What does Matthew 26:57 mean?
Led by Judas (Matthew 26:25), the betrayer (Matthew 26:48), a group of Roman soldiers and Jewish temple guards have seized Jesus and bound Him (John 18:12). They now bring Jesus to the home of the high priest Caiaphas. At the same time, the members of the Jewish ruling body, the Sanhedrin, are being gathered in another part of Caiaphas' mansion to meet about Jesus.Matthew does not record Jesus' first interview with Annas, the former high priest before Caiaphas. Annas was Caiaphas's father-in-law. He had been removed from his position by secular authorities, and many of the Jewish people still considered him the "true" high priest. Jesus was taken to both men, likely to get a guilty verdict from everyone with any authority before the people could object to Jesus' arrest and trials.
John records Jesus' brief first interview with Annas before He was sent to Caiaphas. Annas questions Jesus about His teaching. Jesus responds that He has taught openly and in public for all to hear, suggesting that Annas ask others what they heard Him say. One of the officers strikes Jesus for this supposed disrespect. Jesus challenges the man, and Annas sends Jesus to appear before Roman-appointed Caiaphas (John 18:19–24).
Matthew 26:57–68 describes Jesus' sham trial before members of the Jewish ruling body. False witnesses accuse Jesus of crimes worthy of a death sentence; their attempts are so transparently false that the effort fails. Finally, the high priest challenges Jesus to state that He is the Messiah and the Son of God. Jesus agrees, and even adds to the declaration. The high priest and council agree Jesus is guilty of blasphemy and condemn Him to death. Mark 14:53–65, Luke 22:63–71, John 18:12–14, and John 18:19–24 explain different perspectives on the same events.
The Jewish religious leaders further their plots to arrest and kill Jesus, finding a willing traitor in Judas Iscariot. A woman anoints Christ with oil during a dinner at Bethany. Next, Jesus and the disciples hold the Passover meal in an upper room where Jesus predicts His arrests and introduces the sacrament of communion. Then Jesus prays in unimaginable agony in the garden of Gethsemane before being betrayed by Judas and captured. The disciples scatter. Before the high priest, Jesus explicitly claims to be divine. They convict Him of blasphemy and sentence Him to death. As this happens, Peter denies knowing Jesus and runs away in shame.