Discovery BoxMatthew 26:64-75
Context26:64 Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand 1 of the Power 2 and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 3 26:65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and declared, 4 “He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? Now 5 you have heard the blasphemy! 26:66 What is your verdict?” 6 They 7 answered, “He is guilty and deserves 8 death.” 26:67 Then they spat in his face and struck him with their fists. And some slapped him, 26:68 saying, “Prophesy for us, you Christ! 9 Who hit you?” 10
26:69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A 11 slave girl 12 came to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” 26:70 But he denied it in front of them all: 13 “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” 26:71 When 14 he went out to the gateway, another slave girl 15 saw him and said to the people there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazarene.” 26:72 He denied it again with an oath, “I do not know the man!” 26:73 After 16 a little while, those standing there came up to Peter and said, “You really are one of them too – even your accent 17 gives you away!” 26:74 At that he began to curse, and he swore with an oath, “I do not know the man!” At that moment a rooster crowed. 18 26:75 Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly. 19
[26:64] 1 sn An allusion to Ps 110:1. This is a claim that Jesus shares authority with God in heaven. Those present may have thought they were his judges, but, in fact, the reverse was true.
[26:64] 2 sn The expression the right hand of the Power is a circumlocution for referring to God. Such indirect references to God were common in 1st century Judaism out of reverence for the divine name.
[26:64] 3 sn An allusion to Dan 7:13 (see also Matt 24:30).
[26:65] 4 tn Grk “the high priest tore his clothes, saying.”
[26:65] 5 tn Grk “Behold now.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
[26:66] 6 tn Grk “What do you think?”
[26:66] 7 tn Grk “answering, they said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
[26:66] 8 tn Grk “he is guilty of death.” L&N 88.313 states, “pertaining to being guilty and thus deserving some particular penalty – ‘guilty and deserving, guilty and punishable by.’ οἱ δὲ ἀποκριθέντες εἶπαν, ᾿Ενοχος θανάτου ἐστίν ‘they answered, He is guilty and deserves death’ Mt 26:66.”
[26:68] 9 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
[26:68] 10 tn Grk “Who is the one who hit you?”
[26:69] 11 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
[26:69] 12 tn The Greek term here is παιδίσκη (paidiskh), referring to a slave girl or slave woman.
[26:70] 13 tn Grk “he denied it…saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.
[26:71] 14 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
[26:71] 15 tn The words “slave girl” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by the feminine singular form ἄλλη (allh).
[26:73] 16 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
[26:73] 17 tn Grk “your speech.”
[26:74] 18 tn It seems most likely that this refers to a real rooster crowing, although a number of scholars have suggested that “cockcrow” is a technical term referring to the trumpet call which ended the third watch of the night (from midnight to 3 a.m.). This would then be a reference to the Roman gallicinium (ἀλεκτοροφωνία, alektorofwnia; the term is used in Mark 13:35 and is found in some
[26:75] 19 sn When Peter went out and wept bitterly it shows he really did not want to fail here and was deeply grieved that he had.
