Real People meet a Real God: John and Caiaphas

Did the High Priest know John the Apostle?

Although Annas was the senior high priest according to the Jews, his son-in law Caiaphas was the functioning high priest appointed by the Romans. John was by tradition the youngest and "least" of the apostles. Could Caiaphas have known John?

"Let him in. That's my friend."

The answer comes from the gospel written by John himself: "Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest" (18:15). That is the un-named disciple that runs like a thread through the length of the gospel, and always refers to John himself.

How could a man at the pinnacle of priestly power in Jerusalem know a young commercial fisherman from the northern end of the Sea of Galilee, 90 miles away? It is less improbable than it seems, for the markets in Jerusalem were where you could fetch the highest price possible for dried, salted fish guaranteed to be prepared according to the dietary customs of the Jews. Either alone or with his brother or his father Zebedee, in the past John had been known at the back (market) gate of Caiaphas' place, hawking his wares.

This need not have been a close relationship between Caiaphas and John. John's presence at the house had been known, and perhaps the fish he brought to sell had been greatly appreciated. Caiaphas would not have been in the habit of answering the door, for that was always the job of a servant girl, and the household staff would have been in charge of buying food from merchants such as John.

And the servant girl was doing her job well: Simon Peter, who was with John, was a stranger at Caiaphas' house and was therefor barred from entering, even though he was following the crowd that had arrested Jesus.. John had to intercede with the servant girl and vouch for him, perhaps saying "It's okay, he's my friend."

"You Aren't One of That Man's Disciples, Are You?"

"Nope. I'm not a disciple."

Yes, she's doing her job, although you and I might fault the security system at Caiaphas' house. She probably had backup available to screen out unwanted visitors. But now, inside the perimeter, were two dedicated followers of "that man" that had just been arrested on orders of her boss and was being held at another level of the courtyard.

You can spot John in movies or paintings, because he is always portrayed as beardless because of his youth. Just check out the paintings of Rembrandt or the portrayal of the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. By the time of Jesus' arrest, John had been with Jesus for three years, yet he's still been unable to grow the beard worn by any self-respecting Jew of the first century.

"I Tell You, I Don't Know the Man!"

"I tell you, I don't know the man!"

Peter is digging himself deeper in his denials. The third time he denied Jesus, he made eye contact with him across the courtyard, and realized what he had been doing. A rooster crowed as Jesus had foretold, and Peter began to weep bitterly, leaving John behind in the courtyard.

But the story of John and Caiaphas (and Peter) does not end there. About a year or two later, John and Peter healed a lame beggar outside the temple in the name of Jesus. They were arrested and brought before Annas and Caiaphas.

"By What Power, Or in What Name, Have You Done This?

"There is salvation in no one else but Jesus."

By this time Peter was a changed man. He had been teaching and preaching with great power, and many were becoming followers of the "Way" of Jesus. Peter said, "There is salvation in no one else but Jesus; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."

The priests conferred in the high council, then told John and Peter not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But they said, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge, for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard." Then the high council released them, for no laws had been broken that they could charge to John and Peter.

Some 30 years later, when John was writing his gospel, he remembered what he had learned that happened in the high council before they arrested Jesus. Caiaphas had declared, "It is better for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish." John wrote that Caiaphas, because he was high priest, had been inspired to speak those words prophetically, even though he did not understand what he was saying.