Key Thought

Jesus was brought before the leaders of the Jewish people, but the leader of his followers stood at a cowardly distance sneaking around trying to watch the proceedings. While Jesus faced the cold ridicule of those in power, Jesus' self-proclaimed loyal follower warmed himself at a fire in the company of those put in charge of the Son of God's torture. While it all seems so despicable from the safety of our distance of two thousand years, if we are honest, most of us have done the same thing. When Jesus, his cause, or his Kingdom is maligned, we pull back from the discussion, hang back, and try to be unnoticeable.

Today's Prayer

Today's Verses in Context

The people who arrested Jesus led him to the house of the high priest. All the leading priests, the older Jewish leaders, and the teachers of the law were gathered there. Peter followed Jesus, but he did not come near Jesus. Peter followed Jesus to the yard of the high priest's house. Peter went into the yard. Peter was sitting there with the guards. He was warming himself by their fire. The leading priests and all the Jewish council tried to find something that Jesus had done wrong so they could kill him. But the council could find no proof that would allow them to kill Jesus. Many people came and told false things against Jesus. But the people all said different things--none of them agreed. Then some people stood and said something false against Jesus. They said, "We heard this man (Jesus) say, 'I will destroy this temple that men made. And three days later, I will build another temple--a temple not made by men.'" But also the things these people said did not agree. Then the high priest stood before all the people and said to Jesus, "These people said things against you. Do you have something to say about these charges against you? Are these people telling the truth?" But Jesus said nothing. He did not answer. The high priest asked Jesus another question: "Are you the Christ, the Son of the blessed {God}?" Jesus answered, "Yes, I am the Son of God. And in the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right side of the Great One (God). And you will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven." When the high priest heard this, he was very angry. He tore his clothes and said, "We don't need any more witnesses! You all heard him say these things against God. What do you think?" All the people said that Jesus was wrong. They said he was guilty and must be killed. Some of the people there spit at Jesus. They covered Jesus' eyes and hit him with their fists. They said, "Be a prophet and tell us who hit you!" Then the guards led Jesus away and beat him.

— Mark 14:53-65 (ERV)

Comments on "Watching by the Fire from Far Away":

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