73: This last accusation occurs ‘after awhile,’ which means it occurs closer to dawn. The other two accusations had occurred earlier in the night. Peter may have thought he was through with it, when this whole group of people came to see him.
Among the group may have been the women from before, and a relative of Malchus was among them. This fellow said he saw Peter. As for the rest, they said they were convinced of Peter’s identity because of his accent, which was decidedly Galilean. Thus, this time it was much harder for Peter to fight the truth.
74: Peter had sworn before in his second denial. However, this time he adds curses. Calling down curses upon oneself was a way of affirming the truth of a statement. He was saying to them, if I am lying may such and such happen to me. It seems certain that those present remained unconvinced by Peter’s words.
At this very moment the cock crowed, which may have quite startled Peter. In addition, Jesus glanced his way, which only added to his reminder, and showed Christ’s love despite the denial.
75: We may consider it amazing that a person would ever forget what Jesus had said about the denial. However, it is not that amazing. How often do we forget to honor the Lord in all that we do? How often do we need to be reminded by the Holy Spirit of some sin that needs confessing?
Peter’s response to the reminder was the best possible course of action. He immediately was very sorry for what he had done. This response was, no doubt, part of the reason for his restoration later.
Personal Journal Entry #12020
Prayer Journal Entry #12020
Daily Bible Reading: Exodus 2:1-4:31