Annas

The high priest and father-in-law of Caiaphas, Annas appears—always in the same breath with Caiaphas—three times in the NT. In Lk 3:2 he is mentioned as part of the historical context for the ministry of John the Baptist. In Jn 18:1-28, he is noted as the person to whom Jesus was, upon his arrest, first brought for questioning (v13) before being sent on to Caiaphas (v24). In Acts 4:6 he was a member of the high priest's family, perturbed by Peter and John healing the crippled beggar in Solomon's Colonade and their preaching, had them called up and warned.

Scion of a wealthy Sadducee family Annas was one of the most notable high priests to be appointed to the office by the Romans. Appointed in 6 AD, he remained in office until he was deposed in 15 AD. Over the next half a century five of his sons and a grandson would become high priests. In 18 AD his son-in-law, Caiaphas assumed the office. Though already out of office at the time of Jesus' arrest and crucifixion, Annas continued to exert a powerful influence over the affairs of the Jewish Sanhedrin, as is obvious when Jesus, upon his arrest, wassent first to him for questioning before being sent on to Caiaphas, the priest in office.