Christ Before Annas

This plate from Israhel van Meckenem’s “Passion” series, illustrating Christ’s trials and triumph, incorporates three events. According to the Gospel of John, after Jesus’s arrest, he was first taken to the powerful politician Annas, for questioning. At left, the disciple Peter has been apprehended, but he raises his hands to deny any association with Jesus. In the background, we see the Mocking of Christ, an episode from the other gospels, in which the guards holding Jesus jeer at him and spit on him. When interrogated or mocked, Jesus calmly accepts his fate, unlike Peter, who is clearly scared of his own destiny.