While Peter was still below in the courtyard, one of the High Priest’s servant girls came.
The narrative returns to Peter, who was below in the courtyard. Above, Christ was bearing witness to the truth and enduring disgrace, while below, the faithfulness of His disciple was drawing near to the hour of testing. The servant girl’s coming did not, outwardly, present great danger. Yet when the heart is not prepared through prayer, even a small trial can become the cause of a great fall. This shows that Peter’s problem was not only the size of the trial, but the inner weakness and fear.