neither so did their witness agree

[i]Dear friends, I want to preface the following by saying that in no way is the follwing presented to or intended to be directed towards any of us in particular. My hope is that it may be in some way helpfull for us all[/i]

"And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying, We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands. But neither so did their witness agree together."

- Makr 14:57-59(KJV)

[i]…neither so did their witness agree together[/i]

Today at work I thought of this and another part of this passage of scripture and as I have meditated on these things today I wanted to share some things with you all. I hope that it can in some way be helpfull to us in the challenges that we face.

What has stood out to me today in this passage is how the religious leaders, who were the Supreme Court of the land, if you will, who would because of their position and authority be expected to have had the highest regard for the Law and its practice, that in their zeal and determination to condemn the Lord Jesus, they were willing to bring forward and to accept a witness, a testimony, that did not agree. A testimony and a witness that was false.

And I think that is something for us to consider also, that even we, in our zeal and determination and desire to fight against that which is false and evil, that we ourselves might, or that we could be, willing to put forward and accept a testimony and a witness that is not true, either in facts, or in the nature and manner of how we present it.

Well, why would they, or even we, do that?

I guess there could be many reasons. Maybe some were afraid(John 11:48) or felt they were defending the purity of their religion(Matthew 15:2, John 5:16), for instance.

One thing though has stood out to me today, and it is in the words of the high priest to the Lord Jesus after He had answered him as to His being the Christ:

“Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses? Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.”

- Mark 14:63-64(KJV)

[i]Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye?[/i]

It seems to me that this was something, as much or more than anything else, that made them want to condemn the Lord Jesus - their accusations of blasphemy against Him(John 10:31-39).

Maybe it is one thing stirs up zeal and anger more than any other?

And then, it is as if, being certain of their accusations, it was enough for the high priest to say

“What need we any further witnesses?”

And this is a second thing that I think we should consider. That in our own certainty, we can be tempted to cast off what is proper, and prudent, and right in our proceedings and dealings with each other and others. That our own confidence can disarm our better judgment and cause us to, as the saying goes, ‘throw caution to the wind’.

Well, I think these things are worth considering. And I wish all of us grace and help from God in the challenges that face us.

I certainly need it.

Chris

Jas 4:11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
Jas 4:12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary
James 4:11
11. Having mentioned sins of the tongue (Jas 3:5-12), he shows here that evil-speaking flows from the same spirit of exalting self at the expense of one's neighbor as caused the "fightings" reprobated in this chapter (Jas 4:1).
Speak not evil--literally, "Speak not against" one another.
brethren--implying the inconsistency of such depreciatory speaking of one another in brethren.
speaketh evil of the law--for the law in commanding, "Love thy neighbor as thyself" (Jas 2:8), virtually condemns evil-speaking and judging [ESTIUS]. Those who superciliously condemn the acts and words of others which do not please themselves, thus aiming at the reputation of sanctity, put their own moroseness in the place of the law, and claim to themselves a power of censuring above the law of God, condemning what the law permits [CALVIN]. Such a one acts as though the law could not perform its own office of judging, but he must fly upon the office [BENGEL]. This is the last mention of the law in the New Testament. ALFORD rightly takes the "law" to be the old moral law applied in its comprehensive spiritual fulness by Christ: "the law of liberty."
if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer . . . but a judge--Setting aside the Christian brotherhood as all alike called to be doers of the law, in subjection to it, such a one arrogates the office of a judge
James 4:12
12. There is one lawgiver--The best authorities read in addition, "and judge." Translate, "There is One (alone) who is (at once) Lawgiver and Judge, (namely) He who is able to save and destroy." Implying, God alone is Lawgiver and therefore Judge, since it is He alone who can execute His judgments; our inability in this respect shows our presumption in trying to act as judges, as though we were God.
who art thou, &c.--The order in the Greek is emphatic, "But (inserted in oldest manuscripts) thou, who art thou that judgest another?" How rashly arrogant in judging thy fellows, and wresting from God the office which belongs to Him over thee and THEM alike!
another--The oldest authorities read, "thy neighbor."

Who art thou that judgest another?" How rashly arrogant in judging thy fellows, and wresting from God the office which belongs to Him over thee and THEM alike!

Brother, we may not agree with someone in their doctrine and they can even appear to us as a false teacher but our character should be right in how we speak of them. We are still commanded not to speak evil of any one. We should warn others about false teachers and false preaching but our character should be above reproach. We should not stoop to their level.

We should live and conduct ourselves in such a way that we will not turn others away from the Lord because we conducted ourselves improperly and unbecoming as a follower of Christ.