Caiaphas

Pilate somehow has my sympathy. Though he is ultimately a weak man lacking the integrity to do what he thinks is right, I can at least see what some of his motives are and have a little sympathy for him. Caiaphas not so much. Caiaphas just seems to be out there hating. The Pharisees seem to have a deep love of the Law, which though it has become distorted to the point that they cannot listen to what God is teaching them, the motive at least starts in a good place. Not feeling that with Caiaphas. (Strangely, I also have no sympathy for Saducees.)

I wonder. Did Caiaphas truly realize what Christ was going to bring about? Did he understand that the high priesthood was about to change hands forever, from Caiaphas to Jesus? Was there any part of a good original motive to Caiaphas' hatred of Jesus? (Not that a good motive can make a bad thing good, but it can at least make it more understandable.) All I see when I look at Caiaphas is a man that wants his power and does not want anything to challenge it. He is not at all willing to listen to what Jesus is saying. Jesus is stirring things up, so Jesus must go.

Think about this, though. Caiaphas was the high priest that year. As such, he had authority given to him by God. Although he meant to use that authority in a way that pleased himself, the authority was bigger than Caiaphas and led to that authority being used for God instead. Are you confused yet?

Here's what I mean. As the Sanhedrin became more scared of Jesus and the miracles that He worked (afraid that it would lead to their land being taken), Caiaphas spoke up, "You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation does not perish." Caiaphas may have only meant to state his case and plot to kill Jesus. However, John says that there was more to it than that: "He did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God." (See John 11:47-52)

I am blown away when I think of the malice intended by Caiaphas when he spoke those words, and the hope that they truly contain. Christ did indeed die for us, that we should not perish.

There is another action of Caiaphas' that I was reading about yesterday. It was an action that was meant to display the depth of Caiaphas' hate and malice towards Jesus. Yet it was in effect an acknowledgement of the handing over of the levitical priesthood to Jesus, the new high priest, who would be priest forever; a priest of a new covenant and a new law (see Hebrew 7:11-12).

Turn with me if you will to Mark 14:63: "At that, the high priest tore his garments..."

That does not sound like much to me, but if you read footnotes that smart people have written, it becomes so much more. In the Ignatius Catholic study Bible there is a footnote on this passage:

"The Bible often associates [tearing clothes] with overwhelming sorrow or distress (Gen 37:29; 2 Kings 19:1; Ezra 9:3). Here the high priest disregards Mosaic law, which forbids priests to tear their vestments (Lev 10:6; 21:10)."

It then goes on to quote what St. Bede had to say about this passage:

"The drama of Caiaphas tearing his vestments signifies the termination of the Old Covenant priesthood. In contrast, the seamless garment of Jesus is not torn, but remains intact (Jn 19:23-24), signifying that the new priesthood of Christ will last forever (Heb 7:23-24).