Introduction
‘Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: “‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.” “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same.’ Matthew 26:31-35
The Lord was about to foretell the denial of Peter and the flight of the twelve, but He began by appealing to the prophecy, Matthew 26:31 / Mark 14:27, quoted from Zechariah 13:7.
God had revealed Himself in the Old Testament under the extensive use of the metaphor of ‘the shepherd of Israel’, Psalm 23 / Ezekiel 16, but here it was stated that the Shepherd would strike the Shepherd, thus God laid upon himself, in the person of the Son, the iniquity of us all. Inherent in this was the failure of all human support.
Christ here went far beyond the detailed prophecies of His passion and calmly set up an appointment to meet the twelve in Galilee after the Great Sacrifice had been offered, Matthew 26:32 / Mark 14:28. Christ promised to meet them after His resurrection, and He did it, Matthew 28:7-10 / Mark 16:7 / John 21:1-6 / Luke 24:6.
Jesus told the disciples that they would all fall away. The disciples still didn’t fully realise what was soon to occur and so, Peter asks where Jesus is going, John 13:36.
Jesus answered him and tells him he can’t follow Him now, but he will later, John 13:36. Jesus was going voluntarily to death, but it wasn’t yet time for Peter to die, he would eventually ‘follow’ his Master to death by crucifixion, John 21:18-19.
Peter retorted that though the others might, he would never abandon Him, Matthew 26:33 / Mark 14:29.
Peter asked why he cannot follow Jesus immediately shows three things about Peter’s personality.
1. His devotion, he wants to be with his Master.
2. His impatience, ‘why cannot I follow you right now?’
3. His self-reliance. ‘I will lay down my life for you’.
All of these are shattered for that time when he was guilty of denying the one, he loved. Even though Peter wasn’t perfect, he made mistakes as we do.
Christ replied that he would deny Him three times that very night, Matthew 26:34 / Mark 14:30. It’s important to see that Peter was sincere in this assertion, he meant it, but he didn’t know himself as well as Jesus knew him.
He revived and became a great apostle for the Lord. Peter promises all for Jesus, but Jesus knows better, Peter would deny his Lord three times that evening, Matthew 26:34 / Mark 14:30 / John 13:38.
Matthew referred to the event of the cock-crow, a phenomenon taking place every morning, Matthew 26:34, Mark and John had reference to the beginning of a cockcrow, Mark 14:30 / John 13:38, which always starts with one or two roosters leading all the rest.
Matthew referred to the event of the cock-crow, a phenomenon taking place every morning, and Mark had reference to the beginning of a cockcrow, which always starts with one or two roosters leading all the rest.
Again, Peter denied it saying that he would even be willing to die with Him, Matthew 26:35 / Mark 14:31. Perhaps Peter’s overconfidence was one reason he fulfilled this very prophecy a few hours later.
Jesus knew the truth of what was to happen. Peter wouldn’t lay his life down for the Lord, but the Lord for him, Peter wouldn’t follow, he would deny.
The prophecy Jesus gives in this regard tells of three great truths of Jesus.
1. Jesus the great prophet.
2. Jesus the great sufferer.
3. Jesus the great Saviour. ‘The cock will not crow’ etc., Matthew 26:34 / Mark 14:30 / Luke 22:34.
Mark 13:35 indicates that it marked the third of the four ‘watches’ ‘evening’ 6-9, ‘midnight’ 9-12. ‘Rooster-crowing’ 12-3, ‘morning’ 3-6, hence, what Jesus means seems to be that before 3 am Peter will deny him three times.
The prediction shattered Peter, throughout the Upper Room discourse afterwards he is silent. Jesus just moments before His departure takes time to teach Peter, who was in many ways the leader in the future this great lesson. This lesson is recorded so we can learn from its experience.
Peter wasn’t alone in rejecting the idea of their failure, for both Mark and Matthew relate how ‘all the disciples’ made the same affirmation of loyalty, Matthew 26:35 / Mark 14:31.
What none of them realised was that the source of true spiritual strength hadn’t yet been provided through the death of Christ and that it was, therefore, impossible for them to have stood without that strength.
It was at this time that the events and statements of Jesus in John 13-17 took place. Jesus had a private meeting with the apostles as recorded in John 13-17.
There were actually two meetings going on at the same time, this one where Jesus said He was about to be crucified during Passover and the other meeting when the chief priests were saying He can’t be killed during Passover, Mark 14:1-2, but as usual Jesus’ plans are always first, He will die when He chooses to die.
In the John 13-17 meeting, Jesus made specific promises to the apostles that applied only to them. In John 17, He made a specific prayer for the apostles and for those who would not believe in Him through their preaching.
In John 18:12-14 we find that Jesus was first taken before the powerful Annas, the ex-high priest and the power behind the current one, these verses remind us of the important prophecy made by the current high priest, John 11:49-51, which he had said without realising the truth behind his statement.
While Jesus is on trial, we find Peter is about to deny Jesus three times just as Jesus said he would, Matthew 26:33-35 / Mark 14:29-31 / John 13:37-38.
Peter Denies Knowing Jesus
‘Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in. ‘You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?’ she asked Peter. He replied, ‘I am not.’ It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.’ John 18:15-18
While Jesus is on trial, we find Peter is about to deny Jesus three times just as Jesus said he would, Matthew 26:33-35 / Mark 14:29-31 / John 13:37-38.
Peter’s First Denial
Here we read about Peter’s first denial, but who is the ‘other disciple’ mentioned in John 18:15?
Traditionally this has been accepted as John himself, this would be consistent with John’s habit of not naming himself, John 1:40 / John 13:23-25 / John 19:26 / John 20:2-8 / John 21:20-24. Also, Peter and John appear to have been constant companions, Luke 22:8 / Acts 3:1 / Acts 4:13 / Acts 8:14.
This unnamed disciple ‘was known to the high priest’, which means he was well enough known for the servant girl to admit him. Peter and it appears John follow the group including the Lord to the house of the high priest, it’s most likely that Annas and Caiaphas lived at the same address. John is known at the gate and allowed into the courtyard and seeks permission for Peter to come in also.
The girl at the gate sees Peter and recognises him as one of Jesus followers, she asks him about this and Peter makes that first terrible denial but Peter and John both enter, Peter and John find a fire with people around and go to it to keep warm, John 18:17-18. It appears as if the other disciples had fled back to ‘his own’, in accordance with Jesus prophecy of John 16:32.
In John 18:17, we see the question asked by the maid is phrased to anticipate a negative answer, ‘you aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?
Remember that the ‘other disciple’ was known to be one of Jesus’ followers, he had openly entered along with Jesus, John 18:15.
How easily Peter fell!
Questioned by a maid, ‘paidiske’, girl, he said, ‘I am not,’ John 18:17 / Luke 26:69-70. The other disciple was apparently in no danger, why didn’t Peter own up?
Perhaps he was taken by surprise when a mere girl challenged him, maybe he was afraid he would be recognized as the one who wounded Malchus, we know that nearby are the ‘officers,’ John 18:18, who had been involved in the arrest of Jesus, John 18:13-14.
A few hours ago, he had said he would die for Jesus, John 13:37, but now, a frightened man, he denies his Master.
Peter’s Second And Third Denial
‘Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing there warming himself. So, they asked him, ‘You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?’ He denied it, saying, ‘I am not.’ One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, ‘Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?’ Again, Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.’ John 18:25-27
In John 18:25-27 we see Peter’s second and third denial. It’s difficult to harmonise the accounts of the denials in the Gospels with that of John. This was during Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas, John 18:24-28.
Matthew and Mark relate that before this Peter had gone out to the ‘porch’ or ‘gateway’, Matthew 26:71 / Mark 14:68. Perhaps, deeply ashamed by his first denial, he wanted to slip away unseen, but was unable to escape unobserved.
Matthew and Mark both tell of his being accosted in the porch by a ‘maid’. Accused of having been with Jesus, ‘he denied it with an oath’, Matthew 26:71-72 / Mark 14:69-70.
Peter ‘was standing and warming himself’ at a charcoal fire, John 18:18. This charcoal only mentioned only by John would provide much heat but little light. And he is challenged by bystanders, ‘you aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?’ again he answers, ‘I am not’.
Then he is challenged by a slave of the high priest, who is also a kinsman of Malchus, ‘Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?’ John 18:26.
The Gospels tell what was said both to and about Peter regarding his speech, Matthew 26:73, the bystanders, ‘certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you’.
Mark 14:70, the bystanders, ‘certainly you are one of them; for you are a Galilean.’ Luke 22:59, another bystander, probably a maid, ‘certainly this man was with him; for he is a Galilean.’
So, we see he was twice challenged about his presence with the Lord. First by a slave girl, one of the most unimportant persons imaginable, her question expected a negative answer and Peter takes the easy way out. Next, by a relative of the servant whose ear Peter had cut off.
Peter again denied any link with Jesus, as he concluded his statement, the crowing began. John’s account is more discreet than the other Gospels, he merely states, ‘Peter again denied it; and at once the cock crowed’, Matthew 26:34 / John 13:38 / Mark 14:30.
Alleged Contradiction
‘Truly I tell you,’ Jesus answered, ‘this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.’ Matthew 26:34
‘Then Jesus answered, will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!’ John 13:38
Notice that Matthew and John both say that, ‘before the rooster crows’, Peter will have denied the Lord three times.
‘Truly I tell you,’ Jesus answered, ‘today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows TWICE you yourself will disown me three times.’ Mark 14:30
And now notice that Mark says that ‘before the rooster crows ‘twice’, Peter will deny Christ three times. Although some see this as a contradiction, when we actually take a moment to slowly read the text itself, we will soon realise there’s no contradiction.
Notice how Matthew and John don’t expressly state how many times the rooster will crow. They both simply say that Peter will deny Jesus three times, ‘before the rooster crows’, but they don’t tell us how many times it will crow.
I believe it’s reasonable to accept that Mark is being a little more specific in terms of how many times the rooster will actually crow.
In fact, if you look at the word, ‘twice’ in Mark 14:10 and Mark 14:72, you will notice that it has a footnote, which tells us that ‘some early manuscripts do not have ‘twice’.
In other words, it’s possible that different accounts are due to an early copyist error in Mark, that resulted in the insertion of the word, ‘twice’ in early manuscripts.
Peter Wept Bitterly
Luke records in his account that at this moment Jesus was outside, probably on his way from Annas’ quarters to Caiaphas’s and he looked straight at Peter, who broke down and cried, Matthew 26:74-75 / Mark 14:71-72 / Luke 22:61-62.
We can’t help but sympathise with Peter at this point, as he saw Jesus and then remembered what He prophesied about his denying Him three times. He literally was sobbing his heart out.
Conclusion
This was probably one of the lowest points in his life and it was an event he wasn’t going to forget for the rest of his life. It’s interesting that things seem to happen in threes for Peter from this point on, John 21:15-17 / Acts 10:9-16 / Acts 10:17-19.
What Peter was demonstrating here was genuine godly sorrow, which was the opposite of what Judas was demonstrating, as he went on to hang himself, Matthew 27:5 / 2 Corinthians 7:10.
If we learn anything from Peter, we should learn that he didn’t allow this occasion to affect the rest of his life, he went on to become a powerful apostle for the Lord and became bolder when he spoke more openly about the Christ, Acts 2.
As Christians we too will make many mistakes, some out of fear of being persecuted but we must learn to draw a line under those occasions and move on.
Think back upon contributing factors in their failure.
1. They hadn’t listened when Jesus had frequently warned them of His impending suffering. They had been too eager to argue about who would be the greatest in the kingdom.
2. They were overconfident. Earlier that evening, Jesus warned them that they would flee, but they didn’t believe it.
3. They didn’t watch and pray in the garden as He instructed. Thus, they were not mentally prepared to face the challenge. We could fail in the hour of temptation for these same reasons.
Peter did deny Jesus, but he repented. Judas was remorseful and returned the pieces of silver, Matthew 27:3. But he later hung himself. There was a difference between the reaction of the two men to their discovery of what Jesus said each would do.
Peter’s reaction led him to return to faithfulness with a stronger conviction. Judas’ reaction led him to further guilt, and subsequently, to his own suicide, Matthew 27:5 / Acts 1:18.
