SEV Biblia, Chapter 26:59
Y los príncipes de los sacerdotes, y los ancianos, y todo el consejo, buscaban falso testimonio contra Jess, para entregarlo a la muerte;
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Matthew 26:59
Verse 59. All the council sought false witness] What a prostitution of justice!-they first resolve to ruin him, and then seek the proper means of effecting it: they declare him criminal, and after that do all they can to fix some crime upon him, that they may appear to have some shadow of justice on their side when they put him to death. It seems to have been a common custom of this vile court to employ false witness, on any occasion, to answer their own ends. See this exemplified in the case of Stephen, Acts vi. 11-13.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 59. Now the chief priests and elders, and all the counsel , etc.] Or sanhedrim, which consisted, as the Jewish writers say f1589 , of priests, Levites, and Israelites, of both ecclesiastics and laics; the ecclesiastics were the priests and Levites, and the laics the Israelites, or elders of the people; for if priests and Levites could not be found, a sanhedrim might consist of those only; and so those words in ( Deuteronomy 21:2), thy elders, are thus interpreted f1590 , lwdgh yd tyb hz , this is the great sanhedrim; and though a king of Israel might not sit in the sanhedrim, yet an high priest might, if he was a man of wisdom f1591 , and it seems as if Caiaphas was now at the head of this council, by its being assembled at his palace; which though it was not the usual place where they met, yet might be chose at this time for greater secrecy. Now these thus assembled together, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death ; they first take him up, and then seek out for witnesses against him; being determined, right or wrong, to put him to death, if possible; and false witnesses too, even those whose business it was, to examine and detect false witnesses, and to inflict the same punishment upon them, which they by their false testimony intended to have brought on another, ( Deuteronomy 19:18,19). And besides, it was in the night, when it was forbid by their canons to begin the trial of capital causes, or to receive and admit of witnesses f1592 . Indeed the Syriac and Persic versions read, only witnesses, or witness, and leave out the word false; perhaps imagining, that men could never be so wicked, to seek out for false witnesses: but this need not be wondered at, when these men were bent upon the death of Christ at any rate; and were aware that nothing true could be objected to him, that would legally take away his life; and besides, their manner of procedure in judgment against a false prophet, a deceiver, and one that enticed to idolatry, and such an one they would have Jesus to be, was quite different from what they took with other persons: their canon runs thus f1593 : the judgment of a deceiver, is not as the rest of capital judgments; his witnesses are hid; and he has no need, or ought not to have any premonition, or warning, as the rest of those that are put to death; and if he goes out of the sanhedrim acquitted, and one says I can prove the charge against him, they turn him back; but if he goes out condemned, and one says I can prove him innocent the do not return him. So in the Misna it is said, of all that are condemned to death in the law, none have their witnesses hidden but this (the deceiver, or one that entices to idolatry) and they hide his witnesses behind a wall, or hedge; and he (whom he endeavoured to seduce) says to him, say what thou hast said to me privately; and if he repeats it to him, he must say, how shall we leave our God that is in heaven, and go and serve stocks and stones! if he repents, it is well; but if he should say, so we are bound to do, and so it becomes us, they that stand behind the wall, or hedge, shall carry him to the sanhedrim and stone him.
In the Gemara it is thus expressed f1595 , they light up a lamp in the innermost house, and set the witnesses in the outermost house, so that they can see him and hear his voice, and he cannot see them.
And then follows what is said before, to which is added, so they did to Ben Stada; by whom they mean Jesus of Nazareth. Moreover, this need not seem strange, that they took such a course with Christ, when in the case of Stephen, they suborned and set up false witnesses against him. The sanhedrim cannot be thought to do this in person, but they sent out their officers to seek for such men, as could or would produce anything against him, and no doubt promised them an handsome reward.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 57-68 - Jesus was hurried into Jerusalem. It looks ill, and bodes worse, when those who are willing to be Christ's disciples, are not willing to be known to be so. Here began Peter's denying him: for to follow Chris afar off, is to begin to go back from him. It is more our concern to prepare for the end, whatever it may be, than curiously to ask what the end will be. The event is God's, but the duty is ours. Now the Scriptures were fulfilled, which said, False witnesses are risen u against me. Christ was accused, that we might not be condemned; and i at any time we suffer thus, let us remember we cannot expect to far better than our Master. When Christ was made sin for us, he was silent and left it to his blood to speak. Hitherto Jesus had seldom professe expressly to be the Christ, the Son of God; the tenor of his doctrin spoke it, and his miracles proved it; but now he would not omit to make an open confession of it. It would have looked like declining his sufferings. He thus confessed, as an example and encouragement to his followers, to confess him before men, whatever hazard they ran Disdain, cruel mocking, and abhorrence, are the sure portion of the disciple as they were of the Master, from such as would buffet an deride the Lord of glory. These things were exactly foretold in the fiftieth chapter of Isaiah. Let us confess Christ's name, and bear the reproach, and he will confess us before his Father's throne.
Greek Textus Receptus
οι 3588 T-NPM δε 1161 CONJ αρχιερεις 749 N-NPM και 2532 CONJ οι 3588 T-NPM πρεσβυτεροι 4245 A-NPM και 2532 CONJ το 3588 T-NSN συνεδριον 4892 N-NSN ολον 3650 A-NSN εζητουν 2212 5707 V-IAI-3P ψευδομαρτυριαν 5577 N-ASF κατα 2596 PREP του 3588 T-GSM ιησου 2424 N-GSM οπως 3704 ADV αυτον 846 P-ASM θανατωσωσιν 2289 5661 V-AAS-3P
Robertson's NT Word Studies
26:59 {Sought false witness against Jesus} (ezetoun yeudomarturian). Imperfect tense, kept on seeking. Judges have no right to be prosecutors and least of all to seek after false witness and even to offer bribes to get it.
