The leader of the priests asks Jesus questions
19 The leader of the priests asked Jesus questions about his disciples. He also asked about what Jesus taught. 20 Jesus answered him, ‘I have always taught in the Jewish meeting places, or at the temple. Those are public places where all the Jews meet together. I have said nothing secretly. 21 So you do not need to ask me these questions. You can ask the people who heard me when I taught them. They know what I said.’
22 When Jesus said this, one of the soldiers hit him on the face. The soldier said, ‘You should not speak to the leader of the priests like that!’ 23 Jesus replied, ‘If I said something wrong, tell us what it is. But if I said something that is true, you should not have hit me.’ 24 Then Annas sent Jesus to Caiaphas, the leader of the priests. Jesus still had ropes tied round his arms.
18:23Jesus was not saying anything wrong. He was telling the leader of the priests to ask people who had heard him teach. This was the right thing to do. It was what the Jewish rules said.
18:24Annas was the first leader of the priests and Caiaphas was the present leader.