Matthew 26:35 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.

NIV: But Peter declared, 'Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.' And all the other disciples said the same.

NASB: Peter *said to Him, 'Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!' All the disciples said the same thing as well.

CSB: "Even if I have to die with you," Peter told him, "I will never deny you," and all the disciples said the same thing.

NLT: No!' Peter insisted. 'Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!' And all the other disciples vowed the same.

KJV: Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.

NKJV: Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And so said all the disciples.

Peter is flatly contradicting the words of Jesus. This is remarkable, in that Peter was one of the first to declare Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God (Matthew 16:16). He has been the boldest of all the disciples. He was the one who asked Jesus if He could walk on the water with Him (Matthew 14:28). Peter, though, also became afraid and began to sink (Matthew 14:30). Jesus has said that all the disciples will fall away in fear (Matthew 26:31), something Peter entirely denied.

Then, in a moment that must have been heartbreaking for Peter, Jesus added that not only will Peter fall away, but he will deny Jesus three times (Matthew 26:34). In short, Peter's great faith in his own courage will be revealed to be untrustworthy (Matthew 26:69–75). Faced with immediate danger or death, this very night, Peter will succumb to fear.

Peter still refuses to believe this is possible. He insists that even if it means dying with Jesus, he will never deny Him. Peter demonstrates once more that he is a leader, for good or bad. All the other disciples parrot his claims. They will all soon prove to be wrong (Matthew 26:56). Jesus does not want their self-confidence. They will eventually learn to keep their confidence in Him.

Matthew 26:17–35 begins with locating the room which will be used for the Passover meal. While they are eating, Jesus announces that one of His closest disciples will become a traitor. Judas discovers that Jesus knows it is him. Jesus introduces the concept of bread and wine as symbols of His sacrificial body and blood. After the meal, Jesus tells the disciples they will fall away that night and that Peter will deny Him three times. They insist that will not happen. Mark 14:10–31, Luke 22:3–23, Luke 22:31–34, and John 13:21–38 feature these events, as well.

The Jewish religious leaders further their plots to arrest and kill Jesus, finding a willing traitor in Judas Iscariot. A woman anoints Christ with oil during a dinner at Bethany. Next, Jesus and the disciples hold the Passover meal in an upper room where Jesus predicts His arrests and introduces the sacrament of communion. Then Jesus prays in unimaginable agony in the garden of Gethsemane before being betrayed by Judas and captured. The disciples scatter. Before the high priest, Jesus explicitly claims to be divine. They convict Him of blasphemy and sentence Him to death. As this happens, Peter denies knowing Jesus and runs away in shame.

After a long series of teaching (Matthew 24—25), Matthew 26 begins with Jesus saying He will be delivered up for death. Christ is anointed at a dinner in Bethany and Judas agrees to turn Him over to the chief priests. Jesus holds a Passover meal with the disciples, predicts an act of treachery, and introduces the sacrament of communion. He tells the disciples they will run in fear and that Peter will deny Him, which happens just as prophesied. Christ prays in great sorrow in a garden and is then arrested and taken away and unfairly sentenced to death. After this, Jesus will be taken to the Roman governor, where Jewish leadership will press for Him to be executed as an insurgent.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.