The Third Station of the Cross: Being Right

Courtesy: Vatican Museum

"At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. 'If you are the Christ,' they said, 'tell us.' Jesus answered, 'If I tell you, you will not believe me, and if I asked you, you would not answer. But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.' They all asked, 'Are you then the Son of God?' He replied, 'You are right in saying I am.' Then they said, 'Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.'" - Luke 22:66-71 (NIV)

Before the Sanhedrin, Jesus knew what He was going up against. He knew that under Jewish law, especially the way it was interpreted by the Pharisees, admitting He was the Son of God would gain him death. He knew He would not be believed because the Pharisees chose not to believe. However, when asked, He admitted it, answering "Yes" to the question, "Are you then the Son of God?"

In the celebration of the Stations of the Cross by Pope John Paul II in 1991, the minister prayed this prayer:

"Lord, grant us your sense of righteousness that we may never cease to work to bring about the justice of the kingdom that you promised."

In this life, we're going to face opposition. We're going to face persecution if we stand for something. If we're going to face opposition, we had better make sure we're facing it for a good reason.

As Christians, as followers of Christ, we know that if (and when) we face opposition and persecution, as millions of Christians do across the world, we can face it with the faith that Jesus is who He said He was: He was God (see John 14:7-10, John 10:28-33, John 14:11, among others) and that with His death on the cross, he even fulfilled Scripture (see Isaiah 53).

For that reason, we can be certain we are right in the cause we pursue, and face it with confidence, perseverance and courage.

(Editor's note: This is part of a series of the Stations of the Cross.)