In Holy Week, many churches focus on the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday, the crucifixion on Good Friday, and the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday. Lost in this procession is one of the events of Holy Week that is most relevant to our modern age: the trial of Jesus and the role of the zealous prosecutor, Caiaphas, who pushed for his death.
At a juncture where our nation is re-evaluating our criminal law system, Jesus's trial lays out surprisingly modern themes. Judas was, after all, a paid informant who helped a task force find their target. There was a violent arrest, as Peter cut off the ear of Malchus the slave in a confusing tumult. At trial, the witnesses conflicted with one another, and the prosecutor sent a servant out to find more; that is likely why a servant was asking Peter if he knew Jesus just outside where the trial was going on. Even the execution method echoes some of the conflicts in the Supreme Court now -- the three-drug lethal injection protocol used in many states serves the same three functions (anesthetic, binding agent, killing agent) that the wine and myrrh, cross, and stabbing served in causing Jesus's death.
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