Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 26:56

"But all this is come to pass, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples left him, and fled." — Matthew 26:56 (ASV)

Our Lord’s one great concern was that He might finish the work He had come to perform, and that in this way the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Jesus was not surprised that all the disciples forsook Him and fled, for He had foretold that they would do so. He knew them better than they knew themselves, so He prophesied that the flock would be scattered when the Shepherd would be smitten. So it was, for when the fierce wolves came and seized Him, the sheep all fled.

It would have been to the eternal honor of anyone of the disciples to have kept close to Christ right up to the last, but neither the loving John nor the boastful Peter stood the test of that solemn time. Human nature is such poor stuff, even at its best, that we cannot hope that any of us would have been braver or more faithful than the apostles were.