When Peter discovered that Jesus was the Christ what did he do? Mark: "And Peter took him [Christ] and began to rebuke him" (viii, 32). What did Jesus do in turn? Mark: "He rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me Satan" (33). What a spectacle! The incarnate God of the universe and his vicegerent on earth indulging in a petty quarrel! 596 Give an account of Peter's denial of his Master. Matthew: "Now when Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a while came up to him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man" (xxvi, 69-74). 597 What did Peter say to Jesus in regard to compensation for his services? "Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?" (Matthew xix, 27). What request was made by James and John? Mark: "They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory" (x, 37). This shows that self-aggrandizement inspired the actions of his followers then as it does today. 598 What is said of John in the Gospel of John? "There was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples whom he loved" (xiii, 23). "The disciple standing by whom he [Jesus] loved" (xix, 26). "The other disciple whom Jesus loved" (xx, 2). "Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper.... This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things" (xxi, 20, 24). If the Apostle John wrote this Gospel, as claimed by Christians and as declared in the Gospel, he was a vulgar egotist. 599 What is said regarding the conduct of his Apostles on the evening preceding the crucifixion? Luke: "And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest" (xxii, 24). This was immediately after he had announced his speedy betrayal and death and when his disciples, if sincere, must have manifested the deepest sadness and humility. If the Evangelist is not a base calumniator the Apostles were a set of heartless knaves. 600 When the Jews came to arrest Jesus what did the disciples do? Matthew: "Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled" (xxvi, 56). Mark: "And they all forsook him, and fled" (xiv, 50). Justin says: "All his friends [the Apostles] stood aloof from him, having denied him" (Apology i, 50).