Denial of Peter

[5] The turbulent emotions behind Peter's denial and later repentance have been the subject of major works of art for centuries.

The first denial to a servant girl in Luke 22:54–57 is as follows: Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house.

Again he denied it.The third denial to a number of people, is emphatic as he curses according to Matthew 26:73–75: After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, "Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away."

And he went outside and wept bitterly.The Gospel of Luke 22:59–62 describes the moment of the last denial as follows: About an hour later another asserted, "Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean."

Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times."

One of the high priest's servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, "Didn't I see you with him in the olive grove?"

[8] For much of the period of three years that Jesus spent in ministry, gathering and teaching disciples, he had been observed, criticised and harassed by scholars and priests.

The Gospel of Matthew states that Peter denied Jesus "in front of everyone", thus making a public witness, affirming this with an oath.

But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.

The significance of three denials lies in its superlative force; it underscores the disciple's resolve to deny Jesus (see Biblical numerology).

Although originally interpreted by Peter as a rebuke for his three denials (also due to the use by Jesus of his old name "Simon"), this event became later viewed as a redemptive act by Jesus, allowing Peter to publicly declare in front of his fellow disciples that he truly did love his Lord and thus become fully restored to his faith community.

Both details of "three times" denied and "in this night" being present suggests a relationship to the canonical portrayal of the Denial of Peter.

[16] Bishop Lancelot Andrewes composed the following prayer: O Lord Jesus Christ, look upon us with those eyes of thine where-with thou dist look upon Peter in the hall; that with Peter we may repent and, by the same love be forgiven; for thine endless mercy's sake.

He had paid too little attention to our Lord's warning words: "Satan hath desired to sift you as wheat .

This night thou shalt deny Me thrice"; and he trusted too much in himself: "Though all shall be scandalized, yet not I. I will lay down my life for Thee!"

How many are there now in existence who, not from any humility, but from mere apprehension of what the world will say, are afraid to own any Christian or virtuous action and to profess themselves followers of Christ!

It has been depicted in a varieties of mediums and methods, ranging from 6th century mosaic at the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo to Russian icons and oil paintings by many old masters.

Author George Weatherhead admires Caravaggio's depiction, the way Peter exhibits a wavering trepidation in his unsteady features, conscious of the unworthy falsehood he was telling.

[24] In this painting, Caravaggio portrayed the servant girl using the same head of the woman that he used in his depiction of The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist.

[25] A related subject, the "Repentance of Peter", showing the end of the episode, was not often seen before Catholic Counter-Reformation art, where it became popular as an assertion of the sacrament of Confession against Protestant attacks.

The image typically shows Peter in tears, as a half-length portrait with no other figures, often with hands clasped as at right, and sometimes the cock in the background; it was often coupled with a repentant Mary Magdalen, another exemplar from Bellarmine's book.

Gardiner 2013, p. 365 says "Inevitably we suffer with Peter; but the uncomfortable question Bach asks us to consider is, would any of us have emerged from his ordeal with greater credit?.