Matthew 26:57-61 57Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. 58And Peter was following him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and after going inside, he sat with the guards to see the outcome. 59Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking false testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death, 60but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward 61and said, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’ ”
The scene changes from the garden of Gethsemane to the courtyard of the high priest, Caiaphas, likely referring to the vicinity of his residence, which would have been elaborate considering his high position. Verse 3 suggests that Caiaphas was the leader in the effort to get rid of Jesus. The arrest and trial of Jesus became complex, with Jesus being transferred to multiple leaders and places. He had raised quite a stir among the people. The Jewish leaders had to build a case against him that could get him executed. The Romans had to have a good reason to crucify someone, such as sedition or rebellion. The scribes and elders were part of the conspiracy to get rid of Jesus. They had heard Jesus teach and had been called to account by him for their hypocrisy. Each of the four Gospels gives different details about the events that now take place. Matthew seems to focus particularly on the identity of Jesus, which has been a theme of his Gospel.
Peter shows some degree of bravery and curiosity about what would happen to Jesus. There is no statement of what the other disciples did. Matthew may have focused on Peter in preparation for the story of his betrayal in the following verses. It is odd that he would sit with the guards since they were likely the same ones who arrested Jesus. But it was night and dark, so they did not recognize him at that point.
The chief priests and Jewish ruling council did many irregular things to get rid of Jesus, for example, holding a trial in the middle of the night and calling upon false witnesses. The Jewish document Sanhedrin 4.1 states that trials should be in daylight hours and not before feasts or sabbaths. Matthew states that the Jews were purposefully seeking false testimony. They knew they did not have a strong case against Jesus. They could not blame him for blaspheme because they never heard him speak against God. The only testimony they could find was a misinterpretation of Jesus’ words about the temple. Verse 59 gives their motive: they wanted to kill Jesus. The problem, however, was that they could not do that without the approval of the Romans. So, gathering evidence was important, but their evidence was flimsy. The false testimony was only hearsay, so they continued interrogating Jesus.
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