King of the Jews Betrayed by Peter
And Sentenced to Crucifixion by Pilate

Jesus Under Trial By the Sanhedrin

Jesus on Trial under Caiaphas

And so it was, a commander of a thousand men with a troop of soldiers1 came, along with the security officers of the Jews, and they grabbed hold of Jesus, bound, and arrested Him. And having arrested Him, they led Him away to Caiaphas, to the high priest's house, where the scribes, the chief priests, and the elders were already gathered. They had led Him away to Annas first, since Annas was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was also high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it was to their advantage that one man should die for the people (See John 11:49-50) (11:145M 26:50b11:155 & 26:57, 11:145K 14:4611:155 & 53, L 22:54a, J 18:12-14).

Peter's First Denial

2 Now Simon Peter followed Jesus at a distance, as well as another disciple, one whom the high priest had known. And since he was known by the High Priest, he was allowed to go with Jesus into the high priest's courtyard. But Peter stood outside at the door (M 26:58a, K 14:54a, L 22:54b, J 18:15-16a).

3 Seeing this, the disciple whom the high priest had known went out and spoke to the girl watching the door and brought Peter in (J 18"16b).

4 Once they made a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, the servants and security officers who made the fire of coals stood there warming themselves since it was cold, and Peter was standing there with them. He sat there with them so that he could see how the situation Jesus was in was going to turn out2 (M 26:58b, K 14:54b but not a or c, L 22:55, J 18:18).

5 While Peter was standing there, down below, outside in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest, the one who was watching the door, came over. And when she saw Peter sitting by the fire trying to keep warm, she fixed her eyes on him, trying to figure out where it was she knew him.3 Then she remembered and said, "This man was also with Jesus of Nazareth in Galilee." Then she went and said to Peter, "Aren't you also one of this Man's disciples?" (M 26:69, K 14:54c & 66-67, L 22:56, J 18:17a).

6 He denied it in front of them all, saying, "I do not know Him, woman. I do not know or even understand what you are talking about." After that, he then went out into the enclosed entranceway, and a rooster crowed (M 26:70, K 14:68, L 22:57).

Many False Witnesses, but Their Testimonies Did Not Agree

7 At the same time, up inside,4 the chief priests and the whole council looked for a false testimony to bring against Jesus to the Romans,5 in order to have Him put to death. But even though many false witnesses had come forward, they still did not find an accusation to bring against Jesus. Their testimonies did not agree. So then the high priest asked Jesus about His disciples and His teachings . . . (M 26:59-60a,K 14:55-56, J 18:19).

8 Jesus answered, "I have spoken to the world openly, always teaching in congregations and in Yhvh's House - the Places where all the Jews meet - and have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask Me? Ask the people who heard what I said to them. Go and see for yourself.6 They know what I said" (J 18:20-21).

9 Having said this, one of the security officers standing there struck Him7 and said, "Is that how you answer the high priest?" (J 18:22).

10 Jesus answered, "If I have said something wrong, tell Me what it was that was wrong. But if what I have said was good, why do you hit Me?" (J 18:23).

Peter's Second Denial

11 Meanwhile, a little while after the first denial, having gone out to the gateway, the servant girl saw Peter again and said to those who were standing there: "This is one of them. This man was also with Jesus of Nazareth" (M 26:71, K 14:69, L 22:58a).

12 Someone else then said to him, "You are also one of them!"8 (L 22:58b but not c).

13 But Peter, with an oath, denied it again, saying, "Man, I am not! I do not know the Man!" (M 26:72, K 14:70a, L 22:58c, J 18:17b).

Jesus Still under Trial

14 At the same time, back up inside, some men rose up and gave false testimony against Jesus, saying, "We heard Him say, 'I will destroy the holy place of this House of God9 made with hands, and in three days build another one made without hands.'" But even then their testimonies still did not agree10 (K 14:57-59).

15 Then, as it turned into daytime on Thursday morning, the elders of the people, along with the chief priests and the scribes, came together and led Him into their council. After which Annas sent Him with His hands tied to Caiaphas, the other high priest.11 Finally, two false witnesses came forward and said, "This man has said, "I am able to destroy the holy place of the house of God and rebuild it in three days"12 (M 26:60b-61, L 22:66, J 18:24).

16 Then the high priest stood up from among them and asked Jesus, "Are You not going to respond? What about the charges these men are bringing against You?" (M 26:62, K 14:60).

17 Jesus remained silent, not saying anything to him in response (M 26:63a, K 14:61a).

18 "If you are the Messiah, just tell us," Caiaphas said (L 22:67a).

19 To which Jesus said, "Even If I do tell you, you will not believe Me. And if I asked you, you will not answer Me. However, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power of God" (L 22:67b-69).

20 In reply, they all said, "So then You are the Son of God?" (L 22:70a).

21 "You are saying that I Am"13 (L 22:70b).

22 Again, the high priest questioned Him, saying, "I put you under oath. By the name of the living God, tell us if you are the Anointed One, the Son of God - the Blessed One" (M 26:63b, K 14:61b).

23 Jesus told Him, "I am, just as you have said. Nevertheless, I tell you, from here on out you will see the Son of Man sitting from the right side of power and then coming on the clouds of heaven"14 (See Revelation 1:7) (M 26:64, K 14:62).

24 The high priest tore his outer robe and said, "He has just said blasphemy! Why do we still need to have any witnesses? For behold, you have heard the blasphemy for yourselves and from His own mouth! So what do you think?" (M 26:65-66a, K 14:63-64a, L 22:71).

25 They all condemned Him, saying, "He deserves to die!"15 (M 26:66b, K 14:64b).

Peter's Third Denial

26 Meanwhile, about an hour after the second denial, Peter was again standing and warming himself by the fire. And while he was there, those who were standing near by came up to him and said, "It's true, you are also one of them" (M 26:73a, K 14:70b but not c, L 22:59a, J 18:25).

27 One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said: "Didn't I see you with Him in the garden?" (J 18:26).

28 And so it was, at another time, someone confidently affirmed, "It's true, this man was also with them - for he is a Galilean" (M 26:73b but not c or a, K 14:70c, L 22:59b).

29 "Yeah, and your speech shows it!" they said16 (M 26:73c).

30 Then he began to curse, and swore, "I do not know the Man you are talking about!"17 Just then, at that exact moment, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed for the second time. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered what the Lord had said to him, how, "Today, before the rooster crows twice, you will have denied three times that you even know Me." (M 26:74-75a, K 14:71-72a, L 22:60-61, J 18:27).

31 Thinking about it, Peter went out and wept bitterly (M 26:75b, K 14:72b, L 22:62).

Jesus Is Condemned and Beaten

32 And so it is, the men who had arrested Jesus mocked Him. Some of them began to spit in His face. And having blindfolded Him, the security officers began to periodically hit Him with their clubs. Others smacked Him with their hands and said, "Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who is it that hit You?" They all said many other things as well, slandering Him18 (M 26:67-68, K 14:65, L 22:63-65).

33 Then when it turned into early morning, the chief priests, the elders of the people, the scribes, and the whole council - all of them except Joseph of Arimathea (See Luke 23:50-51) - had a hearing, and decided19 against Jesus. They agreed to have Him put to death (See Luke 23:50-51) (M 27:1, K 15:1a, J 18:28b but not a or c).

34 After tying Him up again, their whole large crowd got up, led Him away from Caiaphas' house, brought Him to the headquarters of the Roman military troops of Jerusalem (which is called the Praetorium in Greek),20 and delivered Him to the governor, Pontius Pilate. They, themselves, however, did not go into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, so that they could still eat the Passover (M 27:2, K 15:1b, L 23:1, J 18:28a and c but not b).

Judas Becomes Remorseful

35 When Judas, the one who had handed Him over, saw that Jesus had been condemned to death, he regretted it and brought the thirty pieces of silver back to the chief priests and elders and said, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood" (M 27:3-4a).

36 "What does that have to do with us," they said, "you go take care of it yourself!" (See Matthew 27:27 & 30) (M 27:4b).

37 Hearing this, he went and threw the thirty pieces of silver into the holy place of Yhvh's House and then left. He went out and hung himself (M 27:5).

38 The chief priests took the silver and said, "It is unlawful for us to put it into the treasury since it is the price of blood." So instead, they decided to use the money to buy a potter's field21 to use for burying strangers. And because of this, that field has been called the Field of Blood even to this day; thus, fulfilling what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah when he said, (M 27:6-9a)

(M 27:9b-10)

Jesus Under Trial By Pilate

Jesus Under Trial By Pilate

40 Then having brought Jesus to Pilate at the Praetorium, Pilate came out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this Man?" (J 18:29).

41 They answered, "If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have brought Him over to you" (J 18:30).

42 Pilate said, "You take Him and judge Him according to your own law" (J 18:31a).

43 To this, the Jews said, "According to the Roman law we are not allowed to put anyone to death." (This was so that what Jesus had said would come into being when He spoke signifying the kind of death He was about to die (See 8:9 of this book)) (J 18:31b-32).

44 So Jesus stood before the governor; and the crowd began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this man misleading the nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is an Anointed King" (M 27:11a, L 23:2).

45 Hearing this, Pilate went back into the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and asked Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?" (M 27:11b, K 15:2a, L 23:3a, J 18:33).

46 "Are you saying this on your own or did other people tell you this about Me?" (J 18:34).

47 "I am not a Jew, am I!" Pilate answered, "Your own nation and chief priests have handed You over to me! What have You done?" (J 18:35).

48 "My kingdom is not of this world," Jesus answered. "If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight to keep Me from being delivered over to the Jews. But right now, My kingdom is not from here"22 (J 18:36).

49 So then Pilate said: "Then You are a king?" (J 18:37a).

50 "You are right when you say that I am a King. For this is the reason I was born and came into the world. I have come into the world to bring testimony to the truth, and everyone who is of the truth hears My voice" (M 27:11c, K 15:2b, L 23:3b, J 18:37b).

51 "What is truth?" Pilate answered. And after saying this, he went out to the Jews again (J 18:38a).

52 During this time, however, while Jesus was being accused of many things by the chief priests and the elders, He said nothing in response (M 27:12, K 15:3).

53 To this, Pilate said, "Do You not hear all the things they are saying23 against You?" (M 27:13, K 15:4).

54 But Jesus did not answer him, not even one word, to where the governor was very amazed. Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the multitudes, "I do not find this Man guilty of a single crime (M 27:14, K 15:5, L 23:4, J 18:38b).

55 However, they insisted even stronger, saying, "He is stirring the people up, teaching all over Judea, starting in Galilee all the way to here" (L 23:5).

56 When Pilate heard this, he asked if the Man was a Galilean. As soon as he found out that He had belonged to the area under Herod's authority, he sent Him over to Herod who was also in Jerusalem at that time (L 23:6-7).

Jesus with Herod

57 Herod, then, was very glad to see Jesus because he had wanted to see Jesus for quite awhile, since he had already heard so much about Him. However, he was hoping to see some kind of miracle done by Him; therefore, Herod asked Him about a lot of things. Jesus would not say anything to him. The chief priests and the scribes, however, stood there and made plenty of accusations against Jesus24 (L 23:8-10).

58 Then Herod and his soldiers treated Jesus with contempt and mocked Him. They put a beautiful robe on Him and sent Him back to Pilate (L 23:11).

59 On that very day, Pilate and Herod became friends. They had mutually hated each other, however, before this point (L 23:12).

Jesus Sent Back to Pilate

60 Having been brought back to Pilate, once Pilate had called the chief priests, the rulers, and the people together he told them, "You have brought this Man to me as somebody who misleads the people. And look, I have examined Him here in front of you and found nothing in this Man that makes Him guilty of the charges you are bringing against Him. Neither did Herod. Herod even sent Him back here to us. Now look, He has done nothing that makes Him worthy of death. Therefore, I will just punish Him and then let Him go" (L 23:13-1725).

Pilate Wants to Release Barabbas, but the Crowds Want Jesus Crucified

61 It was the custom of the governor during the feast to release to the crowd whichever one of the prisoners they had asked for, and on that year they had a notorious criminal by the name of Barabbas who was chained up along with the other men. He had committed murder in a rebellion, protesting against Rome. And so Pilate said, "You do have a custom, though, where I usually release someone to you during the Passover. Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?" (M 27:15-16, K 15:6-7, J 18:39).

62 The crowd went up to him and began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them (K 15:8b).

63 And so it was, as they were gathered together, Pilate asked them, "Which one of the prisoners do you want me to release to you, Barabbas or Jesus, the One called Christ?" and said, "Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?" However, he had said this because He knew the chief priests had handed Jesus over because of envy (M 27:17-18, K 15:9-10).

64 Then, as he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent someone to tell him, "Have nothing to do with that righteous Man. For I had suffered very much last night in a dream26 because of Him" (M 27:19).

65 In response, the chief priests and the elders stirred the crowd up, persuading them to ask Pilate to release Barabbas to them, instead, and to destroy Jesus (M 27:20, K 15:11).

66 The governor answered and said to them, "Which one of these two do you want me to release to you?" (M 27:21a).

67 They cried out again, all at once: "Not this Man! Take this man away and release Barabbas to us!" But Barabbas was a thief.27 He had been thrown into prison because of a rebellion he had taken a part in, in that city, as well as for murder (M 27:21b, K 15:8a, L 23:18-19, J 18:40).

68 Pilate, however, wanting to release Jesus, called out to them again in response, and said, "So then what do you want me to do with Jesus, who is called 'the Messiah,' and whom you call 'the King of the Jews'?" (M 27:22a, K 15:12, L 23:20)

69 They all said, "Let Him be crucified!" and kept shouting, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" (M 27:22b, K 15:13, L 23:21).

70 Pilate said, a third time, "Why, what evil has He done? I find no reason in Him to be put to death. Therefore, I will just punish Him and then let Him go" (M 27:23a, K 15:14a, L 23:22).

71 But they insisted all the more, shouting loudly, demanding that He be crucified (M 27:23b, K 15:14b, L 23:23a).

72 Finally, the voices of these men and the chief priests prevailed. And once Pilate had seen that it was not doing him any good to try and talk them out of it, but, instead, that a riot was beginning to happen, he took water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, "I am innocent of this Man's blood. You see to it" (See Matthew 27:3-4) (M 27:24, L 23:23b).

73 All the people answered, "Let His blood be on us and on our children" (M 27:25).

Jesus is Sentenced to Death and Beaten Severely

74 Pilate, wanting to satisfy the crowd, sentenced and gave Jesus over to their will, and released Barabbas to them (the one who had been thrown into prison for rebellion and murder), just as they had asked. Then Pilate had Jesus severely whipped so that He could be taken out to be crucified (M 27:26, K 15:15, L 23:24-25, J 19:1).

75 The governor's soldiers took Jesus and escorted Him into the courtyard of the Praetorium. The whole troop gathered around, stripped Him, and then dressed Him in a purple or scarlet colored piece of Greek clothing called a Chlamys (pronounced kla-mes)28 (M 27:27-28, K 15:16-17a, J 19:2b).

76 And then after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and put a reed plant as a staff into His right hand. They kneeled and bowed before Him, mocking Him. They began to greet and worship Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" Then they hit Him with their hands, took the staff and hit Him on the head with it, and spat on Him (M 27:29-30, K 15:17b-19, J 19:2a & 3).

77 After which, Pilate came out again and said, "Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you can know that I find no fault in Him" Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple clothing. Then Pilate said, "Look at the Man!" (J 19:4-5).

78 Therefore, when the chief priests and their helpers saw Him, they cried out, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" (J 19:6a).

79 "You take Him and crucify Him," Pilate said. "I find nothing in Him for which He is guilty" (J 19:6b).

80 The Jews said, "We have a law. And according to our law, He has to die because He has made Himself the Son of God"29 (J 19:7).

81 When Pilate heard this, he was even more frightened. So he went back into the Praetorium and asked Jesus, "Where are You from?" (J 19:8-9a).

82 Jesus did not answer him (J 19:9b).

83 Therefore, Pilate asked, "Are You not talking to me? Don't You know that I have the power to either crucify you or have you released?" (J 19:10).

84 "You could not have any power against Me unless it has been given to you from above," Jesus said. "Therefore, the one who has given Me over to you has the greater sin"30 (J 19:11).

85 From this, then, Pilate tried even harder to find a way to release Him (J 19:12a).

86 The Jews, however, yelled out, saying, "If you let this Man go, you are not a friend of Caesar's. For whoever makes himself out to be a king, speaks against Caesar" (J 19:12b).

87 When Pilate heard that, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat (a place called "The Pavement," known in Hebrew as "Gabbatha.") Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover31 and about the sixth hour.32 Then Pilate said to the Jews, "Behold your King!" (J 19:13-14).

88 Therefore, they cried out, "Take Him away! Take Him away and crucify Him!" (J 19:15a).

89 "Shall I crucify your King?" Pilate said (J 19:15b but not c).

90 The chief priests answered, "We have no king except Caesar!" (See 1 Samuel 8:4-7) (J 19:15c).

91 Then after they mocked Him, they took the purple piece of clothing off, put His own clothes back on, and then led Him away to be crucified (M 27:31, K 15:20).