Why were the high priests mad at Jesus?

Answer 1

According to the New Testament, Jesus criticized them for their hypocrisy in the way they applied the law, and he also claimed they were making unnecessary additions to the law-- additional rules which they themselves did not adhere to. He said they strove to maintain man-made legalism while omitting the intended spirit of the original laws.

It should be noted, however, that not all scholars agree with this interpretation, as it paints the "high priests" as villains and hypocrites, when historical evidence suggests that many of the religious leaders were quite compassionate and not legalistic. It is also difficult to know whether the conflict presented in the New Testament between Jesus and the High Priests was as contentious as the story says. Certainly, if Jesus claimed to be a deity, or if he called the religious leaders hypocrites, this would have made him unpopular; Jesus was young and had a following, so he certainly might have been seen as a trouble-maker by some of the older establishment leaders. But there are some historians who question whether the story omits certain facts to make a larger religious point. There is no way to know if Jesus really did not like the Jewish religious establishment as a whole because he felt it needed reform, or if he actually only disliked certain members of it. Since he left no writings and since the gospels (which tell this story) were written many years later, there is no way to know.

Answer 2

They did not believe He was the Messiah.

Jesus did not fit the Pharisaic picture of the Messiah. The Pharisees did not expect Messiah would be a divine person, even though this idea is surely present in the Old Testament writings (for example, Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Micah 5:2). The idea of a "God-man" just did not compute with their theology-or with that of any other Jewish group.

Answer 3

Jesus was against their hypocrisy and He claimed to be the Son of God.

Roman Catholic AnswerIn claiming to be the Son of God, Jesus was committing the sin of blasphemy, the sin against the First Commandment, which is the most serious sin you can commit in Judaism.

Answer 4

One thought:

The Jewish nation was chosen to represent God (YHWH) on earth because of the warm friendship God shared with it's original ancestor, Abraham (a 'friend of God' Isaiah 41:8/James 2:23). Because of his faithfulness(Genesis 22:18/Hebrews 11:17-19) God promised that Messiah would come through Abraham's line, through Isaac and Jacob(Genesis 21:12/Hebrews 11:18). This nation had the responsibility of caring for the scriptures and teaching God's commandments(Isaiah 2:3/Romans 9:4/John 4:22), but they did not follow this course, and by the time Jesus came, the religious leaders were teaching their own traditions and not God's word(Matthew 15:9/Mark 7:7). Because they were no longer thinking God's thoughts(Psalm 78:37), they were looking for a powerful political 'Messiah' who would come to break the yoke of Roman domination. Though there are prophecies about a time when Messiah would come to set up God's kingdom(Daniel 2:44/Daniel 7:13 ), the FIRST coming of Messiah would NOT be with power, but with humility (Zechariah 9:9). This they missed.

The priests, by then 'secular' and very much part of 'the world'(John 19:15/John 15:17-21), wanted to kill Jesus for several reasons, one of which was Jesus' refusal to accept the oral traditions of the Jewish religious leaders, and his habit of exposing their false teachings and oppressive behavior.(John 8:31-47) Also, he was calling himself God's son, and fulfilling Messianic prophecies, performing obvious signs(John 11:33-44) , which they refused to accept(Acts 23:8/John 12:10+11). Because of this, and the bad tendencies that had developed in human hearts(James 4:5)they were filled with envy when the people responded favorably to Jesus' teachings(Matthew 27:1,2+18/Mark 15:10). One fear was, that if the people believed Jesus to be Messiah, the Romans might view this as sedition, and intervene in Jewish affairs...the religious leaders could loose 'their position and their nation'(John 11:45-48). Their anger and the results fulfilled prophecy(Isaiah 53:5+8+12).

Basically, they feared a loss of power & authority due to his growing popularity.

Answer 5

Of course, Christians will argue that the Sanhedrin was annoyed with Jesus because he either (1) demonstrated their corruption or (2) recognizing that Jesus was the Messiah would take away their power and they wanted to remain in charge. However, these statements are more about reinforcing Christian doctrine then about actually trying to analyze the motives of the Sanhedrin.

Assuming that the New Testament Account is accurate as to what Jesus' ministry looked like as well as the relationship between Jesus and the Sanhedrin, the Sanhedrin was correct to rule Jesus as a blasphemer. In the Synoptic Gospels (Mark 14:53–65, Matthew 26:57–68, Luke 22:63–71), Jesus argues that he is the Son of God. Elsewhere, such as John 5:16-18 asserts, Jews clearly believed that Jesus was articulating that he was the physical progeny of God. This was an act of blasphemy because Jesus was saying that he was God, in violation of the principle unity of God under Jewish doctrine. (In John, there is no trial with the Sanhedrin, but with High Priest Caiaphas, who was not a member of the Sanhedrin, which is not relevant.) The Gospel narratives stress that the Rabbis on the Sanhedrin had could not agree, which makes sense considering that (1) Jesus spoke in parables and often intentionally hid his meaning and (2) that Rabbinical Courts are supposed to be places of argument prior to a decision.

The Sanhedrin's job as a Rabbinical Court was to determine heresies and prevent the Jews under their authority from believing and adhering to blasphemies. Jesus said and did a number of actions in violation of Jewish Law or Custom and, therefore, entered into the cross-hairs of the organization designed specifically to ferret this out.

Answer 6

They were against Jesus as they were jealous of his growing popularity, he called them hypocrites and because Jesus said he was the son of god.

Answer 7

The high priest didn't necessarily HATE Jesus. He just believed that Jesus was blaspheming by saying that He was God.

Answer 8

Because He revealed their hypocrisy.