In the Judgment Hall
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prostrate upon the very spot where his Lord had sunk beneath his
inexpressible weight of woe.
Peter’s first mistake was in sleeping when Christ had bidden him
to watch and pray. At the most critical moment, when the Son of God
was in need of his sympathy and heartfelt prayers, he was incapable
of giving them to him. The disciples lost much by sleeping; Jesus
designed to fortify them for the severe test of faith to which they were
to be subjected. If they had spent that mournful period in the garden
in watching with the dear Saviour, and in prayer to God, Peter would
not have been left to depend upon his own feeble strength; he would
not have denied his Lord.
This important night-watch should have been spent by the disciples
in noble mental struggles and prayers, which would have brought them
strength to witness the terrible agony of the Son of God. It would have
prepared them, as they should behold his sufferings upon the cross,
to understand in some degree the nature of the overpowering anguish
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which he endured. They would then have been better able to recall the
words he had spoken to them in reference to his sufferings, death, and
resurrection; and amid the gloom of that trying hour some rays of hope
would have lighted up the darkness, and sustained their faith. Christ
had told them before that these things would take place. He knew the
power which the prince of darkness would use to paralyze the senses
of his disciples when they should be watching and praying.
The disciple John, upon entering the judgment hall, did not try to
conceal the fact that he was one of the followers of Jesus. He did not
mingle with the rough company that were insulting and mocking his
Master. He was not questioned, for he did not assume a false character
and thus lay himself liable to suspicion. He sought a retired corner
secure from observation of the mob, but as near Jesus as it was possible
for him to be. In this place he could hear and see all that transpired at
the trial of his Lord.
If Peter had been called to fight for his Master, he would have
proved a bold and courageous soldier; but he became a coward when
the finger of scorn was pointed at him. Many who do not hesitate
to engage in active warfare for the Lord, are driven to deny their
faith through the ridicule of their enemies. They place themselves in
the way of temptation by associating with those whom they should
avoid. They thus invite the enemy to tempt them, and are led to do