TEXT [Commentary]

9. Peter’s denials (14:66-72; cf. Matt 26:69-75; Luke 22:55-65; John 18:25-27)

66 Meanwhile, Peter was in the courtyard below. One of the servant girls who worked for the high priest came by 67 and noticed Peter warming himself at the fire. She looked at him closely and said, “You were one of those with Jesus of Nazareth.[*]”

68 But Peter denied it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, and he went out into the entryway. Just then, a rooster crowed.[*]

69 When the servant girl saw him standing there, she began telling the others, “This man is definitely one of them!” 70 But Peter denied it again.

A little later some of the other bystanders confronted Peter and said, “You must be one of them, because you are a Galilean.”

71 Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know this man you’re talking about!” 72 And immediately the rooster crowed the second time.

Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he broke down and wept.

NOTES

14:66 Peter was in the courtyard below. Roman houses typically had a courtyard in the central area of the house.

14:68 Just then, a rooster crowed. This passage is absent in some very important MSS ( B L W); it may have been added in anticipation of the second crowing mentioned in 14:72.

14:71 Peter swore, “A curse on me if I am lying—I don’t know this man you’re talking about!” The NLT turns the narrative of Peter’s invoking a curse on himself into part of the response. His third denial is the most emphatic.

14:72 And immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Jesus’ prediction had come true. The time was between midnight and 3:00 AM (Hurtado 1989:256).

COMMENTARY [Text]

Of Peter’s three denials, two came when he was confronted by a servant girl. She said, “You were one of those with Jesus of Nazareth” and Peter responded, “I don’t know what you’re talking about” (14:67-68). The Greek is emphatic, as Peter said that he neither knew Jesus nor understood what the girl meant. He protested a little too much in this denial—a cock crowed shortly. He moved to the entryway to avoid the pressure, but the servant girl persisted. “This man is definitely one of them,” she told others (14:69), but Peter denied it again (14:70). After this, “Some of the other bystanders confronted Peter and said, ‘You must be one of them; because you are a Galilean’” (14:70). The other Gospels indicate that Peter’s accent gave him away (Matt 26:73). Peter put a curse on himself, vowing that he wasn’t lying when he said, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about!” (14:71). As soon as he said this, the rooster crowed a second time. Jesus’ prediction had come true. The text then says, “Suddenly Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: ‘Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me.’ And he broke down and wept” (14:72). Recalling Jesus’ remarks, Peter cried in pain and disappointment. He also had abandoned Jesus.

So as Jesus predicted, Peter denied Jesus three times, and the other disciples had completely abandoned Jesus. That this unflattering story about the most prominent disciple is included in Mark supports the veracity of the entire account.