Matthew 26:67-68.
Then did they spit in His face, and buffeted Him, and others smote Him with the palms of their hands, saying, Prophesy unto us, you Christ, who is he that smote you?
Wherefore did they these things, when they were to put Him to death? What need of this mockery? That you might learn their intemperate spirit by all things, and that having taken Him like a prey, they thus showed forth their intoxication, and gave full swing to their madness; making this a festival, and assaulting Him with pleasure, and showing forth their murderous disposition.
But admire, I pray you, the self command of the disciples, with what exactness they relate these things. Hereby is clearly shown their disposition to love the truth, because they relate with all truthfulness the things that seem to be opprobrious, disguising nothing, nor being ashamed thereof, but rather accounting it very great glory, as indeed it was, that the Lord of the universe should endure to suffer such things for us. This shows both His unutterable tenderness, and the inexcusable wickedness of those men, who had the heart to do such things to Him that was so mild and meek, and was charming them with such words, as were enough to change a lion into a lamb. For neither did He fail in any things of gentleness, nor they of insolence and cruelty, in what they did, in what they said. All which things the prophet Isaiah foretold, thus proclaiming beforehand, and by one word intimating all this insolence. For like as many were astonished at you, he says, so shall your form be held inglorious of men, and your glory of the sons of men.
For what could be equal to this insolence? On that face which the sea, when it saw it, had reverenced, from which the sun, when it beheld it on the cross, turned away his rays, they did spit, and struck it with the palms of their hands, and some upon the head; giving full swing in every way to their own madness. For indeed they inflicted the blows that are most insulting of all, buffeting, smiting with the palms of their hands, and to these blows adding the insult of spitting at Him. And words again teeming with much derision did they speak, saying, prophesy unto us, thou Christ, who is he that smote you? because the multitude called Him a prophet.
But another says, that they covered His face with His own garment, and did these things, as though they had got in the midst of them some vile and worthless fellow. And not freemen only, but slaves also were intemperate with this intemperance towards Him at that time.
These things let us read continually, these things let us hear aright, these things let us write in our minds, for these are our honors. In these things do I take a pride, not only in the thousands of dead which He raised, but also in the sufferings which He endured. These things Paul puts forward in every way, the cross, the death, the sufferings, the revilings, the insults, the scoffs. And now he says, let us go forth unto Him bearing His reproach; and now, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame.
Now Peter sat in the court outside; and a damsel came to him, saying, you also were with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what you say. And when he had gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and says, this man also was there with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath. And after a while came to him they that stood by, and said to Peter, surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you. Then he began to curse and to swear, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crowed. And Peter remembered the words of Jesus, which said, before the cock crow, you shall deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.
Oh strange and wonderful acts! When indeed he saw his master seized only, he was so fervent as both to draw his sword, and to cut off the man’s ear; but when it was natural for him to be more indignant, and to be inflamed and to burn, hearing such revilings, then he becomes a denier. For who would not have been inflamed to madness by the things that were then done? Yet the disciple, overcome by fears, so far from showing indignation, even denies, and endures not the threat of a miserable and mean girl, and not once only, but a second and third time does he deny Him; and in a short period, and not so much as before judges, for it was without for when he had gone out into the porch, they asked him, and he did not even readily come to a sense of his fall. And this Luke says, namely, that Christ looked on him showing that he not only denied Him, but was not even brought to remembrance from within, and this though the cock had crowed; but he needed a further remembrance from his master, and His look was to him instead of a voice; so exceedingly was he full of fear.
But Mark says, that when he had once denied, then first the cock crew, but when thrice, then for the second time; for he declares more particularly the weakness of the disciple, and that he was utterly dead with fear; having learned these things of his master himself, for he was a follower of Peter. In which respect one would most marvel at him, that so far from hiding his teacher’s faults, he declared it more distinctly than the rest, on this very account, that he was his disciple.