Bible Study series: John 13:36-38. Peter’s boast was deflated. But Jesus was right.
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Let’s begin.
Scripture: John 13:36-38
36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus replied to him, “Where I go you cannot follow me now, but you will follow later.” 37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why do you say that I am cannot follow you now? I will lay down my life for you!” 38 Jesus replied, “Will you lay down your life for me? I tell you the firm truth: A rooster will not crow until you have denied me three times.” (John 13:36-38)
Comments:
36-38:
Peter carries on the conversation from the previous pericope (pronounced puh-RIH-koh-pea) or section or unit of Scripture.
In v. 33, I quote Luke 18, which indicates that the disciples were confused about his crucifixion.
His super-self-confidence does not match his soul, his inner makeup, his mind’s constitution. He will strike off the high priest’s servant Malchus’s ear (John 18:10), so his mind was almost there. He almost was willing to lay down his life for him, or maybe he was willing, so his intentions and words are not completely false, but Jesus had other plans for him—to be the leader of the church.
Then Jesus makes the sad prediction about Peter’s denial (John 18:15-18; 25-27). I can tell you right now that we will make an attempt to reconcile the four Gospel accounts about Peter’s three denials in relation to the timing of rooster crowing, but the attempt will be brief and simple. Why? It just does not matter in the bigger picture, whether the threes denial happened before, during, or after a rooster’s one or two crows. We understand the essence of the story and lesson to be learned. Essence: Peter denied the Lord during Jesus’s arrest and trials (of sorts). Lesson: would we deny the Lord in difficult circumstances?
“Sadly, good intentions in a secure room after good food are far less attractive in a darkened garden with a hostile mob. At this point in his pilgrimage Peter’s intentions and self-assessment vastly outstrip his strength” (Carson, comment on vv. 36-38).
“I tell you the firm truth”: see v. 16 for more comments.
The firm truth was that Peter was not ready to die for him at that moment. He was over-confident.
The rooster crowed about 13:20 a.m., 1:30 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. The Romans have the term cockcrow to the watching between midnight and about 3:00 a.m. (Bruce and Carson, comments on v. 38).
GrowApp for John 13:36-38
1. Study James 4:10. Has God ever had to humble you in your super-confidence and bold boasting? How did God lift up Peter, later on?
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SOURCES
For the bibliography, click on this link and scroll down to the very bottom:
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 