Yet while having been officially removed from office, he remained as one of the nation's most influential political and social individuals, aided greatly by the fact that his five sons and his son-in-law Caiaphas all served at sometime as High Priests.
[5] The comparatively long eighteen-year tenure of Caiaphas suggests he had established a good working relationship with the Roman authorities.
[7] References in the Mosaic Law to "the death of the high priest" (Numbers 35:25, 28) suggest that the high-priesthood was ordinarily held for life.
Although Caiaphas was the properly appointed high priest, Annas, being his father-in-law and a former incumbent of the office, he possibly retained some of the power attached to the position.
[8] According to the Gospel of John (the event is not mentioned in other accounts), Jesus was first brought before Annas, whose palace was closer.