Peter's denials
By Timothy W. Burnett
As we continue to dive into the records of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection, let's take a moment to study Peter's denials. Jesus prophesied of Peter's denials prior to his arrest. Three of the Gospels record his prophetic references to the first denial in Matthew 26:34, Luke 22:34 and John 13:38. While the above scripture clearly show three pending denials, they do not limit the total number. The scripture in Mark 14:30 shines more light on this subject, "And Jesus said unto him, 'Verily I say unto you, that this day , in this night, before the rooster crows twice, you shall deny me three times.'" The above three verses refer to three denials prior to a crow, while the verse in Mark refers to another three denials prior to a second crow. Two sets of three equals a total of six denials.

One of the keys to rightly dividing Peter's denials is to be precise and exact with the details surrounding each one. Some details to watch for are location, time, events, people and interaction. Due to limited space, this column will focus on the general number of denials, rather than their chronology.

The best choice for Peter's first denial is in John 18:15-18, "And Simon Peter followed 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 spoke unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter. Then said the damsel that kept the door to Peter, 'Are not you also one of this man's disciples?' he said, "I am not.'" This denial occurred while Jesus stood before Annas. A young, female doorkeeper accused him while he entered the room. Also, another disciple arranged for his entry.

The other five denials occurred while Jesus stood trial before Caiaphas, the high priest.

In Matthew 26:69-70, Luke 22:55-57 and Mark 14:66-68a, the accuser was a young maiden who served the high priest. It occurred in the courtyard served the high priest. It occurred in the courtyard while warming himself over a fire. Luke 22:58 reveals another denial that also occurred by the fire in the courtyard. Mark 14:68b records the first crow of the rooster after Peter went out into the porch area.

The next two verses reveal that the same maiden saw him again and told others that stood by, "This is one of them." (Mark 14:69-70 and Matthew 26:71-72). Then a little while later, the people that stood by him said again to Peter, "Surely you are one of them. For you are a Galilaean, and your speech agrees with this." And Peter began to curse and swear denying having any knowledge of Jesus. This record is also found in Matthew 26:73-74a and John 18:25. A possible sixth denial is in Luke 22:59-60 and John 18:26-27a. It occurred about an hour after the people spoke of his speech. Here, another accuser mentioned Peter's Galilaean speech. The accuser was a servant of the high priest and recognized Peter from the time of Jesus' arrest.

Mark 14:72 says, "And the second time, the rooster crowed." Even if we don't have the chronology established, this one verse perfectly establishes that Peter denied knowing Jesus another three times before a rooster crowed a second time.
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