Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 13:38
Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.
38. I say unto thee ] In the parallel passage in S. Luke (Luk 22:34) Christ for the first and only time addresses the Apostle by the name which He had given him, ‘I tell thee, Peter;’ as if He would remind him that the rock-like strength of character was not his own to boast of, but must be found in humble reliance on the Giver.
S. Luke agrees with S. John in placing the prediction of the triple denial in the supper-room: St Matt. (Mat 26:30-35) and S. Mark (Mar 14:26-30) place it on the way from the room to Gethsemane. It is possible but not probable that the prediction was repeated; though some would even make three predictions recorded by (1) S. Luke, (2) S. John, (3) S. Matt. and S. Mark. See introductory note to Chapter 12 and Appendix B.
thrice ] All four accounts agree in this. S. Mark adds two details: (1) that the cock should crow twice, (2) that the prediction so far from checking S. Peter made him speak only the more vehemently, a particular which S. Peter’s Gospel more naturally contains than the other three. S. Matthew and S. Mark both add that all the disciples joined in S. Peter’s protestations.
It has been objected that fowls were not allowed in the Holy City. The statement is wanting in authority, and of course the Romans would pay no attention to any such rule, even if it existed among the Jews.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 38. The cock shall not crow, c.] See Clarke on Mt 26:34. Dr. Lightfoot has very properly remarked that we must not understand these words, as if the cock should not crow at all before Peter had thrice denied his Master but we must understand them thus: “The cock shall not have finished his crowing before thou wilt thrice deny me. When the time was near, the very night in which this was to happen, Christ said, This very night the cock shall not crow his second time, c. But here, two days before that time, he says, the cock shall not crow that is, shall not have done his crowing. The Jews, and some other nations, divided the cock-crowing into the first, the second, and the third times.”
1. ON peters denial of our Lord much has been written: by one class he has been incautiously excused, and by another rashly censured. Peter was self-confident, but he was certainly sincere, and, had he trusted more in God and less in himself, he would not have miscarried. He did not look to his Maker for strength, and therefore he fell. He was surprised, and found unarmed. It is a well-known fact that circumstances have occurred in which persons of the most bold, intrepid, and adventurous minds have proved mere cowards, and acted to their own disgrace and ruin. Facts of this kind occur in the naval and military history of this and every other country. No man is master of himself at all times; therefore prudence and caution should ever be united to courage. Peter had courage, but he had not caution: he felt a powerful and determined will; but the trial was above his own strength, and he did not look to God for power from on high. He was warned by this miscarriage, but he dearly bought his experience. Let him that readeth understand.
2. A fact which occurs in the English Martyrology will serve to illustrate the history of Peter’s denial and fall. In the reign of Queen Mary, when the Papists of this kingdom burned all the Protestants they could convict of denying the doctrine of transubstantiation, a poor man who had received the truth in theory, but had not as yet felt its power, was convicted and sentenced by their bloody tribunal to be burned alive. While they were drawing him to the place of execution, he was very pensive and melancholy; and when he came within sight of the stake, c., he was overpowered with fear and terror, and exclaimed, O! I can’t burn! I can’t burn! Some of the attending priests, supposing that he wished to recant, spoke to him to that effect. The poor man still believed the truth – felt no disposition to deny it – but did not feel such an evidence of his Maker’s approbation in his own soul as could enable him to burn for it! He continued in great agony, feeling all the bitterness of death, and calling on God to reveal himself through the Son of his love. While thus engaged, God broke in upon his soul and he was filled with peace and joy in believing. He then clapped his hands, and exclaimed with a powerful voice, I can burn! I can burn! He was bound to the stake, and burned gloriously, triumphing in God through whom he had received the atonement. This was a case in point. The man was convinced of the truth, and was willing to burn for the truth but had not as yet power, because he had not yet received an evidence of his acceptance with God. He pleaded for this with strong crying and tears, and God answered him to the joy of his soul; and then he was as able as he was willing to go to prison and to death. Without the power and consolation of the Spirit of God, who could be a martyr, even for Divine truth? We see now plainly how the case lies: no man is expected to do a supernatural work by his own strength; if left to that, in a case of this kind, his failure must be inevitable. But, in all spiritual matters, assistance is to be sought from God; he that seeks shall find, and he that finds Divine strength shall be equal to the task he is called to fulfil. Peter was incautious and off his guard: the trial came-he looked not for power from on high, and he fell: not merely because he was weak-not because God withheld the necessary assistance – but because he did not depend on and seek it. In no part of this business can Peter be excused – he is every where blamable, and yet, through the whole, an object of pity.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Mark saith, before the cock crow twice. So the other three evangelists must be expounded, who say no more than before the cock crow, not mentioning how often; but the history makes it good, that our Saviour meant twice, for it was not before the second crowing of the cock that Peter went out, and wept bitterly.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
38. Wilt thou lay down thy life formy sake?In this repetition of Peter’s words there is deepthough affectionate irony, and this Peter himself would feel for manya day after his recovery, as he retraced the painful particulars.
Verily . . . The cock,&c.See on Lu 22:31-34.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Jesus answered him, wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake,…. Christ speaks these words as questioning, not Peter’s sincerity, but his strength; or as deriding him, or rather pitying him; as if he should say, thou poor vain self-sufficient man, thou dost not know what thou talkest of:
verily, verily, I say unto thee, the cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice; not that Peter should deny him three times, before the cock crowed once; for certain it is, that Peter denied Christ but once, before the cock crew, Mr 14:68; but the meaning is, that before the cock had, lone crowing, or within the time of cock crowing, he should deny him thrice: whence it follows, that there is no necessity of concluding from hence, that this night was the passover night, and the night in which Judas betrayed Christ, and Peter denied him, but was two nights before; and therefore it is not said here, as by the other evangelists, “this day”, or “this night”, or “this day, even this night thou shalt deny me”; only in general before the cock crow, or within the time of cock crowing: so that it appears, that Peter twice expressed his confidence, in laying down his life for Christ; once at the supper in Simon’s house at Bethany, two days before the “passover”, and again at the passover supper in Jerusalem; and as often Christ rebuked his confidence by this expression, only varying it as the different times required, and therein gave a full proof of his omniscience.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Wilt thou lay down? (;). Jesus picks up Peter’s very words and challenges his boasted loyalty. See such repetition in John 16:16; John 16:31; John 21:17.
Shall not crow (). Aorist active subjunctive of , to use the voice, used of animals and men. Note strong double negative . Mark adds (twice). John’s report is almost identical with that in Lu 22:34. The other disciples joined in Peter’s boast (Mark 14:31; Matt 26:35).
Till thou hast denied ( ). Future middle indicative or aorist middle subjunctive second person singular (form identical) with compound conjunction (until which time), “till thou deny or deniest” (futurum exactum needless). Peter is silenced for the present. They all “sat astounded and perplexed” (Dods).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Wilt thou lay down thy life ? For a similar repetition of Peter’s own words, see on 21 17.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Jesus answered him,” (apokrinetai lesous) “Jesus replied,” to him and to the other disciples who made similar statements of fidelity and loyalty to Him.
2) “Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake?” (ten psuchen sou huper emou theseis) “Will you lay down your life on my behalf?” The question was one of pathos and pity. He did, in death, some thirty-seven years later, to go to his reward, 2Ti 4:7-8.
3) “Verily, verily, I say unto thee,” (amen amen lego soi) “Truly, truly, I tell you,” personally, individually, for your later benefit and understanding. This statement seems to have been made on the way to Gethsemane, after the Passover, the night of the betrayal two nights after the last supper in Bethany, Mat 26:34.
4) “The cock shall not crow,” (ou me alektor phonese) “A cock shall not even crow,” tonight, this very night, as also recounted Mat 26:34; Mar 14:30.
5) “Till thou has denied me thrice.” (heos ou arnese me tris) “Until you have denied me three time,” yet the Lord affirmed that He had offered a special prayer for Peter, that his faith would not fail him, and that he should, after his temporary fall, strengthen his brethren, Luk 22:31-34; Gal 6:1-2; Gal 6:9; 1Co 15:57-58.
That one fall or fall in the flesh, is neither eternally fatal to salvation nor service, but that he rise from the fall, confess his sins, and walk on, and work on for the Lord, as His child, is important, as Moses did, as David did, and as Peter did, 1Jn 1:9; 1Co 10:3.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
38. Wilt thou lay down thy life for me? Christ did not choose to debate with Peter, but wished that he should grow wise by his own experience, like fools, who never grow wise till they have received a stroke. Peter promises unshaken firmness, and indeed expresses the sincere conviction of his mind; but his confidence is full of rashness, for he does not consider what strength has been given to him. Now since this example belongs to us, let each of us examine his own defects, that he may not be swelled with vain confidence. We cannot indeed make too large promises about the grace of God; but what is here reproved is the arrogant presumption of the flesh, for faith rather produces fear and anxiety.
The cock will not crow. As presumption and rashness proceed from ignorance of ourselves, Peter is blamed for pretending to be a valiant soldier while he is beyond arrow-shot; for he has not yet made trial of his strength, and imagines that he could do any thing. He was afterwards punished, as he deserved, for his arrogance. Let us learn to distrust our own strength, and to betake ourselves early to the Lord, that he may support us by his power.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(38) wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake?Comp. for this phrase Note on Joh. 10:11. The pronouns are emphatic, and there is a solemn emphasis in the repetition of what St. Peter had said. He was using words of which he knew not the full meaning. He spoke of laying down his life for his Lord. He would hereafter be able to follow, because his Lord would lay down His own life for him.
For the remainder of the verse, comp. Notes on Mat. 26:34; Mar. 14:30; and Luk. 22:34.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
38. Verily, I say unto thee Masterly indeed is the check which our Lord gives this forward disciple in thus prophetically opposing his fall to his high boast. But just as that boast was not insincere, so the fall was not final. Enough there was of a downfall to neutralize the pride; but his subsequent recovery evinced the earnestness of his profession.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
REFLECTIONS.
Reader! do not close your view of this most blessed Chapter, which unfolds so sweetly the heart of Christ to his people, and shews them that his whole heart towards them is love, before that you have begged also of God the Holy Ghost, who hath given the Church such a view of that love, that the Lord will cause all the gracious streams of it to flow from Christ’s heart into ours. Can the imagination form to itself anything more lovely, than thus to behold Christ encircled with his family, and forgetting his own personal concerns in the tremendous exercises both of soul and body the Lord had then to go through, and now opening before him, but yet in the midst of all, washing his disciples feet? Was there ever an instance of the kind heard of among the histories of the world for a Master to act thus towards his Servants? And here it was the Lord of heaven and earth performing the service to poor sinners? Wonder, O heavens, and be astonished, O earth, for the Lord hath done it!
But, dearest Jesus! wilt thou not in some measure, (as far as our poor short-sighted capacities can have any suitable apprehension of thy gracious design,) wilt thou not shew us of thy meaning? Was it as a parting act to say, when I am gone, as no opportunity can then occur of demonstrating by any such an outward act towards you, of what my inward affections are; I hereby shew you that I think no condescension too great to serve and bless my people? If I have washed your feet upon earth, fear not but that I will wash your souls from sin when I am in heaven. And though I am now going to my Father, and for a while ye will see me no more, let this shew you, that though my state is changed, yet not my nature. There, as well as here, I am the same Jesus. And though I am going to my Father, and to my redeemed gone before, nothing will lessen or remove my affection for my redeemed below. As oft as my Church calls to remembrance this act of mine, in washing my poor disciples’ feet, let such a love-token become, as among other designs which I have had in view in the doing it. I intended a palpable proof, that having loved my own which are in the world, I love them to the end! Precious Lord Jesus! may not thy redeemed venture to form such conclusions from this gracious act of thine, as if Jesus thus opened to us his heart. Think often of this, I pray the Reader, yea, the whole Church of God. May my poor soul think of nothing beside! And, oh! that God the Holy Ghost, the sweet Remembrancer of Jesus, may keep the thought warm in my heart, until the cold clay hand of death come upon me, and my soul escape from the prison of the body to enjoy the fruition of it forever.
And, oh! my honored Lord! let even the awful view of the traitor Judas, make my mercies infinitely more and more precious, from learning therefrom how distinguishing they are. Lord! it is all thy grace, it is all thy rich, free, sovereign mercy. Be it my daily delight to receive the whole, and every part of thy Church’s peace and safety, and happiness, to covenant love; and to ascribe the whole to the united grace of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, forever. Amen.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
38 Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.
Ver. 38. The cock shall not crow ] Christ mentioneth the cock, quia tam strenuum pugnatorem decebat tale praeconium. So, Rev 6:13 , pastors revolt, as green figs fall off, with no ado. In the Palatinate they fell to Popery as fast as leaves fall in autumn.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
38. ] The is not answered but Peter’s boast solemnly questioned. See a somewhat similar question, ch. Joh 1:51 . There was at the same time a startling inversion of the subsequent facts, in this boast; to which our Lord, I think, alludes in His question, . . ;
The . . necessarily implies, as it was night , [Matt., Mark], and binds the whole events of this chapter to ch. 18.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
John
QUO VADIS?
A RASH VOW
Joh 13:38
In the last sermon I partly considered the dialogue of which this is the concluding portion, and found that it consisted of an audacious question: ‘Why cannot I follow Thee now?’ which really meant a contradiction of our Lord; of a rash vow; ‘I will lay down my life for Thy sake’-and of a sad forecast: ‘The cock shall not crow till thou hast denied Me thrice.’ I paused in the middle of considering the second of these three stages, the rash vow. I then pointed out that, however ignorant the Apostle was of what ‘following Christ’ meant, he had hit the mark, and stumbled unknowingly upon the very essence of the Christian life, and an eternal truth, when he recognised that, somehow or other, to ‘follow Christ’ meant to die for Him. That is so, and is so always, for there is no following Christ which is not a ‘dying daily,’ by self-immolation and detachment from the world, and from the life of sense and self. But this rash vow has to be looked at from a somewhat different point of view, and we have to consider not only the strangely blended right and wrong, error and deep truth, that lie in its substance, but the strangely blended right and wrong in the state of feeling and thought, on the part of the Apostle, which it represents. And taking up the dropped thread, I first deal with that, and then with the sad forecast which follows.
So then, looking at these words as being like all our words, even the best of them, strangely mingled of right and wrong, good and evil, I find in them-
I. A noble, sincere, but transient emotion and impulse.
So the sincere, noble utterance was but the expression of impulse and emotion which lifted Peter for a moment, and did him good, but which likewise, running through him, left him dry, and all the weaker because of the gush of feeling which had foamed itself away in empty words. For let us never forget that however high, noble, or divinely inspired emotion may be, in its nature it is transient and is sure to be followed by reaction. Like the winter torrents in some parched land, the more they foam, the more speedily does the bed of them dry up again, and the more they carry down the very soil in which growth and fertility would be possible. A rush of feeling is apt to leave behind hard, insensitive rock. There is a close connection between a predominantly emotional Christianity and a very imperfect life. Feeling is apt to be a substitute for action. Is it not a very remarkable thing that the word ‘benevolence,’ which means ‘kindly feeling,’ has come to take on the meaning rightly belonging to ‘beneficence,’ which means ‘kindly doing’? The emotional man blinds and hoodwinks himself, by thinking that his quick sensibility and lofty enthusiasm and warmth of emotion are action or as good as action. ‘Be thou warmed and filled,’ he says to his brother, and, in a lazy expansion of heart, forgets that he has never lifted a finger to help.
God forbid that I should seem to deprecate emotional religion or religious emotion! that is the last thing that needs to be done in this generation. If the Churches want one thing more than another, it is that their Christianity should become far more emotional than it is, and their impulses stronger, swifter, more spontaneous, more overmastering, and that they should be urged by these, and not merely by the reluctant recognition that such and such a piece of sacrifice or effort is a debt that they are obliged to clear off. Their service will be glad service, only when it is impulsive service and emotional service. Dear brethren, a Christian man whose life is not influenced by the deepest and most fervid emotion of love to the great Love that died for him, is a monster. ‘The Lord’s fire is in Jerusalem, and His furnace in Zion’-is that a description of the fervour of this Church, or of any Church in Christendom? A furnace? An ice-house! Think of some deserted cottage, with the roof fallen in, and in the cold chimney-place a rusty grate with some dead embers in it, and the snow lying upon the top of it-that is a truer description of a great many of our churches than ‘the Lord’s furnace.’
But the lesson to be taken from this incident before us is not the danger of emotion; it is rather the necessity of emotion, but with two provisoes, that it shall be emotion based upon a clear recognition of the great truth that He has laid down His life for me; and that it shall be emotion harnessed to work, and not wasted in words. The mightier the plunge of the fall, the more electrical energy you can get out of it, and set that to work to drive the wheels of life. Do not be afraid of emotion; you will make little of your Christianity unless you have it. But be sure that it is under the guidance of a clear perception of the truth that evokes it, and that it is all used to turn the wheels of life. ‘Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.’ Better is it that emotion should be reticent and active than that it should be voluble and idle. It is a good servant, but a bad master. A man that trusts to impulse and emotion to further his Christian course, is like a ship in that belt of variable winds that lies near the Equator, where there will be a fine ten-knot breeze for an hour or two, and then a sickly, stagnating calm. Push further south, and get into the steady ‘trades,’ where the wind blows with equable and persistent force all the year round in the same direction. Convert impulses and emotions into steadfast principle, warmed by emotion and borne on by impulse.
II. Again, this rash vow is an illustration of a confidence, also strangely blended of good and evil.
The world and the Church hold entirely antagonistic notions about the value of self-reliance. The world says that it is a condition of power. The Church says that it is the root of weakness. Self-confidence shuts a man out from the help of God, and so shuts him out from the source of power. For if you will think for a moment, you will see that the faith which the New Testament, in conformity with all wise knowledge of one’s self, preaches as the one secret of power, has for its obverse-its other side-diffidence and self-distrust. No man trusts God as God ought to be trusted, who does not distrust himself as himself ought to be distrusted. To level a mountain is the only way to carry the water across where it stood. You can, by mechanism and locks, take a canal up to the top of a hill, but you cannot take a river up to the top, and the river of God’s help flows through the valley and seeks the lowest levels. Faith and self-despair are the upper and the under sides of the same thing, like some cunningly-woven cloth, the one side bearing a different pattern from the other, and yet made of the same yarn, and the same threads passing from the upper to the under sides. So faith and self-distrust are but two names for one composite whole.
I was once shown an old Jewish coin which had on the one side the words ‘sackcloth and ashes,’ and on the other side the words ‘a crown of gold.’ The coin meant to contrast what Israel had been with what Israel then was. The crown had come first; the sackcloth and ashes last. But we may use it for illustrating this point, on which I am now dwelling. Wherever, and only where, there are the sackcloth and ashes of self-despair there will be the crown of gold of an answering faith. When thus, as Wesley has it, in his great hymn: ‘Confident in self-despair,’ we cling to God, then we can say: ‘When I am weak then am I strong,’ ‘Behold! we have no might, but our eyes are upon Thee.’ If Peter had only said, ‘By Thy help I will lay down my life for Thy sake,’ his confidence would have been reasonable and blessed self-confidence, because it would have been confidence in a self inspired by divine power.
And so, brethren, whilst utter diffidence is right for us, and is the condition of all our reception of energy according to our need, the most absolute confidence-a confidence which, to the eye of the man that measures only visible things, will seem sheer insanity-is sobriety for a Christian. The world is perfectly right when it says: ‘If you believe you can do a thing, you have gone a long way towards doing it.’ The expectation of success has often the knack of fulfilling itself. But the world does not know our secret, and our secret is that our humble faith brings into the field the reserves with the Captain of our salvation at their head. Therefore a self-distrusting Christian can say, and say without exaggeration or presumption, ‘I can do all things in Christ, strengthening me from within.’
The Church’s ideals are possibilities, when you bring God into the account, and they look like insanity when you do not. Take, for instance, missions. What an absurdity to talk about a handful of Christian people-for we are only a handful as compared with the whole world-carrying their Gospel into every corner of the earth, and finding everywhere a response to it. Yes; it is absurd; but, wise Mr. Calculator, counter of heads, you have forgotten God in your estimate of whether it is reasonable or unreasonable. Again, take the Christian ideal of absolute perfection of character. ‘What nonsense to talk as if any man could ever come to that.’ Yes!-as if any man could come to that, I grant you. But if God is with him, the nonsense is to suppose that he will not come to it. Here is a row of cyphers as long as your arm. They mean nothing. Put a 1 at the left-hand end of the row; and what does it mean then? So the faith that brings Christ into the life, and into the Church, makes ‘nobodies’ into mighty men-’laughs at impossibilities, and cries, It shall be done!’
Still further, here, in this rash vow, we have an underestimate of difficulties. There was another incident in the life of the Apostle, a strange replica of this one, into which he pushed himself, just as he did into the high priest’s hall, partly out of curiosity and a wish to be prominent; partly out of love to his Master. Without a moment’s consideration of the peril into which he was thrusting himself, he sat in the boat, and said, ‘Bid me come to Thee on the water.’ He forgot that He was heavy, and that water was not solid, and that the wind was high and the lake rough, and when he put his foot over the side and felt the cold waves creeping up his knees, his courage ebbed out with his faith, and he began to sink. Then he cried, ‘Lord! help me!’ If he had thought for a moment of the reality of the case, he would have sat still in the boat. If he had thought of what would be in his way in following Jesus to death, he would have hesitated to vow. But it is so much easier to resolve heroisms in a quiet corner than to do them when the strain comes, and it is so much easier to do some one great thing that has in it enthusiasm and nobility, and conspicuousness of sacrifice, especially if it can be got over in a moment, like having one’s head cut off with an axe, than it is to ‘die daily.’ Ah! brethren, it is the little difficulties that make the difficulty. You read in the newspapers in the autumn, every now and then, of trains, in that wonderful country across the water, being stopped by caterpillars. The Christian train is stopped by an army of caterpillars, far oftener than it is by some solid and towering barrier. Our Christian lives are a great deal likelier to come to failure, because we do not take into account the multiplied small antagonisms than because we are not ready to face the greater ones. What would you think of a bridge builder, who built a bridge across some mountain torrent and made no allowance for freshets and floods when the ice melted? His bridge and his piers would be gone the first winter. You remember who it was that said that he went into the Franco-German War ‘with a light heart,’ and in seven weeks came Sedan and the dethronement of an Emperor, and the surrender of an army. ‘Blessed is he that feareth always.’ There is no more fatal error than an underestimate of our difficulties.
III. Let me say a word about the sad forecast here.
Now, dear brethren, I suppose we are all of us more or less movers in circles in which it sometimes is not considered ‘good form’ to show that we are Christian people. You young men in your warehouses, you students at the University, where it is a sign of being ‘fossils’ and ‘behind the times’ and ‘not up to date’ to say ‘I am a Christian,’ and all of us in our several places have sometimes to gather our courage together, and not be afraid to declare whose we are. No doubt life is a better witness than words, but no doubt also life is not so good a witness as it might be, unless it sometimes has the commentary of words as well. Thus, to confess Christ means two things; to say sometimes-in the face of a smile of scorn, which is often harder to bear than something much more dangerous-’I am His,’ and to live Christ, and to say by conduct ‘I am His,’ ‘Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him will I also confess before My Father, and whosoever shall deny Me, him will I also deny.’ Do not button your coats over your uniform. Do not take the cockade out of your hats when you go amongst ‘the other side.’ Live Jesus, and, when advisable, preach Jesus.
But Peter’s fall, which is typical of what we are all tempted to do, has in it a gracious message; for it proclaims the possibility of recovery from any depth of descent, and of coming back again from any distance of wandering. Did you ever notice how Peter’s fall was burnt in upon his memory, so as that when he began to preach after Pentecost, the shape that his indictment of his hearers takes is, ‘Ye denied the Holy One and the Just,’ and how, long after-if the second Epistle which goes by his name is his-in summing up the crimes of the heretics whom he is branding, he speaks of their ‘denying the Lord that bought them.’ He never forgot his denial, and it remained with him as the expression for all that was wrong in a man’s relation to Jesus Christ. And I suppose not only was it burnt in upon his memory, but it burnt out all his self-confidence.
It is beautiful to see how, in his letter, he speaks over and over again of ‘fear’ as being a wise temper of mind for a Christian. As George Herbert has it, ‘A sad, wise valour is the true complexion.’ Thus the man that had been so confident in himself learned to say ‘Be ready to give to every man that asketh you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.’
And do you not think that his fall drew him closer to Jesus Christ than ever he had been before, as he learned more of His pardoning love and mercy? Was he not nearer the Lord on that morning when the two together, alone, talked after the Resurrection? Was he not nearer Him when he struggled to his feet from the boat on the lake, on that morning when he was received back into his office as Christ’s Apostle? Did he ever forget how he had sinned? Did he ever forget how Christ had pardoned? Did he ever forget how Christ loved and would keep him? Ah, no! The rope that is broken is strongest where it is spliced, not because it was broken, but because a cunning hand has strengthened it. We may be the stronger for our sins, not because sin strengthens, for it weakens, but because God restores. It is possible that we may build a fairer structure on the ruins of our old selves. It is possible that we may turn every field of defeat into a field of victory. It is possible that we may
‘Fall to rise; be beaten, to fight better.’ If only we cling to the Lord our Strength, the promise shall be ours-whatever our failures, denials, backslidings, inconsistencies- ‘though he fall he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholdeth him with His hand.’
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
answered him. All the texts read, “answereth”. The = A.
not = by no means. Greek. ou me. App-105.
crow. Greek. phoneo. Same word as in Joh 13:13.
denied = utterly denied (Greek. aparneumai), always of denying a person, as in Mat 26:84, Mat 26:35, Mat 26:75. Mar 14:30, Mar 14:31, Mar 14:72. Luk 22:34 Luk 22:61; but L T Tr. A WH R read arneomai, the milder
form, without the intensive prefix.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
38.] The is not answered-but Peters boast solemnly questioned. See a somewhat similar question, ch. Joh 1:51. There was at the same time a startling inversion of the subsequent facts, in this boast; to which our Lord, I think, alludes in His question,-. . ;
The . . necessarily implies, as it was night, [Matt., Mark],-and binds the whole events of this chapter to ch. 18.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 13:38. , thou shall have denied Me) owing to cowardice. So far are you from being ready to die. The threefold denial was thrice foretold: first in this passage; next, as recorded in Luke; lastly, in Matthew and Mark. There is a wonderful connection of the first verse of the following chapter with this prediction. For He most sweetly replies to the question that had gone before, as to whither He is going, although Peter, and the rest of the disciples with him, were at the time so exceedingly weak and wavering.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 13:38
Joh 13:38
Jesus answereth, Wilt thou lay down thy life for me? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.-John refers to but one cock crowing. The other writers refer to two. There are two times for cock-crowing. At midnight the cock crows, but only a little. At three oclock in the morning the principal cock-crowing takes place. When only one is spoken of as the cock-crowing, the three oclock, when the chief crowing occurs, is meant. When two are spoken of, both the twelve oclock crowing and the main one at three oclock are referred to. When Jesus said to Peter, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice, he meant before the second or time for the main crowing, or as we would say, Before three oclock you will deny me. When John says, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice, he means the chief crowing of the cock will not take place till thou hast denied me thrice. Both mean you will deny me before three oclock. [The Lord reveals to him his weakness. It was then night. Before the cock shall crow for the dawn of the next morning he will have thrice denied his Lord. For the fulfillment of this prediction, see Luk 22:54-60. Peter had bravely attempted to defend his Master with a sword when the company came, led by Judas, but when Christ was led away, he followed afar off. His courage was departing. First, in the hall of the high priest, he denied to the maidservant that he knew Christ, then a little while later he denied to another. About an hour later another said, Of a truth this man also was with him; for he is a Galilean. And Peter denied with oaths, declaring. Man, I know not what thou sayest. Just then the cock crowed for the approach of day.]
Questions on John Chapter Thirteen
E.M. Zerr
1. What hour was at hand?
2. It was before what feast?
3. Where did Jesus expect to go from this world?
4. Describe his love for his own.
5. What was taking place among them?
6. Ten what the devil had done.
7. What did Jesus know?
8. What articles did he procure?
9. From what did he arise to do this?
10. What did he now begin to do?
11. To which apostle does he come?
12. What did he observe Jesus doing?
13. And yet what did he not know?
14. Why did he protest?
15. How did he explain himself?
16. Who was not to benefit by this washing?
17. After the washing what did Jesus resume?
18. Repeat the lesson he gave from the washing.
19. What spirit was it meant to teach?
20. Tell how they might be made happy.
21. Whose heel was to be lifted against Jesus?
22. Why did he foretell it to the disciples?
23. What two must be received together?
24. State the feeling of Jesus now.
25. What did he say?
26. Tell what the disciples then did.
27. What was their feeling?
28. Tell what one of them was doing.
29. What is said of him and Jesus?
30. State the request Peter made to him.
31. How did Jesus answer?
32. To whom did the answer apply?
33. What did Jesus bid him do?
34. How was this misunderstood?
35. Why did Judas leave the group?
36. What announcement did Jesus then make?
37. Who was to be glorified?
38. How long was he to be with the children?
39. State the prediction he made to them.
40. Why was this to be so?
41. What new commandment did he give them?
42. To what example did he refer?
43. How would this affect others?
44. What question did Peter ask?
45. He was told he could not do what?
46. When could he do so?
47. What indicated his impatience?
48. Tell what rash statement he made.
49. What was it supposed to accomplish?
50. Repeat the prediction Jesus made.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Wilt: Pro 16:18, Pro 28:26, Pro 29:23, 1Co 10:12
The cock: Joh 18:16, Joh 18:17, Joh 18:25-27, Mat 26:34, Mat 26:69-75, Mar 14:30, Mar 14:66-72, Luk 22:34, Luk 22:56-62
Reciprocal: Mat 5:18 – verily Mat 26:75 – remembered Mar 14:18 – Verily Luk 22:61 – Before Joh 1:51 – Verily Joh 16:31 – Do Joh 18:27 – and Joh 21:17 – the third Act 11:10 – three
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
8
This prediction of Jesus is recorded in Mat 26:34; Mar 14:30, and Luk 22:34. In some of the passages the prediction includes a few more details than the present one. There is a special feature of the fulfillment in Luk 22:61.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.
[The cock shall not crow.] We must not understand this as if the cock should not crow at all before Peter had denied Christ thrice: this had not been true, because the cock had crowed twice before Peter had denied him. But we must understand it, The cock shall not have finished his crowing, etc. Nor indeed was that time above half over before Peter had denied his Master.
The Jewish doctors distinguished the cockcrowing into the first, second, and third. The first they call the cockcrowing. The second, when he repeats it. The third, when he does it a third time. The distinction also amongst other nations is not unknown. When the time indeed was near, and the very night wherein this was to happen, then Christ saith, This very night the cock shall not crow his second time; etc. But here, two days before this night, he only saith, The cock shall not crow; that is, shall not have done all his crowing, before thou deny me. And thus our Saviour meets with the arrogance of Peter, foretelling him that he should not have the courage he so confidently assumed to himself, but should within the time and space of cockcrowing deny him thrice.
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Joh 13:38. Jesus answereth, Wilt thou lay down thy life for me? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow till thou hast denied me thrice. For a similar repetition of Peters own words in the answer of Jesus, comp. chap. Joh 21:17 and the commentary. The words of Jesus fix with solemn emphasis His disciples attention on what He Himself had said.
Before we pass on, it may be well to ask at what point in these chapters we are to place the institution of the Supper. The point has been very variously fixed: at the beginning of chap, 13, at the end of chap. 14, at the end of chap, 13, between Joh 13:30-31, Joh 13:32-33, in the midst of Joh 13:34 of the present chapter, but these suppositions are attended with more or less improbability. We have already seen (in Joh 13:26) that the feast, with the institution of which the Supper was most closely connected, was then beginning; but that there is reason to think that Judas did not actually partake of it. If so, the natural inference is that it was completed between Joh 13:30-31, immediately after the traitor had gone out. The objection to this view, that the words of Joh 13:31 follow too closely upon Joh 13:30 to permit us to think that time was occupied between the two verses, is less weighty than at first appears. The words would follow with great appropriateness the giving of the cup which was the new covenant in the blood of Jesus; and the word therefore of Joh 13:31 does not necessarily imply that Jesus spoke at that moment, but only that the thoughts awakened by the departure of Judas must have remained in all their freshness when Joh 13:31 was uttered. This they would do even although the giving of the cup intervened, because that cup expressed in the most solemn form the exclusive intimacy of communion which now existed between Jesus and His disciples, and the existence of which is presupposed in Joh 13:34-36. If this explanation is not accepted, there seems no valid reason why the institution should not be placed between Joh 13:35-36. The latter of these need not follow the former at once. The words I go away (Joh 13:33), once uttered, would linger in the minds of those present as the one thought demanding explanation; and This do in remembrance of me would deepen it.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 38
The cock shall not crow. Mark 14:30; Luke 22:34 say before the cock crow twice. The meaning of both expressions is simply as if he had said, “Thou shalt deny me thrice before the morning.”