The Duties of the High Priest in the New Testament

As in ancient times, the high priest was the head of the priesthood. After the time of Herod the Great the high priest was no longer the political leader of the people. However, he did remain president of the Sanhedrin. This function, and the fact that the high priest was always chosen from one of the leading aristocratic families in Jerusalem, meant that he still had some influence in the political sphere. As had been customary from Persian times, the high priest was nominated by the foreign power in control, in this period the Romans. The most well-known high priest in the time of Jesus was Joseph surnamed Caiaphas, who held this office from about 18 to 37 A.D. The high priest was supported by the priests who from Persian times had been divided up into twenty-four courses. Each of these courses served in the temple for one week (from Sabbath to Sabbath). Thus Zachariah belonged to the course of Abijah (Luke 1.5; cf. I Chron.24.10). Each of the courses was in turn divided into ‘father's houses’, each of which did service in the temple on a particular day. The leadership of these courses and ‘father’s houses' was in the hands of some prominent families in Jerusalem. Members of these priestly families benefited greatly from the offerings brought to the temple. The priests of a lower grade usually lived in the country and had to earn a living, generally by working some kind of a craft.