The whole story of these men reveals them as ‘two religious degenerates, men who were prostituting a divine office to personal ends’ (CAMPBELL MORGAN). Their picture becomes even darker as we see their appalling role in the last week of the Lord’s life, motivated by a determination to preserve their own power.
Caiaphas had persuaded the Sanhedrin to resolve to kill Jesus. In their minds He was already guilty. All that remained was to carry out their decision. Forms of law were to be used but realities of justice were wholly absent. The plotters were to be the judges. The dreadful deal was struck with Judas, the betrayal in the garden was effected and thus our Lord was in the power of the priests.
Jesus first appears before Annas, ‘the evil genius behind the plots’ (J S STEWART), in a private investigation. Annas tries to lure the prisoner into self-incrimination. He tolerates physical abuse against Him before sending Him off ‘bound’ to Caiaphas. How complete is his rejection of the Messiah of Israel!
Caiaphas presided over the formal religious trial. He was desperate to secure a conviction. The plotters were prosecutors as well as judges. They were seeking testimony against Jesus but they could not obtain it. The evidence was false and inconsistent. Caiaphas resorted to putting Jesus on oath seeking to establish guilt from His own mouth. He knew this was unlawful ‘but he would rather have broken the law a hundred times over than let Jesus slip through his fingers now'(STEWART). Our Lord confessed His divine Messiahship and was unjustly condemned for blasphemy. Illegally, the trial took place at night with a rushed formal meeting in the morning to ratify the result and concoct a political charge to bring to Pilate. All justice was abandoned.
To such abysmal depths sank Caiaphas, with all his spiritual privileges, to secure the wrongful condemnation of the Son of God. Yet the Lord solemnly foretold that all who condemned Him would themselves appear before Him, for He is the supreme Judge of all.
