The Authority of Biblical Courts
by Dr. Patti Amsden
by Dr. Patti Amsden
When Jesus identified His church in Matthew 18:15-20, He was presenting His called out people in the context of a judicial function. A court system was outlined. To reconcile a trespass, a brother must confront a brother with the goal of restoration. Should that lowest level of the court be ineffective, Jesus described two other levels of court: first, the parties in the dispute plus witnesses assemble and secondly, the parties and witnesses come before the church – the ekklesia. Jesus’ called out were authorized to convene for the purpose of holding hearings, determining guilt or innocence, passing judgments, and levying penalties. Christ defined His ekklesia as a judicial body.
As has been earlier discussed, Jesus’ ekklesia would carry out many of the same functions that Moses’ ekklesia had been called to do. Jesus’ ekklesia was not the first group to be granted the commission to settle disputes via court systems. Moses and Israel also had a court system. In Exodus 18:13-27, scripture tells of a time when Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, observed the function of Israel’s civil structure. The people were having disputes and would bring their conflicts to Moses for his judgments. Jethro questioned Moses about the process. Moses replied, “Because the people come to me to enquire of God. When they have a matter, they come unto me, and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and His laws” (vs.15-16). Moses was the singular judge handling all the court matters.
Jethro suggested that Moses choose out men to whom Moses could teach the ordinances and laws and let the men become judges. Court systems were established. Men who feared God and men of truth who hated covetousness were set to be rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens (vs.31). Moses acknowledged the wisdom of Jethro and set up the graduated court system with only the “hard causes brought unto Moses but every small matter they judged themselves” (vs.26).
In order for judgment to be just, there must be an external standard of right and wrong that applies to every party without bias or prejudice. That external standard, which Moses and Israel used, was the law of God. God communicated His eternal standard of holiness that man would be obliged to acknowledge, required to implement, and obligated to enforce. Any man who failed to live up to the law would be judged by the law that he had ignored. The law was given to Israel as her standard of conduct and her criterion of judgment. From the Garden on, right and wrong have always been God-defined concepts.
Moses chose wise men from among the nation who would act as judges. Next, Moses trained up the chosen and taught them ordinances and laws (Torah), showed them the way they should walk and the work that they must do (vs. 20). Once trained in the law of God, the men could pass judgment based upon the law of God. It could be said that they would not allow on earth what would not be allowed in heaven and that they would only permit on earth what God would permit in heaven. (Sound familiar – Mt. 18: 18). One law, one standard, one rule of conduct was to be instituted in earth as it was in heaven.
The court system began with the smallest increments: one judge for 10 people. If that lowest court did not resolve the conflict, the case could be appealed to a higher court: one judge for 50. Presumably, many issues were settled in the lower court so only a small percentage would be referred upward. Therefore, the judge of the 50 would still process only a limited amount of cases. The next court level was one judge set over 100 people and only the cases not settled in the first two levels would petition that judge. The highest level was comprised of one judge for 1000, and the supreme judge on any issue that made its way to his bench was Moses.
The idea of a graduating system of courts was undoubtedly in the mind of Jesus when he outlined the three court levels in Matthew 18. His ekklesia was being empowered in a judicial capacity just as Moses’ ekklesia had been authorized to conduct court. The law, although not specifically mentioned by Christ in the Matthew 18 passage under discussion, is implied to be the standard of judgment. Throughout the pages of scripture, including both the Old and the New Testaments, God’s law is the only standard given. The law of loving God and the law of loving one’s neighbor that Jesus referenced when questioned by a lawyer as to which law was the greatest (Mt. 22:35-40) are both positioned by the Lord to be the very foundation and framework for all the other laws. Jesus was stating that if a man loves God, that man will not trespass God’s laws; and if a man loves his neighbor, that man will not trespass the laws that protect and bring value to the neighbor. Moses’ ekklesia and Jesus’ ekklesia were granted kingdom keys – the law of God – by which to judge the transgressor and the transgression. More on this subject will follow next week.
As has been earlier discussed, Jesus’ ekklesia would carry out many of the same functions that Moses’ ekklesia had been called to do. Jesus’ ekklesia was not the first group to be granted the commission to settle disputes via court systems. Moses and Israel also had a court system. In Exodus 18:13-27, scripture tells of a time when Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, observed the function of Israel’s civil structure. The people were having disputes and would bring their conflicts to Moses for his judgments. Jethro questioned Moses about the process. Moses replied, “Because the people come to me to enquire of God. When they have a matter, they come unto me, and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and His laws” (vs.15-16). Moses was the singular judge handling all the court matters.
Jethro suggested that Moses choose out men to whom Moses could teach the ordinances and laws and let the men become judges. Court systems were established. Men who feared God and men of truth who hated covetousness were set to be rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens (vs.31). Moses acknowledged the wisdom of Jethro and set up the graduated court system with only the “hard causes brought unto Moses but every small matter they judged themselves” (vs.26).
In order for judgment to be just, there must be an external standard of right and wrong that applies to every party without bias or prejudice. That external standard, which Moses and Israel used, was the law of God. God communicated His eternal standard of holiness that man would be obliged to acknowledge, required to implement, and obligated to enforce. Any man who failed to live up to the law would be judged by the law that he had ignored. The law was given to Israel as her standard of conduct and her criterion of judgment. From the Garden on, right and wrong have always been God-defined concepts.
Moses chose wise men from among the nation who would act as judges. Next, Moses trained up the chosen and taught them ordinances and laws (Torah), showed them the way they should walk and the work that they must do (vs. 20). Once trained in the law of God, the men could pass judgment based upon the law of God. It could be said that they would not allow on earth what would not be allowed in heaven and that they would only permit on earth what God would permit in heaven. (Sound familiar – Mt. 18: 18). One law, one standard, one rule of conduct was to be instituted in earth as it was in heaven.
The court system began with the smallest increments: one judge for 10 people. If that lowest court did not resolve the conflict, the case could be appealed to a higher court: one judge for 50. Presumably, many issues were settled in the lower court so only a small percentage would be referred upward. Therefore, the judge of the 50 would still process only a limited amount of cases. The next court level was one judge set over 100 people and only the cases not settled in the first two levels would petition that judge. The highest level was comprised of one judge for 1000, and the supreme judge on any issue that made its way to his bench was Moses.
The idea of a graduating system of courts was undoubtedly in the mind of Jesus when he outlined the three court levels in Matthew 18. His ekklesia was being empowered in a judicial capacity just as Moses’ ekklesia had been authorized to conduct court. The law, although not specifically mentioned by Christ in the Matthew 18 passage under discussion, is implied to be the standard of judgment. Throughout the pages of scripture, including both the Old and the New Testaments, God’s law is the only standard given. The law of loving God and the law of loving one’s neighbor that Jesus referenced when questioned by a lawyer as to which law was the greatest (Mt. 22:35-40) are both positioned by the Lord to be the very foundation and framework for all the other laws. Jesus was stating that if a man loves God, that man will not trespass God’s laws; and if a man loves his neighbor, that man will not trespass the laws that protect and bring value to the neighbor. Moses’ ekklesia and Jesus’ ekklesia were granted kingdom keys – the law of God – by which to judge the transgressor and the transgression. More on this subject will follow next week.
