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For New King James text and comment, click here.

Matthew 26:57-27:1; Mark 14:53-72;    Listen Podcast
Luke 22:54-71; John 18:13-27

 

In this passage, we see the following in Jesus' ministry:

 

 

To lend perspective to this night, the following table is provided to show six appearances before judging officials during the night preceding the crucifixion of Jesus. These passages cover the first three of the six. Click here to see the notes on the continuation of this string of illegal trials.

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Trials #1 and #2 - Jesus on trial before Annas and Caiaphas (Matthew 26:57-75; Mark 14:53-72; Luke 22:54-65; John 18:13-27)

Matthew 26
Mark 14
Luke 22
John 18

Jesus appears before Caiaphas

57 And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.
58 But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest’s palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end.
59 Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;
60 But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,
61 And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.
62 And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?
63 But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.
64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
65 Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.
66 What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death.

Jesus mocked and smitten

67 Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands,
68 Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?

Peter's denial of Jesus

69 Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.
70 But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.
71 And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.
72 And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man.
73 And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee.
74 Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.
75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

Jesus appears before Caiaphas

53 And they led Jesus away to the high priest: and with him were assembled all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes.
54 And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire.
55 And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none.
56 For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together.
57 And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying,
58 We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.
59 But neither so did their witness agree together.
60 And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?
61 But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?
62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
63 Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses?
64 Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.

Jesus mocked and smitten

65 And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands.

Peter's denial of Jesus

66 And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest:
67 And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth.
68 But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew.
69 And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them.
70 And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto.
71 But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak.
72 And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.

Jesus appears before Caiaphas

54 Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest’s house. And Peter followed afar off.

Peter's denial of Jesus

55 And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them.
56 But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him.
57 And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not.
58 And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not.
59 And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean.
60 And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew.
61 And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
62 And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.

Jesus mocked and smitten

63 And the men that held Jesus mocked him, and smote him.
64 And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee?
65 And many other things blasphemously spake they against him.

Jesus appears before Caiaphas after Annas

13 And led him away to Annas first; for he was father in law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year.
14 Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.

Peter's denial of Jesus

15 And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple: that disciple was known unto the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest.
16 But Peter stood at the door without. Then went out that other disciple, which was known unto the high priest, and spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter.
17 Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, Art not thou also one of this man’s disciples? He saith, I am not.
18 And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of coals; for it was cold: and they warmed themselves: and Peter stood with them, and warmed himself.
19 The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine.

Back to Jesus' appearance before Caiaphas

20 Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing.
21 Why askest thou me? ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them: behold, they know what I said.
22 And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so?
23 Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me?
24 Now Annas had sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest.

Back to Peter's denial of Jesus

25 And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore unto him, Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not.
26 One of the servants of the high priest, being his kinsman whose ear Peter cut off, saith, Did not I see thee in the garden with him?
27 Peter then denied again: and immediately the cock crew.

We see only in John's account an appearance by Jesus before Annas, the former High Priest and father-in-law of the current High Priest, Caiaphas. As an elder statesman, perhaps his purpose was to help his son-in-law build a preliminary case against Jesus in advance of the more public and meaningful appearance before the High Priest himself. The accounts of Luke and John focus on a different aspect of this appearance (false trial) than Matthew and Mark. John and Luke skip telling us about the false witnesses and go straight for the conversation between Caiaphas and Jesus regarding the identity of Jesus.

John makes an interesting insertion into the record in John 18:14 when he makes reference to a statement made by Caiaphas after Jesus resurrected Lazarus. Feeling threatened by the miracle of that resurrection, John makes reference to what Caiaphas stated to the other Jewish leaders in John 11:49-52, " And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad." John is recalling that occasion here.

Since Jesus was on trial for statements he had made regarding his identity, Luke and John demonstrate to us that Jesus forces Caiaphas to supply those witnesses who heard him make such statements. The witnesses (in the accounts by Matthew and Mark) are feeble at best. Both appearances (before Annas and Caiaphas) take place in the wee hours of the morning, and thus are illegal trials according to contemporary law. Finally, however, Caiaphas asks Jesus directly if he is the Messiah. Mark records the very clear reply by Jesus to Caiaphas in verse 14:62, "And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." Jesus answers in the affirmative that he is, indeed, the "Christ," the Son of God. The Greek word for "Christ" is "christos," and it is the word for "Messiah." This is the admission they had sought as grounds for his arrest and execution. Since the Old Testament implications of a Messiah include ruling the world, they feel they have all the evidence they need to get a prosecution before a Roman court and a subsequent execution.

An interesting point arises from the reaction of Caiaphas the High Priest after Jesus declares his Messiahship. Caiaphas rents his garment (Matthew 26:65). There are many instances of remorse, frustration, sorrow, etc. in the Old and New Testaments when people did such with their clothing. However, notice the command of Matthew 27:51-56 (see notes). That would seem to mark the moment when the high priesthood of Jesus formally begins and that of Caiaphas formally ends.

Keep in mind, Jesus has not been convicted of any crime at this point. However, that did not stop the extreme physical abuse by the hostile crowd standing around watching the proceedings. The appearances before Annas and Caiaphas take place very early in the morning. One would assume that they are building their case against Jesus to be presented before the entire Sanhedrin as soon as that council can be assembled. By daybreak, the entire Sanhedrin has been assembled, and the case against Jesus has been in the process of being prepared through these preliminary hearings before Annas and Caiaphas which began around 2:00 a.m.

Meanwhile, Peter is hanging with the temple crowd and denying Jesus. John spends more time talking about Peter's denial than he does the actual appearance before the High Priest by Jesus. Could it be that John was that unspecified disciple of John 18:15 who gained entrance to this first trial venue with Peter? As a matter of fact, it was this unspecified disciple (probably John) who helped Peter actually gain entrance into the area of the palace where the trial itself was being held, but Peter is standing over with the palace servants during the trial. We see in Luke's account (verse 61) that Jesus actually looked over at Peter after his third verbal denial.

You will notice that none of the disciples stood with Jesus at trial; it wasn't just Peter who forsook him. Particular note is taken in all four Gospel accounts of this denial by Peter, probably in view of his adamant assertion earlier that he, above all other disciples, absolutely, positively would not deny Jesus. What marks Peter's denial as particularly noteworthy is the manner in which he finally did so after being repeatedly confronted (Matthew 26:72-74; Mark 14:71). Notice that Mark says that Peter finally "began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak." The Greek verb there for "curse" is "anathematizo." It means "to invoke divine harm." The verb for "swear" is "omnuo" and means "to take an oath." Literally, Peter swore with an oath a divine curse upon himself if he was not telling the truth about not knowing Jesus. A vow strengthened with a curse...now that's a strong denial!

Is that a rooster I hear? Recall the words of Jesus to Peter at the last supper in Luke 22:34, "And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me." Just as Jesus had prophesied, Peter had denied Jesus three times.

Let's add a little additional perspective to this denial. First of all, John was probably that other disciple in John 18:15 who assisted in getting Peter into the area where the trial was being held, so there were two of the disciples there. Jesus had previously asked back in the garden that his disciples be released (John 18:8, see notes). The others apparently did not attend the trial, but these two disciples did. The distinction here is that Peter was the one who was asked about his relationship with Jesus and issued the denials. Allow me to emphasize once again, none of his disciples actually stood with Jesus at his trial.

Trial #3 - Jesus appears before the Sanhedrin (Matthew 27:1; Luke 22:66-71)

Matthew 27
Luke 22
1 When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death: 66 And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him into their council, saying,
67 Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe:
68 And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go.
69 Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God.
70 Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am.
71 And they said, What need we any further witness? for we ourselves have heard of his own mouth.

Matthew alludes to it in 27:1, but Luke goes into some detail regarding an appearance before the Sanhedrin on the heels of his trial before Caiaphas in Luke 22:66-71. It is now daylight - probably around 6:00 a.m. Upon being asked directly regarding his identity as the Messiah, Jesus replies in verse 69, "Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God." They're looking for a more direct answer than that, but that will do...CONDEMNED!