John Gill Commentary


John Gill Commentary
"For many bare false witness against him, and their witness agreed not together." — Mark 14:56 (ASV)
For many bore false witness against him
The word "false", is not expressed in the Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions: which only signify, that they bore witness against him, accused him of, and laid many things to his charge:
but their witness agreed not together ;
which showed it to be false, and so not to be admitted; for witnesses were to be as one in their testimony, or not to be received: the rules concerning them with the Jews, are these F12 ;
Though this is not much the sense of the passage here; it was not the falsehood of their testimony, which this council was unconcerned about, or the contradiction that was in it, which does not appear; but their testimonies were not, (isai) , "equal", or answerable to the wishes of the council; they were not sufficient to prove a capital crime upon him, in order to put him to death, which was what they wanted: they only respected some light and trivial matters, and did not amount to a charge of blasphemy, or sedition.