When discussing the action of the Apostle Peter, who denied Christ three times and then repented, it is important to remember that God allows every person to change his decisions. Always humbly awaits what the final choice will be when the time comes to make it. For many who surrounded Jesus during his years on earth, this time came shortly before his crucifixion. At that moment, everyone faced a difficult dilemma: whether he was ready to stay with the Savior or go over to the side of his opponents.
Content
This work is a translation of the preaching works of St. Gennady II (George) Scholarius (c. 1400–1472, his memory is celebrated by the Greek Church on August 31), Patriarch of Constantinople, disciple and spiritual son of St. Mark of Ephesus, one of the most remarkable Orthodox theologians, “the last the luminous reflection of wondrous Byzantium,” according to the translator of his sermons, Archim Ambrose (Pogodin) The sermons (omilia, words) of St. Gennady are, in essence, treatises on various theological topics, be they dogmatic or moral in nature.
All these sermons belong to his “selected” works, and the great saint himself chose them and rewrote them in his own hand. In the “Addendum” to the book a detailed study of Archimandrites is published. Ambrose (Pogodin) on the history of the formation of the dogma of the Atonement and its perception in the Western and Eastern Churches.
A. Letter from Monk Lawrence to Patriarch Gennady
Most Holy and Divine Patriarch, for me in the Lord a divinely inspired ruler, boss and father, I pray to the all-good God that your great shrine prospers and remains in good health and is in spiritual and physical joy. My lord, although I am far away, I always have your greatest shrine in my heart and I make your memory a holiday, and there is not a day when the sweetness of your memory is not like a holiday for me; I pray for you, pray for me, the indecent one, so that the Lord will have mercy on me, the wretched one. So, reading the Holy Gospel, I found the expression that after Peter denied (Christ on the night of His betrayal), he “went out, weeping bitterly.” And I said to myself: what were the words that he spoke, mourning his deed, so that I would mourn my soul, because every day with my evil deeds I (as it were) renounce Christ? “Therefore, I turn to you and pray to your great saint, according to the wisdom given to you by God, to take the trouble and write to me what tear-filled words the wisest Peter could probably have spoken then, how he expressed his grief, what thoughts gave rise to his burning contrition,” so that I too may be motivated to mourn (my sins), because I have become completely hard-hearted and incapable of contrition. And do not hesitate to give me at length his expressions of grief, so that, although late and with difficulty, you will crush my insensitive soul, and thereby receive a reward from God, and from me - prayer and gratitude.
Being the last among the clergy and your lowest son, Lawrence.
Jesus told the disciples about the betrayal, but they didn't take it seriously
On the day of unleavened bread (Maundy Thursday), the Teacher gathered all 12 disciples to taste the Passover with them for the last time before suffering. The Savior gave them the last instructions and told them about communion
“Jesus took the bread, blessed it, and broke it,
gave it to them and said: Take, eat; this is My Body.
And he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them: and they all drank from it.
And he said to them: This is My Blood of the New Testament,
poured out for many.”
(EM 14:22-24)
Christ's last supper with his disciples was called the Last Supper. "The Last Supper" by Leonardo da Vinci
During the meal, the Teacher predicted his betrayal by one of his students. It was about Judas, although his name was not mentioned. Christ remarked:
“Nevertheless, the Son of Man walks according to his destiny, but woe to the man by whom He is betrayed.”
(Matt. 14:21)
He also predicted the renunciation of the disciples. Peter objected:
“If everyone is tempted, but not I.” To which Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow until you have denied Me three times.”
(Job 13:38)
The Apostle did not believe it; his love for the Teacher was too great.
Why did Christ easily forgive the Apostle Peter for his threefold denial?
Peter's forgiveness is the main meaning of the New Testament: the Lord forgives us, and through this forgiveness we find the path to Salvation.
One can only guess about the degree of mental confusion that took possession of Peter when, before his eyes, the one whom he sincerely believed 3 years before these events was captured, arrested, then punished and executed, and whom he blindly followed everywhere during these three years in the confidence that before him is the Messiah, who came to save Israel from the invaders - the Romans.
And what - Christ turned out to be an ordinary mortal. Three years have been erased from my life. Peter not only followed Christ, he also tried to convert others to the faith. How can one not renounce... The one who, it seemed, should not have been overcome by the gates of hell, was shamefully captured and punished like a common criminal. Wouldn't you renounce? Would you persist in a faith that was shattered before your eyes in just a few hours? Both scary and ashamed.
And so Christ rose again and appeared to Peter. He does not demand explanations, justifications, or repentance from Peter for his denial. He does not reproach him for anything - He only asks Peter three times if he loves Him. So, Lord, answers Peter, I love you! You know everything!
Only now does the true plan of the Almighty unfold before the apostle in its entirety - death is defeated, the path to Salvation is open. And this path passes through love, faith and forgiveness. Only now does Peter begin to understand the meaning of Christ’s actions and words during his earthly ministry. It is not the Romans that must be defeated and expelled, but the evil within oneself must be defeated. This is why the Lord came to our world, and not for the sake of expelling the Romans from Israel. To love and forgive – this is what the Lord is all about.
Christ answered Peter with simple words: follow Me. Forgiveness is sincere, loving and does not require anything in return. Spiritually resurrected and renewed, Peter begins his new path - to bring the Word to the Jews. Around this time, a similar transformation occurs with Paul, whom the Lord forgives for reprisals against Christians, and who begins his journey among the pagans. Both, according to legend, will complete this journey later, in the same year and almost on the same day in Rome, where, following the example of Christ, they will accept martyrdom for the Word.
Do we have the right to accuse Peter of denying Christ? No, because we ourselves, despite the example of Peter, betray Christ every day - with unrighteous deeds and thoughts
We humans are the source of evil in this world. We do evil without noticing it, in big and small ways, and we always justify ourselves in everything. Evil for evil - insult for insult, anger for anger, insult for insult, revenge for revenge. We hate each other, measure out our love to our neighbors in strict doses and demand rewards for it, gloat, remember all other people’s sins and mistakes, and plan revenge.
Hitler was consumed by hatred and inspired him to kill tens of millions of people. In the name of a bright and peaceful future, Lenin unleashed a massacre. For the sake of the common good, Robespierre shed rivers of blood. This is when it's big. But evil is committed every day and in small ways. It is accomplished not by itself, but by each of us.
Forgiveness counters evil. That's why Peter was forgiven. This is why we can all be forgiven.
The Lord forgives us - even more so, we must forgive and love each other and every day reduce the territory of evil in ourselves and around us, stick to the light, avoid darkness.
For Catholics and Protestants, tomorrow night is Christmas Eve, and Monday is the first day of Christmas. Orthodox Christians will celebrate it in a couple of weeks.
These days the Lord appeared into the world - remember this.
Peter
One of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ and the pillars of the Jerusalem church. The New Testament contains two letters of Peter. Presumably, the Gospel of Mark was written according to information that Mark received from the apostle. Peter was one of the first to preach Christ to the pagans, but was largely considered the apostle of the Jews.
Calling of Peter
The future apostle received the name “Peter” from the Lord. Before meeting Christ his name was Simon. Together with his brother Andrey, he was a fisherman. We also know from Scripture that he was married and had a home in Capernaum.
And he came to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the Sabbath days... Leaving the synagogue, He entered the house of Simon; Simonov's mother-in-law was possessed by a strong fever; and asked Him for her (Gospel of Luke 4:31, 38)
Simon learned about Jesus from Andrew. When they meet, the Lord calls him Peter, which translated from Greek means “stone.” Later this name was assigned to the apostle.
Peter's final calling took place on the shores of Lake Gennesaret. Together with other fishermen, he worked all night, but did not catch anything. The Lord told them to swim out into the deep water and cast their nets again. When they did this, they caught so many fish that the net could barely hold it.
This miracle impressed Peter and other fishermen, among whom were Peter's companions James and John Zebedee. Christ told him:
…don't be afraid; From now on you will catch men (Gospel of Luke 5:10)
After this, Peter and his comrades leave their craft and become disciples of Jesus and His companions.
Discipleship
Among his disciples, Peter was apparently considered a leader. Thus, his name comes first in the list of apostles. He also spoke on behalf of all of them. Look at the following Scriptures.
The names of the twelve Apostles are these: the first Simon, called Peter... (Gospel of Matthew 10:2)
Then Peter answered and said to Him: Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what will happen to us? (Gospel of Matthew 19:27)
Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Will you also go away?” Simon Peter answered Him: Lord! who should we go to? You have the words of eternal life (Gospel of John 6:67-68)
Peter, James and John were especially close to the Lord. For example, it was them that Jesus took to the mountain and was transfigured before them; in another case, when the Lord resurrected a girl, he did not allow anyone to be in the room except them.
You are Christ
One of the key moments in Peter's story is the revelation of who Jesus really was.
One day Jesus asked the disciples who people thought He was. There were different rumors about Him among the people. Some considered Him a prophet, others considered Him the resurrected John the Baptist. Then the Lord asked who the disciples themselves thought Him to be. Peter replied:
...You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God (Gospel of Matthew 16:16)
To which the Lord said to Peter:
...blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven (Gospel of Matthew 16:17)
Peter's mistakes
All this does not mean that Peter was an ideal student and did not make mistakes. On the contrary, the Bible gives reason to believe that his actions were often dictated by emotions rather than reason, and his statements were thoughtless. This is clearly demonstrated by the story of walking on water.
When Peter saw Jesus walking towards them on the water, he turned to Him.
Peter answered Him: Lord! If it is You, command me to come to You on the water. He said: go. And, getting out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to approach Jesus, but, seeing a strong wind, he was afraid and, beginning to drown, cried out: Lord! save me. Jesus immediately stretched out his hand, supported him and said to him: you of little faith! why did you doubt? (Gospel of Matthew 14:28-31)
This kind of behavior was typical of Peter. He was ready to rush forward with ardor, but did not always finish what he started. Once Christ even said that Satan spoke through the mouth of Peter.
...Peter, having called Him away, began to rebuke Him. He, turning and looking at His disciples, rebuked Peter, saying: Get behind Me, Satan, because you think not about the things of God, but about the things of men (Gospel of Mark 8:32-33)
Despite Peter's immaturity and mistakes, the Lord continued to work on his character until he truly became a rock—a solid and solid leader in the early church. However, Peter had to learn a painful lesson first.
Renunciation
A few hours before his arrest, Christ warns the apostles that they will all be tempted that night. Peter claims that even if everyone is tempted, he will never be. A dialogue takes place between him and the Lord.
Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Peter said to Him: Even though I had to die with You, I will not deny You. All the disciples said the same thing (Gospel of Matthew 26:34-35)
Peter arrogantly believed that he was truly willing to die for Jesus. However, a few hours later, he claims three times that he does not know Him. This happened in the courtyard of the high priest's house, where Peter secretly followed Jesus' convoy.
Peter's act is often compared to the betrayal of Judas. However, there is a fundamental difference between them. Judas hatched his plan and betrayed Christ on purpose. Holy Scripture characterizes him as a man who loved money. For money, he committed betrayal.
Peter did not betray Christ, but denied, saying that he did not know Him. This happened spontaneously due to fear. He didn't think this through in advance. On the contrary, as we have already seen, he was confident to the end that he would be able to follow the Lord even to death.
After the resurrection, Christ appeared to Peter and entrusted him with shepherding His sheep. It was significant that before this the Lord asked the apostle three times whether he loved Him. Renunciation and subsequent forgiveness changed Peter. He lost his self-confidence and became more balanced.
Role in the early church
In the Acts of the Apostles we see Peter as the leader of the church. He preached the gospel to the people. On the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples, Peter preached his famous sermon, after which three thousand people believed and joined the church.
Through the hands of Peter, God performed great miracles. One of these was the healing of a man lame from birth, after which Peter for the first time ends up in the Sanhedrin, where he and the other apostles are forbidden to preach about Jesus. However, he, along with John, boldly answers the religious leaders:
...judge whether it is right before God to listen to you more than to listen to God? We cannot help but say what we have seen and heard (Acts of the Apostles 4:19,20)
Peter was one of the first to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. This happened when God called him to go to the Roman centurion Cornelius. The Apostle preached Christ to him and his family, after which the Holy Spirit descended on them.
Peter's visit to the home of a pagan sparked a debate in the early church, which was brought to an end by the apostle's account of Cornelius' visit. The believers reasoned: if God gave the Holy Spirit to the pagans, then salvation belongs to them too. This marked the beginning of the mission of preaching the gospel throughout the world.
Peter is later arrested. He faces execution. However, God miraculously frees him by sending an angel. After this, Peter leaves Jerusalem.
Conflict with Paul
Arriving in Antioch, Peter communicated with Christian converts from the pagans and ate with them. However, when Jacob's messengers arrived, he began to avoid those with whom he associated. The reason for this behavior was the issue of circumcision and compliance with other norms of the Law of Moses. At that time, the church had not yet decided whether this was obligatory for non-Jewish believers.
Paul openly criticized Peter's behavior. Subsequent events and Peter's speech at the council of the apostles show that Peter accepted the conviction, and mutual understanding was restored between the apostles.
Paul wrote about this situation in Galatians.
When Peter came to Antioch, I personally confronted him because he was being criticized. For before the arrival of some from Jacob, he ate with the Gentiles; and when they arrived, he began to hide and withdraw, fearing those who were circumcised. Along with him, the other Jews also acted hypocrites, so that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not directly acting on the truth of the Gospel, I said to Peter in front of everyone: if you, being a Jew, live like a pagan, and not like a Jew, then why do you force the pagans to live like a Jew? (Galatians 2:11-14)
Death
The Apostle Peter apparently spent the end of his life in Rome. There he wrote his letters to the churches. Some researchers believe that he was Bishop of Rome for 25 years. However, there is no basis in Scripture for such a claim.
The Gospels record a prediction of his martyrdom made by Christ Himself:
Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself and went where you wanted; and when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and lead you where you do not want to go. He said this, making it clear by what death Peter would glorify God... (Gospel of John 21:18-19)
However, nowhere in the New Testament is there an account of Peter's death. There are only legends about this.
Bottom line
The story of Peter is a vivid example of how a meeting with Christ changes a person’s destiny. An ordinary fisherman became an apostle and pastor of the first church. Lay the foundation for spreading the gospel throughout the world. His letters to churches are read two millennia later. Peter truly became a spiritual stone in God's economy.
The story of Peter is described in the Gospels and the Book of Acts of the Apostles.
V. Patriarch Gennady’s response to monk Lawrence
The least Gennady Scholarius, to the most honest and reverend among the holy monks and spiritual fathers, Lawrence, who lives in the monastery of Dionysius on Holy Athos - rejoice in the Lord.
Most honorable and reverend father and brother in Christ, having received your letter, in which you honored me with an assignment so that, in some assumption and outline, we would tell you the lamentable lamentation of blessed Peter, the leading figure of the apostles, I immediately, for good reasons, declined to fulfill your request , of which the most respectful reasons for moving away from this topic was that for anyone who would try to portray this deplorable lamentation and repentance in the then single fall of renunciation, it is necessary to be not completely far from the state of Peter’s soul and mind; we are so far from him that it is impossible to express it, therefore we do not know how to grieve regarding our many sins, and we do not grieve, but lead a careless life, completely not knowing the benefit that comes from tears - and (this is) the answer to your You have a demand sent to you through our brother Akaki, a sacred and God-loving soul. But now, prompted by a different consideration, we fulfill your desire; because avoidance (from writing on this topic) had to be recognized and observed, but obedience should not be completely neglected. Based on this, we are sending you this essay, in which, in accordance with your request, having studied the situation as far as possible, we present to you our assumption: what words could the blessed and leading figure of the apostles Peter say to himself, weeping bitterly after his third denial; You, in virtue of the fulfillment of your request, in return give us a warm and constant prayer, stemming from love for our Lord Jesus Christ, so that, by granting us true repentance, contrition and grief, He may, through His sole love for mankind, resolve the guilt of the many and great sins I have committed, with which we have bound ourselves, doing so on the basis of His greatest mercy to us, as His gift to us. We hope that the great Foundation of the Church will contribute to your prayers for us: because he knows that, despite the fact that we are sinners, we always highly honor with great reverence and admiration his very superior virtue and faith, and in imitation of his Christ, his efforts to save the world, and the abundance of Heavenly gifts on him. Let's repent!
We recommend studying Psalm 69
Theological interpretations
Peter's denial and his associated mental anguish are reflected in theological interpretations. Describing Peter’s arrival at the house of the high priest, Lopukhin’s Explanatory Bible, even before the start of consideration of the event of abdication, raises the question of the apostle’s state of mind:
Theophylact of Bulgaria dwells in detail on the interpretation of the image of the maid who tried to incriminate Peter: “ Peter is exposed by the maid, that is, by human weakness, by a base thing and befitting slaves.”
"
The rooster that brought the apostle to his senses, according to Theophylact, is “ the word of Christ, which does not allow us to relax and sleep, but says: “Wake” and “Rise to sleep
.”
Peter leaves the high priest's courtyard in tears
Evangelists place the scene of Peter's denial in different ways in the context of the events of the Sanhedrin court. Forecasters put the story about all three renunciations without intervals (only Luke says that about an hour passed between the second and third renunciation - Luke). At the same time, the Evangelist Luke places the renunciation before the condemnation of Christ at the trial of the high priest, and Mark - after the condemnation. Luke's version is stated to be more reliable:
Why did Peter deny Christ?
“They took Him (Jesus) and led him away and brought him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed from afar. When they had lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down between them. One maid, seeing him sitting by the fire and looking at him, said: “This one was with Him too.” But he denied Him, saying to the woman, “I don’t know Him.” (Luke 22:54-57) Luke showed us three things that led Peter to deny Jesus Christ. But let's take things in order. First, the answer to the question why the Apostle Peter denied Christ. Maybe Peter denied Christ out of fear for his life? No, Luke doesn’t say anything about this, but the Apostle John emphasized in his Gospel that when the high priests took Jesus, they released His disciples: “Jesus answered: I told you that it was I; So, if you are looking for Me, leave them, let them go, so that the word spoken by Him may be fulfilled: of those whom You gave Me, I have not destroyed any. (John 18:8,9).” So, it was not out of fear for his life that Peter denied Jesus Christ. The Holy Scriptures mention Peter’s response to Jesus Christ’s warning that on this night all the disciples would deny Him: “Peter answered and said to Him, Even if all are offended because of You, I will never be offended. (Matt. 26:33).” In response to his self-confident statement, Jesus retorted: “Truly I tell you, this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times. (Matt. 26:34).” But then Peter did not believe the words of the Lord, for he thought that he knew himself well, and was confident in his faithfulness and steadfastness. But it happened, as Christ predicted... So, the first and, perhaps, main reason why Peter renounced Christ is his self-confidence. But this is not the only reason, and in order to answer it, we need to examine why Peter denied his Teacher.
The fact that it is not for the sake of preserving life - I have already found out above. So for what then? Is it really just to stay in the courtyard of the high priest, closer to Jesus, and also to sit by the fire? As paradoxical as it may sound, there were no other reasons. It’s hard to believe that a person who strives for Jesus Christ with all his heart can renounce Him in order to... stay closer to Him. But a fact is a fact. It’s hard to believe that a person who a few hours ago risked his life defending his Teacher can renounce Him in order to... sit by the fire. But this is also a fact. Or maybe this behavior is characteristic of all, or almost all people? Remember Esau, who renounced his birthright for a cup of lentil stew - did he not know the material and moral privileges of the birthright? Of course I did. What about Esau, remember the prophet of God, Jonah, who was upset to death because the plant in whose shade he was sitting withered - weren’t his words a momentary emotion, putting the price of his life below the price of a bush of some grass? Unfortunately, it is common for all of us to get carried away by a momentary goal and forget about the global, the most important thing in life. And the Apostle Peter is no exception - after all, at that moment he really wanted to be closer to Jesus and wanted to rest at least a little, to warm up after the worries and worries about the future. I agree with those who argue that it is difficult, and probably impossible, to evaluate the whole gamut of emotions and motives that prompted the Apostle Peter to say the words of renunciation. But I’m not talking about all the motives for Peter’s action, but only about two aspects. When my son and I discussed this topic the next day, another detail was noticed. Now, if Peter had been brought before the Sanhedrin and forced to publicly deny and condemn Jesus Christ, we were both convinced that he would not have done this. The Apostle Peter would rather choose death than such renunciation. And in that situation, the words were thrown at him in front of some unfamiliar servant, words - as Peter thought, meaning nothing. And only then did it dawn on him that he was responsible before God for every word he said.
I tried to understand the reasons for Peter’s behavior not in order to justify him to you, dear readers, and certainly not in order to condemn the Apostle of God, but so that, having understood how dangerous a lack of attention to your words can be, you will not fell into a similar sin. So that, having now learned with your mind what self-confidence and carelessness in words lead to, over time you will gain spiritual experience and wisdom. So, 1. do not be overconfident, do not think that you know yourself; 2. while focusing on the immediate task at hand, do not forget about the main thing; 3. There are no irresponsible, unimportant cases when it comes to confessing Jesus Christ.
“And he went out and wept bitterly.” (Luke 22:62) Why did Peter cry? “He cried because he saw in his inner man the ability to betray, and, moreover, to betray even his loved ones, the people dearest to him. He wept bitterly because he realized that he did not live up to the title of a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Buying land from a potter with money abandoned by Judas
Despite all their depravity, they still recognized it as impossible to use this instrument of vile bribery in favor of the temple, because this is the price of blood (
Mf. 27:6), and therefore they bought a plot of land from a certain potter for the burial of strangers. And for a long time this land was called the land of blood.
The evangelist adds to his narrative that in all this the prediction of the prophet Jeremiah came true. In fact, it was not Jeremiah, but Zechariah who said: And they will weigh out thirty pieces of silver as payment for me.
.
And the Lord said to me: throw them into the church storehouse - the high price at which they valued Me!
And I took thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter (Zech. 11:12-13). It is believed that the indication of Jeremiah instead of Zechariah is a consequence of a copyist’s error, while in the most ancient copies a reference was made to Zechariah.
Peter's denial
Meanwhile, while the trial of Jesus was taking place, Peter, having probably come with John from the house of Annas to the house of Caiaphas, sat in the courtyard of this house, trying to give himself the appearance of a stranger who had come to the noise out of sheer curiosity. Caiaphas' servants often entered and left the courtroom, reporting to those sitting in the courtyard everything that was happening there. Peter was probably very worried, listening to their stories, and thus discovered that it was not just idle curiosity that attracted him here. Noticing his concern, one of the maids approached him and asked: “ You must have been with Jesus the Galilean.”
(Matthew 26:69
),
why do you listen so much to everything they say about Him?”
Peter had not yet had time to answer, when one of the servants of the high priest, a relative of Malchus, whose ear Peter cut off, peering at Peter, said: Was it not I who saw you with Him in the garden
?
Peter was confused and said: I don’t know and don’t understand what you are saying (
Mk
.
14, 68). With these words, he stood up and headed towards the exit, into the front yard; and as he approached the gate, the rooster crowed.
The prediction of Jesus about the denial of Peter is conveyed by all the Evangelists in complete agreement; but Matthew, Luke and John say nothing about how many times the rooster crowed when Peter denied Jesus three times; Mark, who wrote his Gospel from the words of Peter and, therefore, knew the details of this sad event better than other Evangelists, conveys the prediction of Jesus in these words: Verily I say to you, that today, this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times
(Mark 14:30). Therefore, Evangelist Mark, narrating about Peter’s denial, notes the detail that after the first denial in the courtyard of Caiaphas, the rooster crowed for the first time, and after the third – for the second time. Of course, this detail, which is of significant importance, could not be forgotten by Peter.
So, Peter has already denied Christ once; and immediately, as if to remind him of Jesus’ prediction and to warn him of further denials, the first midnight crow of the rooster was heard
But Peter, apparently, did not pay attention to this warning, since immediately, as he left the gate, another maid approached him and, drawing the attention of the people standing at the gate to him, said: “And this one was with Jesus of Nazareth” (Matthew 26, 71). All those present turned to Peter with searching gazes; he could not stand them; fear overwhelmed him, and he not only denied Jesus a second time, but even with an oath began to assure everyone that he did not know This Man (Matthew 26:72); he didn't even call Him by name
Probably, Peter’s oaths had an effect on his accusers: they left him alone, and after some time, carried away by a passionate desire to know what was happening to his Teacher, he again entered the courtyard and sat down by the fire. According to the legend of the Evangelist Luke, about an hour passed
(Luke 22:59) after the second renunciation;
according to the Evangelists Matthew (Matthew 26:73) and Mark (Mark 14:70), a little later
his third renunciation began.
Peter, as a native and resident of Galilee, spoke the Galilean dialect, which differed sharply in its rudeness and incorrect pronunciation of some sounds and even entire words from the Aramaic dialect in which the inhabitants of Judea spoke at that time.
All the servants of the high priest who were sitting around the fire were talking, of course, about Jesus and probably repeating the opinion instilled in them earlier by their master that the Messiah should come from Bethlehem, and not from Nazareth of Galilee, and that Jesus, as a Galilean, could not even be a prophet. Speaking about Galilee, they could not help but pay attention to Peter, who with his dialect clearly presented himself as a Galilean; They remembered the previously excited suspicion that he was not a disciple of Jesus, and began to say to him: “Although you swore that you did not know this Man, now we guess that you are one of His disciples, for by your speech it is clear that you are a Galilean.”
Fear again attacked Peter, and he began to swear and swear
, saying:
I do not know this Man of whom you speak
(Mark 14:71).
By this time, the trial of Jesus had already ended, and He was taken out of the judgment seat into the courtyard. Immediately the rooster crowed a second time, and Christ looked at Peter. It was then that Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to Him: Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.
(Mark 14:72); he went out and wept bitterly.
Saint Clement, a disciple of the Apostle Peter, testifies that throughout his entire subsequent life, Peter fell on his face at the crow of the rooster at night, tearfully repented of his renunciation and asked for forgiveness, although he had already received it from Jesus Christ Himself shortly after His Resurrection.
We recommend studying Psalm 135
Peter shed tears in repentance; but how hard it was for Jesus to see the best of the remaining eleven disciples swearing that he did not know This Man
who are afraid to even mention His name! The cup of mental anguish overflowed.
Easter meal
Photo: Orthodoxchurch.ru
Everyone remembers well the words of Jesus spoken before the end of the Passover meal in the Garden of Gethsemane. With sadness, Christ said that one of his disciples, who was now sitting at the same table with him, would betray him. The apostles were embarrassed, since they all felt that they sincerely loved their Teacher. At the same time, each of them feared that they might not be able to restrain themselves, having committed something irreparable.
One after another, the disciples began to ask the Savior if they would be this traitor. Only Peter, who was convinced of his faith, did not ask anything, declaring that he would never be tempted. In response, Christ said that this was not so, and he would renounce him three times that same night.
You might be interested in:
| 1. Words on the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Gennady II Scholarius, Patriarch of Constantinople |
| 2. Eulogies on the day of the Holy First Martyr Stephen - St. Asterius of Amasia |
| 3. Word on the Position and Worship of the All-Reverend and Honorable Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary - St. German, Patriarch of Constantinople |
| 4. The strongest apology against attacks on his scroll is His Holiness Gregory II of Cyprus, Patriarch of Constantinople |
| 5. A word about the myrrh-bearing women and about the Divine Body of the Sepulcher of our Lord Jesus Christ and about Joseph of Arimathea and on the three-day Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ - St. Gregory of Antioch |
| 6. Homily on Holy Thursday – St. Gregory of Kiev (Tsamblak) |
| 7. Dispute between a Catholic and an Arian - St. Gregory of Tours |
| 8. Eulogy in honor of the first martyr and deacon Saint Stephen - Saint Gregory the Wonderworker, Bishop of Neocaesarea |
| 9. Fragment with questions and answers about the birth of the Son of God from the Father - Hieromartyr Dionysius of Alexandria |
| 10. Apology of the Council of Chalcedon and the Tomos of Saint Leo - St. Ephraim of Antioch |
You might be interested in:
| 1. Collection of articles on interpretative and edifying reading of the Four Gospels. Volume I – Selected interpretations from the works of Sts. Fathers on the 11th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew - Matvey Vasilievich Barsov |
| 2. Interpretation of the Gospel of John – Chapter 16 – Professor Alexander Pavlovich Lopukhin |
| 3. Interpretation of the Gospel of John – Chapter 18 – Bishop Michael (Luzin) |
| 4. Interpretation of the Gospel of Luke – Chapter 13 – Archpriest John Bukharev |
| 5. Interpretation of the Gospel of John – Book Nine – St. Cyril of Alexandria |
| 6. Interpretation of the Gospel according to Matthew - Chapter XVII - Venerable Jerome the Blessed, Stridonsky |
| 7. Interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew – Chapter 28 – Righteous John of Kronstadt |
| 8. Interpretation of the Gospel of John – Chapter XXI – Euthymios Zigavinos (Zigaben) |
| 9. Gospel story, compiled in the words of St. Evangelists: Boris Ilyich Gladkov |
| 10. Gospel of John. Historical and theological commentary – Chapter 8 – Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev) |
About the sorrowful experiences that gripped the Apostle Peter after his denial of Christ1
The following essay by Saint Gennady is not a sermon, but a reflection and expression of the bitter feelings that gripped the Apostle Peter after, on the night when the Savior gave Himself up to death for the redemption of the human race, he denied Him three times. With bitter feelings about his action, with repentance for his sin, the Apostle Peter does not lose hope that the Lord will forgive him. This work is, according to the publishers’ definition, “uvres complétes”, “prosopopoeia”, i.e. a personification, a famous monologue inserted into the mouth of the Apostle Peter. The Greek Holy Fathers inherited prosopopoeia (personification) from the theatrical and poetic creativity of the Greek classics. We often find this literary form in St. John Chrysostom, in St. Roman the Sweet Singer, in St. Sophronius of Jerusalem, at St. Gregory Palamas and other authors, and especially the authors of poets of liturgical texts; An example of the same personification is the work of St. Gennady given below.
This work is preceded by a letter from the Athonite monk Lawrence to Patriarch Gennady, and then a response to him. It would be a waste of time to present the contents of these letters, because the reader can easily become familiar with these two brief documents himself.
In spirit, the following essay by St. Gennady is reminiscent of the kontakion of St. Roman the Sweet Singer on the abdication of the Apostle Peter. For the sake of comparison with the work of Scholarius, we present this kontakion as an addition immediately after his prosopopoeia.
Peter served Jesus all his life, trying to atone for his sin
The teacher predicted the denial of the Apostle Peter. After the resurrection, he forgave the student. But Peter could not forgive himself. Every time he heard the rooster crow in the morning, the man cried bitterly. He carried pain and shame in his heart throughout his earthly life.
One day after the resurrection, the Savior appeared to the disciples on the seashore. He called Peter to him
“Simon Ionin! Do you love Me more than they?
Peter says to Him: Yes, Lord! You know I love you.
Jesus says to him: Feed my lambs. Another time he says to him: Simon the Jonah! do you love me?
Peter says to Him: Yes, Lord! You know I love you.
Jesus says to him: Feed My sheep. He says to him for the third time: Simon the Jonah! do you love me?
Peter was saddened that he asked him for the third time: Do you love Me? and said to Him: Lord!
You know everything; You know I love you.
Jesus says to him: Feed My sheep."
(Job 21:15-17)
Peter followed the Teacher's instructions. He sowed the word of God in Britain, Carthage, Egypt, Greece, Spain. In the name of Christ He healed the sick and performed miracles.
Upon returning to Rome, he was captured for spreading the faith. They wanted to crucify the Apostle just like the Teacher. But the man, remembering his act, knowing the greatness of the Savior, said that he was not worthy of such a death.
The Apostle Peter was crucified on the cross upside down.
Peter's betrayal was not intentional. He would not have influenced the events of that terrible day. But having given his life then, the apostle would not have been able to spread the Word of God, and would not have fulfilled the mission prepared for him by the Almighty.
Why did Peter deny Jesus Christ?
Photo: Pravmir.ru It may seem that the renunciation was almost accidental, becoming a momentary weakness.
Or Peter’s natural instinct of self-preservation kicked in. At the same time, it is undeniable that the renunciation took place; the leader among Jesus’ disciples, at least for a few minutes, admitted that at that moment it was worth giving up his connection with Christ, at least in the minds of those around him. This is a serious crime against the love that binds people together. Peter almost immediately repented of what he had done. But repentance took time, since it presupposed changes in actions. Peter did not go to Golgotha, where only John is among the apostles. It is not known what he did on Saturday, when the body of the Savior rested in the tomb.
But it is well known that, as soon as he heard about the disappearance of the body, he was among the first to arrive at the burial place. This haste became one of the clearest signs of repentance. Peter did not allow himself to sit at home, immediately going to the place where until recently there had been guards who could well have arrested the followers of the executed prophet.
Teacher's arrest
Photo: Elitsy.ru
Next came prayer and the subsequent arrest of Jesus following the denunciation of Judas. When Christ was sent to the high priest Annas, only two of the apostles followed him. These were Peter and John.
John made his way into the house, and Peter remained outside, going to the fire. Suddenly the maid recognized him, saying: “This is one of his students.” Then Peter denied for the first time. Then another woman also exclaimed that he was one of the followers of the arrested prophet. Again Peter stated that he did not even know this man.
Several more people began to claim that Peter was a disciple of Jesus, noting his Galilean accent. For the third time, Peter denied. Only at that moment did I understand the full depth of my mistake, the sin I had committed. I remembered the words of Christ that he would deny three times before the rooster crows, and immediately heard the rooster crow. Dawn began, only a few hours remained before the execution of the Savior.
Peter did not know what to do, repenting of what he had done. He was a leader among the disciples of Christ. He was already an adult who spent most of his life doing physical labor, never before thinking about moral values. He always believed that he was doing the right thing, and he would continue to do so. However, even his devotion and love for the Savior were vulnerable.
Mockery of Jesus
The embittered world now begins to torture the body of the divine Sufferer. While the members of the Sanhedrin were resting in their homes awaiting the morning meeting, Jesus was kept in the courtyard of Caiaphas, guarded by guards and bound. He did not arouse in anyone any compassion or even pity for Himself; these feelings were alien to the petrified hearts of the slaves and servants of the high priest. A bad feeling nests in the corrupted human heart: the desire to insult, and more powerfully, someone who was once strong, but has now become defenseless. Driven by this feeling, the crowd that now surrounded Jesus began to mock Him. The authorities declared Him a false messiah, guilty of death, and probably hinted to their servants that they could not be shy with such a Man. This was enough to give free rein to the feelings of the brutal crowd. They began to beat Jesus; They covered His face with a veil and, hitting His cheek, asked: “Find out who hit You?” The Messiah had to know everything, and if Jesus is the Messiah, then, according to His torturers, He must know every time who hit Him. But Christ was silent, and this silence gave some reason to treat Him as a false messiah, with the usual expression of extreme contempt among Jews: they began to spit in His face. And many other blasphemies were uttered against Him
(Luke 22:65).
Christ resignedly endured all these insults and tortures and, perhaps, silently prayed for those around Him now, as He will pray for His crucifiers: Father!
forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:24).
The appearance of Judas, his repentance and death
But before they had time to leave the courtroom, Judas the traitor entered. At the sight of Jesus condemned and bound, repentance began to torment him, and he solemnly declared to the high priests and elders: I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.
(Matt. 27:4).
It would seem that Judas' repentance should have touched the judges and proved to them their miscarriage of justice in the sentence just pronounced; in fact, they fully agree with Judas that they intend to shed innocent
, they hurried to spill it as quickly as possible;
and therefore, having overcome the involuntary embarrassment of such an unexpected declaration by a traitor of the innocence of the One whom they unanimously condemned, they answered Judas with cold contempt: “What do we care about your sin? you have sinned, you will have to answer. What do we care about that?
see for yourself (Matthew 27:4).”
Judas could have thrown himself at the feet of Jesus and with tears begged for forgiveness of his grave sin, and probably All-forgiving Love would have forgiven the sincerely repentant. But either Jesus had already been taken away from the judgment seat before the arrival of Judas, or Judas did not dare to pray for the forgiveness of the One Whom he had treacherously handed over to his enemies - be that as it may, Judas limited himself to offering repentance only to the high priests and other members of the Sanhedrin. He hoped to receive from them at least the slightest relief from his despair and to influence the judicial conscience in the sense of immediately canceling the sentence just announced; but he did not achieve his goal: he did not shake the force of the sentence at all, but he himself was contemptuously and coldly rejected. Not knowing what to do, what to decide on, he remembers the thirty pieces of silver he received and throws them to the high priests, while he himself runs away from the court, finds no peace anywhere from remorse and commits suicide: he hanged himself, hanged himself. From the book of the Acts of the Apostles, written by the Evangelist Luke, we know that the dead body of Judas fell and fell, and his belly split open and all his entrails fell out.
(Acts 1:18).
We advise you to study Prayers for bad sleep
Evangelist Matthew does not explain exactly where Judas entered to express his repentance; but since he begins the story of this after the story of the end of the trial of Jesus, and begins with his words - then Judas...
. - then with high probability we can believe that Judas entered the very court and at that very time when the Sanhedrin was still there. At other times, when the chief priests and elders were distracted by the trial of Pilate and Herod, as well as the crucifixion of Jesus, Judas could hardly bring his repentance to them.
But where did Judas throw the silver pieces? Evangelist Matthew says that in the temple
(Matt. 27:5).
There is no doubt that he had to abandon them in the same place where his repentance was so coldly rejected; It wasn’t in the temple that he repented? After all, there was no one there at that time, except for the regular priests; all the high priests were busy with the trial, and he repented precisely before the high priests. And since the Sanhedrin met in one of the temple buildings, and all the temple buildings, porches and courtyards were called by the general name of the temple,
we can assume that throwing silver pieces in one of the temple buildings meant the same thing as throwing them in the temple.
On the other hand, if we compare the words of the verse of the 3rd chapter of the 27th Gospel of Matthew - and, having repented, returned the thirty pieces of silver
- with the words of the 5th verse of the same chapter -
and, throwing away the pieces of silver in the temple
- then we can make the assumption that that the pieces of silver returned by Judas were not accepted from him in the hall of the Sanhedrin, and therefore Judas went up to the temple itself and threw them into it. Be that as it may, the high priests picked up the abandoned pieces of silver and then, at their leisure, discussed the question of what to do with them.
Insulting Jesus by Anna's Servant
Anna realized that no other answer could have been expected and would probably have stopped the interrogation, but his servant, who was standing right there, found in this answer something disrespectful to such an important person as the former high priest, and, wanting to show special zeal for his master, he struck Jesus on the cheek and said boldly: Is this how you answer the high priest?
If Jesus had suffered this insult in silence, they might have thought that He would have recognized it as deserved; An overly zealous servant would have been especially proud of such tacit approval of his action. Therefore, in order to stop evil at its very beginning, in order to make the servant feel the full weight of his sin, Jesus conquers evil with a good word. " If I said something bad
“, He says, turning to His offender, “
then show what is bad
, point out what exactly in my answer to the high priest you consider bad;
and if
I said
well
, then
why
are
you beating Me
? (John 18:23).”
Finding it useless to continue interrogating Jesus, Annas sent Him bound to the real high priest, his son-in-law Caiaphas.
Death of Judas
Judas realized what he had done, but it was too late. He returned the 30 pieces of silver to the high priests. In response, he received contempt and ridicule. Unable to change anything, the traitor fell into despair. Is it possible to imagine the mental pain of a person who betrayed God?
The former student realized that this cannot be forgiven. Could he forgive himself? Under the influence of the unclean, Judas commits one more, final sin. A man commits suicide by hanging himself from a fig tree. “It is better for this man not to be born,” Jesus said about the traitor.
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