Matthew 26:59

The chief priests. Probably the high priest Caiaphas, together with Annas, an ex-high priest, and other living men who had held the office at one time or another. See on Luke 3:2.

All the council. That is, except for members of the council friendly to Jesus. These had been deliberately excluded from the plan to capture and condemn Jesus, and thus were not summoned upon this occasion (see on v. 66). This “council” was the Great Sanhedrin, which normally consisted of 71 members, and which was, at this time, the highest executive, legislative, and judicial body (see p. 67).

Sought. Or, “were seeking.” The tense of the Greek verb suggests that the leaders experienced considerable difficulty in finding the kind of witnesses they wanted, and that they had to keep on seeking for them for some time.

False witness. For two years the Sanhedrin had spies following Jesus, in order that all He said and did might be reported (see DA 213, 699). But these spies had not returned with any information useful to the leaders’ evil purposes. For the report of one group sent to arrest Jesus see John 7:32, 45-48. For a discussion of the illegal aspects of the trial of our Lord, and for the fears of the Jewish leaders that they might not be able to secure His conviction, see Additional Notes at end of chapter, Note 2.

To put him to death. This had already been determined. But they had no case against Jesus, much as they might dislike Him, and in their haste had not had time to manufacture one. They hoped to discredit Jesus in the eyes of His fellow countrymen by proving the charge of blasphemy, and to incriminate Him before the Romans on the charge of sedition (see DA 699). They doubtless hoped to dispose of the case immediately and to get Jesus into the hands of the Romans, where, accused of exciting rebellion, He would have no chance of escape through the interference of His friends. The Jews objected to His claim to be the Son of God, and the Romans would, they thought, object to Him as King of the Jews.