Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of you, yet will I never be offended.
Read Chapter 26
Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
Peter answered and said unto Him, Though all should be offended because of Thee, yet will I never be offended. This was from his vehement love for Christ. "For faith is the ardent affection towards God," says S. Jerome, "which makes him speak thus." "For he thinks" (says S. Augustine, de Grat. de lib. Arb. cap. xvii.) "that he can really do that which he feels he wishes." And yet his sin was threefold—first, in boldly and vehemently contradicting Christ; next, in arrogantly preferring himself to others; thirdly, in too great presumption and reliance on his own strength. He ought to have said, "I believe it can be, nay, that from my weakness it will be so. But do Thou, 0 Lord, strengthen my weakness by Thy grace; support and sustain me, that I fall not into sin." And our experience is the same. We think that we are strong in faith, in chastity, in patience; but when tribulation assails us we stumble, we are afraid, and speedily fall. The remedy for temptation is the acknowledgment of ou...
I will never be. After our Saviour had assured them of the prediction of the prophet, that the flock should be dispersed, and had confirmed it himself, still Peter denied it; and the more Christ assured him of his weakness, the more, according to St. Luke, (chap. xxii.) did Peter affirm that he would not deny him. Whence this confidence in Peter? who when our Lord had said, that one of them would betray him, feared for himself, and though conscious of nothing, still prevailed on St. John to put the question to our Saviour. Freed now from that solicitude and anxiety, which had so much oppressed him concerning the treason of Judas, he began to trust to himself. Let us learn from this fall of the chief of the apostles, ever to assent with the greatest sincerity to the words of God. Let us believe him in every possible circumstance, though it may appear to our senses and understanding contradictory; for, the word of God can never be made void; but our senses may easily be deceived. When, t...
Peter then spoke confidently and lifted himself up over the rest, saying, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” It may be that in some degree his bravado sprang from jealousy. For at supper they were all talking about which one of them was the greater. This passion for recognition was still troubling them. Therefore Jesus resisted Peter, not compelling him to a future denial—God forbid! But he left him destitute of his help, convicting human nature. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily
What do you say, O Peter? The prophet said, The sheep shall be scattered; Christ has confirmed the saying, and do you say, No? Is not what passed before enough, when Thou said, Far be it from You, Matthew 16:22 and your mouth was stopped? For this then He suffers him to fall, teaching him thereby to believe Christ in all things, and to account His declaration more trustworthy than one's own conscience. And the rest too reaped no small benefit from his denial, having come to know man's weakness, and God?' s truth. For when He foretells anything, we must no longer be subtle, nor lift up ourselves above the common sort. For, your rejoicing, it is said, you shall have in yourself, and not in another. For where he should have prayed, and have said, Help us, that we be not cut off, he is confident in himself, and says, Though all men should be offended in You, yet will I never; though all should undergo this, I shall not undergo it, which led him on little by little to self-confidence. Chris...
