Annas the Priest

Scripture

John 18 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

18 After Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. 2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples. 3 So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 12 So the soldiers, their officer, and the Jewish police arrested Jesus and bound him. 13 First they took him to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. 14 Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was better to have one person die for the people.

15 Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, 16 but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded the gate, and brought Peter in. 17 The woman said to Peter, “You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” 18 Now the slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing around it and warming themselves. Peter also was standing with them and warming himself.

19 Then the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. 20 Jesus answered, “I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. 21 Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard what I said to them; they know what I said.” 22 When he had said this, one of the police standing nearby struck Jesus on the face, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?” 23 Jesus answered, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong. But if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?” 24 Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

19 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. 3 They kept coming up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and striking him on the face. 4 Pilate went out again and said to them, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him.” 5 So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” 6 When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him.” 7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God.”

8 Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever. 9 He entered his headquarters[a] again and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 Pilate therefore said to him, “Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” 12 From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor.” 13 When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge’s bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha. 14 Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the Jews, “Here is your King!” 15 They cried out, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!” Pilate asked them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but the emperor.” 16 Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.

Introduction to the High Priest

Our witness tonight is Annas the High Priest. Technically, by this time Caiaphas was High Priest and his father-in-law Annas was more Priest Emeritas. But his respect within the establishment is shown by the Palace Guard bringing Jesus first to Annas’ house, before Caiaphas. It was apparently Annas who questioned Jesus about his followers and ordered the soldiers to strike Jesus. Earlier, Annas had been implicated in John the Baptist’s arrest, and many believe it was Annas who tried to please the Saducees by plotting to kill Lazarus after Jesus’ bringing him back to life became widely talked about. Annas would also have presided at Jesus’ trial in the Sanhedrin and also would have seen to it that Pilate was reminded of the consequences of letting Jesus go. So, Annas’ fingerprints are all over Jesus’ execution. How did that happen? When was the first time Annas set out on that long road that led to betraying the Messiah? When did he stop doing what was commanded by God, what was best for the people, and start doing what was expedient or benefitted only him? Did he even recognize the slope he was on? Did he realize the whole world he had built was going to be swept away? We’ll listen and see.

Annas the Priest I am Annas the Priest, Son of Seth, formerly Chief Priest in Jerusalem, and now trusted advisor to the Sanhedrin. I come from the priestly caste, a long serving priestly family. This was always my calling and my destiny. I am here to guide and protect Israel. Never fear, I am equal to the challenge. This task is infinitely more complex since Judea lost its freedom to the Roman overlords. After the last Judean King, Archelaus, was overthrown and we became vassals of Rome, I was deposed as High Priest. I suppose I peaked too early in my career. The Romans did not want any of the former regime left in place, so I was demoted. My attentions turned to behind the scenes work on behalf of my nation. Each of my five sons are in line to become High Priest. Early on I watched the career of one Joseph Ben Caiaphas and realized he was a person of guile and subtlety, very talented in getting people to do his bidding without them even realizing they were being led. I must say, he was smarter than several of my own sons. So, I offered my daughter in marriage to him. He jumped at the chance to be allied with our family and I became his closest ally within the priestly establishment. And it paid off for all of us. Both Caiaphas and I are currently serving as High Priest. You have no idea of the work involved. We have to perform the rites, sit in the religious court, manage squabbles among the lower ranks of clergy, keep track of temple property, accept tithes and offerings, and manage the flow of money from the vendors of sacrificial animals in the portico of the temple. Just being in the Sanhedrin is a full-time job. The older ones are always moaning about the old days when we had free rein to enforce all the laws and rules in Torah, and punish anyone who violated any religious obligation or Jewish civil law. Some of the younger ones have Zealot tendencies. They see themselves on top of the pecking order after someone else does the bleeding and dying in the revolution that will expel the Romans. Foolish ideas, dangerous to speak aloud. I have to keep a tight rein there to keep them from straying to one side or the other. Rome tolerates us now, but we have to bend some of the rules here and there in order to keep the core of our religion safe. The Zealots are too disorganized to accomplish anything—the craziest of them think that running through the marketplace stabbing Roman soldiers at random is a revolutionary act. The tribes resisted the Assyrians seven hundred years ago and where are they now? Gone! Ten tribes disappeared. Only a remnant remains of Israel. Rome is more powerful and more cruel than the Assyrians were. I am trying to save what is left of Israel. I have to do what I do. It’s my job. You can understand that, can’t you? So I was very concerned about this Jesus. Oh, there’s lots of itinerant preachers out there. If they preach revolution, eventually the Romans get wind and take care of it with a few executions. Like John the Baptist before him, Jesus taught that an inward repentance would bring a sinner closer to God. He was not reported to be breaking any ceremonial laws. But, then we started to get reports of him undermining the authority structures. He had sharp words for the scribes, calling them “blind guides.” He bested the Pharisees in debate, which made them furious. It was reported to me that he performed some trick with Lazarus of Bethany that made it look like he had been raised from the dead. That drove the Saducees to contemplate murder. I admit, I had some discussions around that, but so many people swore they had witnessed it and swore it was true, that I realized it would be a mistake to go down that path. But as Jesus’ reputation grew, the news my spies brought me got worse and worse. Jesus began saying that what reconciled sinners to God was a contrite heart, not thorough elaborate cleansing rituals and washing before approaching the temple. Can you imagine? What would that do to the income from the dozens of ritual baths we control in Jerusalem? Then, at the beginning of the week, that ridiculous and alarming procession into the city. What really upset me was, it appeared to be spontaneous. Palm branches and a donkey! A donkey, signifying one who comes in peace. Well, it was not so peaceful when he got to the temple, with all that rabble crowding in behind him. Caiaphas and I were in the treasury, overseeing the scribes counting all the receipts from the sin offerings and tithes of the previous week, when two temple guards urgently called us out. They were outside the door with a few of the moneychangers that had tables in the temple portico for business. They were disheveled and shaking with anger. One had a welt over his eye and another had little bits of dove feathers sticking to his tunic. They told me Jesus had charged in and began turning over tables and hitting them with a homemade whip while yelling that this was no way to treat his fathers’ house, that they had made it a den of thieves with their dishonesty. They wanted to know what we were going to do about that, especially since they already paid a generous cut of their profits to us for getting the best spots in the portico. I think they expected me to lose my composure and swear to right the wrong that had been done to them. Instead I stood straighter and went cold as ice. Caiaphas followed my lead. “You have no right to be here” I said. “This conversation is ridiculous and you are defiling this corridor. Leave at once. This matter will be attended to at the proper time.” “The Passover is coming” one whined. “Our loss is your loss, you know.” “At the proper time” I said again. “Now, OUT!” The guards escorted them grumbling all the way. Caiaphas turned to me. “No more waiting. You can not need any more information. This must be dealt with permanently.” I agreed to call the Sanhedrin into session for the express purpose of dealing with the Jesus problem. I knew what I wanted to happen. But how to bring it about? It actually took a series of meetings to make our case. At the first one we told them of the temple incident of which they all knew already, of course. At the next we relayed all the intelligence we had gathered from Galilee and beyond. In the last we let the Saducees and Pharisees vent their spleen. “What do you expect us to do?” asked Nicodemus. I gave him a look meant to bore holes in him. I thought to myself ‘Oh, yes, Nicodemus, I know you’ve met with Jesus secretly, debated with him, bandied words, basked in his presence’. I spoke seriously, with a measured tone. “He is subverting our nation and putting us all in danger. The Romans need only a small excuse to destroy the temple and lead us all into outright slavery. Some are calling Jesus the Messiah and the Son of God. If he claims these things for himself, he is blasphemer. If he says them to us, he deserves death.” I let that soak in for a minute. Then I cleared my throat, and right on cue Caiaphas piped in with “The rabbis have said, it is expedient that one man should die rather than the whole nation should perish.” After a moment, someone said “Some say the Messiah is a spiritual leader, seeking to revitalize the soul.” Nicodemus. Again. “Not to the Romans’ Caiaphas added smoothly. “To the Romans it means a revolutionary who will bring chaos in the streets and death to the Roman elite. And remember, only the Romans can actually pass a death sentence now.” Ah, Caiaphas. I can always rely on you. What a long, exhausting night that became. It took every skill I possessed to manage the outcome as Jesus was shuttled between my palace, Caiaphas, Pilate, Herod, and back to Pilate. All the spies I paid for, all the witnesses I bribed to lie, all the priests I inserted in the crowds to whip up the mob to howl for crucifixion. A lot to keep track of. We had almost got there. Jesus was before Pilate a second time. But he wanted to release him! I told my men if that happened, they should remind Pilate where his interests lay. He might think all the uproar was over an undecipherable quarrel between factions of a religion he does not understand, in service of a god he does not fear. But when the priests yelled out that if Pilate released Jesus it would prove he was no friend of Caesar, that he was allowing someone to claim kingship in direct opposition to the emperor, well—that was an arrow that hit Pilate right where it hurt. There’s no one he fears more than the emperor, no duty more important than preventing revolt against the Empire. But at last, Pilate did his job and thus, completed mine. When I was a child, I thought priests just studied scripture, and performed the rites and rituals that kept the people bound in relationship to God. I had no idea I would have to be so—practical—too, would ever have to do the things I have done. These are treacherous times. I did my best to defend Israel. And yes, I have done pretty well for myself as well. But I’m old now, and tired. I am weary in a way no amount of rest will cure. I probably don’t have much time left. Oh, I have Caiaphas and my sons to succeed me, but will they be able to stave off the forces of change forever? I feel that revolution is coming and can’t be stopped. At least it won’t be this Jesus who brings the ultimate change.