Caiaphas

In the New Testament, Caiaphas was the Jewish high priest to whom Jesus was taken after his arrest in the garden of Gethsemane, and who played a part in Jesus' crucifixion. Passages involving Caiaphas are among those from scripture cited over the years by those wishing a Biblical justification for anti-Semitism.

In Matthew chapter 26, Caiaphas, other high priests, and the Sanhedrin are shown looking for "false evidence" with which to frame Jesus. (26:59) Once Jesus declares he is the Son of God, Caiaphas and the other men charge him with blasphemy and beat him up. (26:66-67)

In John chapter 18, Jesus is brought before Caiaphas and questioned, with intermittent beatings. Afterward, the other priests (Caiaphas does not accompany them) take Jesus to Pontius Pilate, the governor of Judea, and insist upon Jesus' execution. Pilate tells the priests to judge Jesus themselves, to which they respond they lack authority to do so. Pilate questions Jesus, after which he states, "I find no basis for a charge against him." Pilate then offers the Jews the choice of one prisoner to release — said to be a Passover tradition — and the Jews choose a rebel named Barabbas instead of Jesus. (18:38-40)