NOTES for Mat 26:57-75
The accounts of Peter's denial and the trial before the Sanhedrin continue, even now, many centuries later, to command the attention of those who seek answers to life's most important questions in the Gospel. These accounts inevitably put us in the place of one character or another, because the principles of our relationship with God remain unchanged: acceptance or rejection, faithfulness or denial. Peter's denial is a vivid portrait of human life, one that is close to us. He realizes his fall only when everything is over and nothing remains but to weep. As for the position of the members of the Sanhedrin, often only one quality distinguishes us from them: tolerance of blasphemy. For them it is a crime; for us, as a rule, it is each person's private affair. Had we been in their place, we probably would not have sentenced Jesus to death, but the essence of the relationship would have remained the same: in response to His claim to messianic dignity, one can either fall on one's knees before Him and dedicate one's whole life to Him, or turn away and go one's own way.