People who are themselves worthy of condemnation set up the appearance of a tribunal, in order to show that they put Him (Christ) to death by judgment. But where is the justice of a trial when witnesses are brought forward who cannot say anything just, but only violence and absurdities? And even those very ones who thought they were saying something substantial spoke a lie. For the Lord did not say, "I will destroy the temple," but "destroy," nor did He say "a temple made with hands," but simply "the temple." The high priest, rising up, questioned Jesus with the intention of provoking Him to answer, and then turning that answer into an accusation. But Christ was silent, knowing that they would not heed His words, as Luke indeed observes that when they questioned the Lord, He said: "If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I also ask you, you will not answer Me" (Luke 22:67–68).
Again the high priest asked Him and said to Him: Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?
Mk. 14:62. And Jesus said: I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven.
Mk. 14:63. Then the high priest, having torn his garments, said: What further need do we have of witnesses?
Mk. 14:64. You heard the blasphemy; what do you think? And they all condemned Him as deserving of death.
Mk. 14:65. And some began to spit on Him and to cover His face, and to strike Him, and to say to Him: Prophesy. And the servants struck Him on the cheeks.
The high priest again questions Jesus, not in order to learn the truth and believe, but to have some pretext for condemnation. To the words "Are You the Christ" (the Anointed One), he adds "the Son of the Blessed." For many were anointed, since both kings and high priests were called by this name, but none of them was the Son of God, eternally blessed and glorified. Jesus said, "I am." Although He knew that they would not believe, He was nevertheless compelled to answer, so that they could not later say, "If we had heard from Him a direct testimony about Himself, we would have believed." Therefore their condemnation will be all the greater, since even having heard this testimony, they did not believe. "And you will see," He says, "the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power," that is, of the Father (here He calls the Father "power"). For He will come again not without a body, but in such a way that He can be seen and recognized by those who crucified Him. At this the high priest fulfilled the custom (he tore his garment). For whenever some calamity or sorrow befell the Jews, they would tear their garments. In the present case the high priest tore his garment as a sign that Jesus had supposedly uttered blasphemy against God, and that thus a great evil had occurred. But it is fitting to say here with David: "They were divided, and were not moved to compunction" (Ps. 34:15). But this tearing was at the same time also a figure of the tearing apart and abolition of the Jewish high priesthood, although the high priest himself was unaware of this. When in this manner the chief priests unanimously condemned Him (Christ), then the servants, having covered Him, began to beat Him and say, "Prophesy!" — who struck You? If our Lord endured so much for us, then how much must we endure for His sake, in order to repay the Master in equal measure? Oh, this is fearful!
Mk. 14:66. When Peter was in the courtyard below, one of the servant girls of the high priest came.
Mk. 14:67. And when she saw Peter warming himself, and looked at him, she said: You also were with Jesus the Nazarene.
Mk. 14:68. But he denied it, saying: I neither know nor understand what you are saying. And he went out onto the forecourt; and the rooster crowed.
Mk. 14:69. The servant girl, seeing him again, began to say to those standing there: this one is of them.
Mk. 14:70. He denied again. A little later, those standing there again began saying to Peter: surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean, and your speech is similar.
Mk. 14:71. He then began to curse and to swear: I do not know this Man of whom you speak.
Mk. 14:72. Then the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered the word that Jesus had said to him: "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times"; and he began to weep.
Although Peter was the most fervent of all, nevertheless he proved weak and denied the Lord, having been troubled by fear. And such fear was brought upon him by a mere servant girl! God permitted him to suffer this by a special providence, so that he would not become proud, so that he would be compassionate toward others who fall, having learned from his own experience the depth of human weakness. As for whether there was one servant girl who accused Peter, or yet another — Matthew says there was another, while Mark says that the same servant girl accused Peter both times. But this causes us no difficulty whatsoever regarding the truth of the Gospel. For here the disagreement of the Evangelists does not concern anything important or pertaining to our salvation. One did not say that the Lord was crucified while another said He was not crucified. So Peter, troubled by fear and forgetting the Lord's word — "whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven" (Mt. 10:33) — denied Christ, but repentance and tears restored him again to Christ. For it says: "he began to weep." That is, covering his face, he began to weep bitterly. Matthew (speaking of Peter's denial) said unclearly: "before the rooster crows" (Mt. 26:34); Mark clarified this: "before the rooster crows twice." Roosters usually make several calls at one time, then fall asleep, and after some time begin crowing again. Therefore the meaning of Matthew's account is this: "before the rooster crows," that is, before it finishes its first round of crowing, "you will deny Me three times." But let the Novatians be put to shame, who do not accept repentance and communion of the Holy Mysteries for those who have sinned after baptism! Behold, Peter, who denied already after partaking of the Most Pure Body and Blood, was again received into the apostolic company. For the falls of the saints are recorded precisely so that we, when we fall through our own carelessness, might look to their example and hasten to correct ourselves through repentance.