Luke 22:66-71   (NIV)

Jesus condemned by the Sanhedrin.

Jesus Before Pilate and Herod

⁶⁶ 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. ⁶⁷ “If you are the Messiah,” they said, “tell us.”

Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe me, ⁶⁸ and if I asked you, you would not answer. ⁶⁹ But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.”

⁷⁰ They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?”

He replied, “You say that I am.”

⁷¹ Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.” *

Prejudice stinks.  How can you speak reasonably and rationally to someone whose mind is already made up?  They are only listening for key words and clues to confirm to them what they already believe, and to justify the actions they already know they want to take.  They are not truly listening.  They are not seeking the truth.  They do not value justice.  There is no assumption of innocence until proven guilty.  The guilt and the verdict have already been decided, by committee, months in advance.  All that remains is the opportunity to go through with the plan.

Dear Lord, you are a God of justice.  You love justice.  Help us to love justice, as well.  Please protect us from unjust men.  And help us realize when we are being unjust, so we may turn from our unjust ways and return to you.  “Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it completely.”  (Proverbs 28:5, ESV)  Help us seek your face, follow your wise counsel and “let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” (Amos 5:24, ESV)  Thank you for the example of your Son, Jesus Christ.  AMEN.

* The scripture passage is the NIV version of the Bible taken from biblegateway.com.  This third prayer for prejudice originally appeared at jaynechaseloseke.com on February 27, 2014 and was used at Faith Bible High School.