Matthew 26:63

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Matthew 26:57-68

We have here the arraignment of our Lord Jesus in the ecclesiastical court, before the great sanhedrim. Observe, I. The sitting of the court; the scribes and the elders were assembled, though it was in the dead time of the night, when other people were fast asleep in their beds; yet, to gratify their malice against Christ, they denied themselves that natural rest, and sat up all night, to be ready to fall upon the prey which Judas and his men, they hoped, would seize. See, 1. Who they were,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 26:63

But Jesus held his peace ,.... Knowing it would signify nothing, whatever he should say, they being set upon his death, the time of which was now come; and therefore he quietly submits, and says nothing in his own defence to prevent it. To be silent in a court of judicature, Apollonius Tyanaeus F3 Philostrat. Vita Apollouii, l. 8. c. 1. says, is the fourth virtue; this Christ had, and all others: and the high priest answered and said unto him ; though Christ had said nothing, a way... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 26:63

I adjure thee by the living God - I put thee to thy oath. To this solemn adjuration Christ immediately replies, because he is now called on, in the name of God, to bear another testimony to the truth. The authority of God in the most worthless magistrate should be properly respected. However necessary our Lord saw it to be silent, when the accusations were frivolous, and the evidence contradictory, he felt no disposition to continue this silence, when questioned concerning a truth, for which... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 26:63

Verse 63 63.I adjure thee by the living God. The high priest thought that this alone was a crime sufficient to condemn Christ, if he professed that he was the Christ. But since they all boasted of expecting redemption from Christ, he ought first to have inquired if such was the fact. That there would be a Christ, by whose hands the people were to be delivered, they would not have ventured to deny. Jesus came publicly forward, bearing the title of the Christ. Why do they not consider the fact... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 26:57-68

Jesus before Caiaphas, informally condemned to death. ( Mark 14:53-65 ; Luke 22:54 , Luke 22:63-65 ; John 18:24 .) read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 26:57-68

Christ before Caiaphas. The key to the examination of our Lord by Caiaphas is found in the fact that Caiaphas was the person who had declared it to be expedient that one man should die for the people. This, reduced from the high-sounding phraseology of an abstract maxim to its practical significance as a policy, meant that justice to individuals must not be too scrupulously cared for if the good of the state seems to require injustice; that at any cost of injustice to an individual the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 26:57-68

The demoralized council. The tribunal before which Jesus was arraigned was composed of "all the chief priests," with the high priest at their head, and all the "elders and scribes." It was the Sanhedrin, by the Jews claimed to have originated in the time of Moses, and by learned critics acknowledged to have been at least as ancient as the time of Jonathan Maccabaeus. Once a venerable judicial assembly, it had now degenerated into a cabal. I. ITS COUNCILORS ARE MURDERERS . 1 .... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 26:57-75

The palace of Caiaphas. I. THE PRELIMINARY TRIAL . 1. The meeting of the Sanhedrin. St. John tells us that our Lord was led first before Annas, for a hasty informal examination. Perhaps it was thought that the astute Annas, with that snake-like cunning which was attributed to him, might elicit something which might tell against the Prisoner. But the craft of the old high priest and the brutality of his officers were alike unavailing; and the Lord was sent to Caiaphas. The... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 26:63

Jesus hold his peace; ἐσιω ì πα : continued silent (cf. Matthew 27:12-14 ). "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth," etc. ( Isaiah 53:7 ; cf. Psalms 38:13 , Psalms 38:14 ). He knew it was of no use, and was not the moment, to explain the mystery of the words which he had used. Indeed, it was unfair to ask him to explain the discrepancies in the alleged testimony. "Attempts at defence were unprofitable, no man hearing. For this was a show only... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 26:63-65

Christ and Caiaphas. Jesus now stands face to face with the head of the old Jewish religion. The official leader of the nation is for the first time confronted by the Man who claims to be its true King. Caiaphas could not but look upon Christ with the jealousy a selfish man in power feels for his rival. But Jesus was more than a rival of the high priest. He laid claim to a rank which Caiaphas never dreamed of assuming. We do not wonder that the ecclesiastical judge examined his Prisoner with... read more

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