TRIAL OF JESUS AT CAIPHAS' PALACE

Reconstruction of the Palace and administrative center of Caiphas,
High Priest at the time of Jesus' trial and death in Jerusalem
Which courtyard did Jesus pass through?
Which one was the scene of Peter's denial?

The location of events on the night of Jesus' arrest in Jerusalem is uncertain, but it seems likely that he spent part of that night in the Palace of Caiphas. Following his arrest

• Jesus was questioned by the high priest and his advisers in a meeting hall
• he was beaten and tormented by soldiers, presumably in the barracks or in a prison cell
• his chief disciple Peter denied knowing him while standing at a fireside in a courtyard.

These three events may have taken place somewhere in the palace illustrated above. Though called the Palace of Caiphas, it was of course the administrative center for all high priests during the Roman occupation.

'The Roman occupation of Palestine was not ideal, but Rome was no worse and a good deal better than some of the other empires which had ruled the Jews in the past. With a few sad exceptions, most of the Roman officials did their best to avoid offending the Jews' religious sensibilities and tried to co-operate with the high priest.
For their part, the high priests were also anxious to keep the peace. They kept a careful lookout for trouble-makers, not because they were sycophantic quislings but because they did not want Jews to die as pointlessly as they had in the riots that followed Herod's death. 
..... in 18AD, Caiaphas took office and became the ablest high priest of the Roman period.'
(Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths, Karen Armstrong, p140)

The high priest was the chief religious authority in the land, but he had many other important responsibilities, including

• controlling the Temple treasury
• managing the Temple police and other personnel
• performing religious rituals
• acting as a liaison between the Romans and the Jewish population
• and - central to the story of Jesus - serving as president of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish council and court that reportedly considered the case of Jesus on the night after he attacked the Temple's money changers.

High priests, drawn from the aristocracy, had to maintain law and order among the common people. 

Caiaphas was the son-in-law of Annas the Elder, high priest from 6 - 15 AD and head of a family that controlled the high priesthood for most of the first century - so a man of great power and prestige. He was successful at what he did, and held his position of responsibility from 18 - 36AD. This suggests that the Romans trusted him.

Caiphas and Pontius Pilate, governing in tandem, must have agreed beforehand on how to deal with potential rebels like Jesus. 

   Go back to  HEROD'S JERUSALEM