And Jesus said, I am ,.... That is, the Son of God; in proof of which he adds, and ye shall see the son of man sitting on the right hand of power ; that is, of God, who is all power, the Lord God Almighty: and coming in the clouds of heaven ; either at the destruction of Jerusalem, or at the last day, referring to the prophecy in Daniel 7:13 ; See Gill on Matthew 26:64 . read more
Peter's fall. The painful declaration that the words of the prophet, "I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered abroad," would find their fulfillment in them, and in "All ye shall be offended," roused Peter's spirit, and with a bold but mistaken estimate of his own courage and devotion, he fearlessly, even presumptuously, affirmed, "Although all shall be offended, yet will not I." St. Luke has preserved for us words which throw much light upon the incident of Peter's... read more
The trial before Caiaphas. Surely this is the most amazing scene in the long history of humanity! The Redeemer of mankind upon his trial; the Savior at the bar of those he came to save;—there is in this something monstrous and almost incredible. But the case is even worse than this. The Lord and Judge of man stands at the tribunal of those who must one day appear before his judgment-seat. They judge him in time whom he must judge in eternity. It is a spectacle the most affecting and the... read more
Jesus at the bar of Judaism. I. THE CHARACTER OF THE EVIDENCE AGAINST HIM . 1 . Not in support of any clear and definite indictment . 2 . Encouraged by a desire on the part of the judges to incriminate . "They sought witness." The death of the Prisoner a foregone conclusion. 3 . The accusations unreliable and conflicting . II. HIS REPLY TO HIS ACCUSERS . Silence: The impressive dignity of this attitude. He would not justify himself before... read more
First trial of Jesus. I. JUDICIAL INJUSTICE . Optimi corruptio pessima . The judge who should represent on earth the equal dealing of God, may turn the name of justice into a mockery. Names will not influence men to right if the heart be not right. Under the name and garb of judge, men have sometimes concealed the worst passions, the most arbitrary instincts. So do extremes meet in human life. Only in God do names and realities perfectly correspond. II. TRUTH ITSELF MAY BE... read more
Parallel passages: Matthew 26:57-75 ; Luke 22:54-62 ; John 18:13-27 — The denial by Peter. I. THE CAUSES THAT LED TO PETER 'S SIN 1. —The first cause of Peter's sin. The first cause, as we may infer from this very chapter, was self-confidence. Our Lord foretold the smiting of the Shepherd, as predicted long before in ancient prophecy—of himself the good Shepherd, appropriating the title; and along with the smiting of the Shepherd, he foretold, as a consequence,... read more
Peter denying Christ. The seeming discrepancies of the accounts by the evangelists of Peter's threefold denial are explained on the ground of their independency of one another, and their making prominent various portions of a lengthened and complex series of actions. "Three denials are mentioned by all the evangelists, and three occasions are distinguished; but on some of these there was more than one speaker, and probably more than one answer." This circumstance was— I. AN EVIDENCE... read more
To this question our Lord returns a plain and candid answer, out of reverence for the Divine Name which, as St. Matthew and St. Luke tell us, had been invoked by the high priest, and also respect for the office of the high priest, by whom he had been put upon his oath. St. Chrysostom says that our Lord answered thus that he might leave without excuse all those who listened to him, who would not hereafter be able to plead in the day of judgment that, when our Lord was solemnly asked in the... read more
See this fully explained in the notes at Matthew 26:57-75. read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Mark 14:53-65
We have here Christ's arraignment, trial, conviction, and condemnation, in the ecclesiastical court, before the great sanhedrim, of which the high priest was president, or judge of the court; the same Caiaphas that had lately adjudged it expedient he should be put to death, guilty or not guilty (John 11:50), and who therefore might justly be excepted against as partial. I. Christ is hurried away to his house, his palace it is called, such state did he live in. And there, though, in the dead of... read more