The leaders did not adhere to God’s law in the manner of sentencing Jesus to death: the trial was held at night; the witness’ stories did not corroborate so it should have been halted right there; the top official challenged Jesus Himself, which was illegal; and they abused Him during the trial. The charge they brought before Pilate was not the charge they brought against Him to bring Him to trial.
It was abhorrent on all counts. Everyone knew that the leaders had it in for Jesus because they were jealous of His popularity.
They bungled it from start to finish. Jesus had to “help” them by answering the question so they would nail Him with blasphemy. That was a capital offense, and they ran with it. But there was one problem. Jesus was deity, so it wasn’t blasphemy but Truth.
In Matthew 23, Jesus nailed the religious leaders for many grievous sins, which only angered them the more. They did not repent but sought to kill Jesus.
