A Voice of Light in the Darkness: Home of Caiaphas, the High Priest

The Church on the site (Saint Pierre in Gallieante); note the weather vane

The doors to the church depicting the trial that occurred there

One of our stops was at the church built on the site of what is believed to be the home of Caiaphas, the high priest. Today it is outside the southern wall of Old Jerusalem, but in Christ’s time the wall would have encompassed this area of Upper Jerusalem.

The location of Caiaphas' home is at the bottom of the map

After Jesus is arrested, the last week of His life, he is taken to the high priest's house where he is mocked and beaten. Jesus is generally quiet, does not mount a defense, and rarely responds to the accusations, but is condemned by the Jewish authorities when he will not deny that he is the Son of God. The Jewish leaders then take Jesus to Pontius Pilate, the governor of Roman Judaea, and ask for the death sentence for claiming to be the King of the Jews.

It is also in this area that Peter, who has followed Jesus, denies knowing him three times. Luke 22:61 states that as Jesus was bound and standing at the priest's house Peter was in the courtyard. Jesus "turned and looked straight at him", and Peter remembered the words Jesus had spoken to him: "Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.” It was ironic to me that as we were leaving the church, we actually heard a rooster crow. At first I thought it must be a recording because really, what are the chances? Later, while visiting near the area in the City of David, we heard roosters crowing again; and it definitely was not a recording.

Depicts Peter denying Christ

Distance to the Dome of the Rock (Temple Mount)

One of our favorite parts of this visit was looking into and then descending into the stone pit that is beneath the church. I had never been in such a pit before, and it brought new meaning to the scriptures involving a pit or a dungeon. There is a good possibility that Christ was likely detained here – a very sobering thought. It also brought added understanding to the phrase that He descended below all things.