15.03.03 Jn. 18:15-17 Peter’s First Denial

15.03.03 PETER’S FIRST DENIAL

Bill Heinrich  -  Dec 21, 2015  -  Comments Off on 15.03.03 PETER’S FIRST DENIAL

15.03.03 Jn. 18:15-17

 

PETER’S FIRST DENIAL

15 Meanwhile, Simon Peter was following Jesus, as was another disciple. That disciple was an acquaintance of the high priest; so he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard. 16 But Peter remained standing outside by the door. So the other disciple, the one known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the girl who was the doorkeeper and brought Peter in.

17 Then the slave girl who was the doorkeeper said to Peter, “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?”

“I am not!” he said.

 

“Simon Peter was following Jesus, as was another disciple.”  Peter has often been criticized for his betrayal of Jesus, yet he and another disciple were brave enough to follow Him when all others deserted Him.  Most scholars believe that the other disciple was John, an “acquaintance of the high priest” because according to Acts 4:6, he, as a kinsman of the high priest could enter the home of the high priest.  However, Peter did not have that status, so he had to wait outside. On another occasion (Jn. 20:5), John and Peter ran to the tomb of Jesus. When they arrived, Peter went right in, but John had to wait outside for a moment.  Why?  According to Jewish law, John would have become defiled if he entered the tomb where there was a dead body, since he was a member of the family of priests.[1]

 

Peter’s lack of strength and boldness to be a true and faithful witness underscored his human weakness and the dire need for Pentecostal power.  After the Pentecost event however, he was a completely transformed man; from a disorganized disciple who had the profound gift of saying the wrong things at the wrong time, to a dynamic apostle who spoke with profound wisdom and closed his life as a martyr in Rome.

 

“That disciple was an acquaintance of the high priest.”  The fact that John was a relative of the high priest Caiaphas, underscores the religious divisions that existed within some families. John came from a relatively orthodox family of Pharisees while Caiaphas was of the Hellenistic Sadducean dynasty. No two people could have been extreme opposites. However, since John was a relative, he had access to the inner circles related to Caiaphas.

[1]. Moseley, Yeshua: A Guide to the Real Jesus and the Original Church. 24.

 



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