John 18:26

John 18:26. One of the servants of the high priest, being a kinsman of him whose ear Peter cut off, saith, Did not I see thee in the garden with him? It is natural to ask why mention is made of the relationship between the servant who asks this question and the other servant who had suffered through Peter's hasty zeal. The probable answer is, that the circumstance is not merely historical, but that it aids in developing the idea which the Evangelist has in view. It heightens the effect. This man would ask his question with far more bitterness than the others (comp. the expression of Luke when he says in chap. Luke 22:59, ‘he confidently affirmed'). He had been personally aggrieved by the injury inflicted on his kinsman. His question too is much more pointed, not whether Peter is one of the disciples, but whether his own eyes had not seen him but a little before upon a spot which he could name.