Peter's Courage Undone by Cold and Isolation

The trial of Jesus unfolds with stark geography—John admitted through family connections to the high priest's chamber, while Peter stands alone outside in the grey dawn, shivering. Maclaren captures the precise moment when courage evaporates: Peter had already 'repented now of, and alarmed for what might happen to him on account of, his ill-aimed blow at Malchus,' compounded by 'the nipping cold' that 'had taken all his courage out of him.'…