Mark 14:69

69. Now Peter was sitting without in the court. And a maid cam to him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus the Galilean. 70. But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. 71. And as he was going out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said to those who were there, This man also was with Jesus the Nazarene. 72. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. 73. After a little came those who were standing by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thou are convicted by thy speech. 74. Then he began to curse and to swear, that he did not know the man. And immediately the cock crew. 75. And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, who had told him, Before the cock crow, thou wilt thrice deny me. And he went out, and wept bitterly. 66. And while Peter was below in the court, one of the maids of the high priest came; 67. And when she saw peter warming himself, she looked at him, and said, Thou also wast with Jesus the Nazarene. 68. But he denied, saying, I know him not, nor do I understand what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch, and the cock crew. 69. And the maid, when she saw him again, began to say to those that stood by, This is one of them 70. But he denied it again. And a little after, those that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them; for thou art also a Galilean, and thy speech agreeth with it. 71. But he began to curse and to swear, (saying) I know not that man of whom you speak. 72. And the second time the cock crew; and Peter remembered the word which Jesus had spoken to him, Before the cock crow twice, thou wilt thrice deny me; and he began to weep. [235]

14:66-72 Peter's denying Christ began by keeping at a distance from him. Those that are shy of godliness, are far in the way to deny Christ. Those who think it dangerous to be in company with Christ's disciples, because thence they may be drawn in to suffer for him, will find it much more dangerous to be in company with his enemies, because there they may be drawn in to sin against him. When Christ was admired and flocked after, Peter readily owned him; but will own no relation to him now he is deserted and despised. Yet observe, Peter's repentance was very speedy. Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall; and let him that has fallen think of these things, and of his own offences, and return to the Lord with weeping and supplication, seeking forgiveness, and to be raised up by the Holy Spirit.

And a maid saw him again,.... Either the same maid, so the Syriac and Persic versions read, "that maid": that selfsame maid, as before, or another, as in Matthew 26:71 , and so the Arabic version reads it here; but the Ethiopic as before "a daughter"; that is, of the high priest: and began to say to them that stood by; the fire, along with Peter, warming themselves: this is one of them; this man is one of the disciples and followers of Jesus of Nazareth; he is of that sect, he certainly belongs to them, and is come here only as a spy.

Mark 14:69 . Ἡ παιδίσκη , the maid [not as Engl. Ver. [6] maid]) That same maid: or else a second one, so that the πάλιν , again , may be connected with the participle alone, ἰδοῦσα , having seen him.[7]— τοῖς παρεστηκόσιν , to them that stood by ) She said it then in the spirit of joking, not with intent to hurt him [Comp. note on Matthew 26:69 ].— ἐξ αὐτῶν , of them ) The expression, of them , shows, that speaking against Jesus and His disciples was most common and frequent. [6] Vercellensis of the old ‘Itala,’ or Latin Version before Jerome’s, probably made in Africa, in the second century: the Gospels. [7] Tischend. omits πάλιν with B, Memph. and Theb. But Lachm. reads it with A D ac Vulg.—ED. and TRANSL. Mark 14:69

Mark 14:69 . ἡ παιδίσκη : the article naturally suggests that it is the same maid, and probably but for harmonistic interests there would have been no doubt on the subject. Yet the fact that Mt. makes it another obliges us to ask whether Mk.’s expression necessarily means the same person. Grotius, whom Rosenmüller follows, says ἡ may here, as occasionally elsewhere = τις . Of more weight is the suggestion that it means the maid on duty in that particular place, the forecourt (Schanz and Klostermann; the remarks of the latter specially worthy of notice). On first thoughts one might deem πάλιν decisive as to identity, but (1) it is wanting in [140], and (2) its most probable position is just before λέγειν , and the meaning, that Peter was a second time spoken to (or at) on the subject of his connection with Jesus, not that the same person spoke in both cases. On the whole a certain element of doubt remains, which cannot be eliminated by exegetical considerations. In favour of one maid is the consideration that two able to recognise Peter is more unlikely than one. Yet the two might be together when they saw Peter previously, or the one might point him out to the other that night. In Mt.’s narrative the standers-by seem also to have independent knowledge of Peter. In Mk. the maid gives them information.

On the whole, Mk., as was to be expected, gives the clearer picture of the scene.— τοῖς παρεστῶσιν , to those standing by; pointing to Peter, and speaking so that he could hear. [140] Codex Vaticanus (sæc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889 under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.

69 . a maid saw him again ] Recognised at the porch, Peter seems to have returned once more towards the fire, and was conversing in his rough Galilean dialect with the soldiers and servants when, alter the lapse of an hour, another maid approached. to them that stood by ] On this occasion she addressed herself to the bystanders, amongst whom was a kinsman of Malchus ( John 18:26 ).

And {q} a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. (q) If we carefully compare the evangelists together we will perceive that Peter was known by many through the maiden's report: furthermore, when the second denial is spoken of in Luke, there is a man servant mentioned and not a maid.

69. And a maid saw him again—or, "a girl." It might be rendered "the girl"; but this would not necessarily mean the same one as before, but might, and probably does, mean just the female who had charge of the door or gate near which Peter now was. Accordingly, in Mt 26:71, she is expressly called "another [maid]." But in Luke (Lu 22:58) it is a male servant: "And after a little while [from the time of the first denial] another"—that is, as the word signifies, "another male" servant. But there is no real difficulty, as the challenge, probably, after being made by one was reiterated by another. Accordingly, in John (Joh 18:25), it is, "They said therefore unto him, &c.—as if more than one challenged him at once. and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them—or, as in Mt 26:71—"This [fellow] was also with Jesus the Nazarene."