having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath; the cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it ?"* He had but a little before said to His Father, "If this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done." He would not now resist that will or even express a wish contrary to it. And yet it needed but that, for, as St. Matthew relates, He said, "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He shall presently give Me more than twelve legions of angels? But"-and here was the restraining check to such a prayer"how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?" Those great plans in accordance with which the types and prophecies of the Old Testament were framed-what would become of them? Having then requested a moment's liberty. "Suffer ye thus far "that He might repair the harm done by Peter's rashness, and having touched the servant's ear, and healed it, Jesus surrendered Himself to the officers, saying to them, however, "Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves? When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against Me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness."+ "Then," says St. John,§ "the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound Him." * John, ver. 10, II. Luke, ver. 52-53. Matth. ver. 53, 54. SECTION LXXVI. CHRIST BEFORE ANNAS *-PETER'S DEnial. JOHN Xviii. 12-27; MATTH. Xxvi. 69-75; MARK xiv. 66-72; LUKE Xxii. 54-62. "THEN "THEN the band and the captains and officers of the Jews took Jesus and led Him away to Annas first; for he was father-in-law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year. Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people." St. Matthew and St. Mark relate that when the Lord was finally taken into custody by the officers, "all the disciples forsook him, and fled." Two of It is only St. John who records this preliminary examination by Annas. The other Evangelists relate the history as if the Saviour had been immediately taken to Caiaphas and examined by the council. Olshausen arranges the course of events as follows:-"When the guard conducted Jesus into the city, they brought Him first to the house of Annas, which they soonest arrived at, partly that He might be detained there until the Sanhedrim might be summoned together, and partly that Annas might wish perhaps to see and speak with Him. Annas opened a conversation with Christ also; but in consequence of His reply, one of the servants smote the Redeemer, and whilst Annas, who had satisfied his curiosity, and saw that from His answers he would become nothing the wiser, withdrew himself, the rude multitude practised their mockeries upon the holy person of Christ. Peter, under the influence of John, had pressed with him into the vestibule, but he denied that he knew the Lord when one urged the question on him. One of these denials occurred just at the moment (ver. 24, 25,) in which Christ was being led to Caiaphas, on which account Jesus could have regarded him with a glance full of meaning. When arrived at the palace of Caiaphas, the Saviour came under trial; and the judgment and transference to Pilate, succeeded thereupon." them, however, quickly recovered their courage, and returned to watch their Master's fate-these were Simon Peter and "another disciple," evidently St. John, who always speaks of himself in this manner. They followed Jesus to the house of Annas, where it appears He was first taken, and there "that disciple being known unto the high priest "--possibly to some of the household-" went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest. But Peter stood at the door without. Then went out that other disciple, which was known unto the high priest, and spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter. Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, Art not thou also one of this Man's disciples?" The also seems to refer to John, whom she knew to be one, but who, having some private interest, was suffered to pass unchallenged. "He saith, 'I am not.' And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of coals; for it was cold and they warmed themselves and Peter stood with them, and warmed himself." "But," says St. Luke, “a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, 'This man was also with Him.' And he denied Him, saying, 'Woman, I know Him not.'"* Having first, per : * Ch. xxii. 56. It is difficult, nay almost impossible, to combine into one narrative the repeated denials of Peter, as stated in the different Evangelists. Dean Alford observes-"On three occasions during the night, he (Peter) was recognised—on three occasions he was a denier of his Lord; such a statement may well embrace reiterated expressions of recognition, and reiterated and importunate denials, 'on each occasion." Greek Testament, vol. 1, p. 263.-"The phrase of St. John" (they said therefore unto him, ver. 25), "brings the whole scene before us as the others describe it in detail. A crowd haps, been surprised into a denial, he now felt he must stand to it, or he should be expelled from the palace, and perhaps given in custody. Whilst these things had been going on in the common hall, the Saviour seems to have been taken into a private room to be examined by Annas. "The high priest then asked Jesus of His disciples, and of His doctrine"-striving no doubt to elicit something on which to ground a substantial charge against Him. "Jesus answered him, 'I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing'"-He had indeed almost lived in public-"Why askest thou Me? ask them which heard Me, what I have said unto them; behold, they know what I said." It is a maxim of the English law, as indeed it is a dictate of common justice, that a man should not be required to criminate himself, and this justice our Lord here claims. "And when He had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, 'Answerest thou the high is gathered round the fire (John xviii. 18), the portress tells her suspicions to the bystanders (Mark xiv. 69), the accusation is repeated by various persons, and St. Peter left the group (Matth. xxvi. 71) repeating his hasty denial (Mark xiv. 70). This most natural conception of the event is further brought out on the third denial. St. Luke (59) says, 'Another said, Of a truth this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilæan ;' St. John (26), one of the servants," &c., &c. "Here St. Matthew and St. Mark notice the number of the assailants; they that stood by said' (Matth. xxvi. 73, Mark xiv. 70). The narratives present us with three acts of denial, as they may be most naturally supposed to have taken place in a crowded court, in the excitement of a popular ferment."-Westcott's Introduction, p. 280, note. * Annas is so called, Luke iii. 2, and Acts iv. 6. priest so?' Jesus answered him, 'If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou Me?" " If the man thought what the Lord said was not true, he might confute it, but if he could not do this, he had no right to ill-treat Him. It seems after this that Annas sent his prisoner to Caiaphas, who was by this time prepared to receive Him. It is probable that these two men, who were closely related, and who seem to have shared between them the authority of the high priesthood, inhabited different apartments in the same palace, and that these apartments were connected by a common court, in which the servants and spectators were assembled. It might be in passing through this, on His way to the apart ments of Caiaphas, that the Lord overheard the third denial of Peter. For St. Luke says, "And about the space of one hour after"—which the conversation with Annas would occupy-" another confidently affirmed, saying, 'Of a truth this fellow also was with Him; for he is a Galilæan.'"* "Thy speech bewrayeth thee."+ A yet more alarming re cognition then took place, for "one of the servants of the high priest, being his kinsman whose ear Peter cut off, saith, Did not I see thee in the garden with Him?' And Peter said, 'Man, I know not what thou sayest.' And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remem bered the word of the Lord, how He had said unto * Ver. 59. + Matth. ver. 73. John, ver. 26. |