Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Jesus Before Caiaphas and the Council

57 Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered.

58 And Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with the guards to see the end.

59 Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, 60 but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward.

At last two came forward 61 and said, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.’

” 62 And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make?

What is it that these men testify against you?” 63 But Jesus remained silent.

And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so.

But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy.

What further witnesses do we need?

You have now heard his blasphemy.

66 What is your judgment?”

They answered, “He deserves death.”

67 Then they spit in his face and struck him.

And some slapped him, 68 saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ!

Who is it that struck you?”

Peter Denies Jesus

69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard.

And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.”

70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.” 71 And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

72 And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.”

73 After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.”

74 Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.”

And immediately the rooster crowed.

75 And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”

And he went out and wept bitterly.

This week we move on from Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, to his trial before before the Jewish Sanhedrin.

And as we’ve seen thus far, much of this account is found in all four of the Gospels to one extent or another.

Matthew’s account here is almost verbatim of Mark’s.

While John includes certain parts of the story that Mark and Matthew do not, and Luke’s Gospel is the briefest of all of them with regards to Jesus’ appearance before the Jewish council.

And, as usual, when you put all of these accounts together you’re often given a fuller picture of the events.

So, before we walk through our text here in Matthew, I want to start by giving you a brief outline of the events that surround Jesus’ appearance before the Sanhedrin.

Two weeks ago we witnessed Jesus’ arrest in Gethsemane by a band of armed men who were sent by the chief priests and the elders of the people.

This was a band of men (probably a mixture of temple guards and possibly even Roman soldiers) sent by the Jewish council, also known as the Jewish Sanhedrin.

Sanhedrin is simply the Greek word translated as ‘council’ here in the Gospels.

The Sanhedrin was composed of 71 men who were lead by the High Priest.

And it was these chief priests that made a deal with Judas to capture Jesus under the cover of darkness for 30 pieces of silver.

So, Jesus is brought back, under arrest, to meet these chief priests and elders.

And when we put all four of the Gospels together we learn that he’s first brought to the high priest, Annas (John 18:13).

And in John’s Gospel Annas begins to interrogate Jesus.

John 18:19 says that he “questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.”

Then we’re told a few verses later that, “Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.”

Now, you might be asking yourself, I thought Annas was the high priest?

Well, in one sense, he was, at least in the eyes of the people, but in reality Annas was the high priest who had preceded Caiaphas, yet in a very real sense he was still very influential, and still referred to as ‘high priest’.

Now, prior to Roman occupation the high priest served a life term, but when the Romans took control they began appointing the Jewish high priests themselves, and they also took the liberty of changing them out whenever they wanted to, so at this point in history Annas had been removed from his post and Caiaphas had been put in his place.

But John also tells us that Annas was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, so there was undoubtedly a close relationship between the two.

So, at first, Jesus is brought to Annas for his initial interrogation, then we’re told that he’s sent to Caiaphas.

Now, the best we can tell, this all takes place at the Palace of the Chief Priest.

Jesus is initially brought to Annas in the courtyard, and then sent to Caiaphas for further interrogation.

All the while, two of Jesus’ disciples, Peter and John, remain outside in the courtyard at a distance.

We don’t know the precise location of the Chief Priest’s Palace but it’s assumed that it was somewhere inside the city walls not far from the Temple.

Then, it’s here in Matthew 26 that we get an overview of what transpired next.

Caiaphas questioned Jesus, and many false witnesses were brought out against him.

And eventually after a sharp exchange between Jesus and Caiaphas (which we’ll look at here in a minute) they concluded that Jesus deserved death.

And we’re told that many spit in his face, slapping him, striking him, and mocking him.

Then at the beginning of chapter 27 we’re told that when morning had come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.

The trial that had begun under the cover of darkness had continued until morning when they made their official verdict.

However, because the Jews were not permitted to carry out this death sentence themselves, they were forced to send him to their Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate.

Jesus & Caiaphas

So, in light of that outline of events, lets begin by looking there at verse 57,

57 Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered.

Notice, as I mentioned earlier, Matthew doesn’t mention Annas here in this story, he jumps immediately to Jesus’ interaction with Caiaphas.

And I think you’ll see here in a minute why he does so, that it’s Jesus’ interaction with Caiaphas that Matthew intends for us to focus upon.

Peter followed

But before we delve into that, let’s continue there in verse 58, we read,

58 And Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with the guards to see the end.

Now, Matthew doesn’t mention it here, but the Gospel of John indicates that “another disciple” was also following Jesus.

He doesn’t name the disciple outright, but everything seems to indicate that John is referring to himself, that both Peter and John followed Jesus from a distance and eventually into the courtyard of the high priest.

Now, if you recall, earlier that night when Jesus and his disciples were making their way to the Mount of Olives Jesus told them that they would all fall away.

But Peter responded by saying, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.”

And even after Jesus told him that before the rooster crowed he would deny him three times, Peter still said to him, “Even if i must die with you, I will not deny you!”

And while we’re told that all the other disciples said the same, Peter’s insistence stood out amongst them all.

Following at a distance

So, when Jesus was arrested we were told that all the disciples left him and fled, but Matthew says here that Peter still still followed him.

And it’s hard not to wonder if it was Peter’s insistence that he would never fall away that kept him from fleeing at first.

And while, initially, this might seem admirable, notice what else it says there in verse 58, that while Peter followed Jesus he followed him at a distance.

On one hand he hadn’t altogether left him yet, but he kept himself at a distance.

In fact, at the end of verse 58 it says that he sat with the guards to see the end.

In other words, Peter had come to see what would happen to Jesus, but at a distance.

Peter had positioned himself to be an onlooker but from a safe distance.

And this is why we read starting down there in verse 69,

Peter Denies Jesus

69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard.

And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.”

70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.” 71 And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

72 And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.”

73 After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.”

74 Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.”

And immediately the rooster crowed.

75 And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”

And he went out and wept bitterly.

Unfortunately, it’s common for believers to put distance between themselves and the Lord, especially when our affiliation with Him puts us at risk, when it threatens our reputations, when it jeopardizes our jobs, our comforts or our possessions.

All of a sudden we mince our words, we shrink back in fear and become as cowards.

And circumstances like these reveal what’s truly important to us, whether it’s the opinions of others, our careers, our families, our possessions, our lives, or anything else.

The cost of following Jesus is high, and we have to ask ourselves have we counted the cost?

Are we willing to renounce everything to be his disciple?

It’s hard not to be reminded of Jesus’ words to his disciples (including Peter) back in Matthew 10:32-33, when he said, “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”

Or just a few verses earlier in chapter 10, when Jesus said, “And whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.