Matthew 26:70-75

 ⁶⁹ Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.” ⁷⁰ But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.” ⁷¹ And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.” ⁷² But again he denied with an oath, “I do not know the Man!” ⁷³ And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.” ⁷⁴ Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. ⁷⁵ And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.

Commentary

Vs. 69-70 ⁶⁹ Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.” ⁷⁰ But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.”

While the Lord Jesus Christ is standing trial and then being condemned to death and beaten before the Sanhedrin counsel, Peter who had followed Him at a distance into the high priest’s courtyard now is sitting outside in the courtyard. It is here then that the Lord Jesus Christ’s Words that he would deny Him three times before the rooster crows, will now be fulfilled. Now Peter is not alone in this as looking back at Jesus’ Words “that before the rooster crows you will deny Me three times”, is essentially saying before daybreak (that is before the daybreaks in your hearts, Luke 1:78-79) you will deny Me 3 times. That is before you come to believe in Me and receive through Me the Holy Spirit and the regeneration that He brings and alone will change you, no matter how determined you (or anyone else are to follow Me); yet because the Divine Nature is not in you, you will deny Me, or as is common amongst people before they come to believe and receive the Lord Jesus Christ and experience the amazing grace and love of God for themselves, you will deny Me, or blasphemy Me, or mock Me, or persecute Me, or sin against Me. And so, Peter’s three denials here though inexcusable and tragic, must only be looked upon us as his being a righteous and well-intentioned man, who though wanting to do what was right, yet because of his own unregenerate heart and nature, he will only do what all unregenerate people would do if they too were faced with similar circumstances.

Vs. 69-70 (cont.) Therefore Peters previously bold and strongly assertive declaration that he would never deny the Lord Jesus Christ, even to death, is now to be tested. And in this first by a servant girl (one of the high priest’s servant girls, Mark 14:66) who seeing him in the courtyard now approaches Peter and says to him, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.” Peter then feeling the pressure of her question, of being taken into custody for having been there with Jesus; and with all those around him whose eyes are now fixated on him; quickly dismisses the girl by saying to her, “I do not know what you are saying.”

Vs. 71-72 ⁷¹ And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.” ⁷² But again he denied with an oath, “I do not know the Man!”

Leaving then that location in the courtyard, Peter now moves out of the gateway, away from that servant girl and those there, Peter then moves to an area where he thinks he can wait to see what will happen to Jesus in relative obscurity. However almost as immediately as he arrives there, the Scripture says another girl saw him, and seeing Peter there she says to those standing there, “This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.” Peter then greatly fearing for himself, again denies Jesus, but this time with an oath, saying, “I do not know the Man!” This then is the second time that Peter has denied Jesus.

Vs. 73-75 ⁷³ And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.” ⁷⁴ Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. ⁷⁵ And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.

Though Peters second denial with an oath appeased some, it didn’t fully convince all those who heard it, for the Scripture says, “And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.” ^{vs. 73} And with that panic now overtakes Peter, for this time the crowd noted to him that his speech; that is his Galilean accent; which would’ve been different than that of the Judeans there betrays him; for the twelve chosen by Jesus all had Galilean roots. Peter then in a last-ditch effort to save himself begins to curse and swear, using the strongest denial he can muster, vehemently saying to them all, “I do not know the Man!” Immediately then a rooster crows fulfilling Jesus Word about Peters foretold denials. Peter then recalling Jesus Word to him that, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times”, now goes out and weeps bitterly. Peter then cannot bear the fact that when faced with acknowledging that he was one of the Lord’s disciples or yielding to his own fears and “saving” himself, he chose the latter. Nonetheless though Peter weeps bitterly now in recalling to mind how he said to Jesus that he would never deny Him, will rejoice greatly when the Lord appears in His Resurrected body to him, and not only restores him, (in an amazing display of grace), but Jesus will also enable him by His Spirit to be one of His most effective apostles and leaders in the early church who will not only go on to preach the Gospel boldly and fearlessly (consider Acts 5:26-32); But Peter will become one of the most influential apostles of the early church; enduring beatings and imprisonment for the Lord Jesus Christ’s Names sake, and he will never again deny Jesus, even unto his own martyrdom death. 

Scripture Quotations: 

The New King James Version. (1982). Nashville: Thomas Nelson