Luke 22:59 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, "Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean."

NIV: About an hour later another asserted, "Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean."

NASB: And after about an hour had passed, some other man began to insist, saying, 'Certainly this man also was with Him, for he, too, is a Galilean.'

CSB: About an hour later, another kept insisting, "This man was certainly with him, since he’s also a Galilean."

NLT: About an hour later someone else insisted, 'This must be one of them, because he is a Galilean, too.'

KJV: And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean.

NKJV: Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, “Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean.”

This is Peter's third denial as recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. He has already denied Jesus before a servant girl (Luke 22:57) and at least one man that another servant girl warned (Luke 22:58; Matthew 26:71–72; Mark 14:69–70). Now, warming himself before a fire surrounded by the temple guards and the high priest's servants, he is accused again, this time because of his accent.

John's account is key. He writes "One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, 'Did I not see you in the garden with him?'" (John 18:26). At the garden, Peter had attempted to protect Jesus from arrest by drawing his sword and maiming a servant (John 18:10–11). Jesus healed the man and told Peter to put his sword away (Luke 22:49–51). Before Jesus and the disciples had retired to the garden, Jesus had warned Peter that he—and all the disciples—would turn away from Him. Peter vehemently denied it, saying he would die for Jesus. But Jesus told Peter he would deny Him three times this very night (Luke 22:31–34).

Peter couldn't imagine what circumstances could make him deny Jesus. John tells us. He is alone, first walking, then standing in the courtyard of the high priest, surrounded by the crowd of guards who had arrested Jesus. And right beside him is the cousin of the man he had attacked. He's not a soldier in a battle, surrounded by comrades. He's more like an untrained spy in enemy territory.

Luke says they recognize that Peter is a Galilean; Matthew 26:73 says Peter's accent gives him away. Certain Hebrew letters are pronounced with a deep, guttural sound. Galileans did not pronounce these as distinctly as Judaeans.

Luke 22:54–62 begins the account of Jesus' trials before the religious leaders. These continue through the end of the chapter (Luke 22:71). Peter tried to physically defend Jesus (Luke 22:49–50). Now, he stands next to a relative of the man he maimed (John 18:26). Matthew 26:58, 69–75, Mark 14:54, 66–72, and John 18:15–18, 25–27 heighten the tension by going back and forth between the religious authorities' attempts to destroy Jesus by getting Him to admit He is the Messiah and Peter's attempts to save himself by denying he follows Jesus.

Luke 22 is a long chapter which records events leading to Jesus' political trials and crucifixion. He has successfully taught crowds at the temple and proved His authority over the religious leaders (Luke 19:47—20). Meanwhile the leaders have spent the week planning to arrest Jesus and have Him killed (Luke 19:47–48). This chapter records the Last Supper, the arrest on the Mount of Olives, and the trials before the Jewish religious leaders. Matthew 26, Mark 14, and John 18 cover much of the same information.

Luke 23 continues Jesus' trials before Pilate and Herod Antipas. He is then led to the cross where He forgives His murderers and saves a thief before He dies. In Luke 24, Jesus rises from the dead, meets two disciples while they travel, and explains to them how the Old Testament prophesied the death of the Messiah. In the final scene of the gospel, Jesus is reunited with His disciples, blesses them, and ascends into heaven.

Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10) and a physician (Colossians 4:14). Unlike Matthew, Mark, and John, Luke writes his gospel as an historian, rather than as a first-hand eyewitness. His extensive writings also include the book of Acts (Acts 1:1–3). These are deliberately organized, carefully researched accounts of those events. The gospel of Luke focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke's Gentile perspective presents Christ as a Savior for all people, offering both forgiveness and direction to those who follow Him.