By Andrew Williams – October 24, 2022
Now the chief priests and the entire council (the Sanhedrin) were constantly seeking [to get] testimony against Jesus with a view to condemning Him and putting Him to death, but they did not find any. For many were repeatedly bearing false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree.
Mark 14:55-56 AMPC
Good morning fellow disciples.
The goal was to condemn Jesus and put Him to death!
They came to the endpoint before even getting the testimonies. Was this the right way to go about it? When you go to court you have a charge that is brought against you and they have to prove it, then they give a judgment based on the charges and the testimonies.
In this case it was the other way around. They wanted Jesus dead, and they sought the testimonies to bring about that end point.
Note that it was the religious persons who wanted to condemn Jesus. They went about constantly seeking testimonies to bring about the endpoint that they desired.
The verse states that many were repeatedly giving false witness about Jesus, but the testimonies did not agree. To me this is kind of weird. When people really want to condemn you by false testimonies, they tend to come together before hand and plan things so that their testimonies will align, or when one hears the testimony of the previous person, they adjust their testimony so that they are in agreement.
In this case their testimonies could not be the reason why Jesus was put to death! Why?
Hear Jesus’ words in John 10:17-18 HCSB: This is why the Father loves Me, because I AM LAYING DOWN MY LIFE so I may take it up again. NO ONE TAKES IT FROM ME, BUT I LAY IT DOWN ON MY OWN. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from My Father.”
Only Jesus could bring about His own death. It was only when He allowed it, that His enemies had the permission and ability to condemn Him to be killed.
