Jesus before His Accusers

53 (A)They led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes *gathered together. 54 And Peter had followed Him at a distance, (B)right into (C)the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the [a]officers and (D)warming himself at the [b]fire. 55 Now the chief priests and the entire [c](E)Council were trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, and they were not finding any. 56 For many people were giving false testimony against Him, and so their testimonies were not consistent. 57 And then some stood up and began giving false testimony against Him, saying, 58 “We heard Him say, ‘(F)I will destroy this [d]temple that was made by hands, and in three days I will build another, made without hands.’” 59 And not even in this respect was their testimony consistent. 60 And then the high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, “Do You not offer any answer for what these men are testifying against You?” 61 (G)But He kept silent and did not offer any answer. (H)Again the high priest was questioning Him, and *said to Him, “Are You the [e]Christ, the Son of [f]the Blessed One?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see (I)the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and (J)coming with the clouds of heaven.” 63 (K)Tearing his clothes, the high priest *said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? 64 You have heard the (L)blasphemy; how does it seem to you?” And they all condemned Him as deserving of death. 65 And some began to (M)spit on Him, and [g](N)to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists and say to Him, “(O)Prophesy!” Then the officers took custody of Him [h]and slapped Him in the face.

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Footnotes

  1. Mark 14:54 Or servants
  2. Mark 14:54 Lit light
  3. Mark 14:55 Or Sanhedrin
  4. Mark 14:58 Or sanctuary
  5. Mark 14:61 I.e., Messiah
  6. Mark 14:61 A common way for the Jewish leaders to refer to God
  7. Mark 14:65 Or cover over His face
  8. Mark 14:65 Or with blows inflicted by rods

Jesus before the High priest

53-58 So they marched Jesus away to the High Priest in whose presence all the chief priests and elders and scribes had assembled. (Peter followed him at a safe distance, right up to the High Priest’s courtyard. There he sat in the firelight with the servants, keeping himself warm.) Meanwhile, the chief priests and the whole council were trying to find some evidence against Jesus which would warrant the death penalty. But they failed completely. There were plenty of people ready to give false testimony against him, but their evidence was contradictory. Then some more perjurers stood up and said, “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this Temple that was built by human hands and in three days I will build another made without human aid.’”

59-60 But even so their evidence conflicted. So the High Priest himself got up and took the centre of the floor. “Have you no answer to make?” he asked Jesus. “What about all this evidence against you?”

61 But Jesus remained silent and offered no reply. Again the High Priest asked him, “Are you Christ, Son of the blessed one?”

62 And Jesus said, “I am! Yes, you will all see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, coming in the clouds of heaven.”

63-64 Then the High Priest tore his robes and cried, “Why do we still need witnesses? You heard the blasphemy; what is your opinion now?”

65 And their verdict was that he deserved to die. Then some of them began to spit at him. They blindfolded him and then slapped him, saying, “Now prophesy who hit you!” Even the servants who took him away slapped his face.

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