"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.

The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."

The Jews who shouted that Jesus should be put to death spit in His face, struck Him with their fists, and slapped Him, mocking, "Christ, who hit you?  Guess who it was."  Meanwhile, Peter, one of Jesus' disciples, was sitting in the courtyard when a servant girl came to him and said, "You also were with Jesus of Galilee, weren't you?"  But Peter replied, "I don’t know what you’re talking about," and denied Jesus in front of everyone.  Later, as Peter went out to the gateway, another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, "This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth."  Again, Peter denied it with an oath, "I don’t know the man."  A little while later, those standing there came up to Peter and said, "Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away."  Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, "I don't know the man!"  Immediately a rooster crowed, and Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: "Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times."  And he went outside and wept bitterly (Matthew 26:66-75, Modern Bible Translation).  When Jesus was deeply distressed and close to death in the Garden of Gethsemane, He told Peter, James, and John, "Stay here and keep watch with me," but they all fell asleep. Jesus then said to Peter, "Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?" (Matthew 26:38-40, Modern Bible Translation). At that time, the Jews were spitting in Jesus' face, striking Him with their fists, and mocking Him. In the midst of this, Peter denied Jesus three times. This is when Jesus' words came to mind again: "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Matthew 26:41, Modern Bible Translation).