Commentary on the Gospel of John

                                  Chapter Eighteen

                                                                                                                                              Verses 15-18 and 25-27

All of Jesus' disciples fled when Jesus was arrested except Peter. Peter, at least, had enough courage to follow Jesus to the high priest's court where Jesus would be put on trial. But Peter's faith had begun to waver. No doubt he wondered why, if Jesus were God, He had not destroyed the mob instead of just knocking them down. Peter had become confused.

Another disciple went with Peter as he followed Jesus. This other disciple knew the high priest. This other disciple could not have been one of Jesus' daily disciples because none of them knew the high priest, and they were all scattered anyway. This other disciple was probably Nicodemus who certainly knew the high priest. Apparently, there was a courtyard outside of the place where the trial was held. That other disciple went in with Jesus to the trial, but then he came out and ordered a damsel who kept the door to let Peter come into the courtyard.

Almost immediately, the damsel recognized Peter as being one of Jesus' disciples. Peter denied his Lord. Some of the soldiers and servants had made a fire in the courtyard, and Peter warmed himself by this fire. Others accused Peter of being one of Jesus' disciples. A kinsman of the man whose ear Peter had cut off identified Peter as being in the garden when Jesus was arrested. Peter cursed and denied his Lord again, and immediately the rooster crowed just as Jesus had told him it would. John 13:38. Another indication that Peter stood in a courtyard that had an opening to the room where the trial was held happened to be that Luke records that as soon as Peter had denied his Lord, Peter looked up and saw Jesus turn to look directly at him. Luke 22:60-62. Jesus' look of love and compassion toward Peter broke his heart. Peter went out and wept bitterly and repented of his sin. From that majestic look that Jesus gave to Peter that caused him to repent, Peter began to realize that Jesus had come on a spiritual mission far greater than any political one. All of Jesus' disciples were scattered except that John returned to watch Jesus on the cross and to comfort His mother. After Peter returned to faith in Christ, he regathered all of Jesus' disciples just as Jesus had told him to do. They waited in a secret room to see if Jesus would rise from the dead. Luke 22:32; John 19:26-27; John 20:19.

A big difference exists between the repentance of Judas Iscariot and that of Peter's. Judas did not repent to God. He only repented to himself. When he threw down the thirty pieces of sliver in the Temple, he demonstrated that he was merely trying to reverse what he had done so that he could deny that he had done it. True repentance means that a person seeks for God to cleanse and forgive that person of their sins so that that person can return with a pure heart to service to God and for others. This was Peter's form of repentance. This was also king David's form of repentance. Psalm 51:1-19.