Cornelius a Lapide

But Peter followed Him afar off. Peter alone gathered courage, and partly from curiosity, but more from love of Jesus, followed Him; but yet it was “afar off,” for fear he should be seized by the soldiers, both as a disciple of Jesus, and also as having cut off Malchus’ ear. His flight was a token of fear, his return a token of love overmastering his fear. “Peter,” says S. Ambrose in Luke xxil, “is deserving our highest admiration for not forsaking the Lord even when afraid ; his fear was natural, his care for Him was from affection ; his fear alien to his nature, his not flying natural; his following Him was from devotion, his denial from surprise.” In Peter, therefore, fear and love struggled together ; in the first case love overcame fear, but soon afterwards under heavy temptation fear overcame love, when through fear of the attendants he denied Christ. PETER IN THE HIGH PRIEST’S PALACE. 227 Unto the High Priest's house. That is, Caiaphas’. This is more fully stated John xviii. 15. The disciple there mentioned was S. John, according to S. Chrysostom, Theophylact, Euthymius. So Jerome (in Epit. Marc. and Lyranus, who says that John was known to the High Priest from selling him fishes, or because one of his kindred was a servant of the High Priest, or because he had sold his inheritance to the High Priest (Niceph. L 28). But it is more likely that it was not one of the Apostles, because they were not known to the High Priest And, moreover, both Christ and his Apostles were hated by the High Priest, and would not have been admitted into his palace by the servants; more likely would have been taken prisoners. Most probably it was one of His secret disciples, according to the Syriac version. And went in y and sat with the servants. Not into the house where Jesus was to be examined, but into the court “He approached not the place where Jesus was,” says S. Jerome, “ lest he should be suspected, but sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire,” as the other Evangelists state. Peter erred from imprudence and rashness, for thrusting himself among the servants, and thus exposing himself to the risk of either joining with them in reviling Him, or else of suffering imprisonment and scourging. He therefore shortly afterwards denied Christ “He that loveth danger shall perish therein ” (Ecclus. iii. 26). To see the end. Whether Christ would be condemned or not, or set Himself free from His peril. If condemned, Peter would have taken refuge in flight; if acquitted, he would have dutifully returned to Him