He shows them their foolish enterprise, and that it did not depend on their effort to take Him. When I was with you in the temple, He says, you wanted to take Me: but because I would not let Me go, you could not hold Me. But now I voluntarily surrender myself to you, for I know that it is impossible to lie to the writings that have prophesied of your wickedness.

Then all the disciples, leaving Him, fled. And those who took Jesus took Him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and elders were assembled. And Peter followed him from a distance, to the court of the high priest; And going in, he sat down with the attendants to see the end.

The other disciples fled, and Peter, with a more ardent zeal for the Teacher, followed Him from afar. Although John also followed Him, it was not as a disciple, but as an acquaintance of the bishop.

The chief priests and elders and the entire Sanhedrin sought false testimony against Jesus in order to put Him to death, but did not find it; And, although many false witnesses came, they did not find them.

They take Jesus to Caiaphas, since he was a bishop that year. The rest also remained there all night, not eating the Passover, but waiting to kill the Lord, although they transgressed the law by not eating the Passover. While the Lord ate the Passover in the lawful time, they also despised the law, in order only to kill the Lord.

But at last two false witnesses came and said, He said, "I can destroy the temple of God, and build it in three days." And the high priest arose, and said to him, Why do you answer nothing? why do they bear witness against Thee? Jesus was silent. And the high priest said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, tell us, art thou the Christ, the Son of God? Jesus said to him, "You have spoken."

Truly they were false witnesses! For Christ did not say, "I can destroy," but "destroy," and He did not say, "the church of God," but "this temple," that is, My body. Again he did not say, "I will create," but "I will create." So, it is clear that these are false witnesses who attributed to Jesus something that He did not say. Therefore, Christ, seeing their lawless judgment, was silent; for to those to whom the signs were unconvincing, how could justifications convince them? But the bishop, wishing to involve Him in blasphemy, continues to ask flatteringly, in order to condemn Him as a blasphemer, if He says: I am the Son of God, or to have Him as a witness against Himself, if He denies it. But the Lord, Who catches the wise in their deceit (1 Corinthians 3:20), answered thus: "Thou hast spoken," that is, thy lips confessed that I am the Son of God.

I even say unto you, From henceforth ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.

This is announced to them by the words of the Prophet Daniel, who said: "With the clouds of heaven came as the Son of man" (Dan. 7:13). Since the accusers considered Him to be a charmer who took upon Himself a humble image, the Lord said to them: "Then you will see Me coming with power and sitting together with the Father (here he calls the power of the Father by power), coming not from earth, but from heaven.

Then the high priest tore his garments and said, "He blasphemes! What else do we have witnesses for? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy! What do you think? And they answered and said, I am guilty of death.

It was the custom of the Jews to tear their clothes when something unbearable happened. In the same way, Caiaphas, as if on account of blasphemy, did this to deceive the people, in order to show that Christ had uttered a terrible blasphemy, and thereby force the people to proclaim Him guilty of death. However, it is necessary to know that Caiaphin's tearing of his clothes was a sign of the tearing of the Old Testament hierarchy.

Then they spat in His face and shook Him; and others smote Him on the cheeks, and said, "Prophesy unto us, O Christ, who smote Thee?"

When they condemned Him, then they began to show Him all kinds of bitterness, and mocked Him, covering His face with His garments, as another Evangelist says (Mark 14:65). Since He was recognized as a prophet, therefore the enemies mock Him. The words "they spat in His face and shook Him" mean: they struck with their hands with bent fingers, or, more simply, they beat with their fists.

Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a maidservant came to him, and said, "And thou wast with Jesus of Galilee." But he denied it before all, saying, "I do not know what you say." And when he was going out of the gate, another woman saw him, and said to those who were there, "This one was also with Jesus of Nazareth." And he again denied with an oath that he did not know this Man. And it came to pass that those who stood there came near, and said unto Peter, Surely thou art also one of them, for thy speech also convicts thee. Then he began to swear and swear that he did not know this Man. And suddenly a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word spoken to him by Jesus: "Before the crows, you will deny Me three times." And when he went out, he wept bitterly.