Matthew 26:69-75, Peter Denies Jesus

69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” 70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.” 71 And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” 72 And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.” 73 After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.” 74 Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

Comments

The scene turned from Jesus, who stood firm in the face of unfounded accusations, to Peter. Jesus had already prophesied his three-fold denial. Would Peter stand up against two servant girls and other bystanders?

Peter failed to publicly acknowledge his relationship to Jesus, instead saying a curse something such as, “I’ll be damned if I know him as the Messiah,” which also put a curse on Jesus. Matthew does not mention Peter by name again.

Prayer

Grant, O God,

that I may speak so boldly

and so lovingly

that the greatness of Christ

may shine out clearly in my person,

through the indwelling of your Holy Spirit.

(Donald Coggan, 1909-2000)