Matthew 26:70 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.”

NIV: But he denied it before them all. 'I don't know what you're talking about,' he said.

NASB: But he denied it before them all, saying, 'I do not know what you are talking about.'

CSB: But he denied it in front of everyone: "I don't know what you're talking about."

NLT: But Peter denied it in front of everyone. 'I don’t know what you’re talking about,' he said.

KJV: But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.

NKJV: But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.”

Several hours ago, Jesus had told His disciples they would fall away—to lose courage and run—because of Him (Matthew 26:30–32). Peter insisted he would never abandon Jesus, even if everyone else did. Jesus told Peter that not only would he fall away, but he would even deny Jesus three times before the rooster crowed. Peter insisted he would die first (Matthew 26:33–35). The bravery shown when he lashed out in the garden (Matthew 26:51; John 18:10) seems to have passed.

Peter now comes to the predicted moment of choice. He is in the courtyard of the high priest's home (Matthew 26:69). Perhaps he has heard the judgment from inside that Jesus has been found guilty by the Sanhedrin and condemned to die. This is not where Jesus wants Him to be (John 18:8), but Peter has come, anyway. A servant girl has approached Peter. She is sure he is one of those with Jesus. At least part of this is due to Peter's distinctive Galilean accent (Matthew 26:73).

Now Peter chooses not to face risk, but to deny Jesus "before them all." He pleads ignorance: the first of his three denials of Christ.

Matthew 26:69–75 finds Peter sitting outside in the courtyard of the high priest's home. Inside, Jesus is being unfairly convicted and condemned to die. Three times, Peter is accused of being a Jesus-follower. Three times, he denies even knowing Jesus, swearing oaths and cursing himself if he is lying. Hearing a rooster, Peter remembers Jesus had said he would deny Him in exactly this way. The man who bragged he would die before turning from Jesus now flees in tears of shame. Parallel accounts are found in Mark 14:66–72, Luke 22:54–62, John 18:15–18, and John 18:25–27.

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.