The
Sanhedrin trial of Jesus refers to the Canonical Gospel accounts of the trial of
JesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
before the Jewish Council, or
SanhedrinThe Sanhedrin was an assembly of twenty-three judges appointed in every city in the Biblical Land of Israel.The Great Sanhedrin was the supreme court of ancient Israel made of 71 members...
, following
his arrestThe arrest of Jesus is a pivotal event recorded in the Canonical gospels. The event ultimately leads, in the Gospel accounts, to Jesus' crucifixion...
and prior to his trial before
Pontius PilatePontius Pilatus , known in the English-speaking world as Pontius Pilate , was the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, from AD 26–36. He is best known as the judge at Jesus' trial and the man who authorized the crucifixion of Jesus...
. It is an event reported by all four Canonical gospels of the
BibleThe Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, although John's Gospel does not explicitly mention the Sanhedrin in this context.
The
Sanhedrin trial of Jesus refers to the Canonical Gospel accounts of the trial of
JesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
before the Jewish Council, or
SanhedrinThe Sanhedrin was an assembly of twenty-three judges appointed in every city in the Biblical Land of Israel.The Great Sanhedrin was the supreme court of ancient Israel made of 71 members...
, following
his arrestThe arrest of Jesus is a pivotal event recorded in the Canonical gospels. The event ultimately leads, in the Gospel accounts, to Jesus' crucifixion...
and prior to his trial before
Pontius PilatePontius Pilatus , known in the English-speaking world as Pontius Pilate , was the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, from AD 26–36. He is best known as the judge at Jesus' trial and the man who authorized the crucifixion of Jesus...
. It is an event reported by all four Canonical gospels of the
BibleThe Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, although John's Gospel does not explicitly mention the Sanhedrin in this context.
The
Sanhedrin trial of Jesus refers to the Canonical Gospel accounts of the trial of
JesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
before the Jewish Council, or
SanhedrinThe Sanhedrin was an assembly of twenty-three judges appointed in every city in the Biblical Land of Israel.The Great Sanhedrin was the supreme court of ancient Israel made of 71 members...
, following
his arrestThe arrest of Jesus is a pivotal event recorded in the Canonical gospels. The event ultimately leads, in the Gospel accounts, to Jesus' crucifixion...
and prior to his trial before
Pontius PilatePontius Pilatus , known in the English-speaking world as Pontius Pilate , was the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, from AD 26–36. He is best known as the judge at Jesus' trial and the man who authorized the crucifixion of Jesus...
. It is an event reported by all four Canonical gospels of the
BibleThe Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, although John's Gospel does not explicitly mention the Sanhedrin in this context.
[, , , and ]
The Gospels report that after
JesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
and his followers celebrated
PassoverPassover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
as their
Last SupperThe Last Supper is the final meal that, according to Christian belief, Jesus shared with his Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The Last Supper provides the scriptural basis for the Eucharist, also known as "communion" or "the Lord's Supper".The First Epistle to the Corinthians is...
, Jesus was betrayed by his apostle
Judas IscariotJudas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...
, and
arrestedThe arrest of Jesus is a pivotal event recorded in the Canonical gospels. The event ultimately leads, in the Gospel accounts, to Jesus' crucifixion...
in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus was then taken to the high priest's house where he was mocked and beaten. Jesus is generally quiet, does not mount a defense, and rarely responds to the accusations, but is condemned by the Jewish authorities when he will not deny that he is the
Son of God"Son of God" is a phrase which according to most Christian denominations, Trinitarian in belief, refers to the relationship between Jesus and God, specifically as "God the Son"...
. The Jewish leaders then take Jesus to
Pontius PilatePontius Pilatus , known in the English-speaking world as Pontius Pilate , was the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, from AD 26–36. He is best known as the judge at Jesus' trial and the man who authorized the crucifixion of Jesus...
, the governor of Roman Judaea and ask him to kill Jesus for claiming to be the
King of the JewsIn the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as the King of the Jews both at the beginning of his life and at the end.Both uses of the title lead to dramatic results in the New Testament accounts. In the account of the Nativity of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, the three wise men In the New...
.
The trial most probably took place informally on Thursday night and then again formally on Friday morning (see the article on
Crucifixion of JesusThe crucifixion of Jesus and his ensuing death is an event that occurred during the 1st century AD. Jesus, who Christians believe is the Son of God as well as the Messiah, was arrested, tried, and sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged, and finally executed on a cross...
for a discussion on the exact date of
Good FridayGood Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...
, which in recent years has been estimated as AD 33, by different groups of scientists).
[Isaac Newton, 1733, Of the Times of the Birth and Passion of Christ, in "Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John" (London: J. Darby and T. Browne).][Bradley Schaefer, 1990, Lunar Visibility and the Crucifixion Quarterly. Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 31.][Astronomers on the Date of the Crucifixion http://www.mirabilis.ca/archives/000736.html][Astronomers on Date of Christ's Death http://english.pravda.ru/science/tech/16-05-2003/2819-christ-0][John Pratt Newton's Date For The Crucifixion "Quarterly Journal of Royal Astronomical Society", Sept. 1991.][Newton's Date For The Crucifixion http://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/newton.html]
Biblical narrative
In the narrative of the Canonical Gospels after the
betrayal and arrestThe arrest of Jesus is a pivotal event recorded in the Canonical gospels. The event ultimately leads, in the Gospel accounts, to Jesus' crucifixion...
of Jesus, he is taken to the
SanhedrinThe Sanhedrin was an assembly of twenty-three judges appointed in every city in the Biblical Land of Israel.The Great Sanhedrin was the supreme court of ancient Israel made of 71 members...
, a Jewish judicial body. From a historical perspective, in the era in which the narrative is set, this body was an
ad hocAd hoc is a Latin phrase meaning "for this". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes. Compare A priori....
gathering, rather than a fixed court.
[Brown, Raymond E.]The Reverend Raymond Edward Brown, S.S. , was an American Roman Catholic priest, a member of the Sulpician Fathers and a major Biblical scholar of his era...
An Introduction to the New Testament Doubleday 1997 ISBN 0-385-24767-2, p. 146.
In the four Canonical Gospels Jesus is tried and condemned by the Sanhedrin, mocked and beaten and is condemned for making the claim of being the
Son of God"Son of God" is a phrase which according to most Christian denominations, Trinitarian in belief, refers to the relationship between Jesus and God, specifically as "God the Son"...
. Although the Gospel accounts vary with respect to various details, they agree on the general character and overall structure of the trials of Jesus.