Hearings before priestly authorities; Peter’s denials
Life of Jesus · Draft · BSB
Content revision: 235cd09bd34c5d70 · No editorial review date recorded
Date: Final Passover through resurrection appearances. The crucifixion is commonly dated to AD 30 or 33. The closing stop extends through the forty-day appearance period in Acts; the whole group is not one eight-day interval.
Jesus is questioned before priestly authorities and the council, while Peter repeatedly denies knowing him. The accounts describe accusations, testimony, abuse and Jesus’s answer concerning his identity before he is handed over to Pilate.
John begins with Annas; Matthew and Mark emphasize the high priest’s hearing; Luke places the council’s questioning at daybreak. These scenes concern named authorities and participants, not collective guilt for Jewish people. Jesus and his followers are Jewish.
Primary Scripture
26:57 Those who had arrested Jesus led Him away to the house of Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and elders had gathered.
26:58 But Peter followed Him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. And he went in and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.
26:59 Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking false testimony against Jesus in order to put Him to death.
26:60 But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward
26:61 and declared, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”
26:62 So the high priest stood up and asked Him, “Have You no answer? What are these men testifying against You?”
26:63 But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to Him, “I charge You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God.”
26:64 “You have said it yourself,” Jesus answered. “But I say to all of you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
26:65 At this, the high priest tore his clothes and declared, “He has blasphemed! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy.
26:66 What do you think?” “He deserves to die,” they answered.
26:67 Then they spit in His face and struck Him. Others slapped Him
26:68 and said, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who hit You?”
26:69 Meanwhile, Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came up to him. “You also were with Jesus the Galilean,” she said.
26:70 But he denied it before them all: “I do not know what you are talking about.”
26:71 When Peter had gone out to the gateway, another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
26:72 And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man!”
26:73 After a little while, those standing nearby came up to Peter. “Surely you are one of them,” they said, “for your accent gives you away.”
26:74 At that he began to curse and swear to them, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed.
26:75 Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.
27:1 When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people conspired against Jesus to put Him to death.
27:2 They bound Him, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate the governor.
14:53 They led Jesus away to the high priest, and all the chief priests, elders, and scribes assembled.
14:54 Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he sat with the officers and warmed himself by the fire.
14:55 Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but they did not find any.
14:56 For many bore false witness against Jesus, but their testimony was inconsistent.
14:57 Then some men stood up and testified falsely against Him:
14:58 “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this man-made temple, and in three days I will build another that is made without hands.’”
14:59 But even their testimony was inconsistent.
14:60 So the high priest stood up before them and questioned Jesus, “Have You no answer? What are these men testifying against You?”
14:61 But Jesus remained silent and made no reply. Again the high priest questioned Him, “Are You the Christ, 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 of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
14:63 At this, the high priest tore his clothes and declared, “Why do we need any more witnesses?
14:64 You have heard the blasphemy. What is your verdict?” And they all condemned Him as deserving of death.
14:65 Then some of them began to spit on Him. They blindfolded Him, struck Him with their fists, and said to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers received Him with slaps in His face.
14:66 While Peter was in the courtyard below, one of the servant girls of the high priest came down
14:67 and saw him warming himself there. She looked at Peter and said, “You also were with Jesus the Nazarene.”
14:68 But he denied it. “I do not know or even understand what you are talking about,” he said. Then he went out to the gateway, and the rooster crowed.
14:69 There the servant girl saw him and again said to those standing nearby, “This man is one of them.”
14:70 But he denied it again. After a little while, those standing nearby said once more to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you too are a Galilean.”
14:71 But he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak!”
14:72 And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And he broke down and wept.
22:54 Then they seized Jesus, led Him away, and took Him into the house of the high priest. And Peter followed at a distance.
22:55 When those present had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them.
22:56 A servant girl saw him seated in the firelight and looked intently at him. “This man also was with Him,” she said.
22:57 But Peter denied it. “Woman, I do not know Him,” he said.
22:58 A short time later, someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.”
22:59 About an hour later, another man insisted, “Certainly this man was with Him, for he too is a Galilean.”
22:60 “Man, I do not know what you are talking about,” Peter replied. And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.
22:61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word that the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.”
22:62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.
22:63 The men who were holding Jesus began to mock Him and beat Him.
22:64 They blindfolded Him and kept demanding, “Prophesy! Who hit You?”
22:65 And they said many other blasphemous things against Him.
22:66 At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and scribes, met together. They led Jesus into their Sanhedrin and said,
22:67 “If You are the Christ, tell us.” Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe.
22:68 And if I ask you a question, you will not answer.
22:69 But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”
22:70 So they all asked, “Are You then the Son of God?” He replied, “You say that I am.”
22:71 “Why do we need any more testimony?” they declared. “We have heard it for ourselves from His own lips.”
18:13 They brought Him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year.
18:14 Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be better if one man died for the people.
18:15 Now Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he also went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest.
18:16 But Peter stood outside at the door. Then the disciple who was known to the high priest went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter in.
18:17 At this, the servant girl watching the door said to Peter, “Aren’t you also one of this man’s disciples?” “I am not,” he answered.
18:18 Because it was cold, the servants and officers were standing around a charcoal fire they had made to keep warm. And Peter was also standing with them, warming himself.
18:19 Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about His disciples and His teaching.
18:20 “I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus answered. “I always taught in the synagogues and at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret.
18:21 Why are you asking Me? Ask those who heard My message. Surely they know what I said.”
18:22 When Jesus had said this, one of the officers standing nearby slapped Him in the face and said, “Is this how You answer the high priest?”
18:23 Jesus replied, “If I said something wrong, testify as to what was wrong. But if I spoke correctly, why did you strike Me?”
18:24 Then Annas sent Him, still bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.
18:25 Simon Peter was still standing and warming himself. So they asked him, “Aren’t you also one of His disciples?” He denied it and said, “I am not.”
18:26 One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Didn’t I see you with Him in the garden?”
18:27 Peter denied it once more, and immediately a rooster crowed.
Related Scripture
Deuteronomy 19:15–21 · teaching
The Torah’s requirements for witnesses provide context for the accounts of false or inconsistent testimony.
Location evidence
The hearings and Peter’s denials occur in the Jerusalem setting. The accounts distinguish authorities and rooms or courtyards without mapping a recoverable sequence of buildings.
Event map marker: Identified site; [longitude, latitude] = [35.23494, 31.77744]. This is a teaching marker, not an exact event venue.
Jerusalem: Identified site. Coordinates [longitude, latitude]: [35.23494, 31.77744]. Classification source: rule.
Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire
Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire
For the class
What contrast emerges between Jesus’s testimony and Peter’s denials?
Interpretation and reuse
Narrative order is a reading arrangement, not a proven chronology. Dates retain their stated uncertainty. An identified locality does not establish the exact venue or prove an event. Region extents and routes are illustrative, not surveyed boundaries or ancient roads. Draft material has not completed editorial review.
Record source: theographic (455)
Record source: editorial
Events and places adapted from Theographic Bible Metadata (github.com/robertrouse/theographic-bible-metadata), CC BY-SA 4.0. This adapted data is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Place coordinates from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding Data, CC BY 4.0.
Teaching stops, summaries and regional extents are original editorial content of this atlas.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain. https://berean.bible/licensing.htm