Jesus was taken before the priests for a preliminary hearing. At this stage Peter was still following at a distance, perhaps trying to convince himself that he would still stand up for Jesus.
The priests and Sanhedrin wanted to find an excuse to have Jesus put to death. If only they had realised that He was the One who could save them. However, they failed to find any evidence, despite many willing to give false testimonies. Nothing consistent could be found. According to the Law they needed at least two witnesses.
One accusation was that Jesus had said He would destroy the temple, probably an allusion to John 2:19. This isn't what Jesus actually said, He never said He would destroy the temple. Even so, nothing consistent could be found.
Jesus remained silent throughout this, even when the high priest tried to get an answer out of Him. Then the high pries asked Him directly if He was the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One. This latter term is equivalent to Son of God.
At this point Jesus speaks and says He is the Son of God, and that He would return in glory.
This gave the High Priest what he wanted. Jesus was condemned to death because of the truth. Jesus is the Son of God, this is a fact that can either lead to our salvation or our condemnation.
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