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QFTBOC: Peter & John at the Palace of the High Priest
by Mark A. Becker
Introduction
One of the things I really enjoy doing with the ministry the Lord has blessed me with is answering questions of believers and unbelievers alike. The questions people have never ceases to amaze me; most I have never even considered myself.
This QFTBOC (Questions From the Body of Christ) series are articles from these questions I have received and will be in a question and response format.
If you or someone you know has a question pertaining to the Word of God – theology, difficult passages, eschatology, etc. - I would really like to hear from you.
If I end up using your question, and you would like to have your name and/or place of residence listed on the question in the article, please specify with your submitted question; otherwise, if I use your question, it will be listed as “Anonymous.”
Regardless, I will make every attempt to answer every person's questions in a response to the emails I receive. Depending on volume, it may be a little while until you hear back from me, but my intention is to respond to all inquiries.
Other articles in this series are: QFTBOC: Civil Disobedience and Patriotism, QFTBOC: Memory – Fully Retained or Total Reset?, QFTBOC: Psalm 91, Protection, & God's Will, QFTBOC: God's Chastisement of His Children, QFTBOC: What's Satan's Problem?, QFTBOC: Can We Know Another's Salvation?, QFTBOC: Childbirth Purification & Christ, and QFTBOC: Biblical Slavery
Question
In response to your offer to answer questions, here is mine:
At the trial of Jesus at the home of the high priest, we are told that John was known to the high priest, so he was able to get Peter in. Then, of course we are told how people accused Peter of being associated with Jesus and he denied it. My question is, why did no one question John? If the high priest knew him, did he not know John was a follower of Christ? And, of course, John stood before the cross, apparently without fear of being arrested.
Related question...and since we are not to question people's motives, maybe this is a wrong thing to ask. But considering that at least [two] of the brothers of Jesus at some point accepted Him as Lord, and He knows all things from beginning to end, I wonder why He committed Mary to John's care, and we are told he took her into his care from that day onward. I just wondered why his brothers, at least after they came to Him, didn't take over that duty. I'm thinking maybe He was trying to show us, as He had said earlier, (to paraphrase very loosely), those who do His will are His brothers, sisters, and mother...so He may have been making that point?
I enjoy your articles on the Rapture Ready website!
Thank you!
Bev
Arkansas
Response
Hi Bev!
Thank you so much for your questions!
Unfortunately, we don't have much Scripture to apply to your questions, but we do have our God-given and Spirit guided wisdom, knowledge, and common sense that we can apply and offer-up some possibilities in regard to these issues.
The Palace of the High Priest
“And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple: that disciple was known unto the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest. But Peter stood at the door without. Then went out that other disciple, which was known unto the high priest, and spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter.” - John 18:15-16
Notice that both Peter and John followed Jesus, but John “went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest,” while “Peter stood at the door without.” Peter eventually went in, as John “brought Peter in” to the court of the High Priest. But Peter stayed next to the door, seemingly out of fear.
What we don’t seem to know for sure is if John stayed with Peter outside in the courtyard or entered into the palace for the interrogation of Jesus. In Mark 14:66 we get a little clearer picture of what this scene looked like. The text reads, “As Peter was beneath in the Palace.” Therefore, it appears that the courtyard below was where Peter remained, as the sham interrogation was held in the second-story of the Palace. It seems very likely, to me, that John pressed into the palace with Peter left outside, came back out and let Peter into the courtyard, and re-entered the palace for Christ’s interrogation.
This is so important: John seems to have been with the Lord, but Peter was “without.” John, while with the Lord, had no fear; Peter, “without” the Lord, was seemingly terrified.
Earlier, this same Peter said with confidence at the last supper:
“... Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards. Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake. Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.” - John 13:36-38
The lesson for us all is to stay close to the Lord at all times – through the good and the bad. In fact, it’s during the bad and difficult times we face that the Lord becomes our strong tower and rock of defense. Fear should never have any part in a Christian’s life and the only way we can be sure we will never fear is when we are staying close to our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, and His Word!
John Was With Jesus and Peter Was Not
It seems that the reason John wasn't questioned for being a disciple of Jesus is because John was with Jesus, and it was Jesus who was being interrogated by the religious leaders. Peter, on the other hand, was outside and without the physical presence of Jesus and was therefore interrogated by those on the outside. John was in the physical presence of the Lord and Peter was not. Again, the spiritual application of this event is a very important lesson for us all!
The people in the courtyard of the Palace had their focus on Peter as a disciple of the Lord, while the religious authorities were only interested in Jesus who was in their midst. The religious leadership’s reasoning seemed to be, if they could put Jesus to death then His disciples would flee and be disbanded. The disciples, at this point and through the crucifixion, were never a concern of the High Priest and Israel’s religious leaders in their diabolical obsession to kill Jesus.
The Lord Caring for His Mother at the Cross
One of the most beautiful aspects of the cross – and there are many – is Jesus caring for and supplying for His mother's future needs. Such love!
“When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.” - John 19:26-27
Who would be more qualified to take on this responsibility than the “disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 21:7) and the gospel and epistle writer of the doctrine of love? John fit the bill and Jesus, as Creator and knowing all things, knew that John was the right man for the job.
Why Didn't James and Jude Care for Their Mother?
There is no record of James, Jude, or any of the earthly siblings of Jesus being at the cross. From what we can surmise from Scripture and extrabiblical sources is that the siblings of Jesus did not believe on Him until they saw Him after His resurrection.
For all we know, after their conversion to Christ, James and Jude may have taken over the care of their mother – or at least helped out significantly. We do know that John did a lot of traveling and, depending on how long Mary lived, Mary might not have wanted to go with him on his ministerial journeys. If she did live long enough, there was always the chance that she went with him to Ephesus, where it is believed John served in his later years, or some other location that John served at before he settled in Ephesus.
James, eventually becoming the leader of the Jerusalem church, may very well have taken his mother into his care. We just don't know the circumstances here.
But I do think you “hit the nail on the head” that Jesus was turning the care of His mother at the cross to the most credible and loving person He knew and, let's be honest, John was the only man that we know of who was near the cross! James and Jude, not being present at the cross and unbelievers in Who their Brother was at that time, would not have been the best candidates for this positional role. As the eldest brother, Jesus took His responsibility of providing for His mother's well-being very seriously and provided for Her as only He can.
Once His brothers understood who Jesus was and came to a saving faith in Him, then I'm certain they took their roles as sons and caregivers very seriously from there on out. How this all played-out must remain a mystery as the Scriptures just don't share this information with us.
Conclusion
Thank you again for your excellent questions, Bev, and thank you so much for your kind words – you made my day!
I pray that this has helped you and the reader in trying to illuminate possible answers to these very relevant questions. Like I said at the outset, there really isn't any Scriptures to offer in answering these questions unequivocally, but I think we made a good attempt at offering some very real possibilities concerning these important events.
Love, grace, mercy, and shalom in Messiah Yeshua, and Maranatha!
➢ Email: [email protected]
➢ If you have not given your life to Jesus Christ and are seeking answers about God, Jesus Christ, the gospel, and salvation, please email me at [email protected] for information.
➢ I am still taking questions for the Questions from the Body of Christ series. If you or someone you know has a question pertaining to the Word of God – theology, difficult passages, eschatology, etc. - I would really like to hear from you.
➢ A listing of past articles may be found at my Home Page on FaithWriters.
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