Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26. — On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter

¹ And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, He said to His disciples: You know that after two days comes the Passover, and the Son of man is delivered up to be crucified. Since He had spoken of the kingdom and of recompense, He at once speaks also of His own Passion, all but saying this: that those who crucify Me will be counted worthy of the fire.

² Then were gathered together the chief priests and the scribes and the elders of the people into the court of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and they took counsel together to take Jesus by guile and kill Him; but they said: Not on the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people. Although the law commanded that there be one high priest for life, they unlawfully made many, exchanging them year by year; and so they go to the high priest of that year to take counsel about murder—for which the murderers ought rather to have been punished. By “chief priests” he means those who had already completed their year of office. But, intending to commit this unholy murder, they fear not God, but the crowd. For they were afraid that, if they killed Him during the feast, the crowd might rise to defend Him, or might even refrain from offering the customary sacrifices because of their bloodguilt, and so they themselves would lose the profits from the sacrifices. Perhaps they were also afraid of this, lest, if He were killed during the feast, His death should become notable and glorious; for they wished to blot out His memory. They, then, having thus taken counsel before the feast, intended perhaps to kill Him after the feast; but He, showing that He suffers not when they wished, but when He Himself willed, allowed them to seize Him at the time of the Passover, so that, when the typical Passover was being kept, then also the true Passover might come to pass. And one may also learn their bloodthirstiness from this: for those who did not wish to kill Him during the feast, when they found the betrayer, then they kill Him, despising even the crowd, only so that their will might be done.

³ Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, there came to Him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and she poured it on His head as He reclined. Some say there were three women who anointed the Lord, of whom the four evangelists make mention; others say there were two—one in John, who is Mary the sister of Lazarus, and the one now mentioned in Matthew, who is the same as the one in Luke and Mark. As for this Simon the leper, some say he was also the father of Lazarus, whom the Lord cleansed of leprosy and then was entertained at his house. And it is said that the Lord, when He told the disciples, Go to such a one, and he will show you an upper room furnished, sent them to this man; and indeed he received the Lord, as they say, and the Passover was kept at his house. The woman, then, seeing the leper cleansed, took courage, believing that she too would obtain forgiveness and be cleansed of the leprosy of her soul; and she displayed great faith by pouring out such precious ointment and not sparing it. She pours it on His head, offering the honor to the most sovereign part. And you too, then, if you have a leprosy of soul that is Pharisaic, puffed up or cut off from God, receive Jesus into your house and anoint Him with the ointment of the virtues; for you can pour ointment on Jesus when He has cleansed you of your leprosy, and pour it upon His head. And what is the head of Christ but His divinity, to which the fragrance of the virtues is offered? For let my prayer, he says, be set forth as incense before You, O Lord. Offer, then, to the divinity of Christ the fragrance that comes from the manifold ointment of the virtues; and indeed, if you confess Him to be not a mere man only, but also God, you have made His head, that is His divinity, fragrant—that is, you have given right theology.

⁴ But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying: To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. But Jesus, knowing it, said to them: Why do you trouble the woman? For she has wrought a good work upon Me. For you have the poor always with you, but Me you have not always. The disciples, having heard much about almsgiving and making much account of it, blamed the woman, seeking mercy more than the honor due to God—though it is God who seeks mercy. But He rebukes the disciples, because they blamed the woman unseasonably. For we must not demand lofty things from those who approach, and especially from a weak woman, but accept even their moderate faith. For when someone offers a gift to God, do not turn him away, nor break down his eagerness by dismissing him to distribute it to the poor, but let him fulfill his offering. If, however, he takes counsel with you, asking whether he should give to the poor for their benefit or offer to God, advise him to give to the poor; but after he has offered, it is superfluous to turn him away. For we must prefer the honor of God to everything whatsoever, even to almsgiving itself. Nor, because Christ out of love for mankind takes mercy upon Himself, should you think you ought to despise God and practice almsgiving only; since on that reasoning one would have to commit sacrilege and then make almsgiving from the spoils. But this is not so; for that showing mercy to the poor and honoring and serving Christ Himself are not the same thing, hear: For the poor, He says, you have always with you, but Me you have not always. You see, then, how it is one thing to serve Christ and another to show mercy to the poor, even though out of love for mankind Christ takes upon Himself what is done for the needy.

⁵ For in pouring this ointment on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. Verily I say to you, wherever this Gospel shall be preached in the whole world, what this woman has done shall also be told, for a memorial of her. He teaches us that the woman did this by some divine impulse, prefiguring His death and the burial of His body; for the Lord would not have allowed Himself to be anointed with ointment unless it signified some mystery. And as God He foretold what would be: that what the woman did would be told everywhere, to her praise. And see the love of God for mankind, how He requites the woman with great grace; for He makes her to be remembered throughout, as long as His Gospel is preserved. And how did the ointment contribute to His burial? It was the custom of the Jews to bury bodies with ointments, as the Egyptians also did, so that they might be kept from decay and without foul odor. The woman shows, then, He says, by pouring out the ointment, that My body will be prepared for burial. And He says all this to shame and turn back Judas, through whom He was to be handed over to burial. Understand also, by way of anagogy, that the leper is the Gentile people, and the sinful woman is the gathering and Church drawn from the nations, which poured out the ointment—that is, faith—upon the head of Christ, that is, His divinity. For everyone who believes that Christ is God pours ointment upon the head of Christ; but Judas, who rebuked the woman, as John says, holds the type of the Jews, who even now murmur against the Church.

⁶ Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said: What will you give me, and I will deliver Him to you? And they appointed to him thirty pieces of silver; and from then on he sought opportunity to betray Him. When the woman who was a stranger, the harlot, displayed such great honor, then the disciple goes off to betray Him. For it is not in vain that “then he went” is set down, but to show the shamelessness of Judas; and he adds “Iscariot” to make him more recognizable. For there was also another Judas, the one called Lebbaeus. This betrayer, however, was from a certain village called Iscara. And “they appointed thirty pieces of silver” means that they agreed and set apart this sum to give, not, as many suppose, that they weighed it out. He sought opportunity, then, to deliver Him to them alone; for they feared the crowd, and for this reason they hired Judas to inform them when He was by Himself.

⁷ Now on the first day of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him: Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover? And He said: Go into the city to such a one, and say to him: The Teacher says: My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them, and they prepared the Passover. By “the first day of unleavened bread” he means the day before the unleavened bread. What I mean is this: on Friday evening they were going to eat the Passover, and that day was called the day of unleavened bread; the Lord, then, sends His disciples on Thursday, which the evangelist calls “the first day of unleavened bread,” since it was before the Friday on whose evening they ate the unleavened bread. The disciples, then, come and ask: Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover? For neither they nor He had a house of their own. He sends them to a man who neither knew them nor was known to them, just as He did in the matter of the donkey, showing them that He can, even by bare words, persuade even those who do not know Him at all to receive Him. For He wished to keep the Passover, lest He seem to be opposed to the law; and He calls His slaying “His time,” that we may learn that He is not slain in ignorance, nor unwillingly. And to the words “I will keep the Passover at your house”—that is, in your house—He adds “with My disciples,” so that the preparation may be sufficient, since many were going to eat.

⁸ Now when evening had come, He reclined with the twelve; and as they were eating, He said: Verily I say to you, that one of you will betray Me. And being exceedingly sorrowful, they began every one of them to say to Him: Is it I, Lord? From this some suppose that in that year the Lord did not eat the Passover; for they say that they ate the lamb standing, whereas Christ reclined, and therefore He did not eat the Passover. We say, then, that He ate the Passover first while standing, and then, having reclined, delivered His own mystery; for having first fulfilled the typical Passover, He thus accomplished the true one. He foretells the matter of Judas, in order to correct him, that he might be put to shame, if by nothing else, at least by the common table, and might recognize that he is about to betray God, who knows hearts. The disciples were in anguish; for even though their conscience was clear, nevertheless they trusted Christ more than themselves, as One who knew their hearts better.

⁹ But He answered and said: He that dipped his hand with Me in the dish, the same will betray Me. The Son of man indeed goes, as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed. It had been good for that man if he had not been born. Then Judas, who betrayed Him, answered and said: Is it I, Rabbi? He said to him: You have said. He plainly exposes the betrayer, since when reproved secretly he was not set right; therefore He makes him manifest, saying: He that dipped with Me—so that he might even thus be corrected. But Judas, being shameless, dipped in His dish, that is, His plate. Then He says: The Son of man indeed goes, as it is written of Him—that is, even though Christ was foreordained to suffer for the salvation of the world, yet Judas is by no means to be honored for this, but woe to him; for he did not do this as cooperating with the counsel of God, but to gratify his own wickedness. For indeed, if you consider it closely, Christ did not even, in the first instance, wish to be crucified. He shows this also by praying that the cup might pass; but since it had been determined before all the ages, as there was no other way for men to be saved, because of the wickedness of the enemy, what was in the first instance unwilled becomes willed by Him. And in saying, It had been good for that man if he had not been born, He shows that nonexistence is better than existence in sins. Notice too the word “goes.” For it suggests that His death will be a departure rather than a death.

¹⁰ And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said: Take, eat; this is My body. For this reason he added “as they were eating,” to show the inhumanity of Judas, that at the table and in the sharing of the same food—when, even had he been a wild beast, he would have grown gentler—then he did not understand even when reproved, but, having tasted His body, did not repent. Some say that, after Judas had gone out, He imparted the mysteries to the other disciples. And so we too ought to do this, and to bar the wicked from the mysteries. He gives thanks when about to break the bread, both that He may teach us to offer the bread with thanksgiving, and that He may show that He receives with thanksgiving the breaking of His own body, that is, His death, and is not displeased as at something involuntary, and that we too may thus receive martyrdom with thanksgiving. And in saying, “This is My body,” He shows that the bread which is sanctified on the altar is the very body of the Lord, and not a figure of it. For He did not say, This is a figure, but, This is My body; for by an ineffable working it is changed, even though it appears to us as bread. For since we are weak and could not bear to eat raw flesh, and the flesh of a man, for this reason it appears as bread, while it is in truth flesh.

¹¹ And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying: Drink of it, all of you; for this is My blood, that of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Just as the old covenant had a sacrifice and blood, so too the new has blood and sacrifice. He said it was shed “for many,” meaning “for all”; for “all” are also “many.” And why did He not say above, Take, eat, all of you, but here, Drink of it, all of you? Some say He said this because of Judas; for Judas took the bread but did not eat it, but hid it, in order to show the Jews that Jesus calls the bread His own body; but the drink he drank even against his will, being utterly unable to hide it. For this reason, then, He said, Drink, all of you. But others, more by way of anagogy, say that to partake of solid food is not for all, but for the more perfect, whereas to drink is for all; for this reason, then, He here said, Drink, all of you. For to receive the simpler of the doctrines is for all.

¹² But I say to you, I will not drink from now on of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in the kingdom of My Father. Having tasted the cup, He thereafter renounces bodily drink; and He promises a certain new manner of tasting in the kingdom, that is, in the resurrection. For having risen, He ate and drank in a certain new manner; not as needing bodily nourishment according to the laws of tasting, but assuring us of the true nature of His body. And He fittingly calls His own resurrection the “kingdom.” For then He abolished death, having shown Himself to be in truth a king. And you may also understand it thus: the new drink is the revelation of the mysteries of God, which will then be revealed in the kingdom of God—that is, at the second coming—being new, that is, such as we have not heard at any other time. And Christ is said to drink these with us, because He regards our benefit as His own food and drink.

¹³ And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. After they had supped, they sang a hymn, that we may learn that we too ought to do this. And He goes to the Mount of Olives, and not to some other place, so as not to seem to be fleeing; for He withdraws not to an unknown place, but to one familiar to the Jews. At the same time He also withdraws from the bloodthirsty city, leaving it behind, so that He might be pursued, and might afterward reprove them, in that they pursued Him even as He withdrew.

¹⁴ Then Jesus says to them: All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night. For it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But after I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee. As God He foretells what will be; and that they might not be offended as though accused by Him, He said that it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, hinting at this: that I was holding you together, but My departure will scatter you. And the Father is said to “strike” the Son, because by His consent, or rather His permission, the Jews crucified the Lord; for one who is able to prevent something and then does not prevent it is said to do it, on account of the permission. Then, relieving their sorrow, He brings them good tidings, saying: I will rise, and will go before you—that is, I will reach Galilee ahead of you—showing thereby that He will forsake Jerusalem and depart to the nations; for Gentiles inhabited Galilee.

¹⁵ But Peter answered and said to Him: Even if all shall be made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble. Jesus said to him: Verily I say to you, that this night, before the cock crows, you will deny Me three times. Out of great self-assurance Peter alone promises not to be made to stumble; therefore Christ permitted him to fall, in order to persuade him not to trust in himself but in God, and to consider the words of Christ more trustworthy than his own conscience. For it is full of arrogance to say, “If all shall be made to stumble”; for it shows him to be boastful and not recognizing his own weakness. The Lord therefore foretells to him both the hour, that it would be this night and before the cock crows, and the number of the denials, that he would deny Him three times.

¹⁶ Peter says to Him: Even if I must die with You, I will not deny You. And all the disciples said likewise. Then Jesus comes with them to a place called Gethsemane, and says to the disciples: Sit here, while I go and pray over there. Peter, wishing to show that he has a genuine disposition, contradicts the Savior; for, freed from the fear of the betrayal, out of great love and ambition he began both to set himself above the others and to oppose Christ. But the rest of the disciples too, out of ignorance, made promises before the trial of temptations—promises which they were not going to fulfill. And He goes apart to pray; for prayer needs leisure and stillness.

¹⁷ And taking with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, He began to be sorrowful and very heavy; then He says to them: My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death; remain here and watch with Me. And going forward a little, He fell on His face, praying and saying: My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will. He does not take all the disciples, but the three to whom He had shown His glory on Tabor, lest, seeing Him praying and heavy, they be made to stumble; yet even these He leaves, and going apart He prays quite alone. By dispensation He is sorrowful and heavy, that He may confirm that He was truly man. For it belongs to human nature to dread death; and since death entered contrary to nature, for this reason nature flees from it. At the same time, it was also that He might escape the notice of the devil, who would leap upon Him as upon a mere man, so as to put Him to death, and thus be crushed. Besides, had the Lord leaped upon death, He would have given the Jews an excuse, as though they did not sin in killing One who had rushed upon the Passion. And from this we too learn not to throw ourselves into temptations, but to pray to be delivered from them; for this reason He goes off no great distance, but near the three disciples, so that, hearing Him, they too, when they fell into temptations, might remember and pray likewise. And He calls the Passion a “cup,” either because of the sweet sleep of salvation, or because it became to us a cause of gladness and salvation. And He wishes the cup to be set aside, either to show that as man He declines death by the laws of nature, as has been said, or because He did not wish the Hebrews to commit so great a sin, such that for its sake the temple should be destroyed and the people perish. Nevertheless He wills that the Father’s will be done, that we too may learn that, even if nature draws us back, we must obey God rather, and fulfill His will.

¹⁸ And He comes to the disciples and finds them sleeping, and says to Peter: So you could not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Since Peter and the other disciples were bold, He reproves their weakness, as having spoken too rashly, and addresses Peter especially. So you could not stay awake with Me one hour? And how will you lay down your souls for Me? But again, since by the reproof He stung them, He heals them by saying that the spirit indeed is willing, but the weakness of the flesh resists—that is, I count you worthy of pardon, because you fell asleep not out of contempt, but out of weakness. So then, since you are weak, do not be bold, but pray that you enter not at all into temptation. Others, however, understand “Enter not into temptation” as meaning “Be not overcome by temptation.” For He does not, they say, command us to be untried; for it is temptations that crown us. Rather, He commands us to pray not to be swallowed up by temptation, and not to enter into its belly, as into that of some wild beast. For he who is overcome by temptation has entered into it—that is, has been swallowed up by it.

¹⁹ Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying: My Father, if this cup cannot pass from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done. And He came and found them again sleeping; for their eyes were heavy. And leaving them, He went away again and prayed a third time, saying the same words. Learn, O man, to pray continually in temptations, hearing that the Lord too prayed many times. And finding them sleeping again, He did not reprove them, lest He grieve them, but leaves them. And going away He prayed a third time, confirming His humanity; for the number three is indicative of truth and confirmatory.

²⁰ Then He comes to His disciples and says to them: Sleep on now and take your rest. Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; behold, he that betrays Me is at hand. Showing that He has no need of help from them when He is about to be betrayed, He says to them: Sleep on now—or He says this ironically, as though saying: Behold, the betrayer is at hand, and if it pleases you and the moment affords it, sleep on. He then rouses them from that place where He had been praying, and goes to meet those who are about to seize Him, and goes forward to encounter them, as though they were about to give Him something joyful. So too the things for which He prayed, He prayed in order to confirm the dispensation, wishing not to suffer, that the Hebrews might be preserved from the destruction which was going to overtake them because of their sin against Him.

²¹ And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now he that betrayed Him gave them a sign, saying: Whomever I shall kiss, that is He; seize Him. And immediately he came up to Jesus and said: Hail, Rabbi; and kissed Him fervently. But Jesus said to him: Friend, for what have you come? Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him. Do you see the implements of the chief priests? Clubs and swords. So peaceable were they, and so possessed of the spirit of gentleness! And the words “one of the twelve” the evangelist said in wonder, that, though he was chosen and ranked among the foremost, he nevertheless gave himself to the devil. So you too, O man, be afraid, even if you should be among the most intimate, lest, growing slack, you fall away. Judas gives a sign, both because it was night and they could not make Him out, and because those who came to seize Him were not so much from the crowd as from the servants of the high priest, who perhaps did not know Jesus at all. But the disciple makes the teacher known to them by the kiss; for, knowing the Lord’s love for mankind, he is bold even to kiss Him. And the Lord bears with him even to the last hour, striving by His long-suffering to win him. But when even so he was not brought to his senses, then He makes them fall, as John says, so that at least by their falling they might recognize His power; and when even so they did not desist from their boldness, then He gives Himself up. He calls Judas “friend,” mocking and deriding him, as one who gave a kiss as if of friendship. And the words “for what have you come?” mean: For what purpose are you here? As a friend? But surely it was not fitting to come with swords. As an enemy? Then how is it that you kiss? He convicts him, therefore, as treacherous.

²² And behold, one of those with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus says to him: Put up your sword into its place. For all who take the sword shall perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now appeal to My Father, and He will furnish Me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so? It was Peter who drew the sword, as John says; and he had a sword, as having just slain the lamb which they ate. But let us not blame Peter; for he did this out of zeal, not for himself, but for his teacher. The Lord, however, reshaping him to an evangelical way of life, teaches him not to use the sword, even if one thinks he is avenging God. And by cutting off the ear, Peter shows that the Jews were sick with disobedience. Then He also lays down the saying of the law, that the murderer is murdered in turn; for the law says this, that those who take the sword shall perish by the sword. And He hints that the Jews who took the sword against Him will be destroyed by the sword of the Romans. He did not say, I am able to furnish twelve legions of angels, but, to appeal to My Father, saying this by dispensation, as man, because of their weakness. For He had then displayed many human things—the sweat, the dread—and would not have seemed to speak credibly if He had said, I am able Myself to furnish angels. So then, in place of the twelve disciples, twelve orders of angels would have stood by Me, had I willed. For a legion is the largest order, six thousand horsemen. It is necessary, He says, that all these things come to pass, that the Scriptures which foretold them may be fulfilled. Not that, because the Scriptures foretold them, the Jews are therefore wicked; rather, because the Jews were going to do these things out of a wicked purpose, for this reason these things were set down in the Scriptures by the Spirit.

²³ In that hour Jesus said to the crowds: You have come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to seize Me; daily I sat with you teaching in the temple, and you did not lay hold of Me. But all this has come to pass that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. He shows the irrationality of their attempt, and that it was not by their own strength that He was seized. For when, He says, I was in the temple, you wished to take Me, and because I did not allow you, you were not able. But now I willingly betray Myself; for I know that it is impossible for the Scriptures to be proved false, which foretold your wickedness.

²⁴ Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled. But they that had seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled; and Peter followed Him afar off, to the court of the high priest; and going in, he sat with the officers, to see the end. The other disciples fled; but Peter, being more ardently disposed toward his teacher, followed afar off. And if John too followed, it was not as a disciple, but as one known to the high priest.

²⁵ The chief priests and the elders and the whole council sought false witness against Jesus, that they might put Him to death, and found none. And though many false witnesses came, they found none. They lead Jesus away to Caiaphas; for he was the high priest of that year. There the rest also passed the night, not having eaten the Passover then, but having waited, so that they might kill the Lord and transgress the law. For the Lord ate at the appointed time, but they, only in order to kill the Lord, despise even the law.

²⁶ But at last two false witnesses came and said: This man said: I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. And the high priest arose and said to Him: Do You answer nothing? What is it that these testify against You? But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him: I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus says to him: You have said. These were indeed false witnesses; for Christ did not say, I am able to destroy, but, Destroy. And He did not say, the temple of God, but, this temple—that is, My body. And again He did not say, I will build, but, I will raise up; so that these are plainly false witnesses, saying that Christ said one thing when He said another. Jesus, then, knowing their tribunal to be unlawful, kept silent; for those whom signs did not persuade, how would defenses persuade? But the high priest, wishing to cast Him into blasphemy, asks: that, if He should say, I am the Son of God, He might be condemned as a blasphemer, and if He should deny it, he might have Him as having testified against Himself. But the Lord, who catches the wise in their craftiness, answers: You have said—meaning, Your own mouth has confessed that I am the Son of God.

²⁷ Nevertheless I say to you, from now on you will see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven. He speaks to them out of the prophecy of Daniel. For that prophet says, I saw one like a Son of man coming on the clouds. Since they supposed Him to be a deceiver, appearing in lowly form, He says: You will see Me then coming with power, and seated together with the Father; for here by “power” He means the Father’s; and coming not from earth, but from heaven.

²⁸ Then the high priest tore his garments, saying: He has blasphemed; what further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now you have heard His blasphemy; what do you think? And they answered and said: He is guilty of death. It was the custom of the Jews, whenever some intolerable thing came upon them, to tear their tunics; so then Caiaphas also, as at a manifest blasphemy, did this to deceive the crowd, that he might show them that He had blasphemed grievously, and thus might force them to say that He is guilty of death. Note, however, that Caiaphas’s tearing of his garments was a symbol of the high priesthood of the old order being torn asunder.

²⁹ Then they spat in His face and buffeted Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying: Prophesy to us, Christ, who is it that struck You? When He was condemned, then they displayed against Him the things customary toward sinners, and mocked Him, covering His face, as the evangelist says, with a garment; for since they held Him to be a prophet, for this reason they mock Him in this way. To “buffet” is to strike with the hands, the fingers being bent in, or, to say it more plainly, to strike with the fist.

³⁰ Now Peter sat outside in the court; and a maid came to him, saying: You also were with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before them all, saying: I do not know what you are saying. And when he had gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and says to those there: This man also was with Jesus of Nazareth; and again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a little while those who stood by came and said to Peter: Truly you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you. Then he began to curse and to swear, I do not know the man. And immediately the cock crew; and Peter remembered the word of Jesus, who had said to him, Before the cock crows, you will deny Me three times; and he went out and wept bitterly. Overcome by fear, Peter forgot his promises and became enslaved to human weakness, as though dead from fear, and not even knowing what he was saying. Understand it for me also by way of anagogy: that Peter is reproved by the maidservant—that is, by human weakness, which is small and servile—until the cock, crowing, brought him to his senses. The cock is the word, which does not allow us to be slack and to sleep, but says, Watch, and, Awake, you who sleep. Roused, then, by the word as by a cock, Peter, having gone out of the court of the high priest—that is, out of the precinct of the hardened mind—and having come out from his insensibility, wept bitterly. For as long as he was in the court of the hardened mind, he did not weep, for he had no perception; but when he came out, he came to perception.