Dying to tell the living truth

by Daniel Gardner, Special to the Gazette “And the high priest said to Him, ‘I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.’” (Matthew 26:62-ff)

Of all the things Jesus said and did, His words to the high priest’s question literally nailed Him to the cross.

This was one of many times Scripture records Jesus claiming to be the Christ, including times when He referred to Himself as “I AM!” “Then the high priest tore his robes, saying, ‘He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold you have now heard the blasphemy; what do you think?’ They answered and said, ‘He is deserving of death!’ Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, and said, ‘prophesy to us You Christ; who is the one who hit you?’”

Jesus is not the first person to die for telling the truth. Many people have died for telling the truth.

Many more Christians like Charlie Kirk will die soon for telling the truth. (Revelation 5:911) “And when He broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, wilt Thou refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell in the earth?” And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, should be completed also.” These are the days the prophets and Jesus Himself foretold. After describing the “beginning of birth pangs” signaling the tribulation, Jesus said, “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you and you will be hated by all nations on account of My name. And at that time many will fall away and will deliver up one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many. And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.” (Matthew 24:9-12) In April Charlie Kirk wrote, “Assassination culture is spreading on the left.” He continued, “The left is being whipped into a violent frenzy. Any setback, whether losing an election or losing a court case, justifies a maximally violent response.” Charlie never backed down but followed his Lord Jesus Christ into crowds of those who hated and lied and fomented maximum physical violence against those with whom they disagreed. Charlie patiently debated and answered detractors under a banner challenging, “PROVE ME WRONG.” Raw hate inflamed by repeated lies and political slander violently killed Charlie Wednesday, September 10, while he was peacefully answering questions on a college campus. That was his place of ministry to hundreds of thousands who were honest enough to listen. God’s truth will continue to draw millions more to listen to His Living Word. Page A2 Thursday, September 18, 2025 MAGNOLIA GAZETTE