The trial judge moved from hearing faked evidence (Mark 14:55-59) to asking the most significant question of Jesus: "Are you God's Son, anointed for the salvation and judgement of the world?"  The word, 'the Christ' in Greek was the same as 'Messiah' in Hebrew.  It is a title rather than a name, meaning - 'the Anointed One'.  In the Old Testament, three kinds of people were anointed, as a sign that they had God’s authority: firstly, the kings who should have been the pastors/shepherds of Israel, anointed to bring the rule of God’s Word to the people (Ezekiel 34:1-4); secondly, the priests who brought the people to God, by the prayers and sacrifices; and thirdly, the prophets who challenged Israel to face up to God's covenant - usually when the kings were not ruling in a godly way (1 Kings 19:16).

However, the Old Testament also kept pointing forward to the day when God would anoint a very special person, described as God's Son (Psalm 2:7).  He would fulfil all the roles of the kings (as King of kings); the priests (as God's great High Priest to make the final sacrifice for the sins of the whole world (Hebrews 2:17); and the prophets (He would not just speak God's Word, He would be the Word of God in a human body (John 1:1) ... not just to bring people back to the old covenant, but to make a new covenant in His own blood (1 Corinthians 11:25).

When Jesus admitted His divine identity, He also prophesied that He would be the Judge on the final day (Daniel 7:13-14).  The High Priest should have bowed to Jesus, inviting Him to be on the judgement seat.  But the 'archbishop' wanted to be the judge; and so Jesus prophetically warned that the roles would be radically reversed.  Like the other religious leaders who claimed to have God’s authority, the High Priest did not recognise that Jesus has supreme authority (Luke 19:44).  As the guardian of national holiness, the High Priest failed; later he also blasphemed by accusing Jesus of the same sin (Exodus 22:28).  

Religious power, without a total submission to Jesus Christ, is like a hallucinatory drug.  The powerholders confuse God's anointing with their personal ambition.  Forgetting their responsibility to obey God’s Word and serve humbly, they believe they have the right to use God’s authority for their own purpose.  They redefine right and wrong; they seek honour from people rather than the approval of God; they corruptly hold power over others to gain money or prestige; they make themselves big without realising how pathetically small they are.  All such should revisit the seven woeful sayings of Jesus to the religious elite in Matthew 23:23-33, ending with, “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?”.  It is an onerous responsibility to represent God; to assume that in some way we are any better than any other sinner, or that we can redefine what the Bible says, puts the finger of judgement onto us (James 3:1).  So repent, repent today, and ask the Lord to have mercy while there is still time (Revelation 3:1-3).