The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ | Page 6

palace in Jerusalem,
which he occasionally visited.
It was not the policy of Rome to strip the countries of which she
became mistress of all power. She flattered them by leaving in their
hands at least the insignia of self-government, and she conceded to
them as much home rule as was compatible with the retention of her
paramount authority. She was specially tolerant in matters of religion.
Thus the ancient ecclesiastical tribunal of the Jews, the Sanhedrim, was
still allowed to try all religious questions and punish offenders. Only, if
the sentence chanced to be a capital one, the case had to be re-tried by
the governor, and the carrying out of the sentence, if it was confirmed,
devolved upon him.
It was at the instance of the ecclesiastical authorities that Jesus was
arrested, and they condemned Him to death; but they were not at liberty
to carry out their sentence: they had to take Him before Pilate, who
chanced at the time to be in the city, and he tried the case over again,
they of course being the accusers at his bar.
Not only were there two trials, but in each trial there were three
separate stages or acts. In the first, or ecclesiastical trial, Jesus had first
to appear before Annas, then before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrim
during the night, and again before the same body after daybreak. And
in the second, or civil trial, He appeared first before Pilate, who refused
to confirm the judgment of the Jews; then Pilate attempted to rid
himself of the case by sending the Culprit to Herod of Galilee, who
happened also to be at the time in Jerusalem; but the case came back to
the Roman governor again, and, against his conscience, he confirmed
the capital sentence.
But let me explain more fully what were the three acts in the
ecclesiastical trial.[2]
Jesus, we are informed by St. John, was taken first to Annas. This was
an old man of seventy years, who had been high priest twenty years
before. As many as five of his sons succeeded him in this office, which
at that period was not a life appointment, but was generally held only

for a short time; and the reigning high priest at this time, Caiaphas, was
his son-in-law. Annas was a man of very great consequence, the virtual
head of ecclesiastical affairs, though Caiaphas was the nominal head.
He had come originally from Alexandria in Egypt on the invitation of
Herod the Great. He and his family were an able, ambitious and
arrogant race. As their numbers multiplied, they became a sort of ruling
caste, pushing themselves into all important offices. They were
Sadducees, and were perfect types of that party--cold, haughty, worldly.
They were intensely unpopular in the country; but they were feared as
much as they were disliked. Greedy of gain, they ground the people
with heavy ritual imposts. It is said that the traffic within the courts of
the temple, which Jesus condemned so sternly a few days before, was
carried on not only with their connivance but for their enrichment. If
this was the case, the conduct of Jesus on that occasion may have
profoundly incensed the high-priestly caste against Him.
Indeed, it was probably the depth of his hatred which made Annas wish
to see Jesus in the hands of justice. The wary Sadducee had in all
likelihood taken a leading part in the transaction with Judas and in the
sending out of the troops for Christ's apprehension. He, therefore,
waited out of bed to see what the upshot was to be; and those who took
Jesus brought Him to Annas first. But whatever interrogation Annas
may have subjected Him to was entirely informal.[3]
It allowed time, however, to get together the Sanhedrim. Messengers
were dispatched to scour the city for the members at the midnight hour,
because the case was urgent and could not brook delay. None knew
what might happen if the multitude, when it awoke in the morning,
found the popular Teacher in the hands of His unpopular enemies. But,
if the trial were all over before daybreak and Jesus already in the strong
hands of the Romans before the multitude had learnt that anything was
going on, there would be nothing to fear. So the Sanhedrim was
assembled under cloud of night; and the proceedings went forward in
the small hours of the morning in the house of Caiaphas, to which Jesus
had been removed.
This was not strictly legal, however, because the letter of the law did

not allow this court to meet by night. On this account, although the
proceedings were complete and the sentence agreed upon during the
night, it was considered necessary to hold another sitting at daybreak.
This was the third stage of