And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the guards did strike him with the palms of their hands.
All Commentaries on Mark 14:65 Go To Mark 14
Bede
AD 735
The more Jesus remained silent before the false witnesses who were unworthy of His answer, and the impious priests, the more the High Priest, overcome with anger, endeavoured to provoke Him to answer, that he might find room for accusing Him, from any thing whatever which He might say. Wherefore it is said, “And the High Priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what isit which these witness against thee?”The High Priest, angry and impatient at finding no room for accusation against Him, rises from his seat, thus shewing by the motion of his body the madness of his mind. Wherefore it goes on, “But He held His peace, and answered nothing. "The silence of Christ is the pardon for the defence or excuse of Adam.
If therefore to thee, O Jew, OPagan, and heretic, the contempt, weakness, and cross in Christ are a subject of scorn, see how by this the Son of Man is to sit at the right hand of the Father, and to come in His majesty on the clouds of heaven. And He said, “Sitting on the right hand of power,” that is, reigning in life everlasting, and in the Divine power. He says, “And coming with the clouds of heaven.” He ascended in a cloud, He willcome with a cloud; that is, He ascended in that body alone, which He took of the Virgin, and He will come to judgment with the whole Church, which is His body and His fulness.Leo, Sermon 5, de Pass.: But Caiaphas, to increase the odiousness of what they had heard, “rent his clothes,” and without knowing what his frantic action meant, by this madness, deprived himself of the honour of the priesthood, forgetting that command, by which it is said of the High Priest, “He shall not uncover his head or rend his clothes.” For there follows: “The High Priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses? Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye?”.
But it was also with a higher mystery, that in the Passion of our Lord the Jewish priest rent his own clothes, that is, his ephod, whilst the garment of the Lord could not be rent, even by the soldiers, who crucified Him. For it was a figure that the Jewish priesthood was to be rent on account of the wickedness of the priests themselves. But the solid strength of the Church, which is often called the garment of her Redeemer, can never be torn asunder.
By saying, “Prophesy, who is he that smote thee,” they mean to insult Him, because He wished to be looked upon as aprophet by the people.
