Credible Witnesses

I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true. (John 5:30-31)

The issue of judgment is coming up repeatedly as I study the Word. I have been learning a great deal about the true nature and purpose of judgment – God's kind of judgment that is. Now I see another aspect of judgment coming into focus in this passage as Jesus moves from talking about the realities of what is really going on and His true identity to talking about the credibility of His statements and the need for witnesses to testify on His behalf.

The next few verses focus rather intently on this issue of testimony. The testimony of witnesses always becomes an issue whenever truth is in question. The presence of lies and deception requires witnesses to corroborate the claims of either a defendant or an accuser. The Bible teaches that we are not to just accept the assertions or accusations or insinuations of others but are to resist believing evil claims until there are enough credible witnesses to expose sufficiently that a real fault exists or a real crime has been committed.

In the ancient Jewish culture the system of justice instituted by God was quite different than the so-called justice systems that we see in place today, particularly in our Western cultures. Judges back in Old Testament times were not supposed to be free of all bias when deciding a case. They were supposed to always lean in favor toward acquittal of any accused person until the evidence presented by credible witnesses was so compelling that the judge was forced to decide in favor of the accuser.

Several factors came into play along this line as well. No one could be convicted on the testimony of only one witness; there had to be at least two or more credible witnesses to convict a person and refute their claims of innocence. Also, the witnesses were subject to examination themselves to discover their own motives and the nature of their integrity and character. This all had to be taken into consideration by the judge who was supposed to take the side of defending the accused as long as possible until the evidence from credible witnesses made it abundantly clear that there was real guilt involved.

This concept of bias in favor of the accused is reflected in the cliché we hear today about a person supposedly being assumed innocent until proven guilty. However, it doesn't take much observation to see that our current systems of 'justice' do not often operate on that principle but are based more on self-serving interests and back-room deals and technical legal codes or even financial considerations. There are very few cases where a fair and balanced example of true justice can be found anywhere like the justice reflects God's high court of heaven.

The issues and facts that Jesus speaks of in this chapter are all central in the dispute that Satan has promoted before the court of public opinion of the whole universe. The real issue in this great controversy between Christ and Satan is not whether sinners can be saved into heaven but is the issue of the character of God and the claims of authority concerning Christ, the Son of God. The identity and authority of the Son of God has been at the very center of the contentions and allegations that Lucifer has used to promote his cause. Everyone will ultimately be compelled to decide who's side of this issue they will choose to believe.

All throughout this controversy the issue of judgment has necessarily been taking shape. Judgment is fundamentally the process of uncovering the truth of a matter whenever that truth has been brought into question through accusations or insinuations. Lucifer initiated the dispute about the role and authority of Christ in heaven and the controversy was amplified on this earth when Adam and Eve were sucked into agreeing with His lying insinuations about God. Now the center of the battle has shifted to this planet after Satan lost his credibility among the angels in heaven and had to move out long ago.

Christ took on the form of humanity and humbled Himself all throughout His life on earth until the very moment of His death as a means of bringing about true judgment against the lies of Satan. He did this, not by bringing railing counter-accusations against His adversary or making counterclaims about His own position and authority, but by simply bringing the light of truth into minds and hearts that were filled with the darkness of ignorance about God. Lies and evil and falsehoods thrive like cancer cells whenever there is a lack of true knowledge about God and about His character. People become fearful of God and believe that God is more like Satan and so turn away from Him and embrace their own notions of how to live and find peace and fulfillment.

We now live in a heavy atmosphere of deceptions about reality, about life, about God and His intents and feelings towards us. It is impossible to escape the miasma of lies about life and about God for it is in every human heart and permeates every culture and religion. None of us are even close to being free of all the lies about reality and God no matter how insistently some may assert their freedom. If it were not for the effects of a far more potent atmosphere of redemptive grace that surrounds this planet and that counteracts and protects us from the baleful effects of these lies, we all would have disappeared as a race many years ago. Were it not for grace and the direct intervention of God over and over on this planet, the lies and desires of Satan would have swallowed all of us up in pain and death from the natural consequences of living in sin apart from the only Source of life.

Jesus in this passage is making some serious revelations about reality and life and judgment and truth. At this point in the chapter He begins to talk about the need to back up these statements by bringing witnesses to support His statements. He says here that it is not enough for Him to just say what He knows to be true, for the nature of sin has caused us to always doubt the credibility of a person who tries to vindicate themselves whenever they are being accused. It is one of the effects of sin that accusations seem to carry more weight than claims of truth whenever a controversy erupts. We do not generally assume innocence on the part of accused but usually gravitate toward the side that our feelings favor. And those feelings are easily swayed by titillating stories and preconceived ideas, media influence or even mass hysteria.

Just yesterday I had a long conversation with a woman who relayed story after story of abuse and devastation that has deeply wounded her through sexual exploitations by many people in her life. Along the way she mentioned names of people whom I know quite well as she claimed they also had participated in immoral activities and had contributed to her disgust for Christians in general. Yet all through her story she implied that her view of God was much better than the picture of Him that Christians have displayed in their treatment of her.

These accusations about my friends troubled me considerably and I had to ponder these things internally. I didn't know what to make of them for they seemed totally inconsistent with what I personally know about their characters. Yet I am also aware that sometimes sins of this nature can easily remain hidden from public view for many years, especially in very conservative groups, until circumstances finally expose their hypocrisy and evidence comes into the open that shatters the pious front that many have tried to maintain in the name of conservative religion for so long.

This continued to disturb me all evening and into this morning. Insinuations are so powerful that they can seep deep into one's thinking and the imagination can begin to suspect all sorts of things that we would have never considered before. I was harassed with persistent doubts about my friends and couldn't shake them off easily and wondered how to relate to these graphic charges regarding them.

Then this morning I remembered that I myself had been the target of very similar accusations only a few years ago that devastated my own life and ruined my reputation with many people who never bothered to try to find out both sides of the story. Most people did not even try to find out if the accusations were true but simply allowed the insinuations about me circulate in their imagination and support doubts about my character that caused a deep rift between me and many of my own family and friends. This has been an extremely difficult experience for me and resulted in some of the most painful emotional events of my life. I knew that if I tried to justify myself that it would only tend to strengthen people's suspicions about me because self-justification always tends to produce that effect.

After awhile I began to realize my great need of credible witnesses who would come to my defense and give clear and convincing testimony about my character and motives. Sadly there were very few willing to do this and the fallout over the past few years has changed the dynamics in many of my relationships. Now I am faced with a very similar potential situation with close friends of mine even though they do not know that I have heard these accusations about them. I am faced with what to do about evil reports about someone else just as evil reports were circulated about me not that long ago.

As I thought more about it this morning I found myself in this passage and realized suddenly that this issue of credible witnesses is vitally important when it comes to choosing what to believe about evil accusations about anyone. God does not participate in accusing anyone of evil. Satan is the instigator of the whole program of accusing and the very word Satan literally means 'the accuser'. Jesus said that Satan was a liar from the very beginning and is the father of all lies. Deception is the name of his game along with fear and shame and force and is the foundation of his government. Satan is constantly accusing everyone possible and if we are to get free from this miasma of lies we must be willing to move toward truth and live in truth, not easily embracing insinuations about others simply because they sound exciting or even compelling.

As I thought more about what I heard yesterday I also began to see the flaws and weaknesses in some of the accusations. I realized that this person had a long history of sexual abuse and consequently views all the world through these lenses. Someone who has grown up under much abuse almost always assumes that the motives of everyone around them is likely based on those motives whether that is true or not. That was part of the problem in my case and I could now see more clearly that it is very likely the fact in this current situation as well. I remembered how she had said that some of those stories were told her by another person who also had very doubtful integrity which brings these insinuations into even more doubt. I see no testimony from any credible witnesses that my friends have done anything like what she has accused them of doing. The only thing I have so far is the titillating stories that she shared with me that contradicts everything I have known about them for many years.

God also has been lied about and insulted and has had more insinuations spread around about His character than anyone else has ever dreamed of having against them. Yet He is choosing to not vindicate or justify Himself but is relying on the testimonies that will be flushed out when the final judgment fully exposes all the lies of the enemy and the history of every person's life will testify either for or against God. In the process all of the witnesses will have their own credibility challenged and their credibility will be exposed to the brilliant light of truth as well. Thus, by the mouth of not just two or more witnesses but by the testimony of all who have ever lived, God's character and motives will be finally vindicated and sin and rebellion will be forever extinguished.

And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: "Great and amazing are your deeds, Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, King of the nations! Lord, who will not fear and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your judgments have been revealed." (Revelation 15:3-4 NRSV)