VI. Tus isvirs. Again and again, in the course of that awful night, that awful morning, was the Lord of glory treated with derision, ignominy, and contempt. The record is almost too distressing to be read. We can read of the agony in the garden, of the anguish of the cross, but we scarcely know how to read of the treatment our Saviour met with from our fellow-men, from those he came to save and bless. The spitting, the buffeting, the mockery, the blows,—those will not bear to be thought upon. We may believe, we cannot realize, the record !
Appuication. 1. Here we behold sin at its height, raging and seemingly triumphant, Whether we look at the witnesses who maligned Jesus, the court which condemned him, or the officers who abused him, we are confronted with appalling proofs of the flagitious- ness of human sin. 2. Here we behold innocence in its peerless perfection. No fault is und in Jesus. Even his demeanour, amidst all this injustice, is consummate moral beauty. His unruffled calm, his Divine dignity, his immovable patience,—all command the profoundest reverence of our heart. 3. Here we behold a willing Sacrifice. Jesus is
- “obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” With these stripes we are healed. These are a part of the suffering Jesus bore for us. That we may be freed from condem- nation, he is condemned; that we may live, he is delivered unto death. 4. A glorious example is here presented for our imitation. “ Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow in his steps . . . who, when he was reviled, reviled not again ; when he suffered, threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgett
righteously.”
Vers. 66—72.—Peter’s denial. The story of our Saviour’s humiliation and suffering is a stery not only of the malice and the injustice of his enemies, but of the frailty and unfaithfulness of his professed friends. It is true that the priests and elders apprehended him with violence and condemned him with unrighteousness; and that the Roman governor, agaiust his own convictions, and influenced by his weakness and his selfish interests, condemued him to a cruel death. But it is also true, that of the twelve chosen and intimate associates one betrayed him and another denied him.
I, 'THIs CONDUCT WAS AT VARIANCE WITH PETER’S USUAL PRINCIPLES AND HABITS, No candid reader of the Gospel narrative can doubt either the faith or the love of this leader among the twelve. His confidence in the Master and his attachment to him were thoroughly appreciated by Christ himself. Had not Jesus named him the Rock ? Had he not, upon the occasion of gis memorable confession that Jesus was the Son of God, warmly exclaimed, “ Blessed art thou,” etc.? A warm and eager nature uad found a Being deserving of all trust, affection, and aevotion ; and the Lord knew that in Peter he had a friend, ardent, attached, and true. He admitted the son of Jonas into the inner circle of three; he was one of the elect among the elect.
Il. Tu1s conDUCT WAS AT VARIANCE WITH PETER’S PREVIOUS INTENTION AND PROFESSION. When the seizure and capture were approaching, the Lord warned his. servant that he would be found unfaithful. Peter’s declaration had been, “I am teady to go with thee, both into prison, and to death ;” “If I must die with thee, I will not deny thee.” And he was no doubt sincere in this bold and confident declara- tion. But sincerity is not enough ; there must be stability as well. ‘The professions of the ardent, experience teaches, must not always be taken with implicit trust. Time tries all; and endurance in trial is the true test of character. Peter’s fall is a lesson of caution to the confident and the ardent.
Ill. Tuis conpucT WAS FORESEEN AND FORETOLD BY THE Lorp Jxsus. The Master knew his servant better than he knew himself. In warning him of his impend- ing fall, Christ had assured Peter that only his prayers should secure him from moral
destruction. LV. THxs comDUOCT MUST BE EXPLAINED BY THE COMBINATION IN PETER’S MIND OF
LOVE AND FEAR. It was his affection for Jesus which led this apostle to enter the court, and to remain in the neighbourhood of the Lord during his mock-trial. The others had forsaken their Master, and had fled; John only, being known, and Peter, being introduced by his friend, clung thus to the scene of their Master's woe. Peter, like Jobn, felt unable to desert his Lord, Strange that he should feel able to
250 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK. (oun. xiv. 1—72, ee
deny him. He felt for his Master, but he feared for himself. Cowardice for the time overpowered the courage which first brought him to the spot and then deserted him.
V. THIs CONDUCT IS AN INSTANCE OF THE TENDENCY OF SIN TO REPEAT ITSELF. A single falsehood often brings on others in its train. To get it believed, the liar lies again, and confirms his falsehood with oaths. Peter found himself in a position in which he must either repeatedly deny his Lord, or else expose his own falseness, and run into the very danger which he had sinned to escape. Ah! how slippery are the paths of sin! How easy it is to go wrong, and how difficult to recover the right way! Who knows, when once he lies, or cheats, or sins in any way, where, if ever, he shall stop? How needful the prayer, “Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not”!
u1L THIS CONDUCT COULD NOT ENDURE THE REBUKE OF OONSOIENOE AND THE REPROACH OF OCuRist. There was inconsistency between what Peter felt in his inmost heart, between the prayers which he was wont to offer, and what in this night he did and said. ‘The falsehood and the fear were on the outside of his nature; below, there was a sensitive conscience and a loving heart. It was the look of the Master, as he was led through the open court, and met his faithless servant’s eye, which melted Peter’s heart, recalling in a moment the warning which had been disregarded and the profession which had been belied. If there had not been a heart, a conscience, responsive to the appeal and the reproach conveyed in that look, those eyes would have met in vain. All Christ’s servants are liable to temptation, and it is possible that any one among them may be betrayed into faithlessness towards Christ; but it is only where there is true love that there is susceptibility to the Saviour’s tender expostulation and affectionate rebuke. It is thus that the Lord makes manifest who are his; he shames them because of their own weakness and cowardice, and awakens what is best within them to a sense of personal unworthiness, and to a desire of reconciliation and renewal.