John 13:38

Christ had said that He must be betrayed; Peter replied, "Be it far from Thee, Lord; this shall not happen unto Thee." He was rebuked, but not instructed. On the contrary, when Christ desired to wash his feet, he said, "Thou shall never wash my feet." Again, when he hears, "Thou canst not follow Me now," he saith, "Though all deny Thee, I will not deny Thee." Since then it was likely that he would be lifted up to folly by his practice of contradiction, Jesus next teacheth him not to oppose Him. This too Luke implies, when he telleth us that Christ said, "And I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not"; that is, "that thou be not finally lost." In every way teaching him humility, and proving that human nature by itself is nothing.

But, since great love made him apt for contradiction, He now sobereth him, that he might not in after times be subject to this, when he should have received the stewardship of the world, but remembering what he had suffered, might know himself. And look at the violence of his fall; it did not happen to him once or twice, but he was so beside himself, that in a short time thrice did he utter the words of denial, that he might learn that he did not so love as he was loved. And yet, to one who had so fallen He saith again, "Lovest thou Me more than these?" So that the denial was caused not by the cooling of his love, but from his having been stripped of aid from above. He accepteth then Peter's love, but cutteth off the spirit of contradiction engendered by it. "For if thou lovest, thou oughtest to obey Him who is beloved."

"I will lay down my life for Thee." For since he had heard, "Greater love than this hath no man," he straightway sprang forward, insatiably eager and desirous to reach even to the highest pitch of virtue. But Christ, to show that it belonged to Himself alone to promise these things with authority, saith, "Before the cock crow." That is, "now"; there was but a little interval. He spake when it was late at night, and the first and second watch was past.

When he had shaken off the dread of being the traitor, and was shown to be one of His own, he afterwards asked boldly himself, while the others held their peace. "What sayest thou, Peter? He said, 'thou canst not,' and thou sayest, 'I can'? Therefore thou shalt know from this temptation that thy love is nothing without the presence of the impulse from above." Whence it is clear that in care for him He allowed even that fall. He desired indeed to teach him even by the first words, but when he continued in his vehemence, He did not indeed throw or force him into the denial, but left him alone, that he might learn his own weakness.

This is not contrary to what is said in Mark. For he said, "The rooster will not crow twice before you will deny me three times." You see, as soon as he denied him, the rooster crowed. And as he denied for a third time, the rooster crowed for a second time, in some way bearing witness to the truthfulness of the Lord, as well as reminding Peter both what he said to the Lord and what he heard from him. Therefore, when he denied at first, by the will of the Lord the bird uttered a sound out of its proper time. But when he denied for the third time, then it crowed at the appointed time. However Mark, dictating the Gospel according to Peter's view, also said how many times the bird crowed during the denial, as if he wanted to establish more clearly the reproach of Peter by his own sin.

John is not the only Evangelist who details this prophetic announcement of Jesus' own denial to Peter. The other three also record the same thing but not at the same time in all cases. Matthew and Mark introduce it after they have left the house in which they were eating the Passover. Luke and John bring it in before he left that scene. We may suppose either that the two former are referring to what had passed or the two latter are anticipating what is coming. Or the great difference not only of the words but of the subjects that precede the speech and that excite Peter to the presumption of offering to die for or with our Lord may lead us to conclude that he made this offer three times and that our Lord three times replied, "Before the rooster crows, you shall deny me three times."

(Tr. lxvi. 1) Wilt thou do that for Me, which I have not done yet for thee? Canst thou go before, who canst not come after? Why presumest thou so? Hear what thou art: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied Me thrice. Thou who promisest Me thy death, shall thrice deny thy life. Peter knew his great desire, his strength he knew not: he boasted of his will, while he was yet weak; but the Physician saw his weakness. (c. 2.). Some who perversely favour Peter, excuse him, and say that he did not deny Christ, because when asked by the servant maid, he said he did not know Him, as the other Evangelists witness more expressly. As if to deny the man Christ, was not to deny Christ; yea, that in Christ, which He was made for our sakes, that that which He made us, might not perish. By what is He the Head of the Church, but by His humanity? And how then is he in the body of Christ, who denies the man Christ? But why do I argue so long? Our Lord does not say, The cock shall not crow till thou deniest man, or the Son of man, but till thou deniest Me. What is Me, but that which He was? So then whatever Peter denied, he denied Christ: it is impious to doubt it. Christ said so, and Christ said true: beyond a doubt, Peter denied Christ. Let us not, to defend Peter, accuse Christ. The frailty of Peter himself, acknowledged its sin, when he witnessed by his tears the evil he had done in denying Christ. Nor do we say this, because we have pleasure in blaming the first of the Apostles; but that we may take warning from him, not to be confident of our own strength.

(Tr. lxvi. 2) That took place in the soul of Peter, which he offered in the body; though differently from what he meant. For before the death and resurrection of our Lord, he both died by his denial, and lived again by his tears.

(de Con. Evang. iii. c. 2. [5.]) This speech, The cock shall not crow, occurs in all the Evangelists, but not at the same time in all. Matthew and Mark introduce it after they have left the house, in which they were eating; Luke and John before. We may suppose either that the two former are recurring to what had passed, or the two latter anticipating what is coming. Or the great difference not only of the words, but of the subjects which precede the speech, and which excite Peter to the presumption of offering to die, for or with our Lord, may lead us to conclude that he made this offer three times, and that our Lord three times replied, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny Me thrice.

"Jesus" therefore "answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake?" Wilt thou do for me what I have not yet done for thee? "Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake?" Canst thou go before, who art unable to follow? Why dost thou presume so far? what dost thou think of thyself? what dost thou imagine thyself to be? Hear what thou art: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice." See, that is how thou wilt speedily become manifest to thyself, who art now talking so loftily, and knowest not that thou art but a child. Thou promisest me thy death, and thou wilt deny me thy life. Thou, who now thinkest thyself able to die for me, learn to live first for thyself; for in fearing the death of thy flesh, thou wilt occasion the death of thy soul. Just as much as it is life to confess Christ, it is death to deny Him.

Or was it that the Apostle Peter, as some with a perverse kind of favor strive to excuse him, did not deny Christ, because, when questioned by the maid, he replied that he did not know the man, as the other evangelists more expressly affirm? As if, indeed, he that denies the man Christ does not deny Christ; and so denies Him in respect of what He became on our account, that the nature He had given us might not be lost. Whoever, therefore, acknowledges Christ as God, and disowns Him as man, Christ died not for him; for as man it was that Christ died. He who disowns Christ as man, finds no reconciliation to God by the Mediator. For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. He that denies Christ as man is not justified: for as by the disobedience of one man, many were made sinners; so also by the obedience of one man shall many be made righteous. He that denies Christ as man, shall not rise again into the resurrection of life; for by man is death, and by man is also the resurrection of the dead: for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. And by what means is He the Head of the Church, but by His manhood, because the Word was made flesh, that is, God, the Only-begotten of God the Father, became man. And how then can one be in the body of Christ who denies the man Christ? Or how can one be a member who disowns the Head?

But why linger over a multitude of reasons when the Lord Himself undoes all the windings of human argumentation? For He says not, The cock shall not crow till thou hast denied the man; or, as He was wont to speak in His more familiar condescension with men, The cock shall not crow till thou hast thrice denied the Son of man; but He says, "till thou hast denied me thrice." What is that "me," but just what He was, and what was He but Christ? Whatever of Him, therefore, he denied, he denied Himself, he denied the Christ, he denied the Lord his God. For Thomas also, his fellow-disciple, when he exclaimed, "My Lord and my God," did not handle the Word, but only His flesh; and laid not his inquisitive hands on the incorporeal nature of God, but on His human body. And so he touched the man, and yet recognized his God. If, then, what the latter touched, Peter denied; what the latter invoked, Peter offended. "The cock shall not crow till thou hast denied me thrice." Although thou say, "I know not the man;" although thou say, "Man, I know not what thou sayest;" although thou say, "I am not one of His disciples;" thou wilt be denying me. If, which it were sinful to doubt, Christ so spake, and foretold the truth, then doubtless Peter denied Christ. Let us not accuse Christ in defending Peter. Let infirmity acknowledge its sin; for there is no falsehood in the Truth. When Peter's infirmity acknowledged its sin, his acknowledgment was full; and the greatness of the evil he had committed in denying Christ, he showed by his tears. He himself reproves his defenders, and for their conviction, brings his tears forward as witnesses.

Nor have we, on our part, in so speaking, any delight in accusing the first of the apostles; but in looking on him, we ought to take home the lesson to ourselves, that no man should place his confidence in human strength. For what else had our Teacher and Saviour in view, but to show us, by making the first of the apostles himself an example, that no one ought in any way to presume of himself? And that, therefore, really took place in Peter's soul, for which he gave cause in his body. And yet he did not go before in the Lord's behalf, as he rashly presumed, but did so otherwise than he reckoned. For before the death and resurrection of the Lord, he both died when he denied, and returned to life when he wept; but he died, because he himself had been proud in his presumption, and he lived again, because that Other had looked on him with kindness.

Wonderful as the zeal of Peter in this matter may be, his promises are beyond his power to fulfil: Christ, however, with the gloom of the threatening tempest in His mind, knowing well how severe will be the temptation and how bitter the persecution, seems as it were to shake His head in sorrow; and then, unfolding to Himself the whole extent of His sufferings, as though it were present to His bodily eyes, beholding the surpassing fury of the Jews in their madness, and seeing clearly all that will come to pass in that hour, He exclaims as though to say: "Dost thou, O Peter, lay down thy life for Me, and sayest thou that thy fear in this matter is as nothing? and supposest thou that thou wilt be strong enough to overcome the trials that will encompass thee? Nay, thou knowest not the grievous weight of the coming temptation, for the suffering that lies before thee is beyond thy strength to endure: thy heart shall fail thee utterly, even though thou wouldst not have it so: thrice shalt thou deny Me, and that too in one single night." We must surmise that Jesus means to speak somewhat to this effect: yet herein again it is fitting that we should admire the kindness to mankind that appeared in Him: for having predicted that the strength of Peter's courage will not be commensurate with the tone of his zealous assertions, but will fail and flag so utterly as to yield at the mere alarm of a coming danger, He added not one single word of threatening; erhaps for this reason, that Peter had not spoken under any Divine impulse: at all events, for some reason or other He does not hold out any threat of chastisement against one who suffered from human infirmities. For He knew that the nature of man was as yet enfeebled, and unable to endure the threat of death. Death had not yet been deprived of its power through His resurrection, and was still boastfully vaunting against the mind of all men, still strong enough to crush, even by fear and that alone, the hardiest and bravest of heroes. For human nature, being unnaturally subjected to death, yields to death as to a conquering power, or rather used to yield at that time: but now that our Saviour has burst its bonds, the approach of death is delightful to those who love Christ, even though it come in bitterness and pain. For the everlasting life has arisen in its stead, destroying the power of corruption.

And let no one here again imagine that Peter's denial and failure were caused by the words of Christ. He is not speaking by way of imposing any obligation on the disciple, or drawing him on by constraint to the sufferings of which He speaks; but rather He means to predict to His disciple exactly what as God He knows will most surely and certainly come to pass.

But seeing that all that happened to the men of former times has been written for the admonition of those who live after them, let us now say somewhat necessary to our edification, drawing our conclusions from this passage. I do not think that we ought to make any rash vows before God, or to promise to perform what may sometimes be beyond our power, as though we could control human events. And I say this in regard to the charges to which we render ourselves liable in case of failure: especially I consider that hasty statements, such as "I will do this," or, "I will do that," as the case may be, are not far removed from arrogance. For in all cases where one may have deliberately determined to undertake any matter, wishing to carry it out successfully, one's duty is always to use those words of the very wise disciple: If the Lord will, and we live. For while I maintain that a zeal for good works must be inherent in the souls of the godly, as well as eager willingness to carry these virtuous resolves with all our might into effect, yet our duty is to pray for the successful means of gaining this end through the gracious blessing that is from above, and not to make rash promises as though success lay already in our own grasp. Thus we shall be able to keep unbroken our promises to God of all that is good, and we shall have "our feet clear" of blame, according to the saying of the Greek poet. And on other authority: Better is it not to vow to any, than to vow and not pay.

Which sentence may be read in two ways: either as affirming, thou shalt lay down thy life for My sake, but now through fear of the death of the body, thou shalt incur spiritual death: or as mocking; as if He said,

Nevertheless, should any one fall, let the example of Peter save him from despair, and teach him that he can without delay obtain pardon from God.

The Savior, showing him that He alone, and not any man, can promise this with certainty, says: "The rooster will not crow before you deny Me three times," that is, right now; for little time remains.
The Lord was saying this late at night, and the first and second watches of the night had already passed. Since Peter was contradicting out of great love, the Lord accepts the love but cuts off the contradiction. Therefore He deprives him of help from above and brings him to the knowledge of his own weakness. For if you love, you must submit to the One you love. I said that you cannot, yet you contradict. From the denial you will clearly learn that what I say cannot fail to come true. Therefore, sparing him, He allowed him to fall, so that he would not experience this later as well, when he would receive the stewardship of the whole world, but would come to know himself. And see how he fell: not once, but three times. Thus abandonment by God exposes our powerlessness, and whoever is attentive finds in this the greatest benefaction.

Next, John shows Jesus predicting the denial of Peter. First, Jesus checks Peter's presumption; secondly, he predicts his denial.

As to the first we should note that after Christ said you cannot follow me now, Peter was confident of his own strength and said that he could follow Christ and die for him. Our Lord checked him by saying, Will you lay down your life for me? It is like saying: Think what you are saying. I know you better than you know yourself; you do not know how strong your own love is. So do not assume that you can do everything. "So do not become proud, but stand in awe" (Rom 11:20). A similar thought is found in Matthew (26:41): "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Our Lord allowed Peter to be tempted and to fall so that when he became head of the Church he would have an unpretentious opinion of himself and have compassion for his subjects when they sinned: "For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning" (Heb 4:15). In Peter, some temptations grew into sins. But Christ was tempted as we are, not because he committed sin, but because the temptations were penal in character.

Christ predicts Peter's denial when he says, Truly, truly, I say to you, the cock will not crow, till you have denied me three times. This causes a problem as it seems to be false: for in some versions of Mark (14:68) we read that the cock crowed immediately after his first denial. Augustine answers this in two ways. In the first way he says that our Lord was expressing Peter's state of mind rather than his actions: for such fear had overcome Peter's soul that he was ready, by the time the cock crowed, to deny our Lord not only once but three times. So the meaning is: you will be ready to deny me three times before the cock crows. He explains it another way by saying the prediction refers to the very beginning of Peter's denial. Something is said to happen before something else even it if only begins to happen. Now our Lord predicted three denials; they began before the first cock-crow, although the entire series was not completed before it. Here the meaning is: your triple denial will begin before the cock crows.

There is also a question about where these words were spoken. Matthew and Mark say that our Lord said this to Peter after they had left the upper room; but Luke and John say he said this in the upper room. It is after the farewell discourses that John has Jesus saying, "Rise, let us go hence" (below 14:31). In answer to this we should say that it is true that our Lord said this in the upper room. Matthew and Mark did not follow the order of history, but of memory.

One could also say, with Augustine, that our Lord said this three times. A close inspection of our Lord's words which led to his predicting the denial of Peter shows that three different things were said. In Matthew we read that our Lord said: "You will all fall away because of me this night" (Mt 26:31); and Mark says the same (Mk 14:27). Peter answered: "Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away" (Mt 26:33). Then Jesus said: "This very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times" (Mt 26:34). In Luke, however, we read that Jesus said: "Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail" (Lk 22:31). Peter then said, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death" (Lk 22:33). Our Lord answered this: "I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow this day, until you three times deny that you know me" (Lk 22:34). But here, in John, when Peter asked our Lord where he was going, our Lord replied: "the cock will not crow, till you have denied me three times." We can conclude from this that our Lord predicted Peter's denial several times.