Mat 26:59-60 | KingComments | STEP | Those who have taken the Lord prisoner believe that they have Him in their power and can do with Him what they want. But the Lord allows Himself to be carried away like a lamb led to slaughter ( ). They bring Him to the high priest Caiaphas. It was there that the scribes and elders gathered. The religious leaders had determined that He would stand trial before them. The Son of God would be judged and condemned by these people, for the outcome was certain. Peter, who had previously fled with all the other disciples, wants to know what is going to happen to his Lord. In his curiosity and also out of love for Him he follows Him. Only, he follows Him “at a distance”. That is the portent of his fall. If we do not remain close to the Lord, the fall is near. After a brief look at Peter, Matthew takes us back to the trial against the Lord. Never has there been such a trampling of justice as in the trial against Christ. And that’s just if we read how the ‘judges’ look for false witnesses. We are not dealing here with people who misjudge a case or are misled, but with people who consciously seek false witnesses. That is how corrupt they are. What court case has ever started in such a way that judges diligently seek liars to convict the accused? That’s how it is here, and Christ is silent. The testimony of the Scriptures is brief: “They did not find [any]”. And how they did their best to condemn Him on the basis of false testimony, for they brought “many false witnesses” forward. None of these false witnesses is mentioned by name, but God knows them all. What a responsibility to make a false testimony against Christ. They are not ignorant people, but people who distort the facts to give false judges a reason for conviction. It doesn’t have to be true, as long as it sounds plausible. But nothing is found. At the very end, two false witnesses come up and say something the Lord has almost said in this way ( ). Only they do not quote Him well, nor do they understand what He said. They think he spoke of the temple building, while He spoke of His body. Indeed His body is the temple of God in the true sense of the word. The fullness of the Godhead dwelled on earth and dwells forever bodily in Him ( ).

‏ Matthew 26:59-60

Many False Witnesses

Those who have taken the Lord prisoner believe that they have Him in their power and can do with Him what they want. But the Lord allows Himself to be carried away like a lamb led to slaughter (Isa 53:7). They bring Him to the high priest Caiaphas. It was there that the scribes and elders gathered. The religious leaders had determined that He would stand trial before them. The Son of God would be judged and condemned by these people, for the outcome was certain.

Peter, who had previously fled with all the other disciples, wants to know what is going to happen to his Lord. In his curiosity and also out of love for Him he follows Him. Only, he follows Him “at a distance”. That is the portent of his fall. If we do not remain close to the Lord, the fall is near.

After a brief look at Peter, Matthew takes us back to the trial against the Lord. Never has there been such a trampling of justice as in the trial against Christ. And that’s just if we read how the ‘judges’ look for false witnesses. We are not dealing here with people who misjudge a case or are misled, but with people who consciously seek false witnesses. That is how corrupt they are. What court case has ever started in such a way that judges diligently seek liars to convict the accused? That’s how it is here, and Christ is silent. The testimony of the Scriptures is brief: “They did not find [any]”.

And how they did their best to condemn Him on the basis of false testimony, for they brought “many false witnesses” forward. None of these false witnesses is mentioned by name, but God knows them all. What a responsibility to make a false testimony against Christ. They are not ignorant people, but people who distort the facts to give false judges a reason for conviction. It doesn’t have to be true, as long as it sounds plausible. But nothing is found.

At the very end, two false witnesses come up and say something the Lord has almost said in this way (Jn 2:19). Only they do not quote Him well, nor do they understand what He said. They think he spoke of the temple building, while He spoke of His body. Indeed His body is the temple of God in the true sense of the word. The fullness of the Godhead dwelled on earth and dwells forever bodily in Him (Col 1:19 ; Col 2:9).