GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
MARK 14:55-59
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55 Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they kept finding none. 56 For many gave false witness against him, but their testimonies did not agree. 57 And some stood up and gave this false testimony against him, saying, 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’” 59 Yet even about this their testimony did not agree.
God must never be put on trial, by anyone. Not in the hearts of men, and especially not in the hearts of Christians, and most especially not in the hearts of any of us, you or me. In no sense is God the cause of sin or the author of sin. He did not create man to sin, and he did not decree that man should become a sinner. Nor did God ever approve of sin when it was introduced into the world through the free will of certain created beings. God never incites man to sin.
God is the cause of salvation and the author of salvation. Our rescue from sin is the work of God alone, and that God did this by allowing himself to be put on trial by sinful men is yet another way that he displays his wisdom over against the foolishness of those who are perishing. For the message of the cross is foolishness to the world, but to us who are being saved, is it the very power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18).
Here in the palace of Caiaphas, three testimonies gather to be spoken, although only one of those here knows what will be said. Here is the Sanhedrin, the combined authorities of the priests and the elders of Israel. The forefathers of the high priests were Moses, Aaron and Levi– but here we see their descendants who have sunk so low that they presume to betray Christ, the promised Messiah, and condemn him to death!
The forefathers of the elders of Israel were Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Judah– but here we see their descendants who have sunk so low that they betray and conspire to murder their God, the one who had been promised to them.
Here assembled are three testimonies being prepared to be delivered. The Council of the Jews was looking, actively seeking, false testimony simply because they wanted to kill him. Their desire broke the Eighth Commandment by actually looking for false testimony. They broke the Fifth, because their search for false witnesses was all about trying to find a way to kill Jesus, as they themselves had said (Mark 14:1,55). They also broke the first three Commandments, these men of God, by putting themselves above the word of God, by failing to worship God as he stood before them in the flesh of Jesus Christ, and by putting their own wicked will ahead of God’s will. They had turned themselves into petty little gods to judge God and to have authority over him. They also broke the Fourth Commandment by commanding their various subjects and servants to sin rather than to obey God. More than half of the Law of Moses stands violated among them with a single wicked thought!
James condemns them: “Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says…, anyone who considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his own tongue deceives himself and his religion is worthless” (James 1:23,26). The religion of the high priest Caiaphas, the religion of the other chief priests of the Jews, the religion of their elders and of the Sanhedrin that assembled that day– their religion was worthless in God’s sight. And God’s sight is the only measure, the only standard that means anything.
Here forced into this wicked assembly like a white rose tossed into a pigsty is Jesus our divine Lord. He is prepared to testify, according to words spoken around him, that he is indeed the Son of God. His testimony will be the only true testimony spoken in this trial. The testimony brought before the court was nothing but lies and perjury.
The Law of Moses and the testimony of the prophets is unified in its condemnation of false testimony. In addition to the Eighth Commandment, we have statements like these:
“Do not spread false reports. Do not help a wicked man by being a malicious witness. Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong” (Exodus 23:1-2).
“The LORD hates… a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers” (Proverbs 6:16).
“The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against his brother, then do to him as he intended to do to his brother. You must purge the evil from among you” (Deuteronomy 19:18).
“A false witness will not go unpunished. He who pours out lies will not go free. He will perish” (Proverbs 19:5,9).
“All those who have an eye for evil shall be cut off, those who by a word make a man out to be an offender, and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, and with an empty plea turn aside him who is in the right” (Isaiah 29:20-21).
Many of us will not have any opportunity to testify in court, but the Eighth Commandment also applies to such things as gossip, even if we think we’re just passing along the truth about somebody. Hold your tongue, if it does not do that person any good. Listen to the blessed Luther teaching us in the Large Catechism: “But you say, ‘Why shouldn’t I speak if it is the truth?’ I reply: ‘Why don’t you bring it before the regular judge?’ ‘Oh’ [you reply], I cannot prove it publicly; I might be called a liar and sent away in disgrace.’ Ah, now do you smell the roast? If you do not trust yourself to make your charges before the proper authorities, then hold your tongue. Keep your knowledge to yourself and do not give it out to others” (Large Catechism, I:270).
Study this well, and take it to heart: “We should fear and love God that we do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, or give him a bad name, but defend him, speak well of him, and take his words and actions in the kindest possible way.”
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
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Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota
God’s Word for You – Mark 14:55-59 False Testimony