Mark 14.66-72, Matthew 26.69-75, Luke 22.54-62, John 18.15-18, 25-27.
After dinner earlier that night, Jesus told his students they weren’t gonna follow him much longer; they’d scatter. At this point Jesus’s best student, Simon Peter, got up and foolhardily claimed this prediction didn’t apply to him.
Mark 14.29-31 KWL - 29 Simon Peter told him, “If everyone else will get tripped up, it won’t include me.”
- 30 Jesus told him, “Amen, I promise you today, this night,
- before the rooster crows twice, you’ll renounce me thrice.”
- 31 Peter said emphatically, “Even if I have to die for you,
- I will never renounce you.” Everyone else said likewise.
And y’know, Peter wasn’t kidding. I’ve heard way too many sermons which mock Peter for this, who claim he was all talk. Thing is, he really wasn’t. When Jesus was arrested, Peter was packing a machete,
But Jesus’s response was to cure the guy, then rebuke Peter: Jesus could stop his arrest at any time, but chose not to. Having a weapon was only gonna get Peter killed. Peter thought he was following God’s will, but he was in fact tripping up. And Jesus did say his students
This sort of turn of events would knock the zeal right out of anyone. Y’know how Peter later would up saying he didn’t know Jesus? At the time, he kinda didn’t. Thought he did; totally got him wrong. We all do, sometimes.
See, Peter was having
To his credit, Peter didn’t scatter. He followed the mob, who took Jesus to the former head priest’s house, where
John 18.15-18 KWL - 15 Simon Peter and another student followed Jesus.
- That student was known by the head priest.
- He went in, with Jesus, to the head priest’s courtyard.
- 16 Peter stood at the door outside.
- So the other student, known to the head priest, came out and spoke to the doorman, who brought Peter in.
- 17 The doorman, a slavewoman, told Peter, “Aren’t you also one of this person’s students?”
- Peter said, “I’m not.”
- 18 The slaves and servants stationed there had made a charcoal fire; it was cold.
- They warmed themselves. Peter was also with them, standing and warming.
This’d be the first denial. But Jesus didn’t just say Peter would deny him, or pretend he didn’t know him, or pretend he didn’t follow him. Peter
Good thing he could take it back. As can we. But, y’know, don’t quit him, okay?
Denying him again.
Peter didn’t go into the house; he stayed in the courtyard. Roman-style houses are built in a U-shape, with a courtyard in the middle, which could either serve as an outdoor living space, or as a work area. You know, pretty much like American back yards. We use ’em for all sorts of things. So did Romans.
Peter didn’t go into the rooms of the house, where the pre-trial was; only the eyewitness who informed the author of John did. (Who might’ve been John himself; we don’t know/) Peter simply waited in the courtyard. Likely with a lot of the people in the mob that had arrested Jesus; likely even the guy Peter had slashed earlier.
Mark 14.66-68 KWL - 66 While Simon Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the head priest’s slaves came.
- 67 Recognizing Peter as he warmed himself, she told him, “And you’re with the Nazarene, Jesus.”
- 68 He denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you’re saying.”
- He left, going into the foyer. A rooster crowed.
Matthew 26.69-70 KWL - 69 Simon Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard.
- A slave came to him, saying, “And you’re with Jesus the Galilean.”
- 70 He denied it before everyone, saying, “I don’t know what you’re saying.”
Luke 22.54-57 KWL - 54 They arrested him, led him away, and brought him to the head priest’s house.
- Simon Peter was following at a distance.
- 55 A fire was kindled in the middle of the courtyard.
- People were sitting together, and Peter sat among them.
- 56 A certain slave sitting by the fire, recognizing him,
- staring at him, said, “This man was also with him.”
- 57 He denied it, saying, “I don’t know him, ma’am.”
John 18.25 KWL - Simon Peter was standing and warming.
- They told him, “Aren’t you also one of his students?”
- He denied it and said, “I’m not.”
But in all the gospels Peter was first identified by a
So this “girl” was no girl, but a slave. Again, a lot of bibles translate
Much is made of how this “little girl” threw Peter into a panic. Mostly to mock Peter: Look how nervous he was, how guilty he was, how easy it was for a little kid to make him stumble. But again, she’s not a girl: John points out this “girl” was the doorman; she’s
So when the head slave, the person who can order all the other slaves to grab you and throw you out—or at least give you a serious beating first—says, “Hey waitaminnit, aren’t you…?” it’s pretty intimidating.
To be fair, maybe it wasn’t. Movies love to overdramatize this incident, as if Peter feared for his life—as if there were Roman soldiers in the courtyard just itching to pull their swords and behead him right there… and totally defile the former head priest’s house right before Passover. I suspect it far more likely Peter just didn’t want the hassle, so he told a little white lie to get ’em off his back.
But it escalated, as sins often do.
Denouncing him altogether.
This is usually how we stumble into big sins: We think they’re only small sins. Peter didn’t think it would get so far as to reject Jesus. He was just trying to cover his butt and pass unnoticed.
But the Galilean accent didn’t sound like the Judean accent, and Peter didn’t bother to fake a Judean one, so they immediately noticed the difference. Whether it’s for this reason, or because (as John tells it) someone who’d been to Jesus’s arrest identified him, Peter began to step up his denials.
Mark 14.69-72 KWL - 69 The slave who saw him began to tell the bystanders again: “He’s from them.”
- 70 Peter denied it again.
- In a little while the bystanders told Peter, “You’re really from them: You’re Galilean.”
- 71 Peter began to curse, to swear, “I don’t know this person you’re talking about!”
- 72 Immediately a second rooster crowed, and Peter remembered the word Jesus told him:
- “Before two rooster crows, three times you’ll renounce me.”
Mk 14.30 - Pride broken, he was mourning.
Matthew 71-75 KWL - 71 Upon going out to the gate, another person saw him.
- He told those there: “He was with Jesus the Nazarene.”
- 72 Peter again denied it, with an oath: “I don’t know the person.”
- 73 In a little while, those who came to stand there told Peter, “And you’re really from them.
- For your speech makes you obvious.”
- 74 Then Peter began to curse himself, to swear, “I don’t know this person!”
- Immediately a rooster crowed, 75 and Peter remembered Jesus’s word he’d said:
- “Before a rooster crows, three times you’ll renounce me.”
Mt 26.34 - Going outside, he mourned bitterly.
Luke 22.58-62 KWL - 58 After a brief time another, on seeing him, said, “You’re also from him.”
- Peter said, “Sir, I’m not.”
- 59 About an hour later, a certain other person leaned on him,
- saying, “In fact this man was also with him, for he’s Galilean.”
- 60 Peter said, “Sir, I don’t know what you’re saying.”
- Right as he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.
- 61 Turning, the Master stared at Peter, and Peter was reminded of the word Jesus told him:
- “Before a rooster crows today, three times you’ll renounce me.”
Lk 22.34 - 62 Going outside, he mourned bitterly.
John 18.26-27 KWL - 26 One of the head priest’s slaves, a relative of Malchus whose ear Peter cut off,
- said, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?”
- 27 Again Peter denied it. And immediately a rooster crowed.
It started with, “No, I don’t know what you’re talking about; I don’t know him,” to Peter beginning
Now we’re not talking a little white lie anymore. We’re talking apostasy. Peter just publicly declared he’s no Christ-follower. Yes he did.
And it was only now Peter heard the rooster crow. Whether it was supposed to crow twice
Bad enough Peter realized what he’d done, and finally did run away.
The fact Peter mourned over this bitterly,
But possibly he did remember Jesus saying something about if we renounce him before others, Jesus would renounce us to the Father.
A lot of us have done far worse than Peter, for far more petty reasons. But Jesus can forgive us like he forgave Peter. Let’s just not be foolhardy and think, as Peter did, we know ourselves better than Jesus does.
Oh yeah: Jesus’s suffering.
As far as sins go, this is just as bad as Judas turning him in. Yes, even in deed. Our culture doesn’t worry too much about swearing to God. Politicians do it all the time: Swear to God to defend the Constitution, then bend the Constitution like crazy for political gain. Swear under oath to tell the truth, then haggle over individual words and claim they didn’t really mean what they clearly stated.
But Peter’s culture, and the L
Christians still do this. Whenever one of us falls under scandal, the rest of us are so quick to pretend we didn’t know ’em, never listened to ’em, didn’t follow ’em, always suspected they were nutty or hypocritical or heretic. All their so-called “friends” evaporate. And someday, when we mess up really badly, that’ll be us whose friends all disappear on us. Even our favorites. It’s gonna be awful.
But I hope not. Jesus doesn’t abandon us like that, and surely some of his followers are gonna practice his character when that day comes. Well, we’ll see.
