Possessed by excessive fear, Peter forgot his promises to the Master and submitted to human weakness, as if dying of fear and not knowing what he was saying. But you should also understand this in the highest sense. Peter is accused of being a servant, that is, of human infirmity, of this little slave. Until the rooster crowed and brought him to his senses; The rooster signifies the word of Jesus, which does not allow us to weaken and sleep, but says, "Watch, and arise ye that sleep." With this word, awakened like a rooster, Peter went out of the bishop's court, that is, from the state of his blinded mind, and, coming out of it, began to weep. While he was in the courtyard of the blinded mind, he did not cry, because he had no feeling; but as soon as he came out of it, he came to his senses.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

And when morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel concerning Jesus, to put him to death; and having bound him, they led him away and delivered him up to Pontius Pilate, the governor.

See how the devil took possession of everyone and persuaded them to murder in such days, when they should have made many sacrifices and offerings for the sins of others and kept themselves in purity and purity. And they bind and take Christ to the governor Pilate. Pilate comes from Pontus, but, as a Roman subject, he was sent as governor to Judea. And they delivered up to Pilate the Lord, who was supposed to be a rebellious man who plotted against the king.

Then Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He was condemned, and repented, and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned by betraying innocent blood. And they said to him, What have we to do with this? See for yourself. And he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple, and went out, and went and hanged himself.

Judas comes to his senses too late, and although he repents, it is not for good. To confess guilt, of course, is a good deed, but to hang oneself is the devil's. And he, by the devil's suggestion, not tolerating future dishonor, took his own life, whereas he should have wept and besought the Faithful, and not given himself over to demons. Some, however, say that Judas, as a man of money, thought that he would gain money by selling Christ, and that Christ would not be put to death, but would escape the Jews, as he had often avoided before; but now, when he saw that he had been condemned and condemned to death, he repented, because in fact it had not turned out as he had imagined. For this reason he hanged himself, intending as if to precede Jesus in hell and there beseech Him and receive salvation. Still, this was according to the teaching of the enemy. Moreover, let it be known to you that although Judas put a noose around his neck and hanged himself from a tree, the tree bent down, and he lived, for God wanted to preserve him either for repentance or for parable and reproach. And it is said that he fell into watersickness and his body became so swollen that where the chariot passed freely, he could not pass, and afterwards, falling on his face, he was torn asunder, or "his belly was split open," as Luke says in Acts (Acts 1:18).

And the chief priests took the pieces of silver, and said, It is not lawful to put them into the treasury of the church, because it is the price of blood. And when they had taken counsel, they bought with them the potter's land for the burial of the strangers; for this reason that land is called "the land of blood" to this day. Then was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, who says: "And they took thirty pieces of silver, the price of the Priced One, Whom the children of Israel valued, and gave them for the potter's land, as the Lord told me."

In the "treasury of the church" they put what was brought as a gift to God. See how God has brought their work to naught, so that only their bloodthirstiness is revealed. "To this day," says the Evangelist, "that land is called "the land of blood," so that everyone remembers that they killed the Lord. Take into account that the Jews also took care of the love of strangers, so they also bought land for the burial of strangers. Let us be ashamed, who consider ourselves to be people of a better life, but despise strangers. "At the price of the Priced" the prophet calls the price of Christ, Who, although priceless, was valued by the children of Israel, that is, the children of Israel set His price, agreeing to give Judas thirty pieces of silver for Him.

And Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" Jesus said to him, "You speak." And when the chief priests and elders accused him, he answered nothing. Then Pilate said to him, "Do you not hear how many testify against you? And he did not answer him a single word, so that the governor was greatly astonished.

He is brought before Pilate as accused of a civil crime. That is why Pilate asks Him: did He not think to reign over the Jews? Jesus answered him, "You say." The answer is the wisest, for he did not say yes or no, but something in between: "You say." But it can also be understood in this way: yes, just as you say; and thus: I do not say this, but you say. He did not answer anything else, because he saw that the judgment was not going according to the truth. Pilate marveled at the Lord, on the one hand, that He despised death, and on the other hand, that He, being so wise and eloquent, and having the opportunity to present a thousand justifications, answered nothing, and paid no attention to the accusers. Let us learn from this not to say anything when we are before an unjust judgment, lest we make a greater fuss and become the cause of greater condemnation (for judges) who do not heed our justifications.

On the feast of Easter, the governor had the custom of releasing to the people one prisoner whom they wanted. At that time there was among them a well-known prisoner, called Barabbas; And when they were assembled, Pilate said to them, Whom do you want me to release to you, Barabbas, or Jesus, who is called Christ? for he knew that they had betrayed him out of envy.

Pilate tried to free Christ, although his effort was weaker than what was proper (according to the proper he should have resisted them for the truth). First he asked the Lord, "Do you not hear that they bear witness against you?" And he asked, so that, if Christ was justified, he might have an opportunity to set Him free. When the Lord did not want to justify Himself, knowing fully that He would not be released, even if He was justified, then Pilate proceeds to the goal in a different way, resorting to the above-mentioned custom, as if to say: "If you do not let Jesus go as innocent, then at least as a condemned man grant Him to the feast." For how could Pilate have imagined that they would demand the innocent Jesus to be crucified, and that the guilty thief would be released? And so, knowing that Christ is innocent, but suffers from envy, he therefore questions them, and thus shows himself to be a weak man, for he even had to suffer for the truth. Therefore he is worthy of condemnation as a man who has concealed the truth. Barabbas means the son of the father, for "bar" means the son, and "abba" means the father. So the Jews asked for the son of their father the devil, and they crucified Jesus. To this day they cling to their father's son, the Antichrist, and they deny Christ.

While he was sitting in the judgment seat, his wife sent him to say, "Do nothing to that Righteous One, for I have suffered much this day in a dream for His sake." But the chief priests and the elders stirred up the people to ask Barabbas, and to destroy Jesus. Then the governor asked them, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" They said, Barabbas. Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do to Jesus, who is called Christ? Everyone said to him: let him be crucified. And the governor said, What evil has he done? But they cried out even more loudly: let him be crucified. Pilate, seeing that nothing helped, but the confusion increased, took water and washed his hands before the people, and said, "I am innocent of the blood of this righteous one; See you. And all the people answered, saying, His blood be on us and on our children. Then he released Barabbas to them, and having beaten Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

A wonderful thing! The one tried by Pilate frightened his wife! It is not Pilate himself who dreams, but his wife; either because he himself was not worth it, or because they would not have believed him himself, but would have thought that he was saying this out of mere partiality for Jesus; or perhaps he, as a judge, would have kept silent about the dream, if he had seen it. This dream was the work of God's providence, not so that Christ might be freed as a result of it, but that the woman might be saved.