witness

When we study the Bible, sometimes we make strange connections. In my devotional reading of Scripture, I came across a repeated word that ended up reminding me of geometry. Yes, geometry! Here’s the passage (Bible passages are from the NASB20):

Now the chief priests and the entire Council were trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, and they were not finding any. ⁵⁶For many people were giving false testimony against Him, and so their testimonies were not consistent. ⁵⁷And then some stood up and began giving false testimony against Him, saying, ⁵⁸‘We heard Him say, “I will destroy this temple that was made by hands, and in three days I will build another, made without hands.”’ ⁵⁹And not even in this respect was their testimony consistent. – Mark 14:55-59

Under arrest, Jesus is standing trial before the Sanhedrin, the highest religious authority in Jerusalem. This band of leaders was doing its best to convict the Lord of some crime, anything, that would merit the death sentence.

But they couldn’t.

It wasn’t for lack of trying.

“Many people” were accusing Jesus, but their charges failed because their allegations were not “consistent.”

That’s the word that brought geometry to my mind. Not right away! On occasion, I can guess what a Greek term is behind an English word in the Bible. But in this case, I couldn’t, so I tracked it down on the Blue Letter Bible website. What I found made me chuckle.

The Greek word translated “consistent” is isos. Just saying it out loud made me think of isosceles triangles, and for good reason. The word means “equal, in quantity or quality.” Now, do you remember taking geometry in school? For many of us, that was a long time ago, but for some reason, I recalled that an isosceles triangle is a triangle with two equal sides. They must have drilled that definition into my head because I can still recite it! So isos means “equal” or “the same.”

The word doesn’t occur very much in the Greek New Testament. There are only 8 verses that have it, and we quoted two of them above (Mark 14:56, 59). Look at how the NASB translates isos in the other verses:

• “These who were hired last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day’s work and the scorching heat.” – Matthew 20:12
• “And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.” – Luke 6:34
• “For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.” – John 5:18
• “Therefore, if God gave them the same gift as He also gave to us after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” – Acts 11:17
• “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped” – Philippians 2:5-6
• “The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, twelve thousand stadia; its length, width, and height are equal.” – Revelation 21:16

Whether we’re talking about money (Matthew and Luke), divinity (John, Acts, and Philippians), or dimensions (Revelation), the idea of equality or similarity is the issue.

Sameness.

Mark uses this word in relation to the false testimonies brought against Jesus Christ during His initial trial. Not only were people lying about the Lord, they couldn’t get their stories straight. So consistency, or equality, is a standard for truthfulness. 

What were these accusers saying? Mark details only one statement, found in verse 58. According to the witnesses, Jesus threatened to destroy the temple and then rebuild it in only three days. Oh, and the new temple would be constructed without any human labor! How was this supposed to happen? Would animals or angels put in 72 straight hours of hard labor? Would God Himself pop a new temple into existence? Either one would be quite a sight!

But Matthew clarifies that Jesus was talking about Himself.

“This man stated, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.’” – Matthew 26:61

The fact that the witnesses were proving unreliable irritated the high priest. He wanted a capital charge to stick to the Lord, so he took matters into His own hands.

“And then the high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, ‘Do You not offer any answer for what these men are testifying against You?’ ⁶¹But He kept silent and did not offer any answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and said to Him, ‘Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?’” – Mark 14:60-61

Jesus ignored his first question, but He answered the second.

“And Jesus said, ‘I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.’” – Mark 14:62

The high priest occupied the top position within the religious hierarchy of the nation. He held the most honored role within the priestly system of the temple. But as the Messiah, Jesus would override all that. He would end the corrupted approach to worship and sacrifice the Sanhedrin oversaw. He would establish a new, purified temple for authentic, holy worship of God.

Jesus was a threat to the high priest and to the members of the Council!

“Tearing his clothes, the high priest said, ‘What further need do we have of witnesses? ⁶⁴You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?” And they all condemned Him as deserving of death.” – Mark 14:63-64

Either they lose out or Jesus does. If they repent, they might lose their prestige and authority. But if they kill Jesus, they believe they can keep what they have.

This was an easy choice for the Sanhedrin to make.

They turned Christ over to Pilate and got Him crucified.

And they didn’t forget the charge.

After Jesus was crucified, “those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, ³⁰save Yourself by coming down from the cross!’” (Mark 15:29-30).

The testimonies made at the Lord’s trial lacked validity because they were inconsistent. Had Jesus remained silent, the court would have had to release Him.

But were He to go free, we would not be saved.

So Jesus declared a valid, truthful witness. He spoke about Himself in line with the prophet Daniel. The Lord’s statement about Himself being the Messiah derives from Daniel 7:13. 

The witnesses distorted the facts and lied.

Jesus told the truth.

But what about the temple?

Jesus wasn’t wrong about it!

“Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ ²⁰The Jews then said, ‘It took forty-six years to build this temple, and yet You will raise it up in three days?’ ²¹But He was speaking about the temple of His body.” – John 2:19-21

The One hanging on the cross refused to save Himself so He could save us. And three days after His death, He arose, victorious over sin, Satan, and the grave.

Jesus was consistent. His words and His deeds were united. They were the same. He kept His promise and fulfilled His ministry.

The world is saturated with lies. People are accustomed to others twisting the truth, distorting reality, and capturing souls with slick explanations and offers. It’s too much. No one knows what to believe or who to trust.

The good news is that Jesus is reliable! He’s trustworthy! Through His consistent dedication, we can now know the truth of God. 

This isn’t geometry.

It’s gospel!