Caiaphas
Summary
The Jewish high priest who presided at the trial of Jesus and gave the unwitting prophecy that one man should die for the people.
☩Office and Character
Joseph Caiaphas was appointed high priest around A.D. 18 by the Roman procurator Valerius Gratus and held office until removed by Vitellius about A.D. 36—an unusually long tenure suggesting his skill at conciliating Roman authorities. He was son-in-law of Annas, who had formerly been high priest and still exercised great influence in sacerdotal matters. Like most priests of this period, Caiaphas was a Sadducee, sharing their fondness for foreign ideas and political accommodation.
☩The Unconscious Prophecy
When the raising of Lazarus convinced many Jews that Jesus was sent from God, the chief priests and Pharisees assembled in alarm. Caiaphas gave the cold-blooded counsel: 'You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.' John notes that Caiaphas, being high priest that fateful year, prophesied—though unwittingly—that Jesus would die not for the nation only, but to gather into one the children of God scattered abroad.
☩The Trial of Jesus
After Jesus' arrest, He was first taken to Annas, then sent to Caiaphas where the Sanhedrin assembled at daybreak. The trial was a travesty of legal procedure. When false witnesses failed to agree, Caiaphas put Jesus under oath to declare whether He was the Christ, the Son of God. Upon Jesus' affirmative answer, the high priest rent his garments declaring blasphemy, and demanded sentence. In his very presence, they struck and mocked the prisoner.
☩Persecution of the Church
The bigoted fury of Caiaphas continued against the early church. He appears with Annas among those who presided over the trial of Peter and John, and is probably the high priest who imprisoned the apostles, presided at Stephen's trial, and authorized Saul's persecution of believers. He is a type of the wily ecclesiastical opportunist who places institutional success above all claims of truth or justice.
Related Verses10 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Caiaphas," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. II (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Caiaphas," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. I (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.James Hastings (ed.), "Caiaphas," in Dictionary of the Apostolic Church, vol. I (T. & T. Clark, 1915–1918).
- 4.James Hastings (ed.), "Caiaphas," in Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, vol. I (T. & T. Clark, 1906–1908).