The Jewish leadership made false claims against Jesus as they brought Him before the Roman governor, Pilate. The leadership had made a show of their trial of Jesus. They were determined to find Jesus guilty of something before the trial even started. They had to depend on false witnesses to trump up some charge against Jesus. This alone showed that Jesus was innocent.
Finally, the high priest declared a verdict of blasphemy after Jesus prophesied. Matthew 26:64 In the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.[1] The verdict for blasphemy was death, but the council couldn’t carry out the death sentence. Only the Roman government was allowed to put a prisoner to death.
Creating Political Charges
The priests knew Pilate, the Roman governor, cared nothing for their religious verdict. So, they had to create some charges that Pilate would pay attention to. The Gospel of Luke gives us insight into their attempt at generating political charges.
Luke 23: 2 They began to state their case: “This man has been leading our people astray by telling them not to pay their taxes to the Roman government and by claiming he is the Messiah, a king. [2]
Pilate knew Caesar would not stand for anyone claiming to be king. Pilate had struggled in his position and felt insecure about his relationship with Caesar. If he played his cards right with this false king, perhaps he could win favor with both the Jews and the Emperor simultaneously. So, Pilate picked the most serious charge, claiming to be a king, and began questioning Jesus.
The Tactic of Twisting the Truth
What the Jewish leadership was doing was evil and against their own laws. They were willing to twist the truth as long as they thought it would benefit them. This has been a tactic of satan since the beginning of time. The serpent twisted God’s truth to deceive Eve in the garden. The fall into sin was the reason Jesus came to save us.
In our story, satan is working behind the scenes to encourage the Jewish leadership to do evil to Jesus. But this time, the strategy backfired. God used the evil of men as Jesus went to the cross to pay the blood price for our sin. He turned what they meant for evil into good for us.
We learn a tactic of satan from our story. This is a warning for us on our spiritual journey. When we stay close to Jesus, He will not only forgive our sins but guide us. When people make false claims against us, we must keep our focus on Jesus. That allows us to be in His will and be a witness for Him. This is one way that God can turn what was meant for evil to good.
To learn more about false claims against Jesus, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/a-self-serving-trial
[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Mt 26:64). Tyndale House Publishers.
[2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Lk 23:2). Tyndale House Publishers.