Section 14:53–65

The Jewish leaders decided that Jesus should die

After the crowd arrested Jesus, they took him to the high priest’s house. The Jewish leaders had gathered there to have Jesus’ trial in an upper level of that house. Peter followed the crowd at a distance and went into the courtyard outside the house. The Jewish leaders tried to find witnesses who would accuse Jesus of doing something against their law.

When the witnesses could not agree with each other, the high priest questioned Jesus. He wanted to learn about anything that Jesus had done wrong. Then he would use that as a good reason to take Jesus to the Roman governor, Pilate, for an official trial. When the high priest asked Jesus if he was the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One, Jesus said that he was. This allowed the Jewish leaders to accuse Jesus of blasphemy. They said that Jesus deserved to die. So they had a good reason to take Jesus to Pilate for trial to get the death sentence. Then they abused and mocked Jesus.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

Jesus is tried/questioned by the Jewish council
-or-
The Jewish leaders condemned Jesus
-or-
Jesus’ trial before the leaders of the Jews

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 26:57–68, Luke 22:54, 66–71, and John 18:12–15, 19–24.

Paragraph 14:53–54

Most of the people whom Mark mentioned in this Section 14:53–72 were already mentioned earlier, but they are introduced again in this paragraph. In verse 53 Mark listed the high priest as well as the chief priests, elders, and teachers of the law. They were the ones who sent the crowd to arrest Jesus (14:43c–d). These Jewish leaders were the members of the Jewish council, which was called the Sanhedrin (see 14:55a).

In verse 54 Mark described what Peter was doing. This prepares his readers for the account of how Peter denied Jesus (14:66–72).

14:53a

They: The word They refers to the people in the crowd who arrested Jesus in 14:46. Refer back to them in a natural way in your language. The New Century Version says:

The people who arrested Jesus (New Century Version)

led away: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as led away can mean either “took” or “led.” In this context they brought Jesus to the house of the high priest.

to the high priest: The phrase to the high priest indicates that the crowd took Jesus to the place where the high priest was. The high priest was the leader of the Jewish council, so he would guide Jesus’ trial. The next verse indicates that the trial happened in the high priest’s house, which was a large house with a courtyard. In some languages it may be more natural to mention the high priest’s house here in 14:53, as several English versions do. For example, the Revised English Bible says:

Then they led Jesus away to the high priest’s house.

high priest: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as high priest literally means the “most important priest.” The high priest was the leader of all the other Jewish priests, including the chief priests. See how you translated high priest in 2:26a.

14:53b

all the chief priests, elders, and scribes: These three groups together represented the Jewish leaders.

the chief priests: A Jewish priest was a man who offered sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. He also performed other rituals for them. The phrase chief priests refers to the leaders among these priests.

Here are some other ways to translate chief priests:

the leading/ruling priests
-or-
the elders among the Jewish sacrificers
-or-
the most prominent priests

See how you translated chief priests in 14:43d.

elders: The elders were the civil leaders or rulers. See how you translated elders in 8:31c and 11:27c.

scribes: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as scribes is sometimes translated as “teachers of the law” (as in the New International Version). In the time of Jesus, their main work was to study, interpret, and teach the law of Moses, as well as other Jewish laws and traditions. This same title was in 14:1b and 14:43d. See also teacher of the law in the Glossary.

assembled: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as assembled can also mean “gathered themselves together” or “met together.” The text implies that these men had already come together with the high priest at his house.

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