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Lesson 11: Geography Study Concerning the Scriptures, Geography of Israel in Jesus' Day, Special Easter Lesson, Continued Matthew 26:1-5, And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples, 2Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified. 3Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtlety, and kill him. 5But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people. House of Caiaphas
Caiaphas [KAY-uh-fuhs], the high priest, presided at Jesus’ trial before the Sanhedrin in a.d. 33. Caiaphas was the son-in-law of Annas, who for many years dominated the priesthood and the Sadducean party. Extra-biblical sources establish this family’s greed and its exploitation of the Jewish people. At that time, the high priesthood was no longer hereditary—the eldest son of Aaron’s family—but was a Roman political appointment given because of graft. Christ’s remarks about “thieves and robbers” who pretended to be shepherds but who stole from God’s flock (John 10:8-10) would have been clearly understood by his hearers—and by the family of Annas. This vindictive and selfish motive for Jesus’ capture and trial before Caiaphas’s court is reflected in a discussion held after Jesus raised Lazarus. The Jewish leaders expressed fear that, if Jesus sparked a popular uprising, the Romans might come and take away “both our place and our nation.” Then Caiaphas remarked how expedient it would be for just one man to die, rather than the whole nation! And from that day the leaders began to plot Jesus’ death (John 11:48-53).
The Gospels portray Caiaphas as a manipulative, dishonest man who was willing to break the divine Law he was sworn as high priest to uphold, in order to achieve his own goals. After being taken to Annas for a preliminary examination, Jesus was brought at night to the Sanhedrin, chaired by Caiaphas.
Matthew 26:57-68, And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. 58But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest’s palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end. 59Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; 60But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, 61And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. 62And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? 63But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. 64Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. 65Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. 66What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death. 67Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, 68Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?
A night trial was illegal under Jewish law.
Even false witnesses were unable to provide the evidence required for the death penalty—but that was the punishment the tribunal had already decided to inflict.
Caiaphas then administered a binding oath and asked Jesus whether he was the Son of God. Jesus responded, “Yes.”
Hypocritically tearing his clothes to indicate righteous horror at this “outrage,” Caiaphas announced that Jesus had spoken blasphemy, a crime that merited death under OT Law.
Caiaphas now had a basis for the Sanhedrin’s verdict, but the Roman governor still had to confirm the Sanhedrin’s sentence.
The Sanhedrin met again in the morning, to confirm the illegal nighttime verdict (John 18:28). Matthew 26:57-68; John 18:13-28. PraetoriumMatthew 27:27-29, Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall (Praetorium in Greek, of Latin origin, means governor’s court room), and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!
A technical Latin term that originally referred to the command tent of a Roman army group, but by the first century had a number of different meanings.
The word occurs in the Greek NT in (1) Matthew 27:27; Mark 15:16; John 18:28; 19:9, the temporary military headquarters or palace in Jerusalem that housed the Roman governor, where Jesus was tried before Pilate; (2) Acts 23:35, Herod’s headquarters; (3) Philippians 1:13, of the “palace guard.”
Here the term may indicate an elite guard of Roman soldiers responsible directly to the emperor, or it may be extended to include the larger corps of civil servants in Rome who administered the Empire.
After the Sanhedrin tried Christ, He was taken to Pilate, who alone could order Jesus’ death. Rather than stating the charge under which the Sanhedrin had convicted Jesus, the Jewish leaders accused Christ of claiming to be a king, and thus a rival to Caesar.
House of Herod Antipas
Luke 13:31-32, The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee. And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox (cunning person), Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Luke 23:4-12, Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man. 5And they were the more fierce, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place. 6When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man were a Galilaean. 7And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time. 8And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him. 9Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing. 10And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him. 11And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate. 12And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves.Herod [HAIR-uhd] Antipas (an' tih puhs), (abbreviation of Antipater) the son of Herod the Great by his Samaritan wife Malthace and tetrarch of Galilee and Perea during Jesus’ time and John the Baptist’s ministry, lived from 4 b.c. to ad 39. His marriage to his brother Philip’s wife, Herodias, was strongly opposed by John the Baptist, who was eventually beheaded by Antipas at the instigation of Herodias, the wife of his half-brother, Herod Philip
Luke 3:19-20, But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.
(Matt. 14:3). He was the Herod who mocked Christ before returning him to Pilate.
Matthew 14:1-11; Mark 6:14-28; Luke 3:19-20; 23:6-15.
Way of the Cross
The believed route which Jesus took from the Praetorium to Golgotha.
Matthew 27:32-42; Mark 15:20-22; Luke 23:26-32; John 19:17
GOLGOTHA (gahl' guh thuh) Place name transliterated from Aramaic and or Hebrew into Greek and then into English meaning, “skull.” In Mark 15:22, the Hebrew name for the place where Jesus was crucified. The Latin equivalent is calvaria. Both words mean “skull.”
The Hebrew term appears twice in the Old Testament in its literal sense. In Judges 9:53 it is used of the skull of Abimelech; in 2 Kings 9:35, it refers to the skull of Jezebel. In the New Testament it appears only as a designation of the location of Christ’s crucifixion. CALVARY
CALVARY (kal' vuh rih) Place name meaning, “a bare skull.” The place where Jesus was crucified. Our English word “Calvary” comes from the Latin calvaria. This word is a translation of the Greek kranion, meaning “skull.” The Greek is a translation of the Aramaic golgotha, also meaning “skull.” The word is used twice in the Greek translation of the Old Testament (Judg. 9:53; 2 Kings 9:35) to designate the skulls of Abimelech and Jezebel.
“Calvary” appears in the New Testament (Luke 23:33), only in the story of the crucifixion (Matt. 27:33; Mark 15:22; John 19:17). The gospel writers name it as the place where Christ was led to be executed.
Exactly why the place was called this is not known. The logical explanation would be because the skull symbolized death. A place of execution would see its share of skulls.
Archeologists are uncertain where Calvary was located. John 19:20 and Hebrews 13:12 say that Jesus was taken outside the city to be crucified. Mark 15:29 suggests that a road may have been nearby.
Two sites are held today as Calvary. The older, more traditional Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a complex of religious shrines venerated as the place of Christ’s cross and tomb.
In the 4th century A.D., Queen Helena, mother of Constantine, had the site revealed to her in a vision. A pagan temple on the site was razed and a shrine built in its place. Several destructions and rebuildings have taken place over the centuries.
Since 1842, a rocky hill outside the Damascus Gate has vied for veneration as Calvary. Discovered by Otto Thenius, the site gained fame when Charles Gordon wrote in 1885 that this was indeed Calvary. A garden tomb nearby, discovered in 1849, had drawn little attention until Gordon made his assertion.
Executions during the first century were conducted outside the city walls.
This might tend to make Gordon’s Calvary the logical site.
However, at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion the outer wall of Jerusalem was much closer to the center of the city.
This would make the traditional site more plausible.
Perhaps the most telling fact between these places is the type of tombs they represent. Jewish tombs appear to have had small niches carved out of the walls in which bodies were placed. Later Byzantine tombs used trough-like slabs.
This places the weight of authenticity with the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
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