<p>27:1 <em>Now when morning had arrived</em>- Trying a man through the night was hardly transparent or in accordance with the most basic standards of integrity. And yet on some issues, at this very same time, those men sought to carefully uphold their integrity and obedience to Divine principles. In this we see the tragic, cruel dualism of the human mind- and we understand again the call of God&rsquo;s word to give ourselves to Him with our <em>whole</em> heart.</p><p><em>All the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death</em>- We sense their nervousness and conscious desire to try to spread the responsibility for their decision as wide as possible. We can imagine the learned, pseudo-spiritual shaking of heads amongst those men, arguing that they had, sadly, no option but... struggling, somewhere, with their own consciences, and desperately seeking support from others.</p>