“Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.””
“After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.” Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.”
- Peter had told Jesus earlier that he would never deny Him. What caused Peter to deny Jesus, even though he was adamant that it would never happen? Verse 58 tells us: “And Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with the guards to see the end.”. Following Jesus at a distance will lead to denial. The greater the separation, the less the association.