Matthew 26:57-60

Matthew 26:57-60

And the ones who seized Jesus brought Him before Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were being gathered together.  And Peter was following Him from a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest.  And after entering inside he was sitting with the attendant to see the end.  And the chief priest and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking false testimony against Jesus so that they should put Him to death.  And they did not find any, even after many drew near.  And finally after two came forward…

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Peter’s reaction is interesting here.  If we take all of the Gospel accounts together as one cohesive story, we know that Jesus has already told Peter that he would deny Him three times.  We also know that Jesus has also chastised Peter for cutting off the ear of Malchus.  It begs the question as to why Peter is following Jesus when every other disciple has fled and apparently gone into hiding.  It is possible that Peter is attempting to do the right thing after having a really bad night so far.  It is possible that Peter is just curious.  It is possible that Peter still hopes that Jesus will be the ruling Messiah that other people expected of Jesus.  It is possible that Peter is following out of guilt because he has made so many mistakes lately.  Any of these reasons – are any combination of these reasons are possible.  But the truth is that Peter is there.  Peter has not gone to ground in order to avoid being caught.  He is following Jesus still – even at a distance.  His chain of mistakes isn’t over, but neither are his learning and discipleship.

Why do you think Peter follows Jesus?  What does this act really tell us about the character of Peter?

Second Thought:

If we look at the council before whom Jesus meets, we can see that it is the Sanhedrin.  With the Sanhedrin were gathered their scribes and the elders of the people.  What we have going on here is that Jesus is about to go before the most well known rabbis of His day as well as the people who have the approval of the populace.  From a human perspective, the cards are definitely stacked against Jesus.  From a divine perspective, thinks are going as predicted.  The who’s who of the religious elite have gathered to condemn the very one that the Father sent to save humanity.

Do you find it interesting that ultimately it is the leaders and the most significant people who reject and condemn Jesus?  Why might this be a significant point to ponder?

Third Thought:

Notice that they were seeking false witness.  Even in Jesus’ day politics were horribly corrupt.  People would say that Jesus was blaspheming.  People would say that Jesus was a threat to their culture.  These false witnesses would say anything to get the attention of the religious elite.  The truth is, when you are running in an important enough circle, there is always a price for the truth.  When you are high enough in political office the so-called truth is bought and sold in order to manipulate the people into accomplishing the desires of the elite.  This is why God is righteous and often the people who think themselves to be significant just aren’t.  When we buy and sell truth to shape the community around us, then we really don’t know or value truth.  But God’s truth isn’t for sale.  God doesn’t change truth to fit His whims.  God’s truth is solid.  It can be counted on.  It is unchanging.  God isn’t looking for false witnesses to prove Himself right so He can get rid of His enemies.  But the religious elite of Jesus’ day were doing this.

Have you ever known someone for whom truth was for sale and malleable?   Have you ever known someone for whom truth was fixed?  Which of these people do you respect more?  Why?  How can you be more like God and less like the religious elite who looked to sell false witness as truth?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 26:61-68