Matthew 26:57-75

57 Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. 58 And Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with the guards to see the end. 59 Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, 60 but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward 61 and said, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.’” 62 And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” 63 But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. 66 What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.” 67 Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him, 68 saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?”

69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” 70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.” 71 And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” 72 And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.” 73 After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.” 74 Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

(ESV)

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  • What is the writer saying?
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Matthew skips over the preliminary trial where Jesus stood before Annas, the former high priest (John 18:13). Jesus is taken to Caiaphas’ house at night where He stands trial before the scribes and elders. Peter follows him at a distance so he could see what would happen.

The trail is a farce from the beginning. They are not trying to determine whether Jesus is or is not the Messiah. If they had intended to do that they would have gone carefully through the Old Testament prophecies in order to see if He fulfilled them all. They had already decided Jesus’ fate. This trail was just a vain attempt to legitimise it. They looked for false testimony against Jesus in order to put Him to death. But they found none. They tried many false witnesses but none had any damning evidence. Finally, they used two witnesses who testified that Jesus had said he could destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days. Even that testimony was false. Jesus had not said that He would be the one to destroy the temple. His words were, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19). This had been three years earlier and was a prediction of what was about to happen. He had been talking about them putting Him to death and then His resurrection. Jesus remained silent at the accusation even though the high priest had hoped He’d say something to incriminate Himself. Caiaphas’ final move was to put Jesus under oath and ask Him if He was the Messiah. Even this was a trick. If Jesus answered that He was the Messiah, then He could be charged with defiance against Roman rule and if He says He isn’t, then they could clear up their problem with Him right away. Jesus answers that He is the Messiah, but makes it Caiaphas’ claim. Then Jesus claims to be a divine being as predicted in the Old Testament as One who will sit at the right hand of God (Ps 110:1) and would be the One who would one day judge those who now judge Him. Caiaphas is enraged and tears his robe (which was unlawful Lev 21:10) and accuses Jesus of blasphemy. The entire council agrees that this was blasphemy and declares that He deserves death. There is no mistake that everyone there believed that Jesus claimed to be God.

Meanwhile, Peter is outside and is approached by a servant girl who connects him to Jesus, but he denies it before everyone. He moves and another servant girl says she has seen him with Jesus but he denies it with an oath. A little while later more bystanders come up and are sure that he is one of the disciples because of his accent. He denies it so strongly he calls a curse on himself as he swears he does not know Jesus. And then the rooster crowed. Peter weeps as he remembers Jesus’ prediction.

Peter made many mistakes as he followed Jesus. He was impulsive and sometimes too sure of himself. He tripped and fell as he tried many things in his own strength. But he kept on going. With Jesus’ grace and loving restoration, Peter went on to serve God faithfully to the end. It doesn’t matter if you trip and fall as you try to follow Jesus. What’s important is that you continue to follow Him. He will pick you up and restore you along the way and in time, by His grace, He will lead you home.