Matthew 26:74 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed.

NIV: Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, 'I don't know the man!' Immediately a rooster crowed.

NASB: Then he began to curse and swear, 'I do not know the man!' And immediately a rooster crowed.

CSB: Then he started to curse and to swear with an oath, "I don't know the man! " Immediately a rooster crowed,

NLT: Peter swore, 'A curse on me if I’m lying — I don’t know the man!' And immediately the rooster crowed.

KJV: Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.

NKJV: Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” Immediately a rooster crowed.

Peter told Jesus he would die before ever denying him (Matthew 26:30–35). In that spirit, he had pulled a sword and attacked those coming to arrest Jesus earlier that night (Matthew 26:51; John 18:10). Jesus, though, had rebuked Peter for fighting, submitting to His own arrest Matthew 26:52–54). By this time, Peter may have heard the report from inside the high priest's house that Jesus had been found guilty and condemned to die (Matthew 26:64–66).

When people in the courtyard began to accuse Peter of being with Jesus, he recognized he was in real danger of being arrested and executed. Suddenly, his courage has failed, and he does not want to die. Before he can leave, though, he is approached one more time by people in the courtyard who recognize his accent is like that of the "Galilean" condemned to death (Matthew 26:73).

Peter begins to swear a curse on himself if he is lying. He once again vows on something sacred that he truly, really, honestly doesn't even know Jesus, at all. Following that third denial, the rooster crows signaling morning has come. Jesus' words have proved true, and Peter knows that he has proved faithless to his master, after all (Matthew 26:75).

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.