LXX.

S. Peter's Fall.

S. MARK XIV. 66-72.

66. And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest: 67. and when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. 68. But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew. 69. And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. 70. And he denied it again. And

a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them for thou art a Galilean, and thy speech agreeth thereto. 71. But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this Man of Whom ye speak. 72. And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny Me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.

AN Oriental palace was frequently built in the form of a quadrangle. A porch or gateway in the front led to a large inner courtyard,1 open to the sky, round which were the servants' offices and public reception-rooms, sometimes raised by steps above the level of the ground.2 The living-quarters of the occupants were on the second story.3 At the time of which we are reading, Jesus was being examined by the informal Court gathered under

S. John xviii. 15-18.

the Presidency of Caiaphas in one of the lower chambers. After He had been brought in by the party who arrested Him, the gateway of the palace was closed to avoid the possibility of a rescue, for the High Priest was in fear of a reaction in favour of the Prisoner. The attendants and other servants of the judges remained within call in the inner yard. It was past midnight, and as the air was cold at that season, they lit a fire in their midst, and began to talk over the exciting events of the last few hours. Meanwhile two of the Apostles, S. John and S. Peter, having recovered from the panic which had seized them in the Garden, found themselves at the porch of the palace. S. John, perhaps as being a friend of Caiaphas, was known to the portress, and had no difficulty in gaining admission; but his companion was shut out. We often read of apparently trivial incidents preventing a great catastrophe or saving lives which must otherwise have been lost, and they are regarded as Providential interpositions by those who have met with them. Was it not some such merciful Providence that literally closed the door in the very face of the Apostle on that fatal night? Was it not an echo of the forgotten warning, "Thou canst not follow Me now"? Knowing as we do the terrible con

sequences of his admission, we may well regret that he was not superstitious enough, as men say, to hurry away from the scene.

xxvi. 58.

There is a marked change in his conduct at this stage. The courage and daring which made him draw his sword at once in defence of his Master has forsaken him. There is no longer any hope or thought of defending Him, and curiosity has succeeded to devotion. He could actually bring himself to play the part of a common spectator, and as S. Matthew says, "he went in, and sat with the servants, to see S. Matt. the end." It was certain to bring him into trouble, for he had at once to disguise himself, to wear a mask, and play a character that was not his own. And so it came to pass that as he stood in the crowd, pretending to no greater interest in the proceedings than the rest, he was surprised by the observation of a maid who belonged to the palace. She had recognised S. John as he entered, and now, when she joined the other servants who were in the courtyard, a sudden blaze of the fire lit up s. Luke S. Peter's face, and she recollected his features as well, and made the observation, "Thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth." Perhaps the Apostle thought within himself that she would be satisfied if he evaded the question, so he said that he did

xxii. 56.

S. Luke

xxii. 59.

not know Him, nor quite understand what it was
that she meant. His purpose was gained, and
suspicion averted for a time; but prudence suggested
that he should withdraw as soon as he conveniently
could, and he exchanged the bright glare of the
fireside for the shade and retirement of the porch.
While he was standing there the maid, who had
been silenced by his ready denial, seeing him again,
became more than ever convinced that she was
right in her opinion, and she told the people about
her that she was sure he was 66 one of them." They
at once took the matter up and asked him, as
S. John tells us, "Art not thou also one of this
Man's disciples ?" "and he denied it again."
"About the space of one hour after" the accusation
was renewed. He had regained confidence, and
ventured to take part in the conversation that was
going on.
Under the influence of his excitement,
some peculiarity of speech, generally thought to
have been "a confused thick utterance of the
guttural letters," 5 betrayed his "provincial" origin.
The bystanders at once detected it, and said to
him, "Surely thou art one of them, for thou art a
Galilean, and thy speech agreeth thereto." Others
took up the charge, and one especially who had
good cause to remember him-for he had cut off his

xviii. 10, 26.

kinsman's ear-came forward and confronted him S. John with a most emphatic question, "Did not I see thee in the Garden with Him?" "But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this Man of Whom ye speak."

in loc.

Now it is well known that there are varieties of detail in the four records of S. Peter's threefold denial. The discrepancies have been spoken of as irreconcilable, and attempts to shake the credibility Strauss and trustworthiness of Holy Scripture have been based upon this supposition. Careful examination will show that "the incidents given by the different Evangelists are completely in harmony with the belief that there were three denials, that is, three acts of denial, of which the several writers have taken such features as seemed to be most significant for their purpose." 7 197 The multiplicity of charges again may well be illustrated out of our own experience. We have witnessed, no doubt, a scene in which a crowd of people in a state of excitement are setting upon an individual whom they believe to have done something of which they disapprove. No sooner has one begun to accuse him of it than another comes up and adds to the charge, another insists upon it with gestures of violence, another can prove it if they will only let him speak, and