Matthew 26:58

And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. For the exposition, see the notes at ....

57-68 Jesus was hurried into Jerusalem. It looks ill, and bodes worse, when those who are willing to be Christ's disciples, are not willing to be known to be so. Here began Peter's denying him: for to follow Christ afar off, is to begin to go back from him. It is more our concern to prepare for the end, whatever it may be, than curiously to ask what the end will be. The event is God's, but the duty is ours. Now the Scriptures were fulfilled, which said, False witnesses are risen up against me. Christ was accused, that we might not be condemned; and if at any time we suffer thus, let us remember we cannot expect to fare better than our Master. When Christ was made sin for us, he was silent, and left it to his blood to speak. Hitherto Jesus had seldom professed expressly to be the Christ, the Son of God; the tenor of his doctrine spoke it, and his miracles proved it; but now he would not...

Verse 58. _PETER FOLLOWED HIM AFAR OFF_] Poor Peter! this is the _beginning_ of his dreadful fall. His _fear_ kept him from _joining_ the company, and publicly acknowledging his Lord; and his _affection_ obliged him to follow at a _distance_ that he might see the end. _AND SAT WITH THE SERVANTS, TO SEE THE END._] When a man is weak in faith, and can as yet only follow Christ at a distance, he should avoid all dangerous places, and the company of those who are most likely to prove a snare to him. Had not Peter got to the _high priest's palace_, and _sat down_ with the _servants_, he would not thus have denied his Lord and Master. _Servants-officers_, υπηρετων. Such as we term serjeants, constables, c....

PETER FOLLOWED AFAR OFF - By this he evinced two things: * Real attachment to his Master; a desire to be near him and to witness his trial. * Fear respecting his personal safety. He therefore kept so far off as to be out of danger, and yet so near as that he might witness the transactions respecting his Master. Perhaps he expected to be lost and unobserved in the crowd. Many, in this, imitate Peter. They are afraid to follow the Saviour closely. They fear danger, ridicule, or persecution. They “follow him,” but it is at a great distance - so far that it is difficult to discern that they are in the train, and are his friends at all. Religion requires us to be near to Christ. We may measure our piety by our desire to be with him, to be like him, and by our willingness to follow him always - through trials, contempt, persecution, and death. Compare the notes at...

EXPOSITION Ch. 26-28:20 THUS JESUS ENTERS UPON HIS KINGDOM. Before attempting to expound this most momentous section of the gospel history, we must make up our minds concerning the solution of the difficulties which are involved in some details in the account of the Supper. The supposed discrepancy between the narrative of the synoptists and that of St. John has exercised the minds of commentators from the earliest times unto the present, and enormous ingenuity has been expended in endeavouring to harmonize what are regarded as conflicting statements. The two chief difficulties are these: According to the synoptists, as generally understood, our Lord and his apostles ate the Passover, _i.e. _the Paschal lamb, when he instituted the Holy Communion; according to St. John, the death of Christ took place before the Passover was celebrated. Hence

BUT PETER FOLLOWED HIM AFAR OFF,.... The Ethiopic version adds, alone; and which seems to be the true case; for though there was another disciple who also followed Jesus, and is thought to be John, yet it looks as if they followed him separately, and not together; for the other disciple went into the palace with Jesus, but Peter not till afterwards, being espied by his fellow disciple standing without. These two it seems, having a little recovered themselves from the fright they had been put into, stopped and turned back, and followed after Jesus, to see what would be the issue of things. Peter's following Christ, showed love to him; he was lothe to leave him, his bowels moved towards him, and he wanted to know how it would fare with him, and what would become of him; and yet keeping at a distance, following him afar off, betrayed fear, lest he should be observed, and taken up, and come...

The story of Peter's denial of his Master is recorded in all four of the Gospels. There are some differences of expression in each version, so it will not be tautology if we read all four of them; and if we read them attentively, we shall get a clear view of the whole incident. Matthew 26:31. _Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended._ This was a very presumptuous speech, not only because of the self-confidence which it displayed, but also because it was a flat contradiction of what the Master had just said «All ye shall be offended because of me this nig

13. THE PASSION OF THE KING. Chapter s 26-27. CHAPTER 26 1. His Death Planned. (Matthew 26:1 .) 2. Mary of Bethany Anointing the King.(Matthew 26:6 .) 3. The Betrayal. (Matthew 26:14 .) 4. The Last Passover.(Matthew 26:17 .) 5. The Lord's Supper Instituted.(Matthew 26:26 .) 6. Peter's Denial Announced and the Scattered Sheep.(Matthew 26:30 .) 7. In Gethsemane. ...

THE TRIAL BEFORE THE SANHEDRIN (Mark 14:53 *; see also Luke 22:54 f., Luke 22:66). There are no striking divergences from Mk.'s narrative. Matthew 26:57. Apparently we are to think of the Sanhedrin as having been in (informal) session since Matthew 26:3. Matthew 26:58. Peter comes to see the end, not to warm himself as in Mk. Matthew 26:59. Syr. Si

THE BEGINNING OF THE LAST ACT OF THE TRAGEDY (Matthew 26:1-5)...