Conclusion of Taken To Annas Then To Caiaphas

"Do you say nothing in reply?" Caiaphas asks. "What is it these are testifying against you?" But Jesus remains silent. Even in this false charge, to the humiliation of the Sanhedrin, the witnesses cannot make their stories agree. So the high priest tries a different tactic. Caiaphas knows how sensitive Jews are about anyone claiming to be the very Son of God. On two earlier occasions, they had rashly labeled Jesus as a blasphemer worthy of death, once having mistakenly imagined that he was claiming to be equal to God. Caiaphas now craftily demands: "By the living God I put you under oath to tell us whether you are the Christ the Son of God!"

Regardless of what the Jews think, Jesus really is the Son of God. And to remain silent could be construed as a denial of his being the Christ. So Jesus courageously replies: "I am; and you persons will see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven." At this, Caiaphas, in a dramatic display, rips his garments and exclaims: "He has blasphemed! What further need do we need of witnesses? See! Now you have heard the blasphemy. What is your opinion?"

"He is liable to death," the Sanhedrin proclaims. Then they begin to make fun of him, and they say many things in blasphemy against him. They slap his face and spit into it. Others cover his whole face and hit him with their fists and say sarcastically: "Prophesy to us, you Christ. Who is it that struck you?" This abusive, illegal behavior occurs during the nighttime trial. Matthew 26:57-68; 26:3, 4; Mark 14:53-65; Luke 22:54, 63-65; John 18:13-24; 11:45-53; 10:31-39; 5:16-18.

Next time: Denials In The Courtyard

The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, 1991