John Gill Commentary Matthew 26:65

"Then the high priest rent his garments, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy: what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard the blasphemy:" — Matthew 26:65 (ASV)

Then the high priest rent his clothes
Both his outer and inner garments. This he did to show his zeal for the honour and glory of God, his grief and concern at the profanation of his holy name by a false oath, and his abhorrence of and indignation at the blasphemy he supposed Christ to be guilty of in asserting himself to be the Son of God. Some have thought that Caiaphas in this action transgressed the law in (Leviticus 21:10) , where it is said that "the high priest--shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes": and it is one of the Jews' negative precepts^F9 that "an high priest is prohibited, (Mlwel), 'ever' to rend his garments:" and that therefore being transported with passion at the greatness of the supposed crime, could not forbear expressing his detestation of it in this manner, though it was forbidden him.

But it does not appear to have been unlawful. As for the law in Leviticus, it only regards the rending of garments at funerals, or in mourning for the dead, as the context shows; and so Jonathan ben Uzziel paraphrases the text, "nor rent his clothes": (yqyna tevb) "in the time of mourning"; and so the Jewish^F11 interpreters in general expound it. And besides, this prohibition, according to them, only regards the manner of rending: their rule is this^F12: "an high priest rends below, and a common person above:"

the sense of which, according to their commentators, is^F13, "that if anyone dies for whom an high priest is obliged to rend his garments, he must rend below, at the extreme part of his garment, near his feet; and as for what is written, nor rend his clothes; the meaning is, he shall not rend as other men do, above, over against the breast, near the shoulder, as the rest of the people."

Moreover, a priest might not go into the sanctuary, nor perform any part of service with his clothes rent; the canon runs thus^F14: "the judgment, or the law of them that rend their garment, and of those that uncover the head, is one and the same, as it is said, (Leviticus 10:6) , lo! if he is in service, and rends his garments, he is guilty of death by the hands of heaven, though his service is right, and not profaned." And indeed no man, whether a priest or an Israelite, might go into the temple with his clothes rent; and a priest might not rend his sacerdotal garments on any account; yet such were not these that Caiaphas now had on.

But in case of hearing blasphemy, everyone, whoever he was, was obliged to rend his garments^F15: "Whoever hears the cursing of the name (of God) is obliged to rend, even at the cursing of the surnames he is obliged to rend; and he that hears it from an Israelite, both he that hears, and he that hears from the mouth of him that hears, he is obliged to rend; but he that hears from the mouth of a Gentile, is not obliged to rend; and Eliakim and Shebna would not have rent, but because Rabshakeh was an apostate."

So when witnesses expressed the blasphemy of such they testified against, the judges were obliged to rise up and rend their garments; concerning which, take the following rule^F16: "a blasphemer is not guilty, unless he expresses the name (of God); R. Joshua ben Korcha says, all the day the witnesses are examined by the surnames; but when the cause is finished, they do not put them to death because of the surnames, but they bring every man out, and ask the chief among them, and say to him, say expressly what you have heard, and he says it: then the judges stand upon their feet, (Nyerwqw), 'and rend their garments', and do not sew them up again; and then the second and the third say, I have heard the same as he."

From all which it appears that Caiaphas did what was the custom of the nation to do in such a case.

The observation that some learned men have made, that the high priest's rending his garments was, though without his intention, an emblem and presage of the rending of the priesthood from him and his brethren, and the entire change of it; as the abolition of the whole ceremonial law was signified by the rending of the vail of the temple in twain; and as the removing of the kingdom from Saul was represented by Samuel's rending his mantle; and the revolt of the ten tribes to Jeroboam by Abijah's rending his garment into twelve pieces and giving ten to him; would have had a much better foundation if these clothes that Caiaphas tore were his priestly ones.

But such they were not; for both the high priest and the other priests only wore their sacerdotal garments in the temple; nor was it lawful for them to go out in them elsewhere. The Jews say^F17: "it is forbidden to go out into the province; city, or country, in the garments of the priesthood; but in the sanctuary, whether in the time of service, or not in the time of service, it was lawful."

In the temple, there were chests on purpose for the garments of the priests^F18; from where they took them, and where they laid them up when they had performed their service. There were ninety-six of these; for as there were twenty-four courses, there were four chests for every course; in which the garments were put by themselves, the breeches by themselves, the girdles by themselves, the bonnets by themselves, and the coats by themselves; sealed up with an inscription on them showing what they contained. And when the men that belonged to such a course came to perform their service in turn, they opened these chests and clothed themselves: and when they went out of their service, they put them back in them again and sealed them.

And as for "the high priest, he left his golden garments, (wlv hkvlb), 'in his chamber', (an apartment in the temple, peculiar to him, and for this use,) in the night, and at whatever time he went out of the sanctuary^F19." Nor might he go abroad with them, unless (lwdg Krwul), "in great necessity"^F20; as Simeon the Just went out in priestly garments to meet Alexander the Great to appease him, being warned by God to do so. Hence the Apostle Paul knew not Ananias the high priest, (Acts 23:5) , which he must have done if he had had his priestly garments on. For when the priests were not in the temple, and out of service, they wore no distinguishing habits, but were dressed as laics and as the common people were^F21.

The reason for Caiaphas's tearing his clothes is expressed in the next clause: saying, he has spoken blasphemy:
not only because Jesus asserted that he was the Messiah, but also the Son of God; thereby making himself equal with God, which is the sense in which the Jews always understood this phrase. As he appeared to them to be but a mere man, they charged it as blasphemy against God to assume such a character and relation to himself.

what further need have we of witnesses ?
of seeking after others, as they had done, or of further examining and taking the depositions of those who were before them: He was for putting a stop to the process and bringing the cause at once to an issue: and therefore addresses the court in the following manner:

behold now, you have heard his blasphemy :
out of his own mouth, as (Luke 22:71) expresses it, and with their own ears, and at that very time; so that they had no need of recourse to things past, or to examine witnesses about what they had heard from him formerly: Therefore he proposes that they would attend to and take notice of his present words, which, as he suggests, were shocking and astonishing: for the word "behold!" may not only be a note of attention but of astonishment.

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FOOTNOTES:

• F9: Moses Kotsensis Mitzvot Tora, pr. neg. 302.
• F11: Jarchi, Aben Ezra in loc.
• F12: Misn. Horayot, c. 3. sect. 5.
• F13: Bartenora & Maimon. in ib.
• F14: Maimon. Hilch. Biath Hamikdash, c. 1. sect. 14, 17.
• F15: Maimon. Hilch. Obede Cochabim, c. 2. sect. 10. Vid. T. Hieros. Sanhedrin, fol. 25. 1.
• F16: Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 7. sect. 5.
• F17: T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 69. 1. & Tamid, fol. 27. 2.
• F18: Misn. Tamid, c. 5. sect. 3.
• F19: Maimon. Hilch. Cele Hamikdash, c. 8. sect. 8, 9, 10.
• F20: Moses Kotsensis Mitzvot Tora, pt. affirm. 173.
• F21: Maimon. ib. c. 10. sect. 4. Joseph. de Bello Jud. l. 6. c. 15.