Church Fathers Commentary Mark 14:26-31

"And when they had sung a hymn, they went out unto the mount of Olives. And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered abroad. Howbeit, after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee. But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I. And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, that thou to-day, [even] this night, before the cock crow twice, shalt deny me thrice. But he spake exceedingly vehemently, If I must die with thee, I will not deny thee. And in like manner also said they all." — Mark 14:26-31 (ASV)

Theophylact of Ohrid: Just as they gave thanks before they drank, so they give thanks after drinking; therefore it is said, And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives, to teach us to give thanks both before and after our food.

Pseudo-Jerome: For by a hymn he means the praise of the Lord, as is said in the Psalms: The poor shall eat and be satisfied; they that seek after the Lord shall praise Him (Psalm 22:26). And again, All such as be fat upon earth have eaten and worshipped (Psalm 22:29).

Theophylact of Ohrid: He also shows by this that He was glad to die for us, because when He was about to be betrayed, He condescended to praise God. He also teaches us that when we fall into troubles for the sake of the salvation of many, we should not be sad, but give thanks to God, Who through our distress works the salvation of many.

The Venerable Bede: This may also refer to the hymn in the Gospel of John, which the Lord sang when giving thanks to the Father. In it, He also prayed, raising His eyes to Heaven, for Himself, His disciples, and for those who were to believe through their word.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Again, He went out to a mountain so that they might come to Him in a lonely place and take Him without a commotion. For if they had come to Him while He was staying in the city, the crowd would have been in an uproar. Then His enemies, who were looking for a charge against Him, would have seemed to slay Him justly, on the grounds that He incited the people.

The Venerable Bede: Beautifully, the Lord leads His disciples out to the Mount of Olives after they had tasted His Sacraments. This shows us symbolically that through the reception of the Sacraments, we ought to rise to higher gifts of virtue and graces of the Holy Spirit, so that we may be anointed in heart.

Pseudo-Jerome: Jesus is also held captive on the Mount of Olives, from where He ascended to Heaven. This is so we may know that we ascend to Heaven from the same place where we watch and pray; there we are bound and do not return to earth.

The Venerable Bede: The Lord foretells to His disciples what is about to happen to them, so that when they have gone through it, they may not despair of salvation but may work out their repentance and be freed.

Therefore, it continues: And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night.

Pseudo-Jerome: All indeed fall, but not all remain fallen. For, shall not he who sleeps also rise up again? (Psalm 41:8). It is a carnal thing to fall, but it is devilish to remain lying down once fallen.

Theophylact of Ohrid: The Lord allowed them to fall so that they might not trust in themselves. And lest what He had prophesied should seem like an open accusation against them, He brings forward the witness of Zechariah the Prophet. Therefore it continues: For it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered (Zechariah 13:7).

The Venerable Bede: This is written in different words in Zechariah, where in the person of the Prophet it is said to the Lord, Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.

Pseudo-Jerome: For the Prophet prays for the Passion of the Lord, and the Father answers, "I will smite the shepherd," according to the prayers of those below. The Son is sent and smitten by the Father; that is, He is made Incarnate and suffers.

Theophylact of Ohrid: The Father says, I will smite the shepherd, because He permitted Him to be smitten. He calls the disciples sheep, as they are innocent and without guile. At last, He consoles them by saying, But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.

Pseudo-Jerome: In this, the true Resurrection is promised, so that their hope may not be extinguished. It continues: But Peter said unto Him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I. Behold, an unfledged bird tries to raise itself on high, but the body weighs down the soul, so that the fear of the Lord is overcome by the fear of human death.

The Venerable Bede: Peter then promised this in the ardor of his faith, while the Savior, as God, knew what was to happen.

Therefore, it continues: And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Although all the Evangelists say that the Lord foretold Peter was to deny Him before the cock crowed, Mark alone has related it more minutely. Therefore, some, out of inattention, suppose that he does not agree with the others.¹

The whole of Peter's denial is threefold. If it had begun entirely after the cock crowed, the other three Evangelists would seem to have spoken falsely in saying that he would deny Him three times before the cock crowed.

On the other hand, if he had finished the entire threefold denial before the cock began to crow, Mark would seem to have the Lord needlessly say, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny Me thrice.

The truth is that the threefold denial began before the first cock-crowing. The other three did not note when Peter was to finish it, but only how great it was to be (threefold) and when it was to begin (before the cock crowed). The entire denial was conceived in his mind even before the first cock-crow, but Mark has related the interval between the spoken words more plainly.

Theophylact of Ohrid: We are to understand that it happened as follows: Peter denied once, then the cock crowed; he denied a second and third time, and then the cock crowed for the second time.

Pseudo-Jerome: Who is the cock, the harbinger of day, but the Holy Spirit? By His voice in prophecy and in the Apostles, we are roused from our threefold denial to most bitter tears after our fall, for we have thought evil of God, spoken evil of our neighbors, and done evil to ourselves.

The Venerable Bede: The faith of the Apostle Peter, and his burning love for our Lord, is shown in what follows.

For it continues: But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with Thee, I will not deny Thee in any wise.

Theophylact of Ohrid: The other disciples also showed a fearless zeal, for it continues, Likewise also said they all. Nevertheless, they acted contrary to the truth which Christ had prophesied.

1. de Con. Even. iii, 2