Jesus’ trial before the Sanhedrin (Matthew 26:57-68)
Those who had arrested Jesus took him to the house of the high priest,
Caiaphas, where the teachers of the law and the elders had gathered together. Peter
followed from a distance, as far as the courtyard of Caiaphas' house.
The Jewish leaders were looking for false evidence against Jesus to have him put to
death, but they could not find any. Eventually, Caiaphas demanded of Jesus “Tell us
if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” Jesus answered him, “So you
say. But I tell all of you: from this time on you will see the Son of
Man sitting at the right side of the Almighty and coming on the
clouds of heaven!” Caiaphas declared this was blasphemy, so the guilty verdict
was passed. Then they spat in Jesus’ face and beat him.
Background
There were a number of reasons why the Jewish leaders wanted Jesus put to death:
He challenged their authority, calling them hypocrites.
He broke their laws about Sabbath observance. Jesus healed people on
the Sabbath, but the Jewish leaders defined this as ‘work’ which was forbidden.
He mixed with people the Jewish leaders regarded as ‘unclean’ –
sinners, prostitutes and tax collectors.
He made claims about himself that the Jewish leaders could not
accept – that he was God’s son and the promised saviour.
Jesus was accused of blasphemy by the Jewish leaders. Blasphemy is a religious
offence, when a person says or does something regarded as being disrespectful to
God. In the eyes of the Jewish leaders, when Jesus claimed to be God’s son he was
insulting God. Blasphemy was taken very seriously and the punishment was
death by stoning.
After Jesus was arrested, he was put on trial by the Sanhedrin. This was
the highest ruling council of the Jews. There were 70 members, mostly made
up of Sadducees, Pharisees and priests plus the leader who was the high priest. When
Jesus was on trial the high priest was Caiaphas. The Sanhedrin was still allowed to
exist under Roman rule, but their power was limited. They could find a person
guilty and give the death sentence, but they could not carry it out. Only the Romans
could put a person to death.
The Sanhedrin had in place a number of rules regarding the conduct of their own trials:
A trial could not take place at night or during the time of an important festival.
The death penalty could not be passed immediately if a person was found guilty, the
Sanhedrin had to wait overnight to pass sentence.
All trials had to take place in the Hall of Hewn Stones, the official place for trials located
in the temple.
Two or three witnesses were needed and they had to agree on every detail. Anyone
giving false evidence would receive the same punishment as the person on trial.
Understanding the text
Jesus was arrested late on the Thursday night after the Passover meal. He appeared
before the Sanhedrin immediately as the Jewish leaders wanted him tried as
quickly as possible. In their haste, the Sanhedrin does not appear to be concerned
about a fair trial. They are looking for false evidence. False witnesses come forward,
misquoting Jesus’ words. Jesus is accused of threatening to destroy the temple. This
could have been a distortion of Jesus’ teaching about the resurrection, when he said his
body (temple) would be raised in three days.
Jesus remained silent and again this fulfils Old Testament prophecy about the Messiah.
Finally, the high priest said to Jesus “Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son
of God.” Jesus replied “So you say." This was enough for the high priest to
accuse Jesus of blasphemy. The high priest tore his own clothes to show his horror at
hearing blasphemy - this was a custom among very self-righteous Jews. The death
sentence was then immediately passed on Jesus and they hit him and spat in his face.
