Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound Him and brought Him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year.
This is His first trial.
Then Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
Mark 14:53, 55
They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law came together.
This was in the middle of the night, an illegal time to meet.
The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put Him to death, but they did not find any.
They had already decided the verdict before they brought Him in, and were trying to justify it.
Matthew 26:63-66
But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to Him, "I charge You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Messiah, the Son of God."
"You have said so," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of Heaven."
Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?"
"He is worthy of death," they answered.
This is the second trial, a kangaroo trial, just an excuse to do what they already planned to do.
Matthew 27:1-2, Mark 15:1
Very early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders and teachers, the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans how to have Jesus executed. So they bound Him, led Him away and handed Him over to Pilate the governor.
I blended these two writers, as they both say virtually the same thing. The Sanhedrin, the political rulers over the Jewish people, had decided to get rid of Jesus by murdering Him, but didn't want to appear guilty of this crime, so they would accomplish it by execution. The Romans had conquered Judea, and didn't allow the Jews enough authority to execute their criminals, so they had to convince the Roman governor to condemn Him to death.
Luke 23:1-6
Then the whole assembly rose and led Him off to Pilate. And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this Man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king."
So Pilate asked Jesus, "Are You the King of the Jews?" "You have said so," Jesus replied. The Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no basis for a charge against this Man." But they insisted, "He stirs up the people all over Judea by His teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here." On hearing this, Pilate asked if the Man was a Galilean. When he learned that Jesus was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.
This is the third trial, and found innocent, Not Guilty.
Luke 23:8-11
When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see Him. From what he had heard about Him, he hoped to see Him perform a sign of some sort. He plied Him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing Him. Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked Him. Dressing Him in an elegant robe, they sent Him back to Pilate.
Here's Jesus' fourth trial, still not found guilty of anything.
Luke 23:13-25
Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, "You brought me this Man as one Who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined Him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against Him. Neither has Herod, for he sent Him back to us; as you can see, He has done nothing to deserve death. Therefore, I will punish Him and then release Him. But the whole crowd shouted, "Away with this Man! Release Barabbas to us! (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.) Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But they kept shouting, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" For the third time he spoke to them: "Why? What crime has this Man committed? I have found in Him no grounds for the death penalty." But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that He be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. So Pilate decided to grant their demand.
When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this Man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!" (Matthew 27:24)
He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.
This was Jesus' fifth trial, and still has not been convicted of wrong. He is still innocent.
Then the soldiers mock and scourge Jesus, before putting Him on the path to Golgotha, carrying His own cross. Being so weakened by the scourging, He fell, and the soldiers grabbed a bystander, Simon of Cyrene, to help Him carry the heavy cross up the hill. (Matthew 27:27-31, Mark 15:16-24, Luke 23:26-31, John 19:16-17.)
Jesus, the Man who had no sin, died a criminal's death by execution. The Romans had devised the most inhumane method of execution that has ever been known. The Romans had also conquered the whole known world, and built good roads to reach every part of it. So God chose the perfect time for His Son to come as our Sacrificial Lamb, and, after all was said and done, for the disciples to be able to bring the Good News to every corner of the Earth. God's timing is always perfect.
Even so, Come, Lord Jesus!
