Six Hearings of Jesus Trial

It is well known Jesus suffered under Pilate and it was Pilate who sent Jesus to his execution, yet in less then 18 hours Jesus was on trial he went through 6 hearings before his sentence. The first three hearings were under Jewish authorities and the last three were under Roman authorities

Jewish Authorities

Beginning with John 18:12-24, a preliminary hearing was held with Annas. Annas was the official high priest according to the Jewish since the position of high priest was for life. Even though the Romans had appointed another, Anna still caused a lot of weight among the Sanhedrin. Next, Jesus was sent to Caiaphas in Matthew 26:57-68. This hearing was also done in secrecy during the night and contained a lot of illegal activity.

In light of the illegal activity of the two previous hearings, the next came under the Sanhedrin just after day break. It was there 70 members of the Jewish counsel meet to make their activity legal. Here, Matthew 27:1,2, they confirmed their perceptions about Jesus’ guilt, not to determine justice.

Roman Authorities

Since only Roman government could grant the death penalty, the next stop was the fourth hearing in all and the first before Pilate. As the death penalty was granted under treason and rebellion, this is what Jesus was accused of in Luke 23:1-5. Pilate saw Jesus was innocent, but Pilates fear of the uproar caused him to send Jesus to the 5^th hearing before Herod.

Jesus’ home region was Galilee, and so he was sent to the ruler of Galilee, Herod, who was in Jerusalem for Passover in Luke 23:6-12. Herod wanted to see Jesus perform a miracle, but Jesus stood in silent. Herod decided he didn’t want to have anything more to do with Jesus and sent him back to Pilate.

Pilate didn’t care for the religious leaders and there was no interest in Jesus. Yet the concern of an uprising which might cost him his job was in Luke 23:13-25. His first step was to compromise and just have Jesus beaten, which was illegal too. In the end, self interest was stronger then his sense of justice, and Jesus was executed.

Under self interest and illegal activity, Jesus was sent to his execution. Falsely accused and tried by the religious intolerance of the Jewish Authorities they didn’t follow justice but only worried about getting the results they wanted. Roman Authorities knew Jesus was innocent and should not have been punished, yet their self interest in their jobs and reputation meant more to them then true justice. One lesson we should find in the story of Jesus trial is finding religious tolerance for those around us to do not agree with us for the lack of this is one reason why Jesus died.