NOTES for Mar 14:43-15:1
43 And immediately, while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. |
44 And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely. |
45 And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, master; and kissed him. |
46 And they laid their hands on him, and took him. |
47 And one of them that stood by drew a sword, and smote a servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. |
48 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and with staves to take me? |
49 I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took me not: but the scriptures must be fulfilled. |
50 And they all forsook him, and fled. |
51 And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him: |
52 And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked. |
53 And they led Jesus away to the high priest: and with him were assembled all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes. |
54 And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire. |
55 And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none. |
56 For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together. |
57 And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying, |
58 We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands. |
59 But neither so did their witness agree together. |
60 And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? |
61 But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? |
62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. |
63 Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses? |
64 Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death. |
65 And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands. |
66 And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest: |
67 And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. |
68 But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew. |
69 And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. |
70 And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto. |
71 But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak. |
72 And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept. |
1 And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate. |
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In reflecting on today's Gospel reading, let us focus on Peter's denial. Let us try to experience this event with Peter. Let us not hurry to say that we never even thought of denying Christ, because we love Him more than anything in the world. By speaking this way, we show that we do not know what love is. If someone wants to understand the words from the First Epistle of John (1 John 4:8), that God is love, he should first of all think about what Peter felt and experienced in the moments of denial and during the three days that followed. Why is this so?
What is most frightening to us when we love? The most frightening thing is that the beloved person will die. And when he dies, literally as soon as his life goes out, we begin to understand how much we did not do for him that we could have done, but now it is no longer possible to do it, because he is no more. We cannot come to him, embrace him, and beg forgiveness for all the bad that happened and for all the good that did not happen.
What did Peter experience, not yet knowing about the Resurrection? A fierce pain of repentance and the impossibility of asking forgiveness. And if we think about it, his denial is not much better than Judas' betrayal. But Judas cannot endure the feeling of guilt, while Peter endures it. What is the difference? Perhaps by understanding the difference, we will understand what love is.
Readings for 11 February 2026
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