Then
the high priest tore his clothing, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Behold, now you have heard his blasphemy. What do you think?” They answered, “He is worthy of death!”
Matthew 26:65-66
Matthew 26 [64.] Jesus said to him, “You have said it. Nevertheless, I tell you, after this you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of the sky.”
Matthew 26 [65.] Then the high priest tore his clothing, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Behold, now you have heard his blasphemy. What do you think?”
They answered, “He is worthy of death!” Then they spit in his face and beat him with their fists, and some slapped him, saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who hit you?”
Matthew 26 [69.] Now Peter was sitting outside in the court, and a maid came to him, saying, “You were also with Jesus, the Galilean!”
Meaning:
The night trial reaches its climax. Under oath Jesus has confirmed that he is the Christ, the Son of God, and declared, “after this you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of the sky” (Matthew 26:63-64). The high priest reacts at once with a dramatic gesture and calls for a verdict. Mark records the same moment (Mark 14:63-65).
- “Then the high priest tore his clothing”
Tearing one’s clothes was an ancient sign of grief, horror or outrage. When the Assyrian Rabshakeh mocked Yahweh, Hezekiah’s officials came “with their clothes torn” (2 Kings 18:37), and Paul and Barnabas tore their clothes when the people of Lystra tried to worship them (Acts 14:14). By the time of Jesus it was customary for judges to tear their garments on hearing blasphemy. Yet the Law said that the high priest “shall not let the hair of his head hang loose, or tear his clothes” (Leviticus 21:10). That command concerned mourning, but there is irony here. The high priest tore his robe in condemning the true High Priest, whose death would soon tear the temple veil from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51).
- “He has spoken blasphemy!”
Blasphemy meant speaking against God’s name or majesty. Under the Law, “He who blasphemes Yahweh’s name, he shall surely be put to death” (Leviticus 24:16). Jesus had claimed to be the Messiah and the Son of God, and applied to himself the visions of Psalm 110 and Daniel 7: the Lord seated at God’s right hand (Psalm 110:1) and the one “like a son of man” coming with the clouds of the sky to receive an everlasting kingdom (Daniel 7:13-14). He was claiming divine authority. Earlier the scribes had already said, “This man blasphemes”, when he forgave sins (Matthew 9:3). If Jesus were not who he said, the charge would be just. But his claim was true, and so the council itself was speaking against God’s Anointed.
- “Why do we need any more witnesses?”
The false witnesses had failed (Matthew 26:59-61). Now Caiaphas declares the problem solved: they had all heard Jesus’ own words. The high priest no longer examines the claim; he simply assumes it is false. There is no inquiry into the miracles, the fulfilled prophecies, or the possibility that Jesus might be telling the truth.
- “What do you think?” They answered, “He is worthy of death!”
The question is put to the council, and the answer comes at once. Mark says, “They all condemned him to be worthy of death” (Mark 14:64). Only the Roman governor could carry out an execution, so in the morning they would take Jesus to Pilate (Matthew 27:1-2). Later, before Pilate, they would say, “We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God” (John 19:7). Their verdict was immediately followed by spitting and beating (Matthew 26:67-68).
The Significance of Matthew 26:65-66
- The verdict that reveals the heart
The council did not condemn Jesus because the evidence was weak, but because they would not accept his claim. Every person must answer the same question about Jesus: is his claim to be the Son of God blasphemy, or the truth?
- The innocent condemned for the guilty
Jesus was declared “worthy of death”, though he had no sin. In God’s plan this unjust verdict became the way of salvation: “For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
- The Judge will judge
Those who judged Jesus will one day stand before him. As he told them, they would see the Son of Man coming on the clouds. One day “every knee should bow” and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11).
Cross-References:
Mark 14:63-64: "You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think?" Mark’s account of the verdict.
Leviticus 24:16: "He who blasphemes Yahweh’s name, he shall surely be put to death." The law the council applied.
Leviticus 21:10: "He who is the high priest among his brothers... shall not let the hair of his head hang loose, or tear his clothes." The high priest’s garments.
2 Corinthians 5:21: "For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf." The innocent One condemned for us.
Conclusion: Matthew 26:65-66 records how the high priest, on hearing Jesus confess that he is the Christ and the coming Son of Man, tore his clothing and declared, “He has spoken blasphemy!” Dismissing the need for witnesses, he asked the council for its judgment, and they answered, “He is worthy of death!” The passage shows the rejection of Jesus’ true identity by Israel’s leaders, and points to the innocent Son of God condemned in the place of sinners.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible