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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat_26:69-75
69Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant-girl came to him and said, "You too were with Jesus the Galilean." 70But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you are talking about." 71When he had gone out to the gateway, another servant-girl saw him and said to those who were there, " This man was with Jesus of Nazareth." 72And again he denied it with an oath, "I do not know the man." 73A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Surely you too are one of them; for even the way you talk gives you away." 74Then he began to curse and swear, "I do not know the man!" And immediately a rooster crowed. 75And Peter remembered the words which Jesus had said, "Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly.
Mat_26:69-73 The exact order of these three accusations differs from Gospel to Gospel. The fact that Peter denied Jesus three times with successive emphasis is common to all of the accounts. The fact that they differ is evidence of eyewitness accounts, not historical inaccuracies.
Mat_26:71 "Jesus of Nazareth" See Special Topic at Mat_2:23.
Mat_26:72 "I do not know the man" This Greek idiom was a veiled statement of contempt.
Mat_26:73 "for even the way you talk gives you away" Those who lived in Galilee could be recognized by the differences in accent and pronunciation of the guttural sounds of the Aramaic language.
Mat_26:74 "Then he began to curse and swear, 'I do not know the man'" This again was an idiom which reflected contempt and is tragic in that he used God's name in affirming this lie. If anyone deserved to be damned, it is Peter for, in the face of such love, forgiveness, prophecy and miracles, he denied, three times with vehemence and an oath, the One whom he claimed to love. If Peter can be saved, anyone can be saved! The only difference between Peter and Judas was that Judas did not turn back to Jesus in faith.
▣ "And immediately a rooster crowed" This must have been a Roman rooster for the Jews were not allowed to keep chickens in Jerusalem because they caused the ground to be unholy (see note on Mat_26:34).
From Luk_22:61, we know that Jesus looked at Peter. This implies that Annas and Caiaphas lived in the same house and that Jesus could either see the courtyard or He was being transferred between the two residences.
Mat_26:75 "And he went out and wept bitterly" Peter was fulfilling prophecy in his denials and giving hope for all believers who have denied Jesus with their tongue, with their lives and with their priorities. There is hope for anyone who turns back to Him in faith (cf. John 21).
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