When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their council, and they said, “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I ask you, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” So they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.” Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.” (Luke 22:66-71)

After a long night of betrayal, arrest, and denial, Jesus stood before the council of elders, chief priests, and scribes. These were the most powerful religious leaders of the day – men trained in the Law, scholars of the Scriptures, the very people who should have been first to recognize the Messiah. And yet, when Truth stood before them in the flesh, they refused to believe.

They asked, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And Jesus answered plainly, confirming their question: “You say that I am.” It was a direct affirmation of His divinity. They had heard it from His own lips. This wasn’t a rumor, a secondhand claim, or an interpretation – it was Jesus Himself, identifying as the Son of God, the long-awaited Messiah.

And still, they rejected Him.

Why? Because they weren’t asking to receive truth—they were asking to trap Him. They approached the Son of God not with open hearts, but with hardened agendas. They weren’t seeking truth, they were seeking justification to kill Him. And when He told them the truth, they took it as confirmation bias to fit their agenda and twisted the truth into a charge to crucify Him over.

This passage holds a sobering warning for us today: If we approach God with an agenda, rather than a humble desire to know and obey the truth, we may miss what He’s saying altogether and find ourselves opposing God.

It’s easy to read Scripture looking for support for what we already believe. It’s tempting to pray in hopes that we get the answer we want, instead of submitting to the answer God gives. But truth doesn’t bend to our pride or preferences. It takes humility to accept truth that challenges us, corrects us, or calls us to change.

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day knew the Scriptures, but they didn’t know God. They clung to their control and self-image, unwilling to surrender to the One standing right in front of them - God. Their pride blinded them to the truth they had been waiting for.

Let’s not fall into the same trap. When you open God’s Word, let it be with a heart ready to receive – not edit. When you ask God for direction, have a heart truly wanting His will, not your own will dressed up in religious language. When He speaks, whether through Scripture, the Spirit, or wise counsel – take Him at His Word.

May we have hearts who seek God in truth, being stripped of our pride, our assumptions, and our agendas – able to listen and receive with humility. Let us not be those who hear and twist, but those who hear, receive, and obey.