Matthew 26:71 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

NIV: Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, 'This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.'

NASB: When he had gone out to the gateway, another slave woman saw him and *said to those who were there, 'This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.'

CSB: When he had gone out to the gateway, another woman saw him and told those who were there, "This man was with Jesus the Nazarene! "

NLT: Later, out by the gate, another servant girl noticed him and said to those standing around, 'This man was with Jesus of Nazareth. '

KJV: And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.

NKJV: And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

Jesus said Peter would deny Him three times before morning came on this endless-seeming night (Matthew 26:30–35). Peter said he would die before doing that. That was before he knew he would be sitting in the courtyard of the high priest immediately following Jesus' death sentence inside (Matthew 26:69).

One servant girl has said that she knows Peter as one who was with Jesus. Peter is only here because John, who knows the family of the high priest, was able to gain access (John 18:15–18). The girl might have seen the disciples with Jesus. Peter denies his association with Christ, to everyone who heard this, and starts to move away. He got as far as the entrance to the courtyard when another servant girl saw him. This one made her accusation to those standing around Peter: this is one of the followers of Jesus of Nazareth.

Peter knows he's in a vulnerable position. The guards who brought Jesus bound to this household could easily grab him and haul him inside, as well.

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.

Accessed 5/8/2024 8:15:11 PM