Matthew 26:74

And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. For the exposition, see the notes at ....

74._Then he began to curse and to swear. _In this third denial, Peter’s unfaithfulness to his Master reached its utmost height. Not satisfied with _swearing, _he breaks out into _cursing, _by which he abandons his body and soul to destruction; for he prays that the curse of God may fall upon him, if he knows Christ. It is as much as if he had said, May I perish miserably, if I have any thing in common with the salvation of God! So much the more ought we to admire the goodness of Christ, who rescued his disciple from such fatal ruin, and healed him. Now this passage shows, that when a man falling through weakness of the flesh, denies the truth though he knows it, this does not amount to “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 12:31.) Peter had unquestionably heard from the mouth of the Lord how detestable treachery it is to deny him before men; and what dreadful vengean

69-75 Peter's sin is truly related, for the Scriptures deal faithfully. Bad company leads to sin: those who needlessly thrust themselves into it, may expect to be tempted and insnared, as Peter. They scarcely can come out of such company without guilt or grief, or both. It is a great fault to be shy of Christ; and to dissemble our knowledge of him, when we are called to own him, is, in effect, to deny him. Peter's sin was aggravated; but he fell into the sin by surprise, not as Judas, with design. But conscience should be to us as the crowing of the cock, to put us in mind of the sins we had forgotten. Peter was thus left to fall, to abate his self-confidence, and render him more modest, humble, compassionate, and useful to others. The event has taught believers many things ever since, and if infidels, Pharisees, and hypocrites stumble at it or abuse it, it is at their peril. Little do...

Verse Matthew 26:74. _THEN BEGAN HE TO CURSE AND TO SWEAR_] Rather, _Then he_ _began positively to affirm _- καταθεματιζειν, from κατα intensive, and τιθημι, _I lay down, place, affirm_. But the common reading is καταναθεματιζειν, which signifies _to wish curses on himself_. The former reading is supported by almost _every_ MS. _of value_, and is, beyond dispute, the _true reading_, and has been received by _Griesbach_ into the text. The business is bad enough, but the common reading makes it worse. In Matthew 26:72, Peter is said to _deny with an oath_; here, he _positively affirms and swears_, probably _by the name of God_, for this is the import of the word ομνυειν. This makes the _fourth_ and final _gradation_ in the climax o...

THEN BEGAN HE TO CURSE ... - Peter was now irritated beyond endurance. He could no longer resist the evidence that he was known. It had been repeatedly charged on him. His language had betrayed him, and there was a positive witness who had seen him. He felt it necessary, therefore, to be still more decided, and he accordingly added to the sin of denying his Lord the deep aggravation of profane cursing and swearing, affirming what he must have known was false, that he knew not the man. Immediately then the cock crew - that is, the second crowing, or not far from three in the morning....

EXPOSITION Ch. 26-28:20 THUS JESUS ENTERS UPON HIS KINGDOM. Before attempting to expound this most momentous section of the gospel history, we must make up our minds concerning the solution of the difficulties which are involved in some details in the account of the Supper. The supposed discrepancy between the narrative of the synoptists and that of St. John has exercised the minds of commentators from the earliest times unto the present, and enormous ingenuity has been expended in endeavouring to harmonize what are regarded as conflicting statements. The two chief difficulties are these: According to the synoptists, as generally understood, our Lord and his apostles ate the Passover, _i.e. _the Paschal lamb, when he instituted the Holy Communion; according to St. John, the death of Christ took place before the Passover was celebrated. Hence

THEN BEGAN HE TO CURSE, AND TO SWEAR,.... He swore before, and now he began "to curse"; not Christ, as Saul compelled some to blaspheme him, who professed him, and as the Jews formerly cursed Christ, and his followers, in their synagogues: for Peter's crime was bad enough, it need not be made worse than it was: he could never call Jesus accursed; in so doing he would have sinned the sin against the Holy Ghost; but he cursed himself; "he began to imprecate himself", as the Arabic version renders it; he made dreadful imprecations and wishes; wished that all the miseries and calamities he could think of might fall upon him, if he was one of the disciples of Jesus of Nazareth, or knew anything of him: saying, I KNOW NOT THE MAN; if I do, God do so to me, or more also: let vengeance light upon me; may I be the most miserable creature in the world, if I know anything of him; AND IMMEDIATELY...

The story of Peter's denial of his Master is recorded in all four of the Gospels. There are some differences of expression in each version, so it will not be tautology if we read all four of them; and if we read them attentively, we shall get a clear view of the whole incident. Matthew 26:31. _Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended._ This was a very presumptuous speech, not only because of the self-confidence which it displayed, but also because it was a flat contradiction of what the Master had just said «All ye shall be offended because of me this nig

13. THE PASSION OF THE KING. Chapter s 26-27. CHAPTER 26 1. His Death Planned. (Matthew 26:1 .) 2. Mary of Bethany Anointing the King.(Matthew 26:6 .) 3. The Betrayal. (Matthew 26:14 .) 4. The Last Passover.(Matthew 26:17 .) 5. The Lord's Supper Instituted.(Matthew 26:26 .) 6. Peter's Denial Announced and the Scattered Sheep.(Matthew 26:30 .) 7. In Gethsemane. ...

PETER'S DENIAL (Mark 14:66 *, Luke 22:56). Mt. still keeps closely to Mk., except that (as in Matthew 26:34) he makes one cockcrow suffice. The second challenge (Matthew 26:71) is from another maid (in Lk. a man), and is answered with an oath. Mt. also notes that it was Peter's dialect that stamped him as a Galilean....