In The Word
Read: Mark 14:53-72
Jesus before His Accusers
53 They led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes *gathered together. 54 And Peter had followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the officers and warming himself at the fire. 55 Now the chief priests and the entire Council were trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, and they were not finding any. 56 For many people were giving false testimony against Him, and sotheir testimonies were not consistent. 57 And then some stood up and began giving false testimony against Him, saying, 58 “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that was made by hands, and in three days I will build another, made without hands.’” 59 And not even in this respect was their testimony consistent.60 And then the high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, “Do You not offer any answer for what these men are testifying against You?” 61 But He kept silent and did not offer any answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and *said to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” 63 Tearing his clothes, the high priest *said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? 64 You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?” And they all condemned Him as deserving of death. 65 And some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists and say to Him, “Prophesy!” Then the officers took custody of Him and slapped Him in the face.
Peter’s Denials
66 And while Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the slave women of the high priest *came, 67 and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and *said, “You were with Jesus the Nazarene as well.” 68 But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” And he went out onto the porch.69 The slave woman saw him, and began once more to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them!” 70 But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, “You really are one of them, for you are a Galilean as well.” 71 But he began to curse himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak!” 72 And immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him, “Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And he hurried on and began to weep.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
Have you ever stopped to meditate on the power, the faithfulness, and the love of God? That He fulfills prophecies hundreds of years after they have been foretold? We should be encouraged by that today. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
In today’s scripture we see the Lamb of God being led away as was foretold in Isaiah 53:7, “Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth.” We see His faithfulness and unending love for us, knowing that we need a Savior.
We see His power under control as another prophecy is fulfilled, “I did not cover MY face from humiliation and spitting.” (Isaiah 50:6-7) In the garden, hundreds of people fell back at just His Words of “I am.” (John 18:6) He could have just spoken and ended it all. Remember that the next time you find it hard to refuse to be offended.
Lastly, we see that He is faithful even when He knows we will stumble. Peter follows at a distance after having made a bold statement, “even if I have to die with YOU, I will not deny YOU.” In that distance from Christ, Peter does just what he said he would not do. Don’t let there be any distance between you and Him today.