Word Pictures in the New Testament - David Cox

Word Pictures in the NT [Matthew: Chapter 26]
26:71 {Into the porch} (\eis ton pul•na\). But Peter was not safe
out here, for another maid recognized him and spoke of him as
"this fellow" (\houtos\) with a gesture to those out there.
26:72 {With an oath} (\meta horkou\). This time Peter added an
oath, probably a former habit so common to the Jews at that time,
and denied acquaintance with Jesus. He even refers to Jesus as
"the man" (\ton anthr•pon\), an expression that could convey
contempt, "the fellow."
26:73 {They that stood by} (\hoi hest•tes\). The talk about Peter
continued. Luke (Lu 22:59) states that the little while was
about an hour. The bystanders came up to Peter and bluntly assert
that he was "of a truth" (\al•th•s\) one of the followers of
Jesus for his speech betrayed him. Even the Revised Version
retains "bewrayeth," quaint old English for "betrayeth." The
Greek has it simply "makes thee evident" (\d•lon se poiei\). His
dialect (\lalia\) clearly revealed that he was a Galilean. The
Galileans had difficulty with the gutterals and Peter's second
denial had exposed him to the tormenting raillery of the loungers
who continued to nag him.
26:74 {Then began he to curse and to swear} (\tote •rxato
katathematizein kai omnuein\). He repeated his denial with the
addition of profanity to prove that he was telling the truth
instead of the lie that they all knew. His repeated denials gave
him away still more, for he could not pronounce the Judean
gutterals. He called down on himself (\katathematizein\)
imprecations in his desperate irritation and loss of self-control
at his exposure. {The cock crew} (\alekt•n eph•n•sen\). No
article in the Greek, just "a cock crew" at that juncture,
"straightway" (\euthus\). But it startled Peter.
26:75 {Peter remembered} (\emn•sth• ho Petros\). A small thing,
but _magna circumstantia_ (Bengel). In a flash of lightning
rapidity he recalled the words of Jesus a few hours before (Mt
26:34) which he had then scouted with the proud boast that "even
if I must die with thee, yet will I not deny thee" (26:35). And
now this triple denial was a fact. There is no extenuation for
the base denials of Peter. He had incurred the dread penalty
involved in the words of Jesus in Mt 10:33 of denial by Jesus
before the Father in heaven. But Peter's revulsion of feeling was
as sudden as his sin. {He went out and wept bitterly} (\exelth•n
http://www.ccel.org/r/robertson_at/wordpictures/htm/MT26.RWP.html (15 of 16) [28/08/2004 09:03:28 a.m.]