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The Illegal Trial of Jesus
This chapter is based on Matthew 26:57-75; 27:1; Mark 14:53-72;
15:1; Luke 22:54-71; John 18:13-27.
Through the hushed streets of the sleeping city they hurried Jesus.
It was past midnight. Bound and closely guarded, the Savior moved
painfully to the palace of Annas, the ex-high priest. Annas was the
head of the officiating priestly family, and in deference to his age
the people recognized him as high priest. The leaders regarded his
counsel as the voice of God. He must be present at the examination
of the prisoner, for fear that the less-experienced Caiaphas might
fail to secure the result for which they were working. They must
use Annas’s cunning and subtlety, for they had to obtain Christ’s
condemnation.
Christ was to be tried formally before the Sanhedrin, but before
Annas in a preliminary trial. Under Roman rule, the Sanhedrin
could only examine a prisoner and pass judgment, to be ratified by
the Roman authorities. It was therefore necessary to bring charges
against Christ that both the Romans and also the Jews would regard
as criminal. Christ’s teaching had brought conviction to more than a
few priests and rulers. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were
not called to this trial, but others might dare to speak in favor of
justice. The trial must unite the Sanhedrin against Christ. The priests
wanted to establish two charges. If they could prove that Jesus was
a blasphemer, the Jews would condemn Him. If they could convict
Him of undermining Rome’s rule, it would secure His condemnation
by the Romans.
The second charge was what Annas tried to establish first. He
questioned Jesus, hoping the prisoner would say something to prove
that He was seeking to establish a secret society with the purpose of
setting up a new kingdom. Then the priests could deliver Him to the
Romans as a creator of revolt.
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