chapter 22 again and go back a few verses, we will see something very similar to the temptations presented previously to Jesus by the devil.

At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them.  “If you are the Messiah,” they said, “tell us.” Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe me, Luke 22:66-67 (New International Version, NIV) emphasis mine

If you recall, right after Jesus was baptized, He was led into the wilderness for 40 days and nights and was tempted by the devil. The temptations that the devil used were tied to Jesus proving that He was the Son of God, and the wording is similar to the words used by the Sanhedrin.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread…” Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.  “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down.” Matthew 4:1-3,5-6a (New International Version, NIV) emphasis mine

The devil had unsuccessfully tempted Jesus in the wilderness, then he left to wait for a more opportune time to tempt him (Luke 4:13). I am certain that the enemy saw the trial of Jesus as an opportune time and he was back to try to tempt Jesus once again, using the members of the Sanhedrin to bait Jesus. Of course, I am sure he attempted to trip up Jesus at other times too, but this is definitely a situation where we can clearly see him at work against the Lord.

Regardless of the hatred directed at Him, Jesus understood who his real enemy was and He did not come against the people who were involved, but dealt directly with the spiritual entities causing the issues. As His followers, we are to do the same. No matter the situation, confrontation, or accusation, we do not need to respond angrily to people who come against us. Instead, we speak the Word of God and use the name of Jesus to fight our battles in the spirit realm… AND WE WIN.