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There were many illegalities in Christ’s trial, among them the arrest and trial by night, the use of a traitor to identify and secure Jesus, the absence of any formal charge, the rushed one-day duration of the trial, the intervention of the high priest in the proceedings, the lack of a defense, and the unanimous verdict. But underneath these many illegalities ran a strong undercurrent of adherence to certain points of law. Most obvious was the calling of witnesses, Matthew indicates what was happening when he records, “The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward” (vv. 59,60).