Mark 14:53-66

Condemned by the Sanhedrin

14:53 Then they led Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests and elders and experts in the law came together. 14:54 And Peter had followed him from a distance, up to the high priest’s courtyard. He was sitting with the guards 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: 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 the high priest stood up before them 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, “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 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.

Peter’s Denials

14:66 Now 16  while Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the high priest’s slave girls 17  came by.


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

tn Or “and scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

sn The guards would have been the guards of the chief priests who had accompanied Judas to arrest Jesus.

tn Grk “Some standing up gave false testimony against him, saying.”

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

tn Grk “in the middle.”

tn Grk “questioned him and said to him.”

tn Or “the Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

sn See the note on Christ in 8:29.

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.

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.

12 sn An allusion to Dan 7:13.

13 tn Grk “What do you think?”

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

15 tn For the translation of ῥάπισμα (rJapisma), see L&N 19.4.

16 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

17 tn The Greek term here is παιδίσκη (paidiskh), referring to a slave girl or slave woman.