Mark 14:53-65

Condemned by the Sanhedrin

14:53 Then ¹  they led Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests and elders and experts in the law ²  came together. 14:54 And Peter had followed him from a distance, up to the high priest’s courtyard. He ³  was sitting with the guards ⁴  and warming himself by the fire. 14:55 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find anything. 14:56 Many gave false testimony against him, but their testimony did not agree. 14:57 Some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: ⁵  14:58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands and in three days build another not made with hands.’” 14:59 Yet even on this point their testimony did not agree. 14:60 Then ⁶  the high priest stood up before them ⁷  and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer? What is this that they are testifying against you?” 14:61 But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest questioned him, ⁸  “Are you the Christ, ⁹  the Son of the Blessed One?” 14:62 “I am,” said Jesus, “and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand ¹⁰  of the Power ¹¹  and coming with the clouds of heaven.” ¹²  14:63 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “Why do we still need witnesses? 14:64 You have heard the blasphemy! What is your verdict?” ¹³  They all condemned him as deserving death. 14:65 Then ¹⁴  some began to spit on him, and to blindfold him, and to strike him with their fists, saying, “Prophesy!” The guards also took him and beat ¹⁵  him.

[14:53]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[14:53]  ² tn Or “and scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

[14:54]  ³ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[14:54]  ⁴ sn The guards would have been the guards of the chief priests who had accompanied Judas to arrest Jesus.

[14:57]  ⁵ tn Grk “Some standing up gave false testimony against him, saying.”

[14:60]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[14:60]  ⁷ tn Grk “in the middle.”

[14:61]  ⁸ tn Grk “questioned him and said to him.”

[14:61]  ⁹ tn Or “the Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[14:62]  ¹⁰ sn An allusion to Ps 110:1. This is a claim that Jesus shares authority with God in heaven. Those present may have thought they were his judges, but, in fact, the reverse was true.

[14:62]  ¹¹ sn The expression the right hand of the Power is a circumlocution for referring to God. Such indirect references to God were common in 1st century Judaism out of reverence for the divine name.

[14:62]  ¹² sn An allusion to Dan 7:13.

[14:64]  ¹³ tn Grk “What do you think?”

[14:65]  ¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[14:65]  ¹⁵ tn For the translation of ῥάπισμα (rJapisma), see L&N 19.4.