CCC 596

The religious authorities in Jerusalem were not unanimous about what stance to take towards Jesus.³⁸⁰ cf. Jn 9:16; 10:19. The Pharisees threatened to excommunicate his followers.³⁸¹ Cf Jn 9:22. To those who feared that "everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation", the high priest Caiaphas replied by prophesying: "It is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish."³⁸² Jn 11:48-50. The Sanhedrin, having declared Jesus deserving of death as a blasphemer but having lost the right to put anyone to death, hands him over to the Romans, accusing him of political revolt, a charge that puts him in the same category as Barabbas who had been accused of sedition.³⁸³ Cf. Mt 26:66; Jn 18:31; Lk 23:2, 19. The chief priests also threatened Pilate politically so that he would condemn Jesus to death.³⁸⁴ Cf. Jn 19:12, 15, 21.