Facing the High Priest
TRANSLATION
(57) Now those who had arrested Jesus took him to the house of Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had gathered. (58) And Peter followed him at a distance as far as the court of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see what would happen. (59) Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for false witnesses against Jesus in order to put him to death, (60) but they did not find any although many false witnesses appeared. Finally, two came forward (61) and said, “This man claimed, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”
(62) Then the high priest stood up and said to him, “Are you going to answer or not? What about this testimony which these witnesses are bringing against you?” (63) But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God to tell us if you are Messiah, the Son of God.” (64) Jesus said to him, “You have said so, but I tell all of you that from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (65) Then the high priest tore his garments and declared, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? See, you have now heard his blasphemy (with your own ears). (66) What do you think (we should do)?” They answered, “He is worthy of death.” (67) Then they spit in his face and struck him, and some slapped him with their hands (68) saying, “Prophesy to us, Messiah! Who is the one who hit 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 of Galilee.” (70) But he denied it in front of everyone saying, “I don’t know what you are talking about!” (71) And when he went out to the gateway, another servant girl saw him and told those who were there, “This man was also with Jesus of Nazareth.” (72) And again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man!” (73) After a while those who stood near came and said to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away.” (74) Then he began to curse and said with an oath, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the cock crowed. (75) And Peter remembered the words that Jesus had said, “Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.” He then went outside and wept bitterly.
OBSERVATIONS
Matthew provided us with two fascinating perspectives of Jesus’ trial. While Jesus was being condemned to death by those who had gathered inside Caiaphas’ house, Peter was busy denying any association with Jesus among those who remained outside. The name and titles for the Savior were the most frequently repeated words in this segment. “Jesus” is found eight times (vss. 57, 59, 62, 63, 64, 69, 71, & 75), once with “of Galilee” (vs. 69) and once with “of Nazareth” (vs. 71). Twice “Messiah” was used, once with “the Son of God” (vs. 63) and once alone (vs. 68). Jesus also referred to himself as “the Son of Man” (vs. 64). The name, “Peter,” occurred four times (vss. 58, 69, 73, & 75) and the designation, “the high priest,” is found five times (vss. 57, 58, 62, 63, & 65). Four other words were repeated, namely, “witnesses” (vss. 60 & 65), “blasphemy” (both in vs. 65), “servant girl” (vss. 69 & 71), and “denied” (vss. 70 & 72).
OUTLINE
I. Inside: Jesus, testifying before the high priest and Israel’s leaders, was compelled to confess that he had been sent by God to serve as Israel’s Messiah. (57-68)
II. Outside: three times Peter vehemently denied knowing Jesus before the cock crowed. (69-75)
IDEA STATEMENT
Even while Jesus was being compelled to identify himself as Israel’s Messiah before the high priest, Peter denied knowing his master three times.
APPLICATION
When Jesus appeared before the Sanhedrin on the night before he was crucified, various witnesses attempted to provide enough evidence to condemn him to death. When nothing convincing emerged, the High Priest directly charged Jesus under oath to tell them whether he was Israel’s Messiah, the Son of God. Only by forcing him to incriminate himself were his accusers able to gain a conviction. Jesus’ answer regarding the coming of the Son of Man in glory sealed his fate, making it easy for them to charge him with blasphemy, a crime worthy of death.
The boldness of Jesus in testifying before Israel’s high priest was strongly contrasted with Peter’s cowardice in denying his relationship with Jesus three times despite his master’s having warned him ahead of time. While Peter never forgot his failure to stand with his Lord at the moment of crisis, Jesus would later forgive and restore him to a position of leadership among the apostles, knowing that he would never again deny his Savior.