“Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him, And led him away to Annas first; for he was father in law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year. Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple: that disciple was known unto the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest. But Peter stood at the door without. Then went out that other disciple, which was known unto the high priest, and spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter. Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, Art not thou also one of this man’s disciples? He saith, I am not. And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of coals; for it was cold: and they warmed themselves: and Peter stood with them, and warmed himself. The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine. Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing. Why askest thou me? ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them: behold, they know what I said. And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so? Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me? Now Annas had sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest. And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore unto him, Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not. One of the servants of the high priest, being his kinsman whose ear Peter cut off, saith, Did not I see thee in the garden with him? Peter then denied again: and immediately the cock crew.” John 18:12-27
Jesus was arrested by the Roman captain of the cohort, and bound, “handcuffed,” we would say today, and led to the family home of Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the High Priest. Note how carefully the Beloved Disciple distinguishes between Annas and the High Priest himself. And note that Jesus’ inquisitor is Caiaphas, the High Priest, not Annas.
“Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him, And led him away to Annas first; for he was father in law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year.”
All we are told that the Romans first brought Jesus to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest and that is all we know. Annas had been the High Priest himself from A.D. 6- 15 and he was removed by Pilate’s predecessor. And he was succeeded by his five sons till about A.D. 45. There is one gap from 18-36 when the office of High Priest Joseph, commonly known as Caiaphas. The Beloved Disciple informs us that this was Annas’ son-in-law. Annas is the patriarch of a ruling, maybe the ruling family of Jerusalem. Annas was a very powerful man and it makes sense that if he wanted to lay eyes on Jesus he would have his way. How long they were there and what transpired we simply do not know. There is no description of the meeting, no dialogue recorded, nothing; what we do know is that Annas sent Jesus bound to Caiaphas the High Priest.
“And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple: that disciple was known unto the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest.”
There are two dramatic scenes, two inquisitions that we will contemplate today, the inquisition of Jesus by Caiaphas and the inquisition of Peter by Caiaphas’ household servants. We also learn more about the identity of the Beloved Disciple — that he has status, a privilege of familiarity that permits him to come and go at will in Caiaphas’ Palace. Lets’ begin there:
“And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple: that disciple was known unto the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest. But Peter stood at the door without. Then went out that other disciple, which was known unto the high priest, and spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter.”
After the Roman captain and his escort arrested Jesus they took him to the palace of Annas and then to Caiaphas. Simon Peter and the Beloved Disciple had been following Jesus all along and we are told finally that Jesus was taken into the palace of the High Priest. Then we learn that the Beloved Disciple, the author of the Fourth Gospel, walked into the palace of the High Priest with Jesus and temple entourage; furthermore we are told that he was able to do so because Caiaphas knew him. Knew him he did; knew him well enough that the Beloved Disciple could move freely in and about the palace at will. Indeed, not only did Caiaphas know John, his household staff knew him and responded to him as though John possessed some kind of household authority himself. Why kind of authority? The kind of authority that allowed him to speak to the doorkeeper of the palace and get Peter into the inner courtyard where he joined the household servants and the guards around a charcoal fire. My point here is that the account we have of Jesus before Caiaphas is an eyewitness account recorded by the Beloved Disciple who was, given his youthfulness, either a member of Caiaphas’ family or the young son of an old and trusted elite families of Jerusalem.
Though other family members and John were entirely focused on Jesus’ inquisition, the household servants were highly suspicious of the company John was keeping.
“Then went out that other disciple, which was known unto the high priest, and spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter. Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, Art not thou also one of this man’s disciples? He saith, I am not. And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of coals; for it was cold: and they warmed themselves: and Peter stood with them, and warmed himself.”
At this point in his narrative, the Beloved Disciple returns to Jesus and Caiaphas:
“The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine. Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing. Why askest thou me? ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them: behold, they know what I said. And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so? Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me?”
Jesus mainly taught in the Temple when he was in Jerusalem and then in the synagogues in the towns he entered. And his teaching was not a matter of dispensing secrets to his disciples though it appears that Caiaphas thought so. He was also digging for more information. He was to know who his disciples were which is interesting given that he familiar with the youngest of Jesus’ disciples who has sat right next to him that very evening and who was also standing there as the interrogation was under way. Was Caiaphas simply unaware of John’s association with Jesus? At any rate there is no indication that John’s association much less his devotion to Jesus was common knowledge in Caiaphas’ household. So everything that is going on between Jesus and the High Priest and those around them — all the questioning about secret teachings and secret disciples — is all acted out with the backdrop of John’s secret devotion to Jesus. The Temple guards take Jesus’ response to the High Priest to be impertinent and that is when he slapped Jesus in the face. Then the narrative goes right back to Peter:
“And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore unto him, Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not. One of the servants of the high priest, being his kinsman whose ear Peter cut off, saith, Did not I see thee in the garden with him? Peter then denied again: and immediately the cock crew.”
Peter’s three denials are both lies and infidelities and they are common to all four Gospels. Peter’s denials reach a climax with the third denial when the cock crows and according to the other Gospels Peter began to swear and curse and declaring that he did not know the man.
Caiaphas’ began his interrogation of Jesus by asking him about his disciples and his doctrine. Jesus responded by directing the high priest back to his disciples:
“Why askest thou me? ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them: behold, they know what I said.”
True judgment of Jesus’ doctrine and life depends upon the fidelity and devotion of his disciples. And right at the moment that Jesus was telling Caiaphas that his disciples would communicate his doctrine John was standing there in front of him and Peter was denying he even knew Jesus. And Peter was warming himself by the fire with people who had expressed scorn, not pity nor admiration toward Jesus.