Return from False Witness Matthew 26:57–68

Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God our Father, and our lord Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life.

Return to the Lord is our Lenten theme this year. Return from False Witness is our sermon theme tonight. It’s taken from Matthew 26:57-68, which we’ll look at in a minute. 

In His suffering to save us, Jesus had to endure the lies and false rumors that were spread about Him. For example, in Matthew 9:34, and a number of other times, the Pharisees said, “He casts our demons by the prince of demons.” They accused him of doing miracles by the power of the devil.

Jesus responded, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 

Jesus responded to their lie with a truth they couldn’t counter. The devil would never cast out demons and do good to and heal others. He’s only capable of hurt and hate.

So the only possibility is that Jesus did it by the power of God. 28“But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, Jesus said, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”.

We’ll talk more about that on our last Wednesday in Lent, when our theme will be, Return to the Kingdom of God.

In John 8:48, Jesus’ opponents said, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?”

They were trying to discredit him, first by using prejudice, calling Him a Samaritan, who were looked down on by most Jews, and secondly, saying that Jesus was possessed by a demon.

Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.”

They ridiculed and slandered and gossiped and lied about Jesus in every way they could, and every opportunity they had.

The slander and false rumors about Jesus by His enemies continued to increase throughout His ministry. They tried to gain popular support by spreading more and more vicious lies about him. They were trying to, not just discredit Him, but destroy Him.

It all culminated in His sham trial. Jesus enemies had no legitimate crime to charge Him with, so they had to manufacture one. We hear this in Matthew 26.

 57 Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. It was an illegal, secretive meeting.

58 And Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with the guards to see the end. 

Next Wednesday we’ll talk more about that with the theme, Return from Denial.

59 Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, 60 but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward 61 and said, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.’” 

They were accusing Him of blasphemy against the temple, which would have broken Jewish law. But Jesus was talking about Himself, rising from the dead on the third day.

 62 And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” 63 But Jesus remained silent. 

Although He was innocent, He didn’t try to talk His way out of it. Because He knew His time had come to redeem the world.

And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” 

Jesus had an interesting and brilliant response… 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so… He turned their words on them, so that they unwittingly testified to His divinity. 

And Jesus made them take ownership of their words, something an honest person should always strive to do: take responsibility for what we say, and don’t pretend we never said it. And if we said something we shouldn’t have, admit it, and ask for forgiveness, and in the future, try to use our words in a more godly way.

Jesus went on to make clear to them who he really is, and who it is that they would be crucifying: But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 

Again, we’ll talk more about this is two weeks with our theme, Return to the Kingdom of God. 

65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. 66 What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.” 

The only One who never has never deserved to die, submitted to their false witness and lies, that He might die for all, even His false accusers. 

Then they mocked Him: 67 They spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him, 68 saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?”

But that wasn’t the end of their lies. They needed a charge beyond blasphemy to have Jesus executed, so they lied to Pilate, saying that Jesus was telling the people not to pay taxes, and was leading an insurrection against Rome. They were the two things, the two crimes, that Rome had a zero tolerance policy for. 

And so, politically, Jesus was crucified for crimes He never committed, and spiritually, punished for sins He never did.

If ever anyone would have been justified in exposing the lies of the enemy, it would have been Jesus. But He endured their deadly lies and slander for us. Let us, in turn, endure the lies and slander of the world for Him. 

How amazing that the Gospel, which is so pure in love and truth, is so often mocked and ridiculed in our world and our current culture. We, who believe in the Gospel, should not be surprised that the ridicule and disdain would be extended to us as well.

Like Jesus, let us calmly refrain from getting caught up in the conflict, and bated into returning insult for insult, which is exactly what the world and the devil want. Instead let us boldly but gently, speak the truth in love, as Ephesians 4 tells us: 25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”. 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up.

Do not return evil for evil. When others lie about you, speak the truth in courage and love. When others spread malicious gossip about you, speak well of them, not of their lies, but of their qualities. And then confront and correct the false rumors and harmful gossip with the truth and gentle love.

When you hear others speak unkindly toward others, be strong to not join in. Defend your neighbor’s reputation, and if you can, steer the conversation in a better direction.

Above all, speak well of your Savior. Let your speech, your words and conversation, reflect who He is, and how He is, and what He did for world. 

Also, speak honorably to and about your neighbor; honor Christ in what you say. If you wouldn’t say it to God, then don’t say it to your neighbor. 

We’ve all failed at times in regard to the speaking the truth in love. Jesus endured false witness that He might die to win full forgiveness for all our failings, that we might return from our times of false witness, and speak the truth in love.

God’s Word teaches, and His Spirit empowers us to speak more truthfully, and more beneficially, what is helpful for building others up, as our Scripture says. 

Because of His holy love for us, Jesus spoke nothing but the truth for us. Let us be bold and loving to speak only the truth for Him. And as we do, God’s peace, which passes understanding, will guard our hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.