NOTES for Лк 22:54-71
To whom are these lines addressed, and why were they written? They tell how Jesus was rejected by those who, it would seem, should have accepted Him: of the first disciple’s denial of the Teacher and the elders of the chief priests’ rejection of their Messiah. They could hardly have been intended to arouse hostility or hatred toward the Jews or to undermine the authority of a renowned apostle. Probably the reader, learning how many denials and betrayals Christ had to pass through and how He endured them, was meant to understand how little right he himself has to betray the Teacher and how impossible it is for him to take part in repeating this situation. Yet such a situation can arise at any time: when, under pressure from society, fear, or life’s circumstances, the words “I do not know this Man” rise unbidden to our lips; when what takes place is a denial not of an idea, a worldview, or a party, but of a Person, of God, of what is human and divine within you yourself...