Matthew 26:73-75 (NASBStr)
A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Surely you too are one of them; for even the way you talk gives you away.” Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, “ Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.
What does denial and betrayal look like? Before Jesus was to be crucified He told the disciples they would all deny Him. Peter, the ever flamboyant and self-appointed spokesmen for the group, openly proclaimed he would NEVER deny Jesus. Note his own words he said to Jesus just before they went to the Garden to pray:
Matthew 26:33-35 (NASBStr)
But Peter said to Him, “ Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away.” Jesus said to him, “ Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Peter *said to Him, “ Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.” All the disciples said the same thing too.
Now Peter stood before a third accuser and was told by the "bystanders" that he was one of the disciples and that his "speech" gave him away. Here is an important glimpse into betrayal that we dare not miss. To affirm he was "just like one of all of them" Peter is said to change his speech and he began to curse and swear. Like the first two times, Peter could have simply stated he was not a disciple of Jesus and distanced himself firmly. But, now they said that the way he was currently speaking revealed something about him and his relationship with Jesus. We don't know what that is. Perhaps he was talking sympathetically about Jesus. Although it could have been a particular dialect (yet, this was the passover and the city would have been filled with different dialects) it is doubtful that would have been noticed as unique to Jesus. It could have been he was sharing inside information in a hypothetical manner and they picked up on it. Whatever the reason his speech revealed him, Peter's denial took on an air of the world. To prove his innocence he starts to speak like the world. There is nothing like a few curse worlds to prove you don't belong to God ... or so Peter thought. Since our speech reveals our heart, Peter's cursing was to demonstrate a lack of reverence for God. To fit in with the others, Peter decided to talk like the world and not like a Godly man. This was his third denial and immediately after the rooster crows, thus confirming his guilt and Jesus' Deity. The manner of the denial? Forsake the One you know is God and try to look and sound like the world. When we sound like the world in our speech, our reasoning, or our pattern of behavior we do the same thing as Peter. Some believers like to toss in a curse word (or a curse word substitute) to reflect their "in" with the word and their "out" with piety. Yet, we are told to make sure our speech is always seasoned with salt and we are to always be ready to give an answer for the hope that is in us. And, who said we should always be ready to give a good answer? Peter did, 20-25 years later. Note his emphasis on reverent speech. I wonder if he thought of his denial and swearing when he penned these words:
1 Peter 3:15
but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;
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