Jesus Foretold: False Witnesses (MP 68)

Did God seal the fate of Jesus His Son, By dulling the Jews’ spiritual insight? False witnesses told guilty things He’d done; They were not believed to testify right! Speaking of His body, Jesus had said, “Destroy this temple; it’ll rise in three days.” Two testified He meant the building instead— That it was the temple He claimed to raise! To explain His words, Jesus did not try; By God’s Master Plan, He had to be slain; At the hands of Israel, Jesus must die, So being God’s Son He did proudly claim! False witnesses did not Jesus convict; “I am God’s Son!” caused the “Guilty” verdict! Scripture Quoted (NIV) [Brackets added] Israel dulled: Isaiah 6:9-10—“He [the Lord, to Isaiah] said, ‘Go and tell this people [Israel]: Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving. Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes.’ “ (Written in the 7th century B.C.) Prophecy Made: Psalm 34:11—“Ruthless witnesses come forward; they question me on things I know nothing about.” (Written in the 10th century B.C.) Prophecy Fulfilled: Mark 14:55-59—“The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree. Then some stood up and gave this testimony against him: 'We heard him say, I will destroy this man-made temple and in three days will build another not made by man.’ Yet even then their testimony did not agree.” (Written in the 1st century A.D.) Commentary On: “Jesus Foretold: False Witnesses” No human tribe may have been capable of meeting God’s standards of obedience to the Mosaic Law; certainly Israel wasn’t, and by Isaiah the prophet’s time, God decided that Israel was incapable of becoming a “nation of priests” for Him. Therefore, His Master Plan included instructions for Isaiah in about 700 B.C. to tell them that He (God) was dulling their spiritual insight so that they would be unable to recognize and accept Jesus (God) when He came to redeem all people from condemnation (See Isaiah 6:9-10). In Jeremiah 31:31 God announced a new covenant; this new covenant was not based on absolute obedience to laws, but on the grace of God through the faith of men. To be saved from condemnation, all a man or woman was required to do was to believe that Jesus was sent from God; also, He turned from offering salvation to Jews only but also to Gentiles; instead of the nation of Israel becoming a nation of priests, God would establish His “church”, composed of believers in Jesus, and commanded to preach the gospel to all the world. Israel is not rejected from salvation, but a Jew must believe in Jesus as the Messiah in order to become saved, exactly as do Gentiles. Most of the common people of Israel believed Jesus was sent from God. Most of the Pharisees, Saducees, priests, and leaders of Israel were too spiritually dull to understand the spiritual truths He taught; they had failed to interpret the Mosaic Law and the prophets correctly; they had twisted and perverted God’s words until the Law as interpreted was nothing like God had intended it to be. Jesus castigated them vehemently, especially in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and His accusations to the Pharisees in the temple, and they hated Him and plotted to kill Him. David had prophesied that false witnesses would be used against Him in their attempt to slay Him, and there were many false witnesses heard in His trial before the Sanhedrin. However, none of the testimony of the false witnesses held up under cross-examination. Jesus was determined to die at Israel’s hands, for that was His mission to earth—His death would atone for Adam’s original sin that brought condemnation, as well as all the sins committed by all men and women who ever lived. If Israel did not kill Jesus to show their rejection of belief, His coming would have failed. So when the high priest asked Him point blank if He was the Son of God, He clearly answered “Yes”. That claim, that Jesus was the Son of God, was the evidence that killed Jesus. When modern-day people reject Jesus as God’s Son, they, too, are condemned for disbelief, just as Jews were of that day. They, too, are voting Him guilty of death. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved,” (Romans 10:9)