Old/New Testament
54 Peter followed him at a distance, and came to the courtyard of the high priest’s house, where he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire.
55 The chief priests, and all the Sanhedrin, looked for evidence for a capital charge against Jesus, but they didn’t find any. 56 Several people invented fictitious charges against him, but their evidence didn’t agree. 57 Then some stood up with this fabricated charge: 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this Temple, which human hands have made, and in three days I’ll build another, made without human hands.’ ”
59 But even so their evidence didn’t agree.
60 Then the high priest got up in front of them all and interrogated Jesus.
“Haven’t you got any answer about whatever it is these people are testifying against you?”
61 Jesus remained silent, and didn’t answer a word.
Once more the high priest questioned him. “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
62 “I am,” replied Jesus, “and you will see ‘the son of man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.’ ”
63 “Why do we need any more evidence?” shouted the high priest, tearing his clothes. 64 “You heard the blasphemy! What’s your verdict?”
They all agreed on their judgment: he deserved to die.
65 Some of them began to spit at him. They blindfolded him and hit him, and said, “Prophesy!” And the servants took charge of him and beat him.
66 Peter, meanwhile, was below in the courtyard. One of the high priest’s servant-girls came up 67 and saw him warming himself. She looked closely at him, and said, “You were with Jesus the Nazarene as well, weren’t you?”
68 “I don’t know what on earth you’re talking about,” replied Peter.
He went outside into the forecourt, and the cock crowed.
69 The servant-girl saw him, and once more began to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” 70 But Peter again denied it.
A little while later the bystanders said again to Peter, “You really are one of them, aren’t you? You’re a Galilean!”
71 At that he began to curse and swear, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.” 72 And immediately the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered the words that Jesus had said to him: “Before the cock crows twice, you will renounce me three times.” And he burst into tears.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.