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In this section two accounts are interspersed. Both begin with the arrest of Jesus and his delivery to Annas, father-in-law of Caiaphas, the current high priest (vv.12-14; cf. 11:49-51). Caiaphas had been high priest since a.d. 18, and he was to fill that office until a.d. 36. Annas himself had been high priest from a.d. 6 to 15 and still retained great prominence and authority.
The first account is about Simon Peter. Through the kindness of an unnamed disciple with connections, Peter was allowed into the palace courtyard (vv.15-16). The other disciple drops out of the narrative, but Peter’s story is pursued in some detail. Three times he was charged with being a disciple of Jesus, and three times he denied it, presumably out of fear (v.17, 25-27). It must be noted that he did not deny the truth about Jesus but only repudiated any connection with him. The reference to the crowing of a rooster is a reminder that Jesus had predicted Peter’s desertion (v.27; cf. 13:38).
The second account is a report of Jesus' hearing before Annas, here given the title of the position he had once held (vv.19-24). He asked Jesus directly about his teaching and his followers. But it was not proper judicial procedure to question an accused person directly; nor was it necessary in Jesus' case, and he said so. Everything Annas wanted to know was a matter of public knowledge and might be ascertained from others. This mode of answering was not viewed favorably, and subsequently, but not necessarily because of it, Jesus was bound over to Caiaphas.