Lk. 22:53. Every day I was with you in the temple, and you did not raise your hands against Me, but now is your time and the power of darkness.
He says "to the chief priests and captains of the temple," that is, to the overseers appointed to attend to the needs of the priests; or by captains he means those who were entrusted with matters concerning the construction and adornment of the temple. He says to them: every day I taught in the temple, and you did not wish to seize Me, but now you have come as against a robber. However, you are truly undertaking works of the night, and your authority is the authority of darkness. Therefore you have chosen precisely such a time as befits both you and the deed you are undertaking.
Lk. 22:54. Having seized Him, they led Him away and brought Him into the house of the high priest. And Peter followed at a distance.
Lk. 22:55. When they had kindled a fire in the midst of the court and had sat down together, Peter also sat down among them.
Lk. 22:56. A certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with Him.
Lk. 22:57. But he denied Him, saying to the woman: I do not know Him.
Lk. 22:58. And after a little while another saw him, and said: Thou also art of them. But Peter said to that man: I am not!
Lk. 22:59. About the space of one hour after, another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean.
Lk. 22:60. But Peter said to that man: I do not know what you are saying. And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.
Lk. 22:61. Then the Lord, turning, looked at Peter, and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him: before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.
Peter, according to Christ's prediction, proved weak and denied the Master Christ not once, but three times, and denied Him with an oath, for Matthew says: "Then he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the Man" (Matt. 26:74). Perhaps such timidity seized him, and he was abandoned for a time on account of his boldness, as if for instruction, so that he might be lenient toward others as well. For he was very bold, and if he had not been chastened by this circumstance, he would have acted in many things tyrannically and without condescension. But then he fell into such terror that he would not even have noticed his fall, if the Lord, turning, had not looked upon him. O goodness! He Himself is under condemnation, yet He cares for the salvation of His disciple. And rightly so. For He was enduring the very condemnation for the sake of human salvation.
First the disciple denied, then the rooster crowed. He denied again, even up to three times, and the rooster crowed again a second time. Mark describes this so precisely and in detail (Mark 14:66–72) and conveys it as one who learned it from Peter, for he was his disciple. But Luke, since this had already been told by Mark, spoke briefly without going into detail. And Luke's words do not contradict what Mark said. For a rooster has the habit of crowing two or three times at each occasion. Thus, Peter was brought by human weakness into such forgetfulness that he did not come to his senses even from the crowing of the rooster, but even after the rooster had crowed, he denied again, and yet again, until the gracious gaze of Jesus brought him back to remembrance.
Lk. 22:62. And going out, he wept bitterly.
Mark says that Peter went out even after the first denial (Mark 14:68). Then it was natural for him to go back in again, so as not to arouse greater suspicion that he was one of Jesus' followers. But when he came to his senses again, he then goes out and weeps bitterly. And so as not to be noticed by those who were in the courtyard, he goes out secretly from them.
Some, I do not know why, compose an insane defense in favor of Peter, boldly saying that Peter did not deny, but said: I do not know this "man," that is, I know Him not as a mere man, but as God who became Man. This insane argument we shall leave to others. For they make the Lord out to be a liar, they contradict the coherence of the Gospel narrative, and they will in no way be able to reconcile the order of the account. And what would Peter have to weep about, if he did not deny?
Lk. 22:63. The men who were holding Jesus mocked Him and beat Him;
Lk. 22:64. And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him: Prophesy, who is it that struck You?
Lk. 22:65. And they spoke many other blasphemies against Him.
Those who did this to Jesus were certain revilers and unrestrained men, for it was necessary that the devil should leave no form of malice untried, but should pour out all of it, so that our nature, having proved holy in all things, might conquer and trample upon him. Since the Lord assumed our nature in order to strengthen it against all the wiles of the devil and to show that Adam too would not have been conquered in the beginning had he been vigilant, therefore, when all forms of devilish malice are poured out upon Him, He endures, so that we might afterward take courage, knowing that our nature has conquered in Christ, and not shrink before anything seemingly offensive and bitter. Therefore He endures mockery and beatings, and though He is the Master of the prophets, He is mocked as a false prophet. For the words "prophesy" to us, "who is the one who struck You," were meant to mock Him as an impostor who claims for Himself the gift of prophecy.
Lk. 22:66. And when day came,
Drunken servants mocked and reviled Jesus Christ at night.
Lk. 22:66. The elders of the people, the chief priests, and the scribes gathered together and led Him into their council.
Lk. 22:67. Tell us, are You the Christ?
And by day the elders and honorable men ask: Is He the Christ?
Lk. 22:67. He said to them: if I tell you, you will not believe;