“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:16 NIV)
I read these ancient words in Exodus this morning and I immediately connected them to Jesus’ trial in Mark 14. The rest of the country is caught up with Johnny Depp courtroom drama, but I can’t stop thinking about about the Son of God on the stand a couple thousand years ago. The testimony against Jesus was shaky at best; the witnesses couldn’t keep their stories straight and lied like veritable rugs to further their purposes.
“Many testified falsely against Him, but their statements did not agree. Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against Him: “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.'” Yet even their testimony did not agree.” (Mark 14:57-59 NIV)
Some of my Easter reading this year highlighted the sound design of Jewish religious legal proceedings. A guilty verdict required the agreeing testimony of two or three witnesses AND a unanimous jury. Any case resulting in capital punishment included a full day’s rest between verdict and penalty as a safety mechanism. This full day allowed room for the priests to spend twenty-four hours in fasting in prayer, allowing themselves time and space to hear from God on the matter. If even one of the priests came back unsettled, the jury was overturned and the defendant lives.
It’s interesting because in hindsight, we know Joseph of Arimethea was a member of the Council who “had not consented to their decision and action” (Luke 23:51 NIV). Additionally, the pre-trial took place at Annas’ home while it was still dark. The Council made their decision, called it a night and re-convened a few hours later at sunrise to move things along. It seems the priests who publicly clung to the Law so fastidiously were more than willing to bend it privately to meet their purposes.
This law was given to Moses on Mount Moriah hundreds of years prior, but remember, God sees future and present and history in one glance; it is all viewed as accomplished to Him. When He handed over the commandments, did this bit about false testimony stick in His throat? God would have known full-well that His priests would weaponize the very words He was speaking and brandish them against His off-spring. He could already see the day when His creation sloughed off instruction and participated in the destruction of His beloved Son.
We think about Jesus and His testifiers and we understand how bearing false witness kills innocent people. It may not send them to their crucifixion, but it certainly assassinates their character. Moreover, it’s not the way God has designed us to interact with one another.
My husband and I are big fans of the television series “This Is Us.” We’ve been curling up on the couch and crying our way through it for six years. We have grown attached to the characters, but really, it’s the way their story is told that keeps drawing us in. As an audience, we were often given the overview of this family. We have watched these sisters and brothers lives unfold with the big picture in mind. I think this is how God sees us: up close and personal in the day to day details, but equally aware of the grand scheme of things. God knows exactly how we tick and also how our choices intersect and affect one another. Simon and Garfunkel had it right, none of us are an island. We coexist. And the way we speak about each other has an impact on the trajectory of our collective story.
Peter Scazzero takes this thought about bearing false witness step further. He says we believe a lie when we make an assumption about another. This is scary to me, because assumptions are how our brains cope with all the information flung at us on any given day. But assumptions are also the first step in agreeing with an untruth about another. And when we make that agreement, we bear false witness. How can we come against this internal trap? Listen well. Discover truth. And impart life.
Today I am reminded: our ability to bear false witness has catastrophic capability. Half-truths, omissions and falsities all have the potential to destroy reputation, relationship and even the very life of another. As believers, we must use our words to build up, not demolish. We have opportunity to start a fire or put it out.
“Only speak words that make souls stronger.” (A. Voskamp)
“Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.” (James 3:5 NIV)
Lord, forgive us for any false testimonies that we have believed or professed. Help us to live honest lives with open hearts. May we learn to let go of assumptions and instead, listen and pursue authentic relationships with the people around us. Grow us up to love like You do. Let our lives make positive Kingdom contributions. Amen.