They knew that their Master hated the priests who were determined to kill Him! Though he permitted priests to influence the government to pin him to the Cross, His death showed how dastardly that kind of pernicious parasites the priesthood of Jewry was.
The LORD Himself established the priesthood of Jewry, from the tribe of Levi, so your polemic is in error. The scripture says that a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. Even when a priest was not obedient to the faith, the scripture shows the office was to be respected.
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our righteousness. For thus saith the Lord; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel; Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually. And the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season; Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers. As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me. Moreover the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the Lord hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them. Thus saith the Lord; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth; Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.
And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law? And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God's high priest? Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.
Jeremiah, Catholic chapter thirty three, Protestant verses fourteen to twenty six,
Acts, Catholic chapter six, Protestant verse seven,
Acts, Catholic chapter twenty three, Protestant verses one to five,
as authorized, but not authored, by King James
The LORD Himself established the priesthood of Jewry, . . . And look how they treated Him, from Aaron and his golden calves, to Caiphas and his prophecy.
. . . from the tribe of Levi, so your polemic is in error.
How so? Moses and Aaron were brothers, Levites, but only Aaron and his descendants were appointed priests. Not every Levite was a prist. Where was I wrong? (rhetorucal)
The scripture says that a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. Even when a priest was not obedient to the faith, the scripture shows the office was to be respected.
Yes, but this proves nothing, except that they were not priests in or of the Churches of Christ. Sacrifices in the Temple had to stop, because the curtain was rent in two, thus destroying the ritual. And no man desiring to be a member of Christ's Church could also be a participant in a system fulfilled and put to death on the Cross. Nicodemus certainly was no longer a member of the Sanhedrin (although he was not a priest; he was a teacher of the Law).
And today, I respect a man for his virtue, but I do not respect the office in a religion that has a different gospel, one that permits a two-level nicolaitan caste society of its constituents.