By: Gen. Jim – 7/20/24
“But he (Peter) began to curse & to swear, saying, ‘I know not this man (Jesus) of whom ye speak.’” – Mk. 14:71. Another translation has, “But he began to invoke a curse of himself & to swear, ‘I do not know this man of whom you speak.’” – Mk. 14:71 (KJV/RSV).
This story is a sad one. Peter’s denial of Jesus when arrested. Verse 43 tells us about Judas & Jesus’ enemies; verse 45 tells us that Judas kisses Jesus – the “Kiss of Death!”; verse 50 tells us that all of Jesus’ disciples forsook Him, & fled!; verse 66 tells us that Peter was beneath in the palace (hiding); verse 67 tells us that Peter was accused of being with Jesus; vs.68 begins Peter’s denial (publicly) of Jesus; vs.69 tells us that Peter was accused again of being with Jesus; vs.70, “And he denied it again;” vs.71 Peter began to curse & swear, denying Jesus; vs72 Peter recalls what Jesus had told him: “Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny Me thrice” – Peter wept!
Verses 70 & 71
The clause “thy speech agreeth thereto” is probably a gloss, as some Bible scholar state. (KJV). (you might want to read Acts 2:7, which speaks of Galilean). Galilean Aramaic differed from Judean (research G.H. Dalman’s, Grammatik des Jüdisch Palästinischem Aramäisch [Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs, 1905].
“To curse” (vs71) (“anathematize” = “invoke a curse”). To do this, an object is needed: himself (so RSV). Did Peter curse his day of birth? his lack of luck? It is pointed out by Bible scholars, the point was not his swearing, but his complete DENIAL that he even knew Jesus! This, dear readers, shows us the DARK DEPTHS in which Peter had fallen.
This shows us that it is all too possible to deny Christ when under pressure. It shows the “humanness” when one is fearful. Peter loved Jesus but, as Jesus had warned him, “… Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat” – Lk. 22:31, NKJV. Jesus followed up with, “But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; & when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren,” vs.32. Jesus goes on to tell Peter, “… the rooster shall not crow this day before you will DENY three times that you know Me,” vs.34. Jesus already knew that Peter had a love for Him BUT he needed to be purged of evil things lurking in his heart. So, it is with us. (see Amos 9:9 for “sifted in a Sieve”).
The Lord ALLOWS the devil & his demons to test & try our faith: Jesus was tested/tried by Satan (Mt. 4:1-11). Vs. one says, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be TEMPTED by the devil.” Jesus was as human as we are (but without a sin nature – He was tempted in all points, as Hebrews 4:15 declares).
Points (Gk.), represents the phrase “kata” with the neuter plural of “pas”, all, lit., “according to all (things).” Heb. 4:15 speaks of Him as not one who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities (lit. or fig.). The word in the Gk. is “sunpatheo.” The word “patheo” comes from “pascho” which means “to suffer” (lit. or fig.). The prefixed preposition means “with”. The compound word means “to suffer with” another person, thus to sympathize with him/her to the extent of entering into his/her experience & feeling his/her heartache yourself. The use of the word here means more than a knowledge of human infirmity. It points to a knowledge that has in it a feeling for the other person by reason of a common experience with that person. Jesus’ appreciation of our infirmities (lit. or fig.) is an experiential one, based upon the fact that He was tempted like we are.
I think Jesus felt in His own consciousness, the difficulty of being righteous in a fallen world; feeling the weight & reason & inducements that incline men/women to choose sin & die!
Jesus endured His “Wilderness Assault.” He endured the mocking & rejection of His own people. In the end He endured the shame & pain of the cross itself; in every part of His human constitution, he has known the suffering, pain, & conflict with which temptation can be overcome.
The words “without sin” mean that in Jesus’ case, temptation never resulted in sin. Yes, He was sinless but He also never gave into the pressures: “For we do not have a high priest who is not able to enter experientially into a fellow-feeling with our infirmities, but one who has been tempted in all points like as we are, without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15-original Greek).
Sadly, Peter gave into fear, thus, denying Christ 3 times. This caused him to break down & weep (Mk. 15:72). His betrayal of Jesus was the bitterest heartache that life can have, grief & shame over the betrayal of love. But Jesus forgave Peter. Jesus appears to Peter in Lk. 24:34; and in John there is the story of his complete restoration (Jn. 21:15-17). His sorrow was not the end, but the real beginning. It was Peter’s real starting point. By his betrayal & sorrow, Peter lost all self-sufficiency & self-trust. Can you remember when this happened in your walk? I can recall several shameful episodes where I lost all self-sufficiency & self-trust. God has a way of busting our pride.
Man’s extremity, the LOW SPOT of his (our) self-revulsion, is God’s first real opportunity.
The process of perfection (maturity) is a life-long process. These layers of “flesh” that must be peeled away. Yes, this is painful but necessary for us to become “spiritual” (a word we toss around way too much).
Why did Jesus single out Peter only by saying, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.” – Lk. 22:31. For what I can understand, an introduction vouched for by Codex Sinaiticus & the bulk of MSS but omitted by Codex Vaticanus & a few allies; “And the Lord said” (KJV). Scholars (some) point out that the double vocative is characteristic of Luke. The role attributed to Satan is similar to that is the prologue to the book of Job. “You”, they tell us, is the above verse (vs.31) is plural, i.e. the disciples.
Greek scholar K.S. Wuest, in his The N.T. An Expanded Trans., has Luke 22:31 saying: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan by asking obtained you & your fellow disciples for himself & from My power to his, in order that he may shake you in a sieve as grain is sifted, by an inward agitation, trying your faith to the verge of overthrow.” WOW! He continues, “But as for Myself, I made petition concerning you that your faith should not be totally eclipsed. And as for you, when you have returned to your original position with respect to your faith, stabilize your brethren.” -vv.31-32.
Peter was addressed personally but included the other disciples, according to the original Gk. The Layman’s Parallel Bible confirms that the “you” in vs.31 is plural; in vs.32 it is singular.
Peter did recover, becoming a lead disciple/apostle… ending with his death by the Romans… dying upon an upside down cross!
The New Oxford Annotated Bible reads: “Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you (PL.) like wheat…”
[read Job 1:6-12 & Amos, 9:9 in ref. to vs.31]
There are those who do not believe that Jesus knew His mission in life, let alone all things. But here in Luke 22 Jesus predicts Peter’s denial.
Jesus pointed out to Peter (Simon) that he had an assailant in the spiritual realm – Satan! Jesus knew (in advance) Peter would be attacked & “sifted,” but He also was confident that afterward Peter would return to his faith in God. So, dear readers, we should never be surprised that we face the enemy/enemies of our faith. There were times in our walk (me & my wife) that our faith was so attacked that we felt like we had been completely forsaken by the Lord Jesus.
I’ve seen many – TOO MANY – fail the test, thus backsliding. Some, few, repented & regained their faith; others, gone forever!… slaves to Satan, Sin, & Self. The spiritual forces that sway our lives have root in either truth or falsehoods: Truth leads to LIFE; Falsehood leads to DEATH.
It is time to get REAL. When we become BRUTALLY honest about our walk with God, we are on the road to TRUE FREEDOM.