Denied and Disowned - the Jewish Trials of Jesus

Trial Before Annas

After Jesus was arrested in the garden, the Temple Guards brought Him to the home of a man named Annas - probably located next door to the Temple. John calls this man the High Priest, even though we can clearly see that title legally belonged to Caiaphas.

(At this point in history, the High Priesthood was an extremely political office. Roman rulers often appointed and deposed High Priests at will, even without the consent of the people. Annas was a former High Priest that had been removed and replaced with his son-in-law Caiaphas. Many of the Jewish people must've resented his replacement, and still considered Annas to be the rightful High Priest. This is why Jesus was taken to him first.)

When the mob brought Jesus into Annas' home, His disciple John followed Him right in. Apparently, Annas' family was acquainted with John somehow, and he was allowed inside without any questions. Peter also arrived at the house, and was allowed inside when John put in a good word for him. 

As Peter walked by the servant girl that kept the door, she asked him if he were one of Jesus' disciples. At first, Peter didn't deny Him outright, but tried to act like he didn't understand what she was saying. Shortly after this, though, she found Peter warming up by the fire and asked him point blank, "You're not one of His disciples too, are you?" (She must have been referencing John when she said "too". She knew that John was a disciple, since he was known to the family.) Backed into a corner, Peter felt like he had no choice...he shook his head and plainly said, "No, I'm not."

(At that very moment, there happened to be a confused rooster nearby. Even though it was late at night, it crowed loudly as if it were morning.)

Meanwhile, Jesus' trial began.

Annas asked Jesus about who His followers were, how many followers He had, and what He had been teaching them. In a country that was rife with seditious mobs and violent rebellions, Annas was probably looking for a way to accuse Jesus of stirring up trouble. If he could twist this Teacher's words to show rebellion, then Annas could justify condemning Him to death.

Yet, despite of all his questions, Annas couldn't find the answer that he was looking for. Jesus only said one thing to him, "I taught the crowds in public, even in this temple...I didn't say anything secretly. Why don't you ask any of these people who heard Me?"

One of the nearby temple guards must've thought Jesus was being sarcastic in this response. He struck Jesus across the face and said, "How dare you speak to the High Priest like that!"

Jesus responded, "If I said something wrong, tell Me what it was. If I didn't, then why did you hit Me?"

That was the conclusion of Jesus' first trial. Annas couldn't find a reasonable accusation against Him, so he had Jesus taken next door to the Temple. Over there, his son-in-law Caiphas had gathered all the elders and leaders of the Jewish people. These priests and elders (sometimes referred to as the Sanhedrin) were determined...they were going to find a way to put Jesus to death.

Trial Before the Elders

Since the whole assembly of elders  was gathered together for the trial, we can assume that it took place somewhere more public than the one before Annas. And since it was presided over by the High Priest himself, it would be safe to assume that it took place in the courtyard of the temple. (Incidentally, this was also where all the sacrificial lambs were presented as offerings.)

Once again, Peter tagged along with the crowd to watch. As the trial began, he observed from a distance, out on the porch.

The council of elders brought out their witnesses against Jesus to hear their testimonies. One by one, these men told the most outrageous lies about Him...accusing Him of all kinds of wickedness. Of course, none of the things they said could be proven. In fact, none of the things they said even agreed with each other. But this didn't phase the council, they were determined to find an accusation deserving of death. (Matthew tells us that the elders were actually looking for false witnesses, so everyone was fully aware of the lies being told.)

As it grew later, the council of elders began to get frustrated, none of the accusations were credible enough to get their desired verdict. Despite the outrageous slander, Jesus had not given a single answer for Himself. He simply stood there silently and let them lie about Him.

Finally, two men stood up and accused Jesus of almost the same thing.

One of them quoted Jesus as saying, "I am able to destroy this temple of God and build it again in three days."

The other said that Jesus claimed, "I WILL destroy this temple and rebuild it in three days..."

This was the closest they had come all night to a verifiable accusation. But still, they weren't close enough to sentence Him. Also, Jesus still said nothing in His own defense that they could twist around against Him.

Out on the porch, Peter must have been aware of the council's intentions. He couldn't believe the lies that were pouring out against his Teacher. I wonder if, while these false witnesses were being called, it crossed Peter's mind to stand up and testify in His defense. While he stood there, the servant girl from Annas' house saw him again. She exclaimed, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth!"

Another girl joined in with her, "He was with Jesus too!"

As they continued to insist that Peter was one of Jesus' disciples, one of the men from the crowd directly confronted Peter, "You were with Jesus of Nazareth! You are a part of His group too!"

Peter emphatically denied it, "Man, I'm not with them!" Then he went into the courtyard to stand by the fire and watch the trial in peace.

At this point, there was simply not enough evidence to convict Jesus of anything. The "witnesses" against Him didn't give the council anything useful. So Caiaphas tried a different tactic - he spoke to Jesus directly. The elder's only chance at a guilty verdict was to get Jesus to say something that they could use against Him. So Caiaphas said to Jesus, "You still choose to say nothing to defend Yourself? What do You have to say about all these things they're accusing You of?"

Still, Jesus didn't say a word.

Caiaphas' last try: "I put you under oath by the living God...tell us something! Are You the Messiah? Are You the Son of God?"

Neither of these statements would be illegal for any man to say. Claiming to be the Messiah may make you crazy, but it wasn't a capital offense...at least to the Jews. And all of the Jewish people claimed to be sons and daughters of God. Jesus stating that He was a son of God would be nothing unusual.

No, Caiaphas was fishing for something - and he found it in Jesus' response.

"You would be right to say that I AM! And soon you will see Me at the right hand of the Power in Heaven...coming back here on the clouds."

That was it. That was the moment the High Priest was waiting for. He tore his priestly garments and shouted, "Blasphemy! You've all heard it...it's blasphemy! What do you think?"

The council answered together, "He deserves to die for this." In the council, there were only two voices of dissent - Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. But the voices of these men were drowned out by the rest...this man was deserving of death!

Disowned

One by one, the elders stood up and fell in line behind Caiaphas. Jesus was condemned as a blasphemer, it was time to cut Him off from Israel.

Caiaphas stood in front of Jesus and spat in His face. Following that was a backhanded slap across the cheek - a sign of disrespect and contempt. After him, each of the elders took their turn doing the same - spit on the face, slap across the cheek. Jesus felt this at least sixty-eight times! (The Sanhedrin was composed of seventy elders - two of them dissented in this decision).

Surely this was painful for Him, but that wasn't the point. These were representatives of Israel...effectively, these men were Israel. So what was really happening here? Jesus was effectively being disowned ("cut off") from the nation. He was being shamed and humiliated by the leadership of His own people.

This whole ritual must've taken quite some time. The whole time, Peter was watching what was taking place. You can't help but wonder what was going through his head as he stood by the fire. Should he get up and do something? Should he speak up on Jesus' behalf? How could the elders do such a thing to a man who had done nothing wrong?

After about an hour, one of the guards from the garden came and stood next to the fire with Peter...actually a relative of the man who he attacked. He looked at Peter and asked, "Didn't I see you in the garden with that man?"

When Peter denied it again, someone else nearby said, "You must be one of His disciples, you have a Galilean accent! Why else would a Galilean be here tonight?"

Finally, Peter lost it...he began to curse and swear, using the vilest language he could. "I DO NOT KNOW THE MAN!!!"

At that instant, the same rooster crowed the second time. In the midst of all the shame and ridicule Jesus was receiving, He turned and looked right into Peter's eyes. The poor man was overcome with guilt and shame as he remembered promising Jesus that he would be willing to die with Him. Peter remembered Jesus words that very night, "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times." Peter ran out from the temple courtyard into the night - weeping and sobbing hysterically.

After the elders were done with the ritual shaming of Jesus, then it was the guards turn, along with the mob that had assembled. This time, the beating wasn't so much about shame as it was about pain. The people lashed out at Him; punching Him, shoving Him, and treating Him with cruelty. 

The guards in particular were vicious. They tied a blindfold around Jesus' eyes, and then punched Him in the face. Then they would sneer and say, "You're a prophet, right? Tell us...which one of us just hit You?"

When this was all over, Jesus was taken away and locked up. The council remained assembled through the night, plotting and scheming what their next move would be. They knew this, this was the last night this Man would ever see.

A Redemptive Act

He came to redeem you...according to Psalm 25. In verses 16-21, we see the pain and distress that fell on Jesus that day. But then in verse 22 we see the results; "Redeem Israel, O God, out of all their troubles."

So remember this:

He was lied about and slandered....to take that away when it happens to you.

He was disowned by His own nation and His own friends...so you could be accepted into His family.

He was silent before His accusers...to bear your shame.

His closest friend refused to defend Him...so that you could always have a Friend Who stays closer than a brother.

During this trial, Jesus was "made to be sin" for you...so that you could become "the righteousness of God in Him".

Remember, everything that Jesus suffered during this event was a deliberate decision for your sake.

Everything He bore, He took away from you and I!