|
Did
the cock crow once or twice before
Peter's third denial?
Matthew 26:34-35,74-75; Luke
22:34,60-62;
John 13:38 and Mark 14:30
-
Denies before cock crows
- (Mathew
26:34,74-75) -
"Jesus said to him, "Truly I say to you
that this very night, before a cock crows, you shall deny Me three times
. . . 74Then he began to curse and swear, "I do not know the
man!" And immediately a cock crowed. 75And Peter remembered
the word which Jesus had said, "Before a cock crows, you will deny Me
three times." And he went out and wept bitterly."
- (Luke
22:34,60-62) -
"And He said, "I say to you, Peter, the cock will
not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me . . .
.60But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are
talking about." And immediately, while he was still speaking, a cock
crowed. 61And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter
remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him,
"Before a cock crows today, you will deny Me three
times." 62And he went out and wept bitterly."
- (John
13:38) - "Jesus *answered, "Will you lay
down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a cock shall not
crow, until you deny Me three times."
-
before cock crows twice
-
(Mark
14:30) - "And Jesus *said to him,
"Truly I say to you, that you yourself this very night, before a cock
crows twice, shall three times deny Me..."
If a cock crows a
second time, then it has crowed once before. The problem is that in
Mark, after Peter denies the Lord for the third time (Mark
14:71), immediately a cock crows a second time (v.
72). The other gospels
tell us that after Peter's third denial a cock then crows. How do we
reconcile this difficulty?
Mark does not mention when the cock crowed the first
time. Therefore, it is possible that after Peter's third denial, the
cock then crowed twice; that is, two times in a row. This is logically
possible.
|
Peter's Denial of Christ |
| Event |
Mathew 26:34-35,
69-75 |
Mark 14:30,
66-72 |
Luke 22:34,
55-62 |
John 13:38
& 18:25-27 |
| Jesus
predicts Peter's denial |
34 Jesus said
to him, "Truly I say to you that this very
night, before a cock crows, you shall deny Me three times."
35 Peter *said to Him, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny
You." All the disciples said the same thing too. |
30 And Jesus
*said to him, "Truly I say to you, that you
yourself this very night, before a cock crows twice, shall three times
deny Me." |
34
And He said, "I say to you, Peter, the cock will
not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me." |
38 Jesus
*answered, "Will you lay down your life for Me?
Truly, truly, I say to you, a cock shall not crow, until you deny Me
three times. |
first
inquiry |
69 Now Peter
was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a certain servant-girl came to
him and said, "You too were with Jesus the Galilean." |
66 And
as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the
high priest *came,
67 and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him, and *said, "You,
too, were with Jesus the Nazarene." |
55 And after
they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down
together, Peter was sitting among them.
56 And a certain servant-girl, seeing him as he sat in the firelight,
and looking intently at him, said, "This man was with Him too." |
18:25a Now
Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said therefore to
him, "You are not also one of His disciples, are you?" |
|
1st
denial |
70 But he
denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you are
talking about." |
68 But he
denied it, saying, "I neither know nor understand what you are
talking about." And he went out onto the porch. |
57 But he
denied it, saying, "Woman, I do not know Him." |
25b He denied
it, and said, "I am not." |
| second
inquiry |
71 And when
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." |
69 And the
maid saw him, and began once more to say to the bystanders, "This is
one of them!" |
58a And a
little later, another saw him and said, "You are one of them
too!" But Peter said, "Man, I am not!" |
26 One of the
slaves of the high priest, being a relative of the one whose ear Peter
cut off, *said, "Did I not see you in the garden with Him?" |
|
2nd
denial |
72 And again
he denied it with an oath, "I do not know the man." |
70a But again
he was denying it. |
58b But Peter
said, "Man, I am not!" |
|
third
inquiry |
73 And a
little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Surely you too
are one of them; for the way you talk gives you away." |
70b And after
a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, "Surely you
are one of them, for you are a Galilean too." |
59 And after
about an hour had passed, another man began to insist, saying,
"Certainly this man also was with Him, for he is a Galilean too." |
|
|
3rd
denial |
74 Then he
began to curse and swear, "I do not know the man!" |
71 But he
began to curse and swear, "I do not know this man you are talking
about!" |
60a But Peter
said, "Man, I do not know what you are talking about." |
|
cock
crowed |
74 And immediately a cock crowed. |
72a And immediately a cock crowed a
second time. |
60b And immediately, while he was still
speaking, a cock crowed. |
27 Peter therefore denied it again;
and immediately a cock crowed. |
| Peter
weeps |
75 And Peter
remembered the word which Jesus had said, "Before
a cock crows, you will deny Me three times." And he went out and
wept bitterly. |
72b And Peter
remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him,
"Before a cock crows twice, you will deny Me three times." And he
began to weep. |
61 And the
Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the
Lord, how He had told him, "Before a cock crows
today, you will deny Me three times."
62 And he went out and wept bitterly. |
|
| Event |
Matthew
26 |
Mark 14 |
Luke 12 |
John 13
& 18 |
Return to
Bible Difficulties - Matthew to
Mark
Return to or Bible Difficulties -
Luke to Acts
|