Mark 14:55-72

55 The high priests conspiring with the Jewish Council looked high and low for evidence against Jesus by which they could sentence him to death. They found nothing.

56 Plenty of people were willing to bring in false charges, but nothing added up, and they ended up canceling each other out.

57 Then a few of them stood up and lied:

58 "We heard him say, 'I am going to tear down this Temple, built by hard labor, and in three days build another without lifting a hand.'"

59 But even they couldn't agree exactly.

60 In the middle of this, the Chief Priest stood up and asked Jesus, "What do you have to say to the accusation?"

61 Jesus was silent. He said nothing. The Chief Priest tried again, this time asking, "Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed?"

62 Jesus said, "Yes, I am, and you'll see it yourself: The Son of Man seated At the right hand of the Mighty One, Arriving on the clouds of heaven."

63 The Chief Priest lost his temper. Ripping his clothes, he yelled, "Did you hear that? After that do we need witnesses?

64 You heard the blasphemy. Are you going to stand for it?" They condemned him, one and all. The sentence: death.

65 Some of them started spitting at him. They blindfolded his eyes, then hit him, saying, "Who hit you? Prophesy!" The guards, punching and slapping, took him away.

66 While all this was going on, Peter was down in the courtyard. One of the Chief Priest's servant girls came in

67 and, seeing Peter warming himself there, looked hard at him and said, "You were with the Nazarene, Jesus."

68 He denied it: "I don't know what you're talking about." He went out on the porch. A rooster crowed.

69 The girl spotted him and began telling the people standing around, "He's one of them."

70 He denied it again. After a little while, the bystanders brought it up again. "You've got to be one of them. You've got 'Galilean' written all over you."

71 Now Peter got really nervous and swore, "I never laid eyes on this man you're talking about."

72 Just then the rooster crowed a second time. Peter remembered how Jesus had said, "Before a rooster crows twice, you'll deny me three times." He collapsed in tears.