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Peter’s denial of Jesus (Mk 14:26-31, 66-72)

This incident is also recorded in Matt 26:31-35,69-75; Luke 22:31-34,54-62; John 13:36-38,18:15-18,25-27.

(reason for foretelling the disciples)

After the last supper, “when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.” (v26). On their way to the mount of Olives, Jesus foretold the disciples, “All ye shall be offended (你們都要跌倒了) because of me this night, for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.” (v27-28) During the last supper, Jesus has already foretold the disciples that Judas would betray him. He also foretold them that he was going to die by telling them the symbolic meaning of the Communion. Now he foretold them that they would all “be offended”, and he would rise from death and go before them to Galilee and meet them there. While the time for the cross was getting near, he kept foretelling them what was going to happen next. Why? John 14:29-30 gave us the answer, “And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. Hereafter, I will not talk much with you, for the prince of this world cometh.” Jesus said the above words after foretelling Peter’s denial of him.

Before he was arrested, Jesus cherished the time with his disciples together and foretold them the important events that were about to happen on him, so that they would recall his words afterward and believe in him more firmly. His foretelling of Peter’s denial is an example. Right after Peter denied Jesus three times, Mark 14:72 says, “And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, ‘Before the cock crew twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.’ ” (v72)

(Peter’s response)

When Jesus said the disciples would all “be offended”, he quoted Zech 13:7 as saying “smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.” This saying was fulfilled at the moment he was arrested: “And they laid their hands on him, and took him…And they all forsook him, and fled.” (v46,50) They were so frightened of being arrested too.

When Jesus said the disciples would all “be offended”, Peter was the first to respond quickly and deny it, “Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.” (v29) In this statement, he was telling his Lord at least the following merits he thought he owned:

  1. he was strong in mind and spirit while others might be weak;
  2. he would support his master all the way;
  3. he would not disappoint him by doing things against him;
  4. he would not fear any opposition.


(foretell Peter’s denial)

“And Jesus saith unto him, ‘Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice (三次不認我).’ ” (v30) Jesus immediately responded back to Peter’s word and foretold that he would deny him as many as three times. Why did Jesus respond as such? Below are the reasons:

  1. He immediately ‘denied’ all of the above merits that Peter thought he owned;

  2. He was trying to reconfirm the trustworthiness of all his prophesies to his disciples, particularly to Peter.

  3. This prophesy of Peter’s denial would provide much stronger evidence about the reliability of his own words, in that the number of times for cock crowing and Peter’s denial was given and the timing of the event—“even in this night, before the cock crow twice” —was foretold. 

Peter again quickly denied that Jesus’ words would happen on him: “But he spake the more vehemently (極力地說), ‘If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise.’ Likewise also said they all.” (v31) Peter and the rest of the disciples all thought that it was impossible for them to deny Jesus, or to tell people that they were not his disciples, since their relationship with Jesus was so intimate after more than three years of living together. In order for his Lord to trust his loyalty, Peter even told him that he was ready to die with him. In other words, he was willing to use his life to prove to his Lord that he would not deny him.

(the place and setting of Peter’s denial)

After being arrested in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was immediately taken to  the high priest (Mark 14:53). (Luke 22:54, “Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house.”) “And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest; and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire.” (Mark 14:54) The Book of John told us how Peter was permitted to enter the palace of the high priest. “And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. That disciple was known unto the high priest (大祭司所認識的), and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest. But Peter stood at the door without. Then went out that other disciple, which was known unto the high priest, and spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter.” (John 18:15-16) “Another disciple” that “was known unto the high priest” was believed to be John himself. He has purposely been an anonym in the Book of John for several times. Luke 22:55 said, “And they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together (在院子裡生了火，一同坐著), Peter sat down among them.” John 18:18 said, “And the servants and officials stood there, who had made a fire of coals, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves; and Peter stood with them, and warmed himself.”
 

(Peter’s denial of his master)

While Jesus was being interrogated by “the chief priests and all the council (全公會)” (Mark 14:55), Peter found himself denying Jesus during this critical moment. The council was composed of the chief priests, the elders and the scribes. (Mark 14:53)

  • First denial

(Mark)
“And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest: And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said, ‘And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth.’ But he denied, saying, ‘I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest.’ And he went out into the porch (前院); and the cock crew.” (v66-68)

(Matt)
“Now Peter sat without in the palace; and a damsel came unto him, saying, ‘Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.’ But he denied before them all, saying, ‘I know not what thou sayest.’ ” (Matt 26:69-70)

(Luke)
“But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, ‘This man was also with him.’ And he denied him, saying, ‘Woman, I know him not.’ ” (Luke 22:56-57)

(John)
“Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, ‘Art not thou also one of this man's disciples?’ He saith, ‘I am not.’ ” (John 18:17)

In summary, it was the maid who kept the door led Peter into the palace of the high priest. When Peter warmed himself by the fire with the servants and the officials in the court of the high priest’s palace, it was this maid who challenged Peter’s discipleship first. Interestingly, only Mark mentioned the cock crew after Peter’s first denial. Here, the question is: how would the maid who kept the door knew that Peter was with Jesus? Both Jesus and Peter entered the palace of the high priest for the first time. How did she recognize Peter as his disciple? Her reaction seemed to reveal that she has seen them together in public when she was out of the high priest’s house.

  • Second denial

(Mark)
“And a maid (那使女) saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, ‘This is one of them.’ And he denied it again.” (v69-70)

(Matt)
“And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, ‘This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.’ And again he denied with an oath, ‘I do not know the man.’ ” (Matt 26:71)

(Luke)
“And after a little while another saw him, and said, ‘Thou art also of them. And Peter said, ‘Man (你這個人！), I am not.’ ” (Luke 22:58)

(John)
“And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore unto him, ‘Art not thou also one of his disciples?’ He denied it, and said, ‘I am not.’ ” (John 18:25)

Here in the second denial, we can see the following points in the Four Gospels:

  1. As for the location of Peter, Matthew said he was at the porch but John said he was by the fire warming himself.

  2. Matthew said it was another maid who revealed Peter’s discipleship.

  3. Only Matthew mentioned that Peter “denied with an oath”. Peter feared more the second time he was challenged and therefore uttered an oath of not knowing Jesus at all.

  4. All Four Gospels did not mention cock crowing this time. 

  • Third denial

(Mark)
“And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, ‘Surely thou art one of them, for thou art a Galilean, and thy speech agreeth thereto.’ But he began to curse and to swear, saying, ‘I know not this man of whom ye speak.’ And the second time the cock crew.” (v70-72)

(Matt)
“And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, ‘Surely thou also art one of them, for thy speech betrayeth thee.’ Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, ‘I know not the man.’ And immediately the cock crew.” (Matt 26:73-74)

(Luke)
“And about the space of one hour after (約過了一小時) another confidently affirmed, saying, ‘Of a truth this fellow also was with him, for he is a Galilean.’ And Peter said, ‘Man, I know not what thou sayest.’ And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew.” (Luke 22:59-60)

(John)
“One of the servants of the high priest, being his kinsman (親屬) whose ear Peter cut off, saith, ‘Did not I see thee in the garden with him?’ Peter then denied again, and immediately the cock crew.” (John 18:26-27)

Notice that in this third denial,

  1. Mark, Matthew and Luke stressed the confidence of the challenger regarding Peter’s identity with adverbs such as ‘surely’ and ‘confidently’.

  2. The above three gospels stated that it was Peter’s voice (with accent) rather than face that revealed his identity as a Galilean. But in John, Peter’s face was recognized.

  3. Mark and Matthew said of Peter’s strong reaction—‘curse and swear’. At this moment, Peter was so frightened that he was doing his utmost to deny having any relationship with Jesus. Obviously, he was acting extremely emotionally.

  4. John was the only one to reveal the identity of the challenger—a relative of the high priest’s servant whose ear was once cut off by Peter but healed by Jesus. This incident is recorded in Matt 26:51, Mark 14:47, Luke 22:50-51 and John 18:10. According to John, this fellow recognized Peter by his face and not by his accent, since he was at the scene when Jesus was arrested. Perhaps in this third denial, Peter was challenged both by his voice and face one after another.

  5. Only Mark recorded the cock crew the second time whereas the other three books recorded the cock crew only in the third denial. The reason is that only Mark recorded Jesus’ foretelling of Peter’s denial as “before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice”, whereas the other three did not mention the word “twice” in Jesus’ saying: “before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.” (Matt 26:34; Luke 22:34; John 13:38) 

(Peter’s awakening)

Regardless of whether the cock crew once or twice, now let us see how Peter reacted to the cock crowing in four Gospels:

(Mark)
“And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, ‘Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.’ And when he thought thereon, he wept.” (v72)

(Matt)
“And immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, ‘Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.’ And he went out, and wept bitterly.” (Matt 26:74-75)

(Luke)
“And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, ‘Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.’ And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.” (Luke 22: 60-62)

(John)
“Peter then denied again; and immediately the cock crew.” (John 18:27)

Luke mentioned that when the cock crew, “the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter.” As Peter caught his Lord’s eye contact, his mind was awakened by the cock crowing simultaneously, which fulfilled Jesus’ foretelling of his denial three times just some time ago. He “wept bitterly”. Why? At this moment, he not only recalled the Lord’s words, he also recalled how firmly he spoke “if I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise” (v31). While he was amazed that Jesus’ word was so true and reliable, he suddenly discovered how unreliable his own word was. He had to admit that he had been a liar and was really weak in mind and flesh. To a person who was strong and overconfident in his character, it was hard for him to accept the fact that he dared to deny the Lord and even “to curse and to swear”, and denied for as many as three times within a couple hours. He deeply regretted for his weakness.

(implication)

Peter’s lesson teaches us that as a human, we are weak both in mind and flesh. In critical moment, especially when our lives are in danger, we tend to act against our own will and break the Lord’s heart. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said to the three sleepy disciples (Peter, James and John), “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matt 26:41) Paul has similar experience: “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not (因為，立志為善由得我，只是行出來由不得我). For the good that I would I do not, but the evil that which I would not, that I do.” (Rom 7:18-19) Paul warns us in I Cor 10:12, “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” (所以，自己以為站得穩的，須要謹慎，免得跌倒). Hence, we should never be over-confident of our own strength, or we can easily become the prey of Satan, as Peter did.

Just before Jesus foretold Peter’s denial, Luke 22:31-32 has such record, “And the Lord said, ‘Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat (撒但想要得著你們，好篩你們像篩麥子一樣). But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not; and when thou art converted (你回頭以後), strengthen thy brethren.” The good news is that the Lord knew that Peter would fail, but not completely. He would restore Peter’s faith and love of the Lord at the right time and spot. John 21 perfectly showed this point. According to John 21, the resurrected Lord showed himself to the disciples by the sea of Tiberias for the purpose of restoring Peter’s faith and love of him. Since then, Peter’s spirit was awakened, and thus his disciple relationship with his master was fully restored. When the storm was over, his passion of the burden of sharing the gospel was reignited. He turned out to be the leader of the apostles and committed his life for the Lord. By the same token, our Lord knows our weakness as well as the devil’s scheme very well. He keeps watching and controlling our situation so that we shall rise up again after falling away.

(Peter’s denial vs Judas’ betrayal)

Now let us compare Peter’s denial and Judas’ betrayal of Jesus for some reflection:

  1. When Peter denied Jesus, he insisted that he did not know Jesus. Judas betrayed Jesus by telling the enemies that he recognized Jesus as his master: “he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, ‘Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely.’ And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and saith, ‘Master, master’; and kissed him.” (v44-45)

  2. Judas betrayed his master for money while Peter was in fear of being arrested.

  3. Peter was awakened by cock crowing. Judas was awakened when Jesus was bound and delivered to Pilate the governor to be sentenced: “Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned (看見耶穌已經定了罪), repented himself.” (Matt 27:3)

  4. Peter’s faith was restored by Jesus while Judas’ fate was determined prior to his betrayal of Jesus due to his unbelief all the time: “the Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! Good were it for that man if he had never been born.” (v21)

  5. Even though Peter denied Jesus three times, he still believed that his master was the Son of God and still loved him. By the sea of Tiberias, when Jesus asked him, “Lovest thou me?” for three times, Peter responded for three times, “Lord, thou knowest that I love thee.” (John 21:15-17) Judas only believed that Jesus was a human being, ‘an innocent man’, not Christ. When he regretted of betraying his master, he said before the chief priests and elders, “I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood.” (Matt 27:3-4)

  6. Jesus called Peter twice to follow him again: “Follow me.” (John 21:19,22) Peter gladly accepted his calling. In the end, Peter glorified God by laying down his life for the gospel, as foretold by Jesus in his calling: “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God.” (John 21:18-19) On the contrary, Judas bore the shame by hanging himself: “And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.” (Matt 27:5) 

We can make mistakes, even as major as denying our Lord, when we are weak in flesh and spirit. Our merciful Lord knows how weak our faith is. Yet, we should never let our faith of him fade away completely. He is ready to give us chance to repent and confess our sins. He will heal us and restore our faith and love of him at the proper time, so that we can rise up after falling and serve him again with passion.

 
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