About Jesus  -  Steve Sweetman

Next  Section - Chapter 18:15 -18 

    Jesus Taken To Annas (ch. 18:12-14)

In this short section we note that Jesus was bound by the soldiers and taken away.  You’d wonder just why they would have to bind Him, especially after healing the soldier’s ear.  Nevertheless, they didn't take any chances.  They bound Jesus and took Him to a priest named Annas who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas. 

On the other hand, binding a prisoner was most likely just standard procedure.  

John reminds us that it was Caiaphas that told the Sanhedrin that it was good that one man would die for the nation.  Caiaphas was the high priest while Annas was now a retired high priest.

We need to look a bit further concerning what Caiaphas said about one man dying for the nation.  He had advised the Jews that it was better that one man die for the nation instead of the nation dying.  In one sense of the word, his words were prophetic, because Jesus, the one man, did die for the sins of the nation of Israel , but, this is not what Caiaphas had in mind when he spoke these words, or so I believe.  Caiaphas feared the wrath of the Roman Empire .  If Jesus was allowed to continue living, a massive revolt might take place and the Roman armies would clamp down on the Jews and simply annihilate their nation.  Therefore, to save the nation, this one man, namely Jesus, had to die.

It is important to remember that during Jesus' earthly lifetime there

many Jewish zealots that tried to free
free the Jews from Roman domination.  A number of little 

revolts had to be put down by Rome, 

and many people saw Jesus as being one of these zealots, and probably the most powerful of these zealots because of His mass following.  Jesus was indeed a real threat to the autonomy the Jews had in Judea .  He was also a major threat to the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem who were placed in leadership by Rome .  They could easily be thrown out of office at any hint of problems.

Concerning the office of high priest we should realize that a different high priest was to be installed every year but by this time in Jewish history that was not the case.  It became a political appointed office that was bought, and but for a number of years by this one particular family that Annas and Caiaphas were a part of.           

Next  Section - Chapter 18:15 -18