16 Apr. Mark 14:66-72

16 Apr. Peter denies he knows Jesus

"While Peter was in the courtyard [of Caiaphas's house], a servant girl of the high priest came there. She saw Peter warming himself at the fire and looked closely at him. Then she said, 'You were also with Jesus, that man from Nazareth.'"

"But Peter said that he was never with Jesus. He said, 'I don't know or understand what you are talking about.' Then Peter left and went towards the entrance of the courtyard. And the cockerel crowed."

"The servant girl saw Peter there, and again she said to the people who were standing nearby, 'This man is one of those who followed Jesus.' Again, Peter said that it was not true."

"A short time later, some people were standing near Peter saying, 'Surely you are one of those who followed Jesus, because you are from Galilee too.'"

"Then Peter began to place a curse on himself and swear, 'I don't know this man you're talking about.'"

"At once, the cockerel crowed a second time. Then Peter remembered what Jesus had told him: 'Before the cockerel crows twice, you will say three times that you don't know me.'" [see Mark 14:30]

"Then Peter lost control of himself and began to cry."

          (Mark 14:66-72)

 

 

While Jesus was being tried before the Jewish Council, Peter was in the courtyard below Caiaphas's house, following at a safe distance. He was terrified that he might be recognised as the man who drew his sword against the high priest's servant in the olive groves of Gethsemane - an action which could be seen as a treasonable offence against an ally of Rome (see John 18:10).

But it was actually his Galilean accent that betrayed him as a follower of Jesus. Peter feared being arrested on a capital charge, and denied any knowledge of Jesus three times. Then the cock crew as morning dawned – and Peter broke down in tears when he remembered Jesus’s words spoken just a few hours earlier (see Mark 14:30).

The reputed site of Caiaphas’s House is marked today by the modern church of St Peter in Gallicantu (meaning ‘where the cock crowed’) (see 3 on the map on 10 April).

Inside the church, a striking series of colourful mosaics depicts the trial of Jesus and his betrayal by Peter (see the photo).

Beneath the church, an arched room hewn out of the rock is believed to be the cell where Jesus was detained prior to appearing before the High Priest and the Sanhedrin at dawn on 'Good Friday'.

The photo shows a mosaic inside the church of St Peter in Gallicantu in Jerusalem, depicting Jesus being abused at his trial.

You can read more about Jesus's trial before the Sanhedrin @ https://www.thebiblejourney.org/…/6-jesu…/jesus-is-arrested/

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