<p>18:15 <em>Simon Peter followed Jesus-</em> The Lord had specifically told Peter that he could not follow Him (13:36). If Peter had given due weight to the Lord's words and not overrated his own strength, he would not have followed, and led himself into temptation too great for him. This basic tendency to assume we shall not give in to temptation is very much part of us as humans, and in the Biblical record we have so much encouragement to face up to the fact and humble ourselves in recognizing it.</p><p><em>And so did another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest; and he entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest</em>- John, the disciple beloved by his Lord, brings out the apparent paradox- that he was &lsquo;on friendly terms with the High Priest&rsquo;, the great &lsquo;satan&rsquo; of the early Christians, Caiaphas being presented as &quot;the prince of this world&quot; with especial responsibility for the Lord's death; and yet also &lsquo;the disciple whom Jesus loved&rsquo;. When John knew full well that the Lord Jesus had taught that a man cannot be friends of both Him and of the persecuting world. Again we see the Gospel preachers / writers bringing out their own weakness as a platform upon which to appeal to other weak people to likewise believe as they had done. Quite how it was that John knew Caiaphas isn't clear; it could be that his family fishing business provided salt for the temple and therefore he knew Caiaphas from business dealings. If indeed Salome was John's mother and also the sister or relative of Mary the Lord's mother, then he may well have had priestly connections in the family.</p>