After Jesus was arrested, he was taken by the mob back down the Kidron Valley, and then up into the house of Caiaphas, the High Priest. All of Jesus’ disciples had abandoned him. But one of them decided to follow the mob at a distance. They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law came together. 54 Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire. – Mark 14:53–54
After Jesus was arrested, he was taken by the mob back down the Kidron Valley, and then up into the house of Caiaphas, the High Priest. All of Jesus’ disciples had abandoned him. But one of them decided to follow the mob at a distance.
They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law came together. 54 Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.– Mark 14:53–54
Archaeologists have identified the house of the Caiaphas. It was just below Jerusalem on the slopes of Mt Zion. Jesus would have been marched down the slope of the Mt of Olives, down into the Kidron Valley, and then up the hill again to the house of Caiaphas.
By Jewish law, the Sanhedrin was not permitted to meet at night. In a literal sense, the supreme court of the Jews wasn’t meant to be engaged in works of darkness.
However in their desperation to be rid of Jesus before the solemnities of the Passover sacrifice, the High Priest and the chief priests convened an extraordinary night-time meeting.
Peter was there also, the only one of the disciples who had followed the mob. He sat around the fire in the courtyard, from where he could hear what was happening inside.
Mark says that Peter followed Jesus “at a distance.” It’s because he had been following Jesus “at a distance” that he had denied his Lord. How closely are you following Jesus in your life?
