<p>26:69</p><table border=1 cellspacing=3 cellpadding=0 width=100%>    <tbody>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>Matthew</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Mark</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Luke</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>John</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>Accusation 1</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a   maid came to him, saying: You also were with Jesus the Galilean.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>And as Peter was downstairs in the courtyard,   there came one of the maids of the high priest.&nbsp; And seeing Peter   warming himself, she looked at him and said: You also were with the Nazarene,   Jesus</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of   the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat among them. And a certain   maid seeing him as he sat in the light of the fire and looking earnestly upon   him, said: This man also was with him.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another   disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest; and he entered with   Jesus into the court of the high priest.&nbsp; But Peter was standing outside   the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out   and spoke to the maid who kept watch at the door. The maid keeping watch at   the door said to Peter: Are you also one of this man's disciples?</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>Denial 1</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>But he denied before them all, saying: I do not   know what you say.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>But he denied it, saying: I neither know, nor   understand what you say; and he went out into the porch; and the cock crew.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>But he denied it, saying: Woman, I do not know   him.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>He said: I am not</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>Accusation 2</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>And when he went out to the entrance, another   maid saw him and said to the bystanders: This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>And the maid saw him and began again to say to   them that stood by: This is one of them</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>And after a little while another person saw him   and said: You also are one of them.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Now the servants and the officers were standing   there, having made a fire of coals. For it was cold, and they were warming   themselves; and Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself... Now   Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said to him: Are you also   one of his disciples?</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>Denial 2</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>And again he denied with an oath: I do not know   the man.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>But he again denied it.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>But Peter said: Man, I am not.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>He denied and said: I am not</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>Accusation 3</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>And after a little while they that stood by came   and said to Peter: Of a truth you also are one of them, for your dialect   makes you known.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>And after a little while, again they that stood   by said to Peter: Of a truth you are one of them; for you are a Galilean.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>And after the space of about one hour another   confidently affirmed, saying: Of a truth, this man also was with him. For he   is a Galilean.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>One of the servants of the high priest, being a   relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said: Did I not see you in the   garden with him?</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>Denial 3</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Then he began to curse and to swear: I do not   know the man And immediately the cock crowed.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>But he began to curse and to swear under oath: I   do not know this man of whom you speak. And immediately the second time the   cock crew</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>But Peter said: Man, I do not know what you say.   And immediately, as he spoke, the cock crew.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>&nbsp;Peter denied again; and immediately the   cock crew.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>Peter's response 1</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>And Peter remembered the words which Jesus had   said: Before the cock crows, you shall deny me three times.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>And Peter remembered what Jesus had said to him:   Before the cock crows twice, you shall deny me three times.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>And the Lord turned and looked upon Peter. And   Peter remembered the word of the Lord that he had said to him: Before the   cock crow this day, you shall deny me three times.&nbsp;</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>Peter goes out</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>And he went out and wept bitterly.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>And as he thought upon it, he wept.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>And he went out and wept bitterly.</p>            </td>        </tr>    </tbody></table><p><br /><i>Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard</i>- But likely within earshot. &quot;Outside&quot; translates&nbsp;<i>exo</i>, and the idea of being 'outside' from the Lord Jesus, especially in the context of Him being in a court, is exactly the picture of the rejected- Jesus at the day of judgment, with the rejected 'outside', away from Him. The term is used of the rejected being &quot;cast out&quot; (5:13), the rejected 'standing without' seeking entrance with the door closed (Lk. 13:25), the Jews &quot;thrust out&quot; of the Kingdom (Lk. 13:28), saltless salt 'cast without' (Lk. 14:35), the rejected 'cast out' (Jn. 6:37; 15:6). The word is used again to describe how Peter finally &quot;went outside&quot; into the final darkness (:75). He was living out the very picture of condemnation. We too can sin and be condemned in this life, yet the verdict can be changed. And that explains the intensity of zeal and desire in responding to such grace with all our hearts. If we do not perceive our condemnation nor the gracious change of verdict, there can be no real flame of zeal in response, no true humility, no deep seated motivation to service, forgiveness and grace to others.</p><p><i>And a maid</i>- Gk. 'a servant girl', &quot;one of the servant girls of the High Priest&quot; (Mk. 14:66). Her claim that &quot;You also were with Jesus&quot; may specifically refer to Peter's presence with Jesus in Gethsemane, for&rdquo;&nbsp;the servants&quot; of the High Priest had been there. Perhaps she was one of them. She describes Peter as being&nbsp;<i>meta&nbsp;</i>Jesus &quot;you were with Jesus&quot;, and the same phrase&nbsp;<i>meta&nbsp;</i>Jesus is used to described the disciples being&nbsp;<i>meta </i>Jesus in Gethsemane (:36,51). Or since the Lord was a public figure in Jerusalem, it would be likely that Peter was known as one of those ever to be seen hanging around Him. Jn. 18:17 gives further information about her: &quot;The maid keeping watch at the door said to Peter: Are you also one of this man's disciples? He said: I am not&quot;. The only other time we read of a servant girl who was a door keeper is in Acts 12:16, where the servant girl s.w. called Rhoda was the door keeper at the home of the disciples in Jerusalem, and is thrilled when she realizes that it is Peter knocking at the door asking her to let him in. Note that &quot;door keeper&quot; is likely a technical term, a kind of profession. This heightens the similarity between the two characters. The similarities with the scene in Jn. 18:17 are too strong to be passed off as unintentional; for here Peter has to have the door to the courtyard opened by the servant girl, and it is at the gate that she recognizes him. Peter's failure, his denials, were the basis of his successful appeals for Israel to follow his pattern of repentance. Thousands heard him make those appeals in Jerusalem, for if a few thousand were baptized in one day, we can be sure that many others heard the message and didn't act upon it. It's highly likely that that servant girl was in the crowd, and was one who responded. I suggest that Rhoda was that servant girl, converted by Peter's failure, repentance and experience of forgiveness. She converted from serving the Jewish High Priest to serving the Heavenly High Priest, the Lord Jesus; from being one of the crowd who went out to arrest Jesus, to being one who glorified His resurrection.&nbsp;</p><p><i>Came to him-&nbsp;</i>Jn. 18:17 says that the girl was keeping the door and let Peter through. As the door keeper she would have looked carefully at his face in the light of a torch. And then she came to him as he was sitting by the fire (Lk.), say some minutes later, as she realized who he was. This again has the ring of congruence about it, indicating how perfectly the records dovetail.&nbsp;</p><p><i>Saying: You also were with Jesus the Galilean</i>- Another passing evidence of the Lord's utter humanity; He spoke like a Galilean and was clearly a man brought up there, and not a pre-existent Divine being that came to earth.&nbsp;</p>