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1. |
All legal
proceedings, including arrests, were forbidden at
night. It was a well-established and inflexible rule
of Hebrew law that arrests and trials leading to
capital punishment (death), could not occur at
night. (Walter M. Chandler, The Trial of Jesus,
Volume 1, Pages 226-227).
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2. |
The use of a
traitor, and thus an accomplice, in effecting an
arrest or securing a conviction was forbidden by
Hebrew law. "Turning State's evidence" was illegal
in Hebrew jurisprudence (Leviticus 19:16-18).
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3. |
The arrest was
not the result of a legal summons which was a
violation of Hebrew law.
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4. |
According to
Hebrew law it was illegal to bind an uncondemned man
(John 18:12-13).
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5. |
Hebrew law
prohibited a judge or a magistrate, sitting alone,
from questioning an accused person judicially, or to
sit in judgment on his legal rights, either by day
or by night.
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6. |
No one-judge
courts were allowed - their smallest sessions had
three and their largest, seventy-one judges.
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7. |
Private
preliminary hearings (no matter how many judges were
present) were specifically forbidden by Jewish law.
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8. |
The striking of
Jesus by the officer during the hearing before Annas
(John 18:22) was an act of brutality which Hebrew
jurisprudence did not tolerate.
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9. |
The accused must
not be condemned on his own confession. In violation
of this fundamental principle, Caiaphas directly
asked Jesus to testify against Himself (John 18:19),
and when He refused, allowed Him to be struck (John
18:22).
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10. |
In the case of a
capital (death sentence) trial, sentence could not
be pronounced until the afternoon of the second day.
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11. |
The Hebrew trial
of Jesus was thus illegal for it was concluded
within one day and because it took place before the
morning sacrifice and on the day before the Sabbath.
Also illegally held the day before a Jewish
ceremonial holy day - the Passover. In addition,
court trials were not permitted on a festival or
ceremonial Sabbath, such as the Passover, nor on the
day before it took place. The trial of Jesus
occurred on the day before both the weekly Sabbath
and the Yearly Passover, which was a ceremonial
Sabbath. Therefore, for these reasons, the trial of
Jesus was unlawful by Jewish law.
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12. |
No testimony is
valid unless the witnesses all agreed in each detail
(Mark 14:55-59).
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13. |
The accuser
cannot also be the judge: "If a … witness rise up
against any man … then both … shall stand before the
judges" (Deut. 19:16-17). All of the Gospel accounts
of the trial confirm this violation, with Caiaphas
acting as prosecuting attorney as well as chief
judge. |
