Mark 14:55 Inside the leading priests and the entire high council were trying to find witnesses who would testify against Jesus, so they could put him to death. But their efforts were in vain.
Two things really strike me about today's verse. One is that it was the religious leaders who were trying to get rid of Jesus. And the other is that no one could find fault with Jesus without lying about it.
The world is full of very religious people. It is ingrained in us to believe in something and devote our lives to it. God made us this way. There is no such thing as a non-religious person. Everyone believes in something or someone and bases their life on what they believe to be true.
The problem with religion is that it can become so obsessive that it blinds us to Truth. Obsession shuts the door to any truth beyond our own understanding of it. We KNOW we are right and zealously defend what we believe to be truth. It is good to be zealous about truth, but we must be certain that what we are defending is indeed true.
The church leaders of Jesus' day shut Him out and had Him crucified. They refused to open up their minds to a different understanding of what was true. They went so far as to find someone who was willing to publicly lie about Jesus and defame Him so that He could be crucified according to their religious law. We must be students of the Word and not interpret it through the lens of our understanding. We must let it speak to us from what it says and let it change us and our thinking as needed. The Spirit will never lead us to believe wrongly if we are open to His leading.
Don't base your beliefs solely on what others may say is true. Examine the Word for yourself with an open heart before God and ask Him to guide you into all truth. If you approach the Word daily in this way, you will know the truth and it will set you free.
Our understanding is always filtered through the lens of our personalities and upbringings. However, truth never contradicts itself. It is absolutely true for all people at all times. If there is a wide range of difference in our understandings, we had better be on our knees and ask the Spirit of God to guide us and teach us what is truly true. And, we must always allow for the possibility that we may have to change in our understanding of that which is truth.
It is never okay to read the Word with closed minds. We must always seek the Spirit's guidance in our understanding. No church body or individual perfectly interprets and understands the whole truth of God's Word. Open your heart and mind to the Lord and He will satisfy your longing to know the Truth
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