The houses in the East are built round a great square court, like a big hall, only it has no roof. It was the middle of the night, and the cold air blew into that court. But the servants had made a great fire of coals in the middle of the court, and while Jesus was standing before Caiaphas and the other priests, the servants sat round that fire waiting, and warming themselves. Peter came and sat down with the servants, and warmed himself too.
Presently the girl who attended to the door came up to the fire, and she had a good look at Peter, and said, 'And you were with Jesus of Nazareth. Are you not one of His disciples?' Then Peter told a lie before all the servants, and said, 'Woman, I am not. I do not know Him, and I do not know what you mean.' And he went on warming himself, and tried to look as though he knew nothing in the world about Jesus. But Peter loved Jesus too much to be able to do this well. He was unhappy, he could not sit still; he got up, and went away into a place near the door, called the porch, and when he was in the porch he heard a cock crow. Perhaps he went into the porch because he thought that it would be dark there and that nobody would see him. But the girl who kept the door told another woman to look at him, and that woman said to the people who stood by, 'This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth, and is one of His disciples.' Then a man who stood there said to Peter, 'Are you not one of His disciples?' And again Peter told a lie, and said, 'Man, I am not. I do not know the Man.'
An hour passed by, and then some of the people near said, 'You must be one of the disciples of Jesus. The way that you speak shows that you come from Galilee.' While Peter was again denying him, Jesus turned round, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered what Jesus had said to him, 'Before the cock crow twice, you will say three times you do not know Me.' And when he thought about what he had done, he was very, very sorry; and he went out of the high priest's palace, and wept bitterly.
CHAPTER XII
THE CRUCIFIXION AND THE RESURRECTION
When the morning came, the priests met once more with all the chief Jews, and said Jesus must die. But the Jews could not put anyone to death. The Romans would not allow it. So they took Jesus to the Roman governor, whose name was Pontius Pilate.
When Judas saw that the priests had made up their minds to kill Jesus, he began to feel very unhappy. He did not care for the money now. He came to the Temple, and brought it back to the priest, and said, 'It was very wrong of me to give Jesus up to you. He had done nothing wrong.' But their hearts were as hard as stone. They said to Judas, 'What is that to us? See thou to that.' Then Judas had no hope left. He flung the thirty pieces of silver down in the Court of the Priests, and went and hung himself. But oh! what a pity that he did not go to Jesus and ask Jesus to forgive him, instead of going to the priests! Jesus is a good, kind, loving Master. When we do wrong, if we are very sorry, like Peter, and will come and ask Jesus, He will forgive us. For
'THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST, GOD'S SON, CLEANSETH US FROM ALL SIN.'
Pilate took Jesus inside his splendid palace, away from the Jews, and asked Him, 'Art thou a King then?'