Few things are as disturbing and destructive as a false witness. In fact, the subject of false witness even made it into the ten commandments.
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Exodus 20:16
In fairytales, fairies are beautiful and enchanting and clever. They possess a myriad of attributes that make them such fantastic characters in fantasy. By tradition, what they lack in tales is the ability to lie. In order to deceive someone, they have use their beauty, their cleverness and their ability to enchant to trick or cause doubt. In this, they are like Satan, the clever serpent in the garden, the tempter in the wilderness, who does not specifically lie but uses his attributes to twist, trick and cause doubt.
It worked on Eve in the garden but it did not work on Jesus in the wilderness. Jesus exposed Satan, and the people who perpetuate his lies. For though he never lies in an obvious way, he does cleverly distort the truth cause destruction.
You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
If Satan were an obvious liar, Jesus would not have warned us to be vigilant. He would not have told us that He sends us out as sheep in the midst of wolves, that appearances may not be what they seem. But the subject for today shifts now from Satan to the perpetuators and victims of his lies.
PAULS DEFENSE BEFORE AGRIPPA
Have you ever had to defend yourself against a false accusation? Paul had to. Before an audience that included a king, military commanders, and the most prominent men of the city, Paul stood to defend himself against a false witness. In his defense, Paul admitted to atrocities; he was honest about his past. They very church he supported, he formerly persecuted... with fervor, not reluctance.
Paul had made this defense before. Several times. For his work in Christ, he was constantly imprisoned. His righteousness was direct opposition to people who had more worldly power than he had. Paul preached the word of God to the masses who had something to gain, against their rulers who had something to lose. And he did so boldly: without fear, with faith. It was by God's will that his testimony 'failed' in a sense.
Paul was transported to stand before many people to bear true witness of Jesus, yet to be accused of a false witness. It never caused him discontentment or frustration. He never worried because ultimately, his judge was Jesus. Jesus who is immune to false witness. Jesus who observes the whole truth of the whole person and situation.
In the world, we will be accepted and denied by people. Our intentions will be interpreted differently by others. Sometimes our good intentions will not be seen as such. We might, sometimes, be incorrectly condemned. Paul was an expert in that situation; we, likely, will suffer a bit from the injustice. We will have to work to lend ourselves, as Paul lent himself, as a instrument through which God's will was enacted. For whoever presents a false witness against us, has something to gain for themselves. The truth we present, whether it is accepted or not by our audience, is as a true witness against them which is accepted by God. Unlike Satan and the fairytales, God brings the unobscured truth to forefront.
NABOTH'S VINEYARD
We do not need to lament, disturbed by the false witness of our neighbor. God is active against false witnesses. We can trust Him to keep up, follow up, and exert judgement.
King Ahab was the false witness. A rotten, weak king, and childish henchman to his evil queen, Ahab's dishonesty caused the death of an innocent man named Naboth. Naboth owned a beautiful vineyard near to king Ahab's palace. Ahab wanted it; he offered to buy it from Naboth. But Naboth declined the offer; the vineyard was more valuable to him than money; it had been in his family for generations. Ahab skulked home, lamented to queen Jezebel... and together they forced a false witness against Naboth. Their false-witness resulted in Naboth's death. Ahab took the vineyard, 1 Kings 21.
False witnesses think they will gain from their false testimony against you. They may not want your vineyard; they may want to tarnish your reputation out of jealously and elevate their own. Whatever they want to take for themselves, they will use their wiles to get it. But those wiles fail at the feet of Jesus.
JUSTICE IN THE JUDGEMENT OF JESUS
Is this sermon meant to persuade you not to present a false witness, or is it to strengthen you when you are the victim of one? Either, both. And it is also to present the character of God, and Jesus, who are above the wiles of Satan and those who are like him.
We are not vulnerable here; God is the heart-knower. His omniscience is a truth tool. We can trust Him, in His way and in His time, to exert the truth. Because those in Paul's audience may not have believed in the God he preached, but they all knew he was not guilty of any crime. God might also use you to present the truth, to present an opportunity for false witnesses to hear and choose it. For others to observe the fruit of your truthful character opposed to their unfruitful false character. Or maybe they are just awful and you are collateral; the painful circumstance the impetus to follow Jesus's instruction: to be harmless as doves but wise as serpents, Matthew 10:16. For with God, we can use every circumstances, painful or otherwise, to grow in strength of faith and character and wisdom.
We can rest assured that false witnesses are held accountable for their behavior; God ensures that they cannot refuse or evade the consequences of their duplicity. God sent the prophet Elijah to Ahab and Jezebel to declare imminent disaster. Ahab repented of the evil he incited, Jezebel did not.
The righteous can rest in God's results. Either the enemy repents after condemnation; their shame and regret so deep that it causes them extreme distress and catalyzes them to change... or the enemy is destroyed, as Jezebel was destroyed. Condemned and fully removed.