Matthew 26 - Betrayed by Israel

But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death. Matthew 26: 63-66

Once Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, the humiliation from His own people, Israel, began. First, He was taken before the high priest, Caiaphas, and the leaders of Israel for a mock trial, where false witnesses were brought forward to try Him as a blasphemer. When the witnesses were put to the test, they were easily discredited, for Jesus was innocent. In an effort to goad Jesus into incriminating Himself, Caiaphas adjured Him by the living God to answer the question, Are you the Son of God?

Jesus answered by referencing Daniels' prophecy of the Son of Man coming in the clouds before the Ancient of Days to receive an everlasting kingdom, inferring that He was this Son of Man whom the prophet had spoken of long ago. But then He spun this prophecy around and stated that the Jewish rulers of His day would see that Son of Man coming in the clouds, with all power, honor, and glory, to judge that wicked, adulterous generation for their unbelief. Jesus clearly indicated here, once more, that all prophecy would be fulfilled in the lifetime of that generation, which we know occurred in 70 AD at the fall of Jerusalem.

When the high priest heard Jesus' words, he rent his robes and declared Him a blasphemer, which is exactly what had been planned all along. Contrary to what many of us have been told, the Jewish leaders could have stoned Jesus under the Law, but they were too cowardly, so they took Him to Pilate to be executed by Rome as an insurrectionist. Pilate knew Jesus was innocent, but there was nothing to be done; he feared what the people thought, and so he succumbed to the evil plan, even after being warned by his wife.

The bottom line is this: the crucifixion had been established before the foundation of the world. Jesus would go to the cross, no matter what, and settle man's sin issue there, once and for all. And that is exactly what He did! Praise God for that!

Links:
https://pjmiller.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/unheeded-or-misinterpreted-signs-the-destruction-of-jerusalem-70ad/

http://bible.christiansunite.com/jos/warindex.shtml

http://www.allthingsfulfilled.com/

http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/haggadah.html