But the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put him to death.
This statement reveals the nature of an unlawful trial, where instead of a just judgment, false testimony is sought. The chief priests and the council, who were called to be guardians of the law, had become its violators; they were seeking not the truth, but an accusation, to justify the verdict they had already decided. This is a deep spiritual contrast: when a person rejects the truth, he begins to rely on lies in order to defend his own righteousness. To seek false testimony against Jesus means trying to cover the light with darkness, yet it is the light that always exposes the works of darkness. This episode shows the extreme of human injustice: those who should have recognized the Messiah try to prove that He is guilty. Yet it is this unjust trial that becomes an instrument of divine justice, because Christ willingly accepts the sentence, taking the sins of the world upon Himself.