Mark 14:31

Mar_14:31

I will not deny Thee in any wise.

Peters denial of Christ

I. We may learn from this transaction not to be too forward in our professions, or too confident in our own strength, lest confidence should at last increase the guilt and shame of failure; and in the event of nonperformance, our professions be turned to our reproach. The chief of the apostles mistook the firmness of his own spirit. In the day of peace it is easy to form good resolutions, and to be confident that we shall perform them. To resolve in private and act in public are very different things, requiring very different degrees of firmness, both in exerting the powers of the understanding and in regulating the affections of the heart. Rash resolutions are foolish, and rash vows cannot be innocent. Yet our weakness is itself the decisive proof that vows and resolutions ought to be made. But let them be made as reason and duty require-deliberately not ostentatiously; not so much to be heard as to be kept; not so much to man as to God.

II. To hope the best, and to depend the most upon those whose tempers are not so warm and forward, but mild, and cool, and firm. In St. John we find no forward professions, no hasty declarations of invincible spirit. He was firm and faithful, but meek and unoffending. His zeal united gentleness. Zeal should be with moderation. The passions must not rule the conduct. The feelings of a good man are ruled by his religion. Every thought should be brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Without such guidance feeling is bold, forward, and capricious, liable to error, and will involve us in sin; but conviction and principle are steady and permanent; truth and right are forever the same.

III. That if we be surprised into any failure in our duty we may be forgiven upon repentance and reformation. But this great privilege must not be allowed to relax our care, or encourage our presumption. St. Peter delayed his repentance only till he knew his fault. Hand-in-hand with conviction came contrition. (W. Barrow, LL. D.)

Peter and the rest

The text shows St. Peter exercising the supreme influence.

I. Here is Peters undoubted supremacy. History circles around great names. Men are not all original. The apostles could not do without Peter.

II. This supremacy was intellectual, moral, spiritual; not economical, legal, or merely official. His supremacy rose out of qualification. There are no spiritual leaderships which can be irrespective of character. A true man must always influence others powerfully.

III. The value of such characters as that of Peter in the Church. Each age needs men who can call onward and upward because they are beyond and above.

IV. Here is noble purpose and noble feeling coming short in action. The sequel is, they all forsook Him and fled. Not even the grandest human inspirations have staying virtues in them. These must be sought from the Holy Spirit. (The Preachers Monthly.)

Presumption

I stand on a mountain in Colorado six thousand feet high. There is a man standing beneath me who says: I see a peculiar shelving to this rock, and he bends towards it. I say: Stop, you will fall. He says: No danger; I have a steady head and foot, and see a peculiar piece of moss. I say: Stand back; but he says: I am not afraid; and he bends farther and farther, and after a while his head whirls and his feet slip-and the eagles know not that it is the macerated flesh of a man they are picking at, but it is. So I have seen men come to the very verge of New York life, and they look away down in it. They say: Dont be cowardly. Let us go down. They look farther and farther. I warn them to stand back; but Satan comes behind them, and while they are swinging over the verge, pushes them off. People say they were naturally bad. They were not! They were only engaged in exploration. (Dr. Talmage.)

Fatal presumption

The present Eddystone Lighthouse stands very firmly, but that was not the character of the first structure that stood on that dangerous point. There was an eccentric man by the name of Henry Winstanly, who built a very fantastic lighthouse at that point in 1696, and when it was nearly done he felt so confident that it was strong, that he expressed the wish that he might be in it in the roughest hurricane that ever blew in the face of heaven. And he got his wish. One November night, in 1703, he and his workmen were in that light house when there came down the most raging tempest that has ever been known in that region. On the following morning the people came down to see about the lighthouse. Not a vestige of the wall, not a vestige of the men. Only two twisted iron bolts, showing where the lighthouse had stood. So there are men building up their fantastic hopes, and plans, and enterprises, and expectations, thinking they will stand forever, saying: We dont want any of the defences of the gospel. We can stand for ourselves. We are not afraid. We take all the risks and we defy everything; and suddenly the Lord blows upon them and they are gone. Only two things left-a grave and a lost soul. (Dr. Talmage.)

Accumulated sin

Peter, instead of being humbled and made self-distrustful by our Lords warning, as he ought to have been, only heaps up more sin against himself by persisting in contradicting the Lord. Let us take note from this that the child of God, through strength of his corruption, may fall often into the same sin, notwithstanding good means against it.

1. It is a very hard thing to lead people out of themselves. Almost nothing but experience of former falls brings them to see their folly.

2. Till their mind is changed their action will be the same.

3. Weakness of grace causes even the best to fall over and over again into the same sins.

4. The same reason remains still which may move the Lord to leave His children to themselves; to try, excite, humble them, work more serious sorrow, make them more watchful, etc. (Dr. Thomas Taylor.)

Repetition strengthens

Every repetition of sin makes sin the stronger; for as the body, the more it is nourished and fed, the stronger it grows, so with sin in the soul; every new act is an addition of strength till it comes to a habit. Pluck up a twig, then, before it grows up into a plant. Dash out the brains of every sin in infancy. (Dr. Thomas Taylor.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mar 14:31. Ἐκ περισσοῦ μᾶλλον, the rather, the more exceedingly). Comp. ch. Mar 7:36, note. Peter, in this passage, rather (μᾶλλον) spake of his own stedfastness, than trusted [believed] in the words of Jesus.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mar 14:31 . ἐκπερισσῶς , abundantly in matter and manner, with vehemence and iteration; a ἅπαξ λεγ . ἐλάλει , kept saying: that he would not deny his Master even if he had to die for it. ὡσαύτως , a stronger word than Mt.’s ὁμοίως = in the same way, and probably in the same words. But the words of the others were simply a faint echo of Peter’s vehement and copious talk. They feebly said once ( ἔλεγον = εἶπον ) what he said strongly again and again ( ἐλάλει ).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That doubling of words, setteth out more plainly Peter’s vehement affirmation.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(31) He spake the more vehemently.—The Greek tense implies frequent and continuous speaking.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

31. If I should] Literally, If it be necessary for me to die with Thee; as Wyclif renders it, “if it bihoue me to dye to gidere with thee.” After this the Lord engaged in earnest conversation with His Apostles, not as at the ordinary Passover on the great events of the Exodus, but on His own approaching departure to the Father and the coming of the Comforter (Joh_14:1-31); of Himself as the true Vine and His disciples as the branches (Joh_15:1-6); of the trials which the Apostles must expect and the assured aid of the Comforter (John 16); and at the close lifting up His eyes to heaven solemnly committed them to the care of the Eternal Father, and dedicated to Him His completed work (John 17). Then the concluding part of the Hallel (Psalms 115-118) was sung, i. e. chanted, and the little company went forth into the darkness towards the Mount of Olives. A perusal of these Psalms will reveal their appropriateness to this solemn occasion.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they came to a place which is named Gethsemane,.... At the foot of the Mount of Olives, where the olives, which grew in great plenty on the mount, were pressed: and where our Lord began to be bruised, for our sins:

and be saith to his disciples: to eight of them:

sit ye here while I shall pray; at some distance from hence; See Gill on Mat 26:36.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

26 And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.

27 And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.

28 But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.

29 But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.

30 And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.

31 But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all.

Ver. 31. I will not deny thee] The Syriac addeth Mari, that is, Domine mi, my God. And this he affirmed, magis ex abundanti. So did Pendleton the apostate, when he said to Sanders the martyr, with greatest vehemence, I will see the uttermost drop of this grease of mine molten away, and the last gobbet of this flesh consumed to ashes, before I will forsake God and his truth. (Acts and Mon.)

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But he spake exeseding vehemently (ekperisswv elalei), If I must die with thee (ean me der), I will not deny thee. The right reading (elalei , imperfect) implies that he kept asserting over and over again. He was, no doubt, sincere in all this, but he had vet to learn his own weakness. St. Hilary says on this, "Peter was so carried away by the fervor of his zeal and love for Christ, that he regarded neither the weakness of his own flesh nor the truth of his Master"s word."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

31. [3172][3173][3174][3175][3176] omit μᾶλλον after ἐλάλει ([3177][3178][3179][3180][3172] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911.

[3173] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent., but perhaps a little later than א. In the Vatican Library almost since its foundation by Pope Nicolas V., and one of its greatest treasures. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1889.

[3174] Codex Ephraemi. 5th cent. A palimpsest: the original writing has been partially rubbed out, and the works of Ephraem the Syrian have been written over it; but a great deal of the original writing has been recovered; of Mark we have Mar 1:17 to Mar 6:31, Mar 8:5 to Mar 12:29, Mar 13:19 to Mar 16:20. In the National Library at Paris.

[3175] Codex Bezae. 6th cent. Has a Latin translation (d) side by side with the Greek text, and the two do not quite always agree. Presented by Beza to the University Library of Cambridge in 1581. Remarkable for its frequent divergences from other texts. Contains Mark, except Mar 16:15-20, which has been added by a later hand. Photographic facsimile, 1899.

[3176] Codex Regius. 8th cent. An important witness. At Paris. Contains Mar 1:1 to Mar 10:15; Mar 10:30 to Mar 15:1; Mar 15:20 to Mar 16:20, but the shorter ending is inserted between Mar 16:8 and Mar 16:9, showing that the scribe preferred it to the longer one.

[3177] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911.

[3178] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent., but perhaps a little later than א. In the Vatican Library almost since its foundation by Pope Nicolas V., and one of its greatest treasures. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1889.

[3179] Codex Bezae. 6th cent. Has a Latin translation (d) side by side with the Greek text, and the two do not quite always agree. Presented by Beza to the University Library of Cambridge in 1581. Remarkable for its frequent divergences from other texts. Contains Mark, except Mar 16:15-20, which has been added by a later hand. Photographic facsimile, 1899.

[3180] odex Regius. 8th cent. An important witness. At Paris. Contains Mar 1:1 to Mar 10:15; Mar 10:30 to Mar 15:1; Mar 15:20 to Mar 16:20, but the shorter ending is inserted between Mar 16:8 and Mar 16:9, showing that the scribe preferred it to the longer one.

31. ἐκπερισσῶς ἐλάλει. Peter is not silenced, but continues (imperf.) to protest vehemently (ἐκπ. here only in N.T.) that not even the fear of death would induce him to deny his Master. In his vehemence he does not see that he is charging Christ with uttering false predictions.

πάντες ἔλεγον. Here again the imperf. is in place; one after another they echoed Peter’s protestations. As often, Mt. prefers an aor. Neither Lk. nor Jn mentions this.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

31.] ἐκπερισσῶς ἐλάλει, went on repeating superabundantly: the ἐλάλει giving Peter’s continued and excessive iteration, the ἔλεγον following expressing merely the one, or, at all events, less frequent saying of the same by the rest. The reading ἔλεγεν has apparently been a correction, λαλεῖν signifying to speak and not to say, and its peculiar fitness here being missed.

οὐ μή with fut. indic. makes the certainty of the assertion doubly sure. The E. V. attempts to represent this by adding “in any wise.” We sometimes give the same effect by substituting the objective future for the subjective, “I never shall deny thee.”

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

31. ὁ δὲ ἐκπερισσῶς ἐλάλει—But he spoke with utter vehemence. περισσῶς by itself means inordinately, and is used of anything that exceeds bounds. ἐκ adds to it the sense completely, utterly.1

ἐκπερισσῶς, instead of ἐκ περισσοῦ, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. א BCD 56, 58, 61. ἐλάλει, instead of ἔλεγε, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. א BDL, mss. Lat. Vet. Vulg. Omit μάλλον, more, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. א BCDL, mss. Lat. Vet. Vulg. Egyptt. Harcl.

ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ πάντες ἔλεγον—and so said also all. Peter, according to this, did not occupy a singular position, but simply took his place of leader and spokesman, speaking out what was in the minds of all, to which they all assented.

THE AGONY IN GETHSEMANE

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I will not deny [ου μη σε απαρνησομαι] . The double negative with the future forms the strongest possible assertion.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.