Matthew Chapter 26 verse 58 and verses 69-75
The context of the Denials
Verse 58 Peter Follows afar off
Although in this section of the chapter Matthew is particularly drawing our attention to Caiaphas, it is also necessary for him to follow the movements of Peter: “But Peter followed him afar off”. Once Simon Peter had responded to the Lord’s command, “Follow me” (Mt 4.19), from that day forward he had followed the Master. On this cold night, he still followed, albeit at a distance, “afar off”. In view of what later took place, it would have been far better if Peter had not followed at all. The verse continues: “unto the high priest’s palace” – the reference is probably to the courtyard around which the house or palace was built – “and sat with the servants” (the attendants or officers). Note carefully that a few hours earlier Peter had sat with the Lord; we need to bear in mind that fellowship with the world is not helpful to spirituality. Then we read the words: “to see the end”, that is, to see the absolute end when the Lord Jesus would be condemned to death. Peter was just a spectator.
Verses 69-70 His First Denial
Verse 69
The last paragraph of this solemn chapter concerns Peter. “Now Peter sat (i.e. was sitting) without in the palace (the palace court)”; probably the hall or room in which the Lord Jesus was being tried opened out on to the court. Peter was still sitting; we have already considered those words, “and sat with the servants to see the end” in verse 58. Peter’s compromising position with the servants laid him wide open for attack. Peter’s darkest hour had now arrived. The verse continues, “and a damsel (a female slave, a young girl) came unto him, saying, thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee (or Jesus the Galilean)”. This title is used only in Matthew’s gospel which gives us exclusively His Galilean ministry. Thus was Peter challenged by a young girl.
Verse 70
“But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest”. Peter’s denial was robust and prompt. He had displayed carnal courage in the garden, here he displayed carnal weakness. The Lord Jesus had said to Peter, “But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not” (Lk 22.32). His faith did not fail, but his courage did. The Lord had also said, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation” (Mt 26.41). But He found “them asleep” and He said to Peter, “What, could ye not watch with me one hour?” (Mt 26.40). Because he was ignorant of the real character of the flesh, Peter did not pray. This is really the root cause of every denial of the Lord.
Verses 71-74 Peter’s Second and Third Denials
Verse 71
“And when he was gone out into the porch” (the entrance or gateway): was this to escape further notice and to avoid further questioning? It was there that “another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth”, being the place, of course, where He had been brought up.
Verse 72
“And again he denied with an oath”. The downward step having been taken, Peter’s fall was rapid. He did not even shrink from invoking the divine Name, either directly or indirectly, to attest his falsehood. This was contrary to what the Lord Jesus had taught Peter and his fellow-disciples, “But I say unto you, Swear not at all” (Mt5.34).
Verse 73
“And after a while” – the short interval should have given Peter the opportunity to reflect, “came unto him they that stood by” – evidently several bystanders were involved. Taking all the gospel accounts together, it appears that Peter was surrounded by several people, all speaking to him at once. At each denial, he answered two or three of them, the different authors of the gospels taking up differing accusations and responses. “They that stood by … said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them (all the disciples except Judas were Galileans); for thy speech bewrayeth thee”. Note that ‘to bewray’ means to point out, to make evident. Peter was exposed by his Galilean dialect; the Galileans were unable to pronounce the gutturals distinctly and they lisped, pronouncing ‘sh’ as ‘th’. It may be that Peter said ‘ith’ instead of ‘ish’ for “man” when he said “I know not the man”.
Verse 74
A simple denial was no longer sufficient, “Then began he to curse and to swear”. To curse would mean to call down curses on himself if what he said were not true. An example would be, ‘God do so to me and more also’. To swear – the man who had been singing in the upper room and had been sleeping in the garden, was now swearing in the courtyard. The verse continues, “saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew”. With disquieting timing, a rooster crowed. The cockcrowing indicated the dawn of the last day of the Lord’s life on earth before He was crucified.
Verse 75 Peter’s Repentance
“And Peter remembered the word (saying) of Jesus”. The familiar sound of the cock crowing pierced not only the quiet of those early hours, but Peter’s heart as well. The verse continues, “which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out and wept bitterly”. He had to depart, even from the Lord’s presence; the tears of repentance and self- judgment flowed freely. No doubt Peter’s tears were treasured by God, who puts His people’s tears into His bottle (Ps 56.8).
Is there not a warning here, regarding the believer’s associations and company, and also a caution against complacency? Peter followed with them, stood with them and then sat with them. He failed to recognise the danger at the first challenge; a second one did not seem to alert him. The third challenge came, but it was too late. Peter yielded. But thankfully God is the God of recovery and restoration.
David E West.