Chapter 24

Caiaphas-The High Priest

“It looks like he’s finally getting what he deserves,” said Caiaphas to his father-in-law Annas, as he watched the soldiers tie Jesus’ arms to the cross.  “There’s no doubt about it, you should have had this done along time ago,” replied Annas with disgust in his voice.  Typical, thought Caiaphas, there was no pleasing of his wife’s dad.  Ever since he had been given the High Priest role for the year, Annas the high-and-mighty was constantly on him to do this or that and nothing seem more important to him than getting rid of this menace.  Not only was Annas putting on the pressure him to get rid of Jesus, but so were his five brothers-in-laws who all taken their turns at the top position of the Temple, and who all thought they could have done a better job.

“Well it’s done, so maybe we can have a little peace in the Temple and get back to business,” said Caiaphas to those of the Sanhedrin who had gather around him.  This last year had been very unsettling around Gods Holy Place. And it had all centered on this troublemaker by the name of Jesus.  For the last couple of years he would show up in the Temple courts and start teaching with such authority that it would leave the audience, including several of his own priests, spellbound.

During the last Feast of the Tabernacles he really got people riled up by saying things like, “I am not here on my own but come from the One who sent me,” a indication that he had been sent by God Himself.  What blasphemy! Jesus would never come right out and say it, but he was always hinting that he was sent from Heaven. And that’s what got the people all fired up.  And that’s also what made drove the Sanhedrin crazy, we all knew he was from the Galilean region and that he never had any rabbinic training.  This false Messiah should have never been allowed to do any teaching the Temple in the first place.  After this all settles down, one of the first things he was going to do was to set up some standards before we allowed just anyone to lecture in the Temple Mount.

Just recently, Jesus had got the Temple goers so worked up  that  the Sanhedrin council had sent the Temple Guard to arrest him, which they failed to do.  The wimps came back with their tails between their legs telling us that they couldn’t do it because they had never heard anyone teach like that.   Then they had the nerve to suggest that we ought to go hear him ourselves. We should have got rid of the whole bunch!

Not only was Jesus’ teaching causing a sensation, but also then we had the incident earlier in the week that had everybody in an uproar.  That fanatical prophet, teacher, or what ever he claims to be, went berserk in the Courtyard and destroyed the booths of the sacrifice vendors and moneychangers.

Now this was very serious matter.  The economic viability of the Temple depends on the profits from these businesses, and they provided a valuable service. The sacrifice vendors helped by selling animals to the long distance travelers who couldn’t bring there own animals on their long journeys.  And since we didn’t allow anyone to use anything but Jewish money for the transactions on Holy ground, you had to have the money changers.  Of course you couldn’t expect these needed businessmen not to mark up their wares so they could make a little profit.  Since their business only existed because of goodness of the High Priest who would complain if the Temple authorities made a little money on the dealings and the office of High Priest isn’t without its expenses!  There are a lot of operating cost with this office, guards to hire, a palace to keep up, expensive clothes, banquets to host and various other things that come with the position.  And of course the people expected us to live well!

The Temple guards were again useless in keeping this madman in check.  After losing a lot of their stock and having a crazy man swinging a whip around their heads, the vendors had refused to go back to work. And all this during the Passover, the biggest commercial week of the year.  Caiaphas  hadn’t receive a full report yet but it was obvious that a lot of money was going to be lost.

He would have led the guards himself to have Jesus arrested but had been caution by the chief priests that to do so would probably result in a riot.  He couldn’t afford that with the Roman authorities expecting him to keep his countrymen under control, and who knows how a riot would turn out.  Fortunately one of Jesus’ own men had come to him with a proposal to have him detained in a more peaceful setting.

At the trial a few hours ago, he had come face to face with this now dying Jesus for the first time.  This so called prophet, showed his insolence by refusing to answer the questions put to him by the learned men of the Sanhedrin.  Some of the accusations were obviously made up but one that Caiaphas was particularly interested in was that Jesus claimed he was going to destroy the Temple and then build it back in three days.  What audacity to think he could rebuild something that had taken so many years to construct. Jesus didn’t respond to the question, he just stood there starring at them.  Caiaphas finally had enough and asked the accused directly, “Are you the Christ or not?”  Jesus replied that he was and that he would be sitting on the right hand of God.

That piece of blasphemy set off our whole group into a frenzy, including himself, tearing at his clothes in anger.  His fellow officials turned into a mob and began to spit and hit the now blindfolded Jesus in the mouth, almost killing him on the spot. Caiaphas eventually got them to calm down, telling them that they had to do this the right way or it wasn’t going to sit right with the Romans or the common people.  So they marched the battered Jesus over to where Pilate was staying at the Praetorium.

There they made it plain to Pilate that they were going to accept nothing less then the death penalty.  It took him way to long, but they finally got Pilate to go along with the crucifixion sentence, and so here we are.

As he looked at the cross, he felt great satisfaction that he had orchestrated the end of this false prophet.  Maybe this would placate his father-in-law who constantly was on him for not being forceful enough.  As people were shouting different insults at Jesus, he heard one of his fellow Sanhedrin hollering up to him, “Hey Jesus, I guess it won’t be long to you find out there really isn’t any resurrection of the dead.”  Yes, Jesus,” thought the High Priest, it won’t be long now until everyone knows the real truth about you!

Matt: 26   Luke 2   John 11,18  Acts 4

Why have so many high profile religious leaders fallen to power and riches