Mark 14:66 ¶ And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest: 67 And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. 68 But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew. 69 And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. 70 And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto. 71 But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak. 72 And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.
66
¶ And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of the
maids of the high priest: 67 And when she saw Peter warming himself,
she looked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth.
68 But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou
sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew.
In
opposition to nearly two millennia of Byzantine manuscripts, vernacular Bible
versions, and the KJV given by inspiration of God, the modern versions, based
on the two corrupt manuscripts of Alexandria whose names you all know by now,
delete, “and the cock crew,” from verse 68.
Luke
22:61 adds that Christ looked on Peter.
61 And
the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the
Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me
thrice.
Think
about this. Peter is warming his hands over the devil’s fire. He has placed
himself in the position where the chance to deny his Lord presents itself. Have
you? Are you warming your hands over the devil’s fire in your manner of
employment, in your entertainments, or your hobbies, or the company you keep?
Will Christ cast a glance at you one day while you’re at a NASCAR race with a
huge beer in your hand and will you turn away and say you don’t know Him? Will
He look your way while you’re playing Texas Holdem with your pals, telling
dirty jokes, and smoking like Kaiser Steel and will you turn away and deny that
you know Him? Will you be socializing with high-brow friends with several
letters after their names who don't believe what you do only to deny you
know Christ when His gaze rests upon you?
69 And
a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of
them.
70 And
he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter,
Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth
thereto. 71 But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this
man of whom ye speak.
Once
again, our modern versions, based mainly on the Alexandrian manuscripts of
Vaticanus and Sinaiticus undercut another verse. Verse 70, in these versions,
removes “and thy speech agreeth thereto,” which shows they knew Peter’s
dialect.
Peter
is with the wrong crowd. He has the wrong attitude. Now, he has gone so far to
curse and swear. He has denied Christ. It doesn’t take much to go back to sins
that he once held. Perhaps he hadn’t swore like a fisherman does for three and
a half years.
72 And
the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus
said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when
he thought thereon, he wept.
What
will it take for you to deny Christ? Hanging out with the wrong crowd? Losing
control of your emotions? Lying? How often, Christian, have you denied Christ
with your behavior?
As
mentioned previously, in Luke 22 we are told of another signal that gets to him
besides Christ’s prophecy. At that point Peter sees Christ, who is looking at
him.
Peter’s
victory is his repentance. He wept. See John 21:15 to see the related
conversation with the post-resurrection Christ.
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