Denial of Peter

The Denial of Peter (or Peter's Denial) refers to three acts of denial of Jesus by the Apostle Peter as described in all four Gospels of the New Testament.

All four Canonical Gospels state that during Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples, he predicted that Peter would deny knowledge of him, stating that Peter would disown him before the rooster crowed the next morning. Following the arrest of Jesus, Peter denied knowing him three times, but after the third denial, he heard the rooster crow and recalled the prediction as Jesus turned to look at him. Peter then began to cry bitterly. This final incident is known as the Repentance of Peter.

The turbulent emotions behind Peter's denial and later repentance have been the subject of major works of art for centuries. Examples include Caravaggio's '' Denial of Saint Peter'', which is now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The incidents have also inspired segments in various films related to the life and death of Jesus Christ (for instance, when Francesco De Vito performed as Peter in ''The Passion of the Christ'') as well as references in musical works, both religious and secular.

Biblical accounts

The prediction, made by Jesus during the Last Supper that Peter would deny and disown him, appears in the Gospel of Matthew , the Gospel of Mark , the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of John . The denial accounts in the Gospels differ from each other.

According to the Gospel of Matthew:

Later that night, Jesus was arrested. The first denial to a servant girl in is as follows:

The second denial to the same girl in is:

The third denial to a number of people, is emphatic as he curses according to :

The Gospel of Luke describes the moment of the last denial as follows:

The Gospel of John describes the account of the three denials as follows:

Following the resurrection of Jesus, the Gospel of John narrates how Jesus asked Peter three times if Peter loved him, pointing to the rehabilitation of Peter following his repentance.

Context and traditions

Context

For much of the period of three years that Jesus spent in ministry, gathering and teaching disciples, he had been observed, criticised and harassed by scholars and priests. His teachings were sometimes seen as heretical and his actions in gathering a group of disciples as possibly having political motivation. Jesus' capture and trials were the culmination of this antipathy.

Peter was one of the twelve disciples most closely associated with Jesus. His denials are made in the face of accusation that he was "with Jesus", the term indicating the bond of discipleship. The Gospel of Matthew states that Peter denied Jesus "in front of everyone", thus making a public witness, affirming this with an oath. Throughout his Gospel, Matthew stresses the importance of public witness as an essential element of discipleship, stating in : "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven." Peter's denial is in direct conflict with the nature of discipleship, as described by Matthew. Matthew has also previously reported Jesus' teaching forbidding the use of an oath:

The New Testament descriptions of Peter's denial depict the drama of the incident. Peter's antagonists in the discussion of his discipleship progress from a maid, to a maid plus a bystander, to a whole crowd. His denial progresses from a plea of ignorance, to a denial plus an oath and then to cursing and swearing with a total denial that he ever knew Jesus. The significance of ''three'' denials lies in its superlative force; it underscores the disciple's resolve to deny Jesus (see Biblical numerology). The sound of the rooster then brings a shock to Peter that Jesus had predicted the three denials.

This episode has been seen as an incident that sheds light on the unique role of Peter and sets him apart from the other disciples, just as in the Gospel of Mark in which the angel tells the women to "go and tell his disciples and Peter" about the resurrection of Jesus. In this episode, as often elsewhere in the Gospel of Mark, Peter acts as the focus of the apostles, and an essential Christological image is presented: the denials of Peter contrast with the frank confessions of Jesus in his trial by the Sanhedrin, portraying his faithfulness as prophet, Son and Messiah.

The triple denial of Peter is the impetus for the three repetitive questions made by Jesus to Peter at the Sea of Galilee after His resurrection, "Simon, son of John, Do you love me?" Although originally interpreted by Peter as a rebuke for his three denials (also due to the use by Jesus of his old name "Simon"), this event became later viewed as a redemptive act by Jesus, allowing Peter to publicly declare in front of his fellow disciples that he truly did love his Lord and thus become fully restored to his faith community.

The three 'denials' are also present in a Gnostic source, the Apocalypse of Peter from the Nag Hammadi library, but the roles are reversed in the context of meditation and seeing inner vision of the Master. In the Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter, Jesus denies Peter "three times in this night" as not ready for inner sight, 72,5. Both details of "three times" denied and "in this night" being present suggests a relationship to the canonical portrayal of the Denial of Peter.

Prayers and traditions

Bishop Lancelot Andrewes composed the following prayer:

Referring to the tears shed by Peter during his repentance in the context of the Sacrament of Penance, Saint Ambrose said that "in the Church, there are water and tears: the water of Baptism and the tears of repentance". Traditionally, "tears of repentance", as exemplified by Peter, have become a symbol both of mourning and comfort and a sign at once of sins repented and forgiveness sought.

In the Scriptural Way of the Cross, introduced in 1991 by Pope John Paul II as a version of the Stations of the Cross and performed each Good Friday at the Colosseum in Rome, the fourth station is the ''Denial of Peter''.

During Holy Week in Jerusalem, vigils at times stop at a location traditionally considered the location for the ''Repentance of Peter'', not far from the house of the High Priest of Israel Caiaphas, involved in the Sanhedrin trial of Jesus.

Commentary

Justus Knecht comments on Peter's denial saying:

The causes of Peter's fall were these: 1. He did not avoid the proximate occasions of sin; for at the time of his fall he was associating with the enemies of Christ. If he had left their company even after his first denial, he would not have fallen so low. “He that loves danger shall perish in it” (Ecclus. 3:27). 2. He had paid too little attention to our Lord’s warning words: “Satan hath desired to sift you as wheat . . . This night thou shalt deny Me thrice”; and he trusted too much in himself: “Though all shall be scandalized, yet not I. I will lay down my life for Thee!” When he said those words he meant them, for Peter had a very firm faith in our Lord, and an ardent love for Him; but he ought not to have forgotten that he was a weak man, and that without God’s grace he could not remain faithful. Our Lord had said to him but a very short time before, as they were walking up the Mount of Olives: “Without Me you can do nothing!” 3. He fell, therefore, through over self-confidence, and by neglecting our Lord’s exhortation: “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation!”

Roger Baxter reflects on Peter's lack of faith in his ''Meditations'', writing:

A few hours before Peter had said, 'Though I should die with Thee, I will not deny Thee;' but now, alas! at the first word of a woman, from shame and fear he denies that he ever knew Him. How many are there now in existence who, not from any humility, but from mere apprehension of what the world will say, are afraid to own any Christian or virtuous action and to profess themselves followers of Christ!

In art and music

The episode has been the subject of works of art for centuries. It has also been dramatized in musical settings of the Passion story. It has been depicted in a varieties of mediums and methods, ranging from 6th century mosaic at the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo to Russian icons and oil paintings by many old masters. The subject was sometimes included in cycles of the '' Life of Christ'' or the '' Passion'', often as the only scene not to include the figure of Christ.

In Rembrandt's 1660 depiction of '' The Denial of Saint Peter'', now in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, influenced by engravings of the c.1623 version by Gerard Seghers