Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard: and a maidservant came unto him, saying, You also were with Jesus of Galilee.
Read Chapter 26
Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
Now Peter sat without in the hall: and a damsel came unto Him, saying, And thou also was with Jesus of Galilee. S. Matthew here goes back to the history of S. Peter, whom he speaks of (ver58) as having followed Jesus into the hall; and he here brings together in one S. Peter"s three denials, though they took place at different times. He sat at the fire warming himself. S. John says he stood; but this with the Jews merely meant that he was present, not any particular attitude. He stood, it may be, at one time, and sat at another.
But if he stood without, how was it that he was within the house? He was within, as being in the outer court, but without with respect to the inner court. Whence S. Ambrose says (Luke xxii.), "Where was it that Peter denied Christ? In the prtorium of the Jews, in the company of the wicked." And Bede, too, on Mark xiv, "How hurtful is converse with the wicked! Peter amongst the servants of the High Priest said he knew not the Prayer of Manasseh , though among t...
Peter sat without in the palace: i.e. in the open court below, where the servants had lighted a fire. There came to him a certain servant-maid, the portress, says St. John, xviii. 17. But he denied, saying: I know not what thou sayest. In St. Luke, I know him not: in St. John, I am not. The sense is the same; and Peter might use all these expressions. (Witham)
“And again he denied it with an oath, ‘I do not know the man.’ ” I know that some people with a soft spot in their hearts for the apostle Peter have interpreted this passage to the effect that Peter did not deny God but man, and what he meant was “I do not know the man, because I know God.” The wise reader realizes how frivolous this interpretation is, for those who thus defend the apostle make the Lord guilty of a lie. If Peter did not deny him, then the Lord lied in saying, “Truly, I say to you, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.” Notice what he says: “You will deny me”—not “the man.” “Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you.” Not that Peter spoke a different language or belonged to a foreign nation … but since each province and region had their own characteristics and vernacular, one could not help having a certain sound to his speech. For instance, the Ephrathites in the book of Judges cannot pronounce the word synthe...
Oh strange and wonderful acts! When indeed he saw his master seized, Peter was so fervent as both to draw his sword and to cut off the man’s ear! But when it was natural for him to be more indignant and to be inflamed and to burn, hearing such revilings, then he became a denier. For who would not have been inflamed to indignation by the things that were then done? Yet the great disciple, overcome by fears, so far from showing indignation, even denies and cannot even stand the threat of a tiny and lowly servant girl. This happens not only once but a second and third time. He denies the Lord. In a short period and even before judges, he denies him. For it was “when he went out to the porch” that they asked him whether he was the man who “was with Jesus of Nazareth.” And he was not even aware of his own lying. Luke says that Christ looked upon him, and this made it clear that he had denied him and was not even aware of how far he had fallen into forgetfulness. This happened even though th...
Oh strange and wonderful acts! When indeed he saw his master seized only, he was so fervent as both to draw his sword, and to cut off the man's ear; but when it was natural for him to be more indignant, and to be inflamed and to burn, hearing such revilings, then he becomes a denier. For who would not have been inflamed to madness by the things that were then done? Yet the disciple, overcome by fears, so far from showing indignation, even denies, and endures not the threat of a miserable and mean girl, and not once only, but a second and third time does he deny Him; and in a short period, and not so much as before judges, for it was without for when he had gone out into the porch, they asked him, and he did not even readily come to a sense of his fall. And this Luke says, Luke 22:61 namely, that Christ looked on him showing that he not only denied Him, but was not even brought to remembrance from within, and this though the cock had crowed; but he needed a further remembrance from his ...
