Church Fathers Commentary Mark 14:53-59

"And they led Jesus away to the high priest: and there come together with him all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes. And Peter had followed him afar off, even within, into the court of the high priest; and he was sitting with the officers, and warming himself in the light [of the fire]. Now the chief priests and the whole council sought witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found it not. For many bare false witness against him, and their witness agreed not together. And there stood up certain, and bare false witness against him, saying, We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands. And not even so did their witness agree together." — Mark 14:53-59 (ASV)

Glossa Ordinaria: The Evangelist had related above how our Lord had been taken by the servants of the Priests. Now he begins to relate how He was condemned to death in the house of the High Priest.

Therefore it is said: And they led Jesus away to the High Priest.

The Venerable Bede: He means by the High Priest, Caiaphas, who (as John writes) was High Priest that year, of whom Josephus relates that he bought his priesthood from the Roman Emperor.

There follows: And with him were assembled all the Chief Priests and the elders and the scribes.

Pseudo-Jerome: Then the gathering of the bulls among the heifers of the people took place (Psalm 67:31, Vulgate).

It goes on: And Peter followed Him afar off, even into the palace of the High Priest.

For though fear holds him back, love draws him on.

The Venerable Bede: But he rightly follows from a distance, as he is about to deny Him, for he could not have denied Christ if he had remained close to Him.

There follows: And he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire.

Pseudo-Jerome: He warms himself at the fire in the hall with the servants. The hall of the High Priest is the enclosure of the world, the servants are the devils, and whoever remains with them cannot weep for his sins. The fire is the desire of the flesh.

The Venerable Bede: For charity is the fire of which it is said, I am come to send fire on the earth (Luke 12:49). This flame, coming down on the believers, taught them to speak in various tongues the praise of the Lord. There is also a fire of covetousness, of which it is said, They are all adulterers as an oven (Hosea 7:4). This fire, stirred up in the hall of Caiaphas by the suggestion of an evil spirit, was arming the tongues of the traitors to deny and blaspheme the Lord. For the fire lit in the hall amid the cold of the night was a figure of what the wicked assembly was doing within, for because of the abounding of iniquity the love of many waxes cold (Matthew 24:12). Peter, who for a time was numbed by this cold, wished to be warmed, as it were, by the coals of the servants of Caiaphas, because he sought the consolation of worldly comfort in the company of traitors.

It goes on: And the Chief Priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put Him to death.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Although the law commanded that there should be only one High Priest, at that time there were many who were put into the office and then stripped of it, year by year, by the Roman emperor. He therefore calls "chief priests" those who had finished their allotted time and had been stripped of their priesthood. But their actions reveal their judgment, which they conducted with a predetermined outcome, for they sought a witness so that they might appear to condemn and destroy Jesus with justice.

Pseudo-Jerome: But iniquity lied as the queen did against Joseph, and the priests against Susannah, but a flame goes out if it has no fuel.

Therefore it goes on: And found none. For many bare false witness against Him, but their witness agreed not together.

For whatever is not consistent is held to be doubtful.

There follows: And there arose certain, and bare false witness against Him, saying, We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.

It is typical for heretics to extract a shadow from the truth. He did not say what they said, but something similar, concerning the temple of His body, which He raised again after two days.

Theophylact of Ohrid: For the Lord had not said, I will destroy, but, Destroy; nor did He say, made with hands, but, this temple.

The Venerable Bede: He had also said, I will raise up, meaning a living, breathing temple with a soul. A false witness is one who understands words in a sense other than how they were spoken.