Nathan E. Lewis

We have observed how similar is the judicial system of ancient Israel to our present judicial system. One of the greatest safeguards to our freedom is the American rule that a person is innocent until proven guilty. Most of the present world does not enjoy such a freedom. The Old Covenant laws, outlined by Moses, provide this protection. God’s law maintains a person innocent until proven guilty.
In (15) we read that two or three witnesses are required to prove a person guilty of a crime. This law is not concerned with the number of witnesses who testify, but rather, it is concerned with the number of witnesses furnishing compelling testimony to the crime. One witness testifying truthfully to the crime committed is not sufficient unto indictment of any criminal. Two witnesses, and in some cases, three witnesses each separately testifying to the identical proofs are sufficient. This is what Moses means by saying, “On the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.� To hear all of the witnesses necessary to actually find two who agree in testimony supplying sufficient proof of the crime committed by the person accused takes some time and labor. But all of the work and all of the time it takes to make sure that justice is served is worth it. God’s law seeks to protect the innocent by viewing anyone accused of a crime innocent until proven guilty.
The law of God protects the accused person against a false witness. If a witness enters the court testifying falsely, seeking to harm the accused, he could receive the very sentence he was seeking to be applied to the accused. The judges are to “inquire diligently,� hearing both parties in the dispute. It is the diligent inquiry that irritates many of us. It is not unusual for hearings of a case to span several years in our courts. When a judge or an attorney requests further information, it is easy for us to think that someone is stalling justice. But in a system that seeks to protect the innocent who has been wrongfully accused, such a request for more information is appropriate. When a case is appealed to a higher court, we may think that justice is being obstructed. But in a system that considers a person innocent until proven guilty, such an appeal may be necessary. Many of us have thought that a case dragging out in court is merely the plan of lawyers to make more money. But those who love the justice and mercy of God may take as much time as is needed to convince judge and jury of the innocence of the accused.
It takes time to sort out the lies of a malicious witness. Some of us are masters of deceit. Some of us can even beat the lie detector machine. Some of us are jaded to the point that we think nothing of raising the right hand, swearing to tell the truth and nothing but the truth “so help me God,� then committing perjury. I wouldn’t be surprised if perjury were committed daily in some courtroom in our great nation. Human nature, so prone to the sins of the lips, supports my assumption. And so, the judges of Israel were instructed to inquire diligently, hearing both sides of a case, examining and cross-examining witnesses, to determine the truth.
We should be patient for the truth to come to light. We should be slow to judge, remembering that a false witness may appear to be telling the truth. The accused may appear to be guilty, but in the end we are surprised to discover that he was framed. Some of us will have to wait until the final Day of Judgment when the highest court of appeal, the very bench of God, will expose the truth. In the meantime, the law of God, outlined by Moses, promotes truth and justice as perfectly as any system can produce in this fallen world.
Perhaps you have noticed thus far in our study of Deuteronomy that the law of God comes with stiff penalties. The witness who commits perjury is handed the sentence he was seeking for the accused. For example, if the false witness is testifying to murder, which would be punished by death, the false witness would be put to death for committing perjury. This law served as a deterrent to the treachery of deceit in the court of law. Moses says that this law purges the evil from the community. With such stiff penalties fewer people will be willing to falsely testify against their neighbor. If a person is caught lying in court and is severely punished, other people in the community will think twice about committing perjury. In this way, the community will be free of evil. In this way the law of God promotes peace and purity. Just as he has said regarding the murderer, Moses now says regarding the false witness, “Your eye shall not pity him.�
The penalties of God’s law seem to be so strict. Like the Code of Hammurabi, the law for penalties matching the crime is this: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. Before we conclude: “Let’s do it,� we should pause to think a bit about this law of punishment fitting the crime. I have less of a problem with life for life, than I do with eye for eye, or tooth for tooth. Think about it. Try to envision yourself participating in the carrying of such penalties – an eye for eye! Is this not barbarism?
Those of us who long for justice to establish peace and order in our communities might jump the interpretive gun at this point and conclude: “All we have to do is apply more of the Old Covenant Law to our present situation. What we need are stiffer penalties. If we only followed the Mosaic rule: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot – fewer crimes would be committed. There is some truth to this, but it is not the entire truth presented by the Holy Scriptures for us to apply in our present situation. We must read the Bible in its entirety, discovering what Jesus and his apostles have to say on this topic before we join the Muslim nations who still chop off the hands of thieves in the 21st century.
Jesus, in his “Sermon on the Mount,� recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,’ but I say to you, ‘Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and dod not refuse the one who would borrow from you.� No wonder the Jewish leaders thought Jesus was destroying the law! Jesus had assured them, “I have not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to abolish them, but to fulfill them.� Indeed Jesus did fulfill the Law and the Prophets. He was able to say that the harsh penalties of the law may be lifted in Christian charity only because he was headed to the cross to suffer in our place the harsh penalties of the law. In this world, as far as Jesus is concerned, we may establish civil laws including harsh penalties, but in doing so we must, in some way, reflect the end of all penalties in the death of Christ Jesus. His death upon the cross has changed everything. His death has fulfilled and satisfied the harsh penalties of the law. A society, government, a nation seeking to reflect the way of Jesus Christ, must take the charity of Christ into consideration. All of us in our individual, family, church, and corporate behaviors should express in some way, if we be Christians, the self-sacrificing love of Christ Jesus, who was led like a lamb to the shearers, not uttering a cry or protest, innocently suffering at the hands of evildoers.
The suffering of Christ includes his indictment by false witnesses. Matthew writes in his Gospel, in Chapter 26, “Now the chief priests and the whole Council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward and said, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.’ And the high priest stood up and said, ‘Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?’ But Jesus remained silent. 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 said to him, ‘You have said so. 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.’ 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. What is your judgment?’ They answered, ‘He deserves death.’ Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him saying, ‘Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?’�
Jesus Christ willingly suffered the slander of false witnesses and the injustice of a corrupt court. Yet his death as the “sin-bearer� has afforded us God’s peace and purity far beyond what the law can give to us. Regardless of the situation, even in the face of evil men who seek to rob us of our lives, we may, like Christ Jesus, return evil with good. Like the apostles, even in the face of unjust death, we may find occasion to proclaim the gospel rather than complain about misrepresentation.
The apostle Peter wrote in his first Epistle, “Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called…Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.� Peter instructs us to use occasions of injustice as opportunities to proclaim the gospel. The defense we make in this situation is a presentation of the hope we have in Christ Jesus, our risen Lord.
Peter does not prohibit our establishing of a just judicial system reflecting the goodness of the law. He simply recognizes that we are not always in the controlling seats of power in our community, in our world, in our age. Sometimes we are among the common class and the marginalized and the persecuted. In whatever circumstances we find ourselves, we have the high calling to follow Christ Jesus. No one can prohibit our returning love when hatred is unleashed upon us. No one can prevent us from returning a kind word to our slanderers. No one can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. The more we regard Christ the Lord as holy, the clearer our enemies will see Christ in us and ask us concerning the hope we have in Christ. Then, no one will prevent us from proclaiming the gospel.
In times of peace and purity produced by justice, we are free to live for Christ Jesus and to live like Christ. In times of distress and evil produced by injustice, we are equally free to live for Christ Jesus and to live like him. As we do so, people observing us will discover that we regard Christ the Lord as holy and they will ask about the hope we possess – Jesus Christ, the hope of glory. Amen.