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Click a verse to see commentary14. Lord's Supper and Jesus Arrested
1Now after two days was the feast of the passover and the unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him with subtlety, and kill him: 2for they said, Not during the feast, lest haply there shall be a tumult of the people. 3And while he was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster cruse of ointment of pure nard very costly; and she brake the cruse, and poured it over his head. 4But there were some that had indignation among themselves, saying, To what purpose hath this waste of the ointment been made? 5For this ointment might have been sold for above three hundred shillings, and given to the poor. And they murmured against her. 6But Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me. 7For ye have the poor always with you, and whensoever ye will ye can do them good: but me ye have not always. 8She hath done what she could; she hath anointed my body beforehand for the burying. 9And verily I say unto you, Wheresoever the gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, that also which this woman hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her. 10And Judas Iscariot, he that was one of the twelve, went away unto the chief priests, that he might deliver him unto them. 11And they, when they heard it, were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently deliver him unto them. 12And on the first day of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the passover, his disciples say unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and make ready that thou mayest eat the passover? 13And he sendeth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him; 14and wheresoever he shall enter in, say to the master of the house, The Teacher saith, Where is my guest-chamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? 15And he will himself show you a large upper room furnished and ready: and there make ready for us. 16And the disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover. 17And when it was evening he cometh with the twelve. 18And as they sat and were eating, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you shall betray me, even he that eateth with me. 19They began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I? 20And he said unto them, It is one of the twelve, he that dippeth with me in the dish. 21For the Son of man goeth, even as it is written of him: but woe unto that man through whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had not been born. 22And as they were eating, he took bread, and when he had blessed, he brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take ye: this is my body. 23And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave to them: and they all drank of it. 24And he said unto them, This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25Verily I say unto you, I shall no more drink of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. 26And when they had sung a hymn, they went out unto the mount of Olives. 27And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered abroad. 28Howbeit, after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee. 29But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I. 30And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, that thou to-day, even this night, before the cock crow twice, shalt deny me thrice. 31But he spake exceedingly vehemently, If I must die with thee, I will not deny thee. And in like manner also said they all. 32And they come unto a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith unto his disciples, Sit ye here, while I pray. 33And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly amazed, and sore troubled. 34And he saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death: abide ye here, and watch. 35And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass away from him. 36And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; remove this cup from me: howbeit not what I will, but what thou wilt. 37And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest thou not watch one hour? 38Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. 39And again he went away, and prayed, saying the same words. 40And again he came, and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they knew not what to answer him. 41And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough; the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42Arise, let us be going: behold, he that betrayeth me is at hand. 43And straightway, while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. 44Now he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is he; take him, and lead him away safely. 45And when he was come, straightway he came to him, and saith, Rabbi; and kissed him. 46And they laid hands on him, and took him. 47But a certain one of them that stood by drew his sword, and smote the servant of the high priest, and struck off his ear. 48And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out, as against a robber, with swords and staves to seize me? 49I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took me not: but this is done that the scriptures might be fulfilled. 50And they all left him, and fled. 51And a certain young man followed with him, having a linen cloth cast about him, over his naked body: and they lay hold on him; 52but he left the linen cloth, and fled naked. 53And they led Jesus away to the high priest: and there come together with him all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes. 54And Peter had followed him afar off, even within, into the court of the high priest; and he was sitting with the officers, and warming himself in the light of the fire. 55Now the chief priests and the whole council sought witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found it not. 56For many bare false witness against him, and their witness agreed not together. 57And there stood up certain, and bare false witness against him, saying, 58We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands. 59And not even so did their witness agree together. 60And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? 61But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and saith unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? 62And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven. 63And the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What further need have we of witnesses? 64Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be worthy of death. 65And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the officers received him with blows of their hands. 66And as Peter was beneath in the court, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest; 67and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and saith, Thou also wast with the Nazarene, even Jesus. 68But he denied, saying, I neither know, nor understand what thou sayest: and he went out into the porch; and the cock crew. 69And the maid saw him, and began again to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. 70But he again denied it. And after a little while again they that stood by said to Peter, of a truth thou art one of them; for thou art a Galilaean. 71But he began to curse, and to swear, I know not this man of whom ye speak. 72And straightway the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word, how that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.
Peter's Fall.
66 And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest: 67 And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. 68 But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew. 69 And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. 70 And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilæan, and thy speech agreeth thereto. 71 But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak. 72 And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.
We have here the story of Peter's denying Christ.
1. It began in keeping at a distance from him. Peter had followed afar off (v. 54), and now was beneath in the palace, at the lower end of the hall. Those that are shy of Christ, are in a fair way to deny him, that are shy of attending on holy ordinances, shy of the communion of the faithful, and loth to be seen on the side of despised godliness.
2. It was occasioned by his associating with the high priest's servants, and sitting among them. They that think it dangerous to be in company with Christ's disciples, because thence they may be drawn in to suffer for him, will find it much more dangerous to be in company with his enemies, because there they may be drawn in to sin against him.
3. The temptation was, his being charged as a disciple of Christ; Thou also wert with Jesus of Nazareth, v. 67. This is one of them (v. 69), for thou art a Galilean, one may know that by thy speaking broad, v. 70. It doth not appear that he was challenged upon it, or in danger of being prosecuted as a criminal for it, but only bantered upon it, and in danger of being ridiculed as a fool for it. While the chief priests were abusing the Master, the servants were abusing the disciples. Sometimes the cause of Christ seems to fall so much on the losing side, that every body has a stone to throw at it, and even the abjects gather themselves together against it. When Job was on the dunghill, he was had in derision of those that were the children of base men, Job xxx. 8. Yet, all things considered, the temptation could not be called formidable; it was only a maid that casually cast her eye upon him, and, for aught that appears, without design of giving him any trouble, said, Thou art one of them, to which he needed not to have made any reply, or might have said, "And if I be, I hope that is no treason."
4. The sin was very great; he denied Christ before men, at a time when he ought to have confessed and owned him, and to have appeared in court a witness for him. Christ had often given notice to his disciples of his own sufferings; yet, when they came, they were to Peter as great a surprise and terror as if he had never heard of them before. He had often told them that they must suffer for him, must take up their cross, and follow him; and yet Peter is so terribly afraid of suffering, upon the very first alarm of it, that he will lie and swear, and do any thing, to avoid it. When Christ was admired and flocked after, he could readily own him; but now that he is deserted, and despised, and run down, he is ashamed of him, and will own no relation to him.
5. His repentance was very speedy. He repeated his denial thrice, and the third was worst of all, for then he cursed and swore, to confirm his denial; and that the third blow, which, one would think, should have stunned him, and knocked him down, startled him, and roused him up. Then the cock crew the second time, which put him in mind of his Master's words, the warning he had given him, with that particular circumstance of the cock crowing twice; by recollecting that, he was made sensible of his sin and the aggravations of it; and when he thought thereon, he wept. Some observe that this evangelist, who wrote, as some have thought, by St. Peter's direction, speaks as fully of Peter's sin as any of them, but more briefly of his sorrow, which Peter, in modesty, would not have to be magnified, and because he thought he could never sorrow enough for great a sin. His repentance here is thus expressed, epibalon eklaie, where something must be supplied. He added to weep, so some; making it a Hebraism; he wept, and the more he thought of it, the more he wept; he continued weeping; he flung out, and wept; burst out into tears; threw himself down, and wept; he covered his face, and wept, so some; cast his garment about his head, that he might not be seen to weep; he cast his eyes upon his Master, who turned, and looked upon him; so Dr. Hammond supplies it, and it is a probable conjecture. Or, as we understand it, fixing his mind upon it, he wept. It is not a transient thought of that which is humbling, that will suffice, but we must dwell upon it. Or, what if this word should mean his laying a load upon himself, throwing a confusion into his own face? he did as the publican that smote his breast, in sorrow for sin; and this amounts to his weeping bitterly.