1. Matthew : 26 : 57 - 68

2. “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” v2 “Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. 5 “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.” v3 GOD MAN

3. Matthew : 26 : 57 - 68

4. “Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled.” v57

5. Matthew : 26 : 57 - 68  The governing principle of the Sanhedrin in capital cases was this: “The Sanhedrin is to save, not destroy life.”  The Law specified that any trials were to be held during the day.  The accused was always allowed to call witnesses in his defence.  The Sanhedrin was supposed to judge the case, not prosecute it.  If any witnesses were found to have given false testimony before the court, they were to be given the same punishment being sought for the accused.  If the death penalty was being sought, the Sanhedrin was required to observe a 3-day waiting period of prayer & fasting before judgment was pronounced.  The Sanhedrin could not condemn anyone to death on a unanimous vote.  Trials were only to be held within the Temple  It was illegal to bribe witnesses to give false testimony.  It was against the law to force a prisoner to testify against himself.  It was against the law to use a prisoner's confession.

6. Matthew : 26 : 57 - 68 1. The Key Players - the Trial of Jesus (vv57-65) A) The Essence of the Matter (vv63-64) “Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God?” “From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” “Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?’ The council answered. ‘He deserves to die!’”

7. Matthew : 26 : 57 - 68 1. The Key Players - the Trial of Jesus (vv57-65) A) The Essence of the Matter (vv63-64) “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” Daniel:7:13,14

8. Matthew : 26 : 57 - 68 1. The Key Players - the Trial of Jesus (vv57-65) A) The Essence of the Matter (vv63-64)

9. Matthew : 26 : 57 - 68 1. The Key Players - the Trial of Jesus (vv57-65) B) The False Witnesses (vv60-61) “The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death.” v59 “But they did not find any,” v60, “although many false witnesses came forward.” “Finally two [false witnesses] came forward,” v61, “and declared, ‘This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’’”

10. Matthew : 26 : 57 - 68 1. The Key Players - the Trial of Jesus (vv57-65) C) The Dialogue (vv62-64) v62, “Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” v63, But Jesus remained silent.” “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” v64, “You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

11. Matthew : 26 : 57 - 68 1. The Key Players - the Trial of Jesus (vv57-65) D) The Verdict (vv65-66) “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy.” “What do you think?” v66, ‘They answered and said, ‘He is worthy of death.’”

12. Matthew : 26 : 57 - 68 1. The Key Players - the Trial of Jesus (vv57-65) D) The Verdict (vv65-66) All hail the power of Jesus’ Name...

13. Matthew : 26 : 57 - 68 1. The Key Players - the Trial of Jesus (vv57-65) D) The Verdict (vv65-66) ‘Jesus our great High Priest offered His blood and died’

14. Matthew : 26 : 57 - 68 1. The Key Players - the Trial of Jesus (vv57-65) D) The Verdict (vv65-66) “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.....and each person was judged according to what they had done..... Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation:20:12

15. Matthew : 26 : 57 - 68 2. The Supporting Cast – Response to Jesus (vv66-68) 1) The False Witnesses v60..“...many false witnesses came forward. v59, “The high priests, conspiring with the Jewish Council, tried to cook up charges against Jesus in order to sentence him to death. But even though many stepped up, making up one false accusation after another, nothing was believable. Finally two men came forward with this: “He said, ‘I can tear down this Temple of God and after three days rebuild it.’”

16. Matthew : 26 : 57 - 68 2. The Supporting Cast – Response to Jesus (vv66-68) 2) The Sanhedrin v59, “The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. v67, “Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists.”

17. Matthew : 26 : 57 - 68 2. The Supporting Cast – Response to Jesus (vv66-68) 3) The ‘Others’ v67, “Others slapped him and said” v68, “Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?”

18. Matthew : 26 : 57 - 68 2. The Supporting Cast – Response to Jesus (vv66-68) 3) The ‘Others’

19. Matthew : 26 : 57 - 68 2. The Supporting Cast – Response to Jesus (vv66-68) 4) Peter v58, “But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.”

20. Matthew : 26 : 57 - 68