Mark 14:53-72 Jesus’ Confession and Peter’s Denial
Good morning! We are back in the Gospel of Mark this morning. We are going to be looking at two concurrent events in verses 53-72, page 851 in the pew Bibles.
Last week Jesus and the disciples were in the Garden of Gethsemane and after Jesus prayed there and submitted to the Father’s will, Judas, the betrayer, brought an armed crowd to arrest Jesus. Peter, in his foolish zeal, pulled his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear which Jesus promptly healed.
Now the disciples have scattered and Jesus has been taken alone to the high priest for trial. Only two of the disciples dared to follow the crowd to see what would happen, Peter, as we will see in our text, and another unnamed disciple recorded in John’s Gospel, most likely John himself or maybe even Mark.
In Mark’s record of these events he skips over the first examination by Annas the father-in-law of the high priest Joseph Caiaphas and goes straight to Jesus before the whole council of the Sanhedrin.
In our text, the trial of Jesus and Peter’s denial of Jesus are happening at the same time in nearly the same place. Jesus and Peter were both questioned but their responses couldn’t have been more different.
53 And they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. 54 And Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire. 55 Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. 56 For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree. 57 And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’ ” 59 Yet even about this their testimony did not agree.
60 And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” 61 But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” 63 And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? 64 You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death. 65 And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him with blows.
66 And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, 67 and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” 68 But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed. 69 And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” 70 But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.” 71 But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.” 72 And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.
Let’s pray.
So first let’s look at Jesus’ questioning.
Jesus’ trial was a farce. The language suggests that the Sanhedrin was looking to pay witnesses to testify against Jesus. The Torah required there to be only two witnesses in order to condemn anybody but out of this crowd they couldn’t find any two testimonies that agreed.
Verse 57 says that, “Some stood up and bore false witness against Him, saying, ‘We heard Him say, “I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.”’ Yet even about this their testimony did not agree.”
This one was close though! More than three years before this Jesus did say in John 2:19, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” Of course we know that Jesus was talking about His own body not the temple itself. But this accusation did sort of stick because when Jesus was on the cross people used it against Him and mocked Him as we’ll see in chapter 15.
So after hearing all these false witnesses Caiaphas called on Jesus to be a witness against Himself.
60 And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” 61 But he remained silent and made no answer.
Isaiah 53:7 says, He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
Here we see that prophecy fulfilled. Jesus would do the same before Pilate.
Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” 63 And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? 64 You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death. 65 And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him with blows.
The high priest tearing his robe is not without significance, it is an echo of 1 Samuel 15:24-28 when God rejected Saul as king of Israel.
24 Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the Lord.” 26 And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27 As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. 28 And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.
I don’t think it’s a stretch to compare the Lord tearing the kingdom from Saul and giving it to David to the Lord tearing the priesthood from Caiaphas and giving it to the Son of David, Jesus Messiah.
So while all this is happening, while Jesus was being questioned by the high priest, Peter was being questioned by his servants.
66 And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, 67 and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” 68 But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed.
So while Jesus was being questioned in the palace by those on one end of the spectrum in Israel and giving a good answer, here we have bold and brash, “they might desert you but I won’t desert you,” ear lopping Peter being questioned by a servant girl out by the campfire.
When Jesus was asked by the high priest, “Are you the Christ?” Jesus said, “I am.”
When Peter was asked by a servant girl, “Are you with Jesus the Nazarene?” Peter said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Can we just stop and examine how lame that answer was…
First of all, you’re in the courtyard of the high priest in the middle of the night while the trial of the century is happening and when you are questioned by a slave girl you pretend you don’t know what’s going on?!
Peter didn’t have to respond to her at all, she was a slave, he didn’t owe her a response! In truth, he didn’t even have to be there! So after being intimidated by that servant girl he went out to the gateway and out of the light of the fire, followed by the first crow of the rooster.
It’s amazing that the crow of the rooster didn’t get his attention, after all, we always catch God’s subtle hints, don’t we?
69 And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” 70 But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.” 71 But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.”
Now, don’t read this and think that Peter just started using foul language, this is not that kind of cursing and swearing. Peter basically said, “May God strike me if I’m lying, I swear on oath, I do not know Jesus!”
And immediately the rooster crowed a second time.
Jesus was inside getting questioned by the powerful, Peter was outside getting questioned by the nobodies.
Jesus was giving the good confession while Peter was denying the Lord.
Jesus was wrongly accused of blasphemy, Peter was actually guilty of it.
Calvin called Peter’s fall, “a bright mirror of our own weakness.”
While not being supported by the hand of God the mighty Peter blew over in a gentle breeze, and the same will happen to us if we walk in ways contrary to God’s Word.
Jesus, in the garden, proved that the only strength is in submission to God’s will, His Word, Peter, in the courtyard, showed that we have power over nothing if we deny Christ in our words or our actions.
But there is one last comparison to make, not between Peter and Jesus, but between Peter and Judas.
Matthew 27 records how Judas felt remorse at betraying Jesus and went out and hung himself, but when Peter remembered the words of Jesus that, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times,” he repented and was eventually restored.
He broke down and wept, literally, “when he thought about it he mourned and wailed.” He repented.
And we have further evidence that he learned his lesson, not just about faithfulness but about the meaning of Christ’s suffering. He wrote about it in 1 Peter 2:20-25.
20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Jesus bore Peter’s denial in His body on the tree just like He bore all of our sins, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds we have been healed. For we were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls.
Amen.
