The Sunday Mail
THIS is the alleged sequence of events:
“Yahoshua was arrested at night, appeared before Annas the former High Priest, then Caiaphas the current High Priest (John 18:13, 24), then before the whole Sanhedrin at daybreak (John 18:28; Matt.27:1; Mark 15;1; Luke 22:66), and then they led him to Pilate (Luke 23;1-2; Mark 15:1-2; Matt.27:2), who sent him to king Herod (Luke 23:6-12), who examined him and then returned him to Pilate (Luke 23:13-16).”
The Hebrew Temple aristocracy could not have interrogated him because they were well-known for their inflexible observation of the Mosaic religious laws and let us now examine what happened.
First, upon the arrest, “Jesus” (Yahoshua the Nazarene) was taken to Annas at midnight (John 18:13). Annas was not a member of the Sanhedrin but a former high priest and the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the current High Priest. He is alleged to have wanted to know about Yahoshua’s disciples and teachings (John 18:19).
Ananias had been “appointed by the Roman legate Quirinius as the first High Priest of the newly formed Roman province of Iudaea in 6 CE just after the Romans had deposed Archelaus, Ethnarch of Judaea, thereby putting Judaea directly under Roman rule”.
Legally, no Hebrew could appear before anyone to answer a charge or respond to any question without witnesses and to be arraigned before a person who is not a member of the Sanhedrin.
Second, without anything having been achieved, Yahoshua was led to the house of the Roman-appointed High Priest Joseph Caiaphas (John 18:24, Mark 14:53). They “led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where … the chief priests, and elders, and all the Council (Sanhedrin)” had assembled, when his trial immediately began (Mathew 26:57-68; Mark 14:58-65).
Yahoshua’s appearance before Caiaphas at his residence was illegal because all meetings of the Sanhedrin were held in the hall in the Temple. The Hebraic Law stated, “Be not a sole judge, for there is no sole judge but One.” (Mishna, in “Pirke Aboth” IV 8).
“An accused man must never be subjected to private or secret examination, let in his perplexity, he furnish damaging testimony against himself.” (Salvado in, “Institutions de Moise” pp. 365-366).
For both instances, John alone records the private interrogation, testifying, “The high priest then asked (Yahoshua) of his disciples and of his doctrine.” This interrogation, by whomever, was illegal because it took place at night and was by a sole judge.
This was held while it was during night darkness. Either this was a pre-trial examination or part of the trial (John 18:12-14, 19-23), both actions could only have occurred during the day.
No charges were read out.
Instead, Caiaphas asked the people whom he had gathered as to what crime he had committed (Mark 14:60).
Some group of elders and teachers had been clandestinely brought together and none of the witnesses who had been brought forward to testify against him are in agreement with their evidence (Matthew 26:57-60, Mark 14:56-59).
Third, at six in the morning, Yahoshua was brought before the Sanhedrin. Prior to appearance before the Sanhedrin trial, Yahoshua had been allegedly examined illegally on two occasions. During the night he was held in custody at the house of the high priest.
“As soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him into the council” (22:66).
This, according to Luke, was his first and only appearance before the Sanhedrin. Matthew and Mark, in addition to the night trial mentioned by them, also mention an adjourned session in the morning corresponding to the meeting of Luke.
At daybreak the council of elders, chief priests and teachers of law called a meeting (Luke 22:54-66). The word “daybreak” in Luke is Strong’s #2250 “hemera” and means “the time space between dawn and dark”.
Notice it does not say sunrise, but dawn. Dawn can be anytime the light from the sun first appears which occurs before sunrise. If sunrise occurs at 6am then Yahoshua could have been taken to the High Priest as early as 4am.
The indictment against Yahoshua was illegal because the Hebraic Law stated, “The entire criminal procedure of the Mosaic Code rest upon four rules: 1) certainity in the indictment; 2) publicity in the discussion; 3) full freedom granted to the accused; and 4) assurance against all danger of errors of testimony” (Salvador in, “Institutions de Moise” p365).
“The Sanhedrin could not originate charges; it could only investigate those brought before it” (Edersheim in, “Life and times of The illegal trial of Jesus the Messiah” Vol I p.309).
Mark 14:55-59 states that the chief priests had sought witness against Yahoshua to put him to death but did not find any, so they arranged false witness against him, but their false witnesses did not agree together.
Two false witnesses charged Yahoshua with saying he would destroy the temple made with hands (Mark14:58), yet he was condemned by the court on the charge of blasphemy. And he was condemned on his own testimony (Luke 22:67-71). However, according to Hebraic law, a person could not be condemned by their testimony.
“The only prosecutors were the witnesses in the crime. The witnesses constituted the charge. There was no formal indictment until these witnesses spoke in the public assembly. When they spoke, and the evidence of two agreed together, it formed the legal charge, libel, or indictment.” (Mendelsohn in “The Criminal Jurisprudence of the Ancient Hebrews,” p110).
Resources:
The Criminal-Illegal Trial of Jesus, www.netbiblestudy.com/00_cartimages/illegaltrialofjesus.pdf <http://www.netbiblestudy.com/00_cartimages/illegaltrialofjesus.pdf>
Was Yeshua Condemned to Death on the Day of the Passover? www.hope-of-israel.org/condeath.htm <http://www.hope-of-israel.org/condeath.htm>
Using “The Jewish Trial” www.essene.com/History&Essenes/s_Jewish_Trial.htm <http://www.essene.com/History&Essenes/s_Jewish_Trial.htm>
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