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Matthew26:31–35

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

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Matthew 26:31–35 — Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

31

Then Jesus said to them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of Me. For it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Tote ho Iēsous legei autois en tautē tē nykti hymeis Pantes skandalisthēsesthe en emoi gar gegraptai Pataxō ton poimena Kai ta probata tēs poimnēs diaskorpisthēsontai

Word by word25 · parsed
ΤότεToteThenG5119
√ τότε — the when, iAdverb
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἸησοῦςIēsousJesusG2424
√ Ἰησοῦς — Jesus (iNounNominative Masculine Singular
λέγειlegeisaidG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
legō: to lay forth, to say A present tense inside a past narrative (the historic present), which keeps the saying live. Pulpit warns that Matthew’s “Then” must not be pressed as exact chronological sequence but as marking a new incident, since Luke 22:31-34 and John 13:36-38 place this warning in the upper room.
αὐτοῖςautoisto themG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ἐνenG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
ταύτῃtautēThisG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounDative Feminine Singular
τῇtēveryG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Feminine Singular
νυκτὶnyktinightG3571
√ νύξ — "night" (literally or figuratively)NounDative Feminine Singular
ὑμεῖςhymeisyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounNominative 2nd Person Plural
ΠάντεςPantesvvvG3956
√ πᾶς — all, any, every, the wholeAdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
pas: all, any, every, the whole The weight falls here. Pulpit notes the emphasis on “all ye,” the very eleven who had been steadfast until now, Judas having already gone out to the high priests (so Gill) to inform them where Jesus would be that night.
σκανδαλισθήσεσθεskandalisthēsesthewill all fall awayG4624
√ σκανδαλίζω — to entrap, iVerbFuture Indicative Passive2nd Person Plural
skandalizō: to entrap, to put a stumbling block in the way Future passive, second person plural: the snare is sprung on them, and what follows is real sin, not merely dismay. Gill reads the offence as reaching their faith itself, so that they would begin to hesitate whether he was the Messiah, and says their faith must have failed had he not prayed for them as he prayed for Peter. The same verb comes back twice in Peter’s mouth in v. 33, which is why his answer is a flat contradiction and not merely a boast.
ἐνenon account ofG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
ἐμοὶemoiMeG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounDative 1st Person Singular
γάρgarForG1063
√ γάρ — properly, assigning a reason (used in argument, explanation or intensificationConjunction
γέγραπταιgegraptaiit is writtenG1125
√ γράφω — to "grave", especially to writeVerbPerfect Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Singular
graphō: to grave, especially to write Perfect indicative passive: not “someone wrote” but “it stands written,” a completed inscription still in force. Poole weighs the formula itself, observing that Christ does not say that this is said but that it is written, and on that ground inclines to take the prophecy as speaking primarily of Christ rather than as a proverb applied to him.
ΠατάξωPataxōI will strikeG3960
√ πατάσσω — to knock (gently or with a weapon or fatally)VerbFuture Indicative Active1st Person Singular
patassō: to knock, gently or with a weapon or fatally The verb spans a tap and a killing blow; here it is the blow. Barnes takes “I will smite” as the language of God the Father, meaning either that he gives him up to be smitten or that he does it himself, and says both were done: God delivered him to Jews and Romans, and himself left him to bear the burden alone. Every other verb in the sentence is passive, so the Father is the only agent named in it.
τὸνtontheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
ποιμέναpoimenaShepherdG4166
√ ποιμήν — a shepherd (literally or figuratively)NounAccusative Masculine Singular
poimēn: a shepherd, literally or figuratively Barnes identifies the Shepherd as the Lord Jesus of John 10:11 and 10:14, and the sheep here particularly as the apostles. The Verifier finds the same lexeme at Mark 14:27 and John 10:16, where the shepherd who lays down his life gathers one flock, so the title carries that whole claim into a sentence about being struck.
ΚαὶKaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
τὰtatheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Neuter Plural
πρόβαταprobatasheepG4263
√ πρόβατον — something that walks forward (a quadruped), iNounNominative Neuter Plural
τῆςtēsof theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
ποίμνηςpoimnēsflockG4167
√ ποίμνη — a flock (literally or figuratively)NounGenitive Feminine Singular
poimnē: a flock, literally or figuratively A rare word (the Verifier records the lexeme in four verses) for the flock as a single body rather than a number of animals. What scatters here is a unit, not a crowd.
διασκορπισθήσονταιdiaskorpisthēsontaiwill be scatteredG1287
√ διασκορπίζω — to dissipate, iVerbFuture Indicative Passive3rd Person Plural
diaskorpizō: to dissipate, to scatter thoroughly Future passive again, and a relatively rare compound (the Verifier records the lexeme in nine verses). Barnes says the scattering refers to their fleeing and was fulfilled at v. 56. The passive is the point: the sheep are not said to choose dispersal, they are dispersed by the blow that falls on the Shepherd.
32

But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de Meta to egerthēnai me proaxō hymas eis tēn Galilaian

Word by word10 · parsed
δὲdeButG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ΜετὰMetaafterG3326
√ μετά — properly, denoting accompanimentPreposition
τὸtoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
ἐγερθῆναίegerthēnaiI have risenG1453
√ ἐγείρω — to waken (transitively or intransitively), iVerbAorist Infinitive Passive
egeirō: to waken, to raise up Aorist passive infinitive: he is raised. The same voice that governs the striking and the scattering governs the rising, so the hand that breaks the flock is the hand that restores its Shepherd. Ellicott notes that the promise fell unheeded at the time and that no expectation of a resurrection is traceable in the disciples’ later conduct.
μεmeIG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 1st Person Singular
προάξωproaxōwill go ahead ofG4254
√ προάγω — to lead forward (magisterially)VerbFuture Indicative Active1st Person Singular
proagō: to lead forward The one active verb Christ takes for himself in this unit, and it is a shepherd’s verb: Cambridge renders it as leading them as a shepherd, Pulpit ties it to John 10:4, where the sheep follow because they know the voice in front of them. Matthew 28:7 and Mark 16:7 both put the promise back in the women’s mouths, so the scattering of v. 31 is answered by a regathering that the Shepherd walks into first.
ὑμᾶςhymasyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 2nd Person Plural
εἰςeisintoG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
τὴνtēnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
ΓαλιλαίανGalilaianGalileeG1056
√ Γαλιλαία — Galilæa (iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
Galilaia: Galilee Gill notes Galilee was the native region of most or all of them, so the appointment sends the scattered home to be found. Pulpit records that the Galilee meeting, unlike the earlier Jerusalem appearances, was by appointment and of the most solemn import, Christ there reuniting the apostolic body and renewing its commission (Matthew 28:18-20).
33

Peter said to Him, “Even if all fall away on account of You, I never will.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de ho Petros Apokritheis eipen autō Ei pantes skandalisthēsontai en soi egō oudepote skandalisthēsomai

Word by word14 · parsed
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ΠέτροςPetrosPeterG4074
√ Πέτρος — a (piece of) rock (larger than G3037 (λίθος))NounNominative Masculine Singular
ἈποκριθεὶςApokritheisG611
√ ἀποκρίνομαι — to conclude for oneself, iVerbAorist Participle PassiveNominative Masculine Singular
apokrinomai: to conclude for oneself, to answer The idiom of answering and saying, which English flattens to “said.” It frames the whole verse as rebuttal.
εἶπενeipensaidG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
αὐτῷautōto HimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ΕἰEiEven ifG1487
√ εἰ — if, whether, that, etcConjunction
ei: if, whether A condition with the future indicative rather than a bare concession: Peter grants the case as real for the rest while excluding himself from it. The concessive force of BSB’s “Even if” is right, but the exclusion is the substance.
πάντεςpantesallG3956
√ πᾶς — all, any, every, the wholeAdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
pas: all, every Barnes says the translators’ “men” is improper here, and Pulpit that the addition alters the meaning: the comparison is with the other ten. That is what makes this a claim of rank as well as of loyalty. Pulpit cites Chrysostom to the effect that there were two faults, or rather three: that Peter gainsaid Christ, that he set himself before the others, and that he attributed everything to himself.
σκανδαλισθήσονταιskandalisthēsontaifall awayG4624
√ σκανδαλίζω — to entrap, iVerbFuture Indicative Passive3rd Person Plural
ἐνenon account ofG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
σοίsoiYouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Singular
ἐγὼegōIG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounNominative 1st Person Singular
οὐδέποτεoudepoteneverG3763
√ οὐδέποτε — not even at any time, iAdverb
oudepote: not even at any time The strongest temporal negative available, and Peter reaches past Christ’s “this night” to every night. Pulpit puts it exactly this way: he could not endure to be included in the “all ye” of v. 31, and so denies the possibility not for tonight only but at any time. Benson judges the protestation sincere and still blameworthy, faulting Peter for preferring himself to his brethren and for leaning on his own strength instead of asking help from the one from whom all human sufficiency is derived.
σκανδαλισθήσομαιskandalisthēsomaiwillG4624
√ σκανδαλίζω — to entrap, iVerbFuture Indicative Passive1st Person Singular
skandalizō: to entrap, to be made to stumble The verb of the prediction, now first person singular and denied. Henry’s verdict is the plainest in the brief: improper self-confidence of this kind is the first step to a fall, and those fall soonest and foulest who are most confident in themselves. Barnes adds from Luke 22:31-33 that Satan had asked to sift him, that Christ had prayed his faith would not fail, and that he was charged, once turned, to strengthen his brethren.
34

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus declared, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Amēn legō soi ho Iēsous Ephē autō hoti en tautē tē nykti prin alektora phōnēsai aparnēsē me tris

Word by word18 · parsed
ἈμὴνAmēnTrulyG281
√ ἀμήν — properly, firm, iHebrew Word
amēn: properly, firm A Hebrew word carried untranslated into the Greek, functioning as a sworn guarantee. Gill notes Christ prefixes it here as a certain truth that Peter might assure himself would come to pass. Peter has just staked everything on his own word; Christ answers by putting his own word under oath.
λέγωlegōI tellG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
σοιsoiyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Singular
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἸησοῦςIēsousJesusG2424
√ Ἰησοῦς — Jesus (iNounNominative Masculine Singular
ἜφηEphēdeclaredG5346
√ φημί — to show or make known one's thoughts, iVerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
phēmi: to make known one's thoughts, to declare Imperfect indicative active, and a deliberate change of verb from λέγω two words earlier. Matthew reserves this one form for the sentence that fixes the hour and the number.
αὐτῷautōG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ὅτιhotiG3754
√ ὅτι — demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant)Conjunction
ἐνenG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
ταύτῃtautēthisG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounDative Feminine Singular
τῇtēveryG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Feminine Singular
νυκτὶnyktinightG3571
√ νύξ — "night" (literally or figuratively)NounDative Feminine Singular
πρὶνprinbeforeG4250
√ πρίν — prior, soonerAdverb
ἀλέκτοραalektora[the] roosterG220
√ ἀλέκτωρ — a cock or male fowlNounAccusative Masculine Singular
alektōr: a cock or male fowl Anarthrous: a rooster, not the rooster. Pulpit notes that cocks were unclean birds, not kept by strict Jews, and that one of the night watches, about three in the morning, was itself known as cock crow (Mark 13:35). Cambridge records the further difficulty that it was unlawful for Jews to keep fowls in the Holy City, and answers that such rules could not be applied to the Romans; the difficulty is raised there, not settled.
φωνῆσαιphōnēsaicrowsG5455
√ φωνέω — to emit a sound (animal, human or instrumental)VerbAorist Infinitive Active
phōneō: to emit a sound A general verb for a cry, animal, human or instrumental. Nothing in the word itself means crowing.
ἀπαρνήσῃaparnēsēyou will denyG533
√ ἀπαρνέομαι — to deny utterly, iVerbFuture Indicative Middle2nd Person Singular
aparneomai: to deny utterly Future middle of a rare compound (the Verifier records the lexeme in eleven verses), and the same lexeme Christ uses for taking up the cross, where a man must deny himself (Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34). Peter, refusing that denial of himself, will spend the word on his Lord instead. Luke 12:9 attaches the penalty to it: whoever denies him is denied before the angels of God.
μεmeMeG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 1st Person Singular
τρὶςtristhree timesG5151
√ τρίς — three timesAdverb
tris: three times A count, not a round figure, and Matthew 26:75 records it met to the number. Ellicott presses exactly this precision: the agreement of all four Evangelists puts the prediction beyond doubt, and the prevision it implies is more than a general insight into an unstable character.
35

Peter replied, “Even if I have to die with You, I will never deny You.” And all the other disciples said the same thing.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

ho Petros Legei autō Kan deē me apothanein syn soi ou mē aparnēsomai se kai pantes hoi mathētai eipan homoiōs

Word by word20 · parsed
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ΠέτροςPetrosPeterG4074
√ Πέτρος — a (piece of) rock (larger than G3037 (λίθος))NounNominative Masculine Singular
ΛέγειLegeirepliedG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
legō: to say Present tense again in past narrative. Gill notes from Mark 14:31 that he spoke the more vehemently and in more peremptory and self-confident language, so “replied” understates a rising voice.
αὐτῷautōG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ΚἂνKanEven ifG2579
√ κἄν — and (or even) ifAdverb
δέῃdeēI have toG1163
√ δεῖ — also deon deh-on'VerbPresent Subjunctive Active3rd Person Singular
dei: it is necessary, one must An impersonal verb in the subjunctive: if it should be laid upon me. Cambridge renders it as being obliged. Pulpit quotes Augustine to the effect that Peter thought he was able because he felt that he wished, which is a fair reading of a man who treats a necessity he has not been given as one he can already meet.
μεme. . .G1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 1st Person Singular
ἀποθανεῖνapothaneindieG599
√ ἀποθνήσκω — to die off (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Infinitive Active
apothnēskō: to die off Aorist infinitive: the act, not the state. Ellicott notes Peter was not alone in the resolve, that Thomas had said like words at John 11:16, and that they all felt ready to face death for their Master.
σὺνsynwithG4862
√ σύν — with or together (but much closer than G3326 (μετά) or G3844 (παρά)), iPreposition
syn: with or together, but much closer than meta The lexicon marks σύν as with or together but much closer than μετά, the looser preposition Matthew uses two verses earlier for after. Peter is not offering to travel alongside Christ but to be joined to him in the dying itself. Gill notes that Peter seems to have understood that his master would suffer death and that he himself would be in danger, and that he answers by embracing death for Christ's sake or along with him rather than the crime of denying him, which is the one thing in this night he is not given to do.
σοὶsoiYouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Singular
οὐouvvvG3756
√ οὐ — the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverbAdverb
μήmēvvvG3361
√ μή — (adverb) not, (conjunction) lestAdverb
ou mē: the emphatic double negative Two negatives stacked before the future indicative ἀπαρνήσομαι, which is the firmest denial Greek can frame: not a weakened form but an intensified one, since the second negative cancels nothing and only hardens the first. Set the two speeches side by side and the grammar is the whole argument of the scene. Christ guarantees his sentence with one borrowed Hebrew word, Ἀμὴν, firm. Peter guarantees his with the heaviest negation available, an emphatic construction in the first person singular, and adds the earlier οὐδέποτε of v. 33 to it. Mark 14:31 is the parallel, where the Verifier records the same rare verb twice over together with δεῖ, and Matthew 26:75 records which of the two guarantees held.
ἀπαρνήσομαιaparnēsomaiI will never denyG533
√ ἀπαρνέομαι — to deny utterly, iVerbFuture Indicative Middle1st Person Singular
aparneomai: to deny utterly Peter takes up the rare verb of the prediction (the Verifier records the lexeme in eleven verses) and doubly negates it. Matthew 26:75 uses the same lexeme when the word he denied is remembered and he weeps, so the vocabulary of the boast is the vocabulary of the fall.
σεseYouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 2nd Person Singular
καὶkaiAndG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
πάντεςpantesallG3956
√ πᾶς — all, any, every, the wholeAdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
οἱhoithe otherG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
μαθηταὶmathētaidisciplesG3101
√ μαθητής — a learner, iNounNominative Masculine Plural
εἶπανeipansaidG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
ὁμοίωςhomoiōsthe same thingG3668
√ ὁμοίως — similarlyAdverb
homoiōs: similarly, in like manner The unanimity is recorded, not praised. Gill judges the rest self-confident, ignorant of their own weakness, and drawn into these words by Peter’s example, and Benson notes that Christ was tender enough not to aggravate their sin by any reply.

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i. The Shepherd struck, the flock scattered — 26:31

Three verbs carry the verse and only one of them has a human subject. σκανδαλισθήσεσθε and διασκορπισθήσονται are both future passives (you will be made to stumble, they will be scattered), and between them stands one future active, Πατάξω, I will strike, spoken by God. Pulpit notes that in Zechariah the command is given to the sword, so the shift to the first person is Matthew’s citation owning the blow for God himself, and adds that all of this took place according to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, since if Christ is to be the Saviour he must be a sacrifice. Barnes reads “I will smite” as the language of God the Father and leaves both senses standing, that God gave him up to be smitten and that he himself left him to bear the burden alone. Ellicott finds the choice of Zechariah 13:7 every way suggestive, evidence that our Lord’s own thoughts had dwelt on that chapter, with its fountain opened for sin, its wounded hands, and its Shepherd whom Jehovah calls his fellow. Cambridge is the one who checks the wording and reports that the Greek does not literally follow the Hebrew, and also the one who suggests, without irreverence, that the vision brought consolation to the human heart of Jesus as he walked the very ground of Jehovah’s destined victory knowing he would be left alone. Gill fills in what the stumbling would cost: not only flight but hesitation whether he was the Messiah at all, a faith that must have failed had he not prayed. Geneva states the pastoral shape of the whole warning, that Christ here takes more care of his disciples than of himself.

ii. The one active verb Christ keeps for himself — 26:32

Against the passives of v. 31, v. 32 gives Christ a passive of his own and then one active verb. Μετὰ τὸ ἐγερθῆναί με is an articular infinitive in the passive: after the being-raised of me, the Father again the agent. Then προάξω, I will lead forward. Cambridge glosses it literally as I will lead you as a shepherd and observes that it falls in with the thought of the quotation, which is the sharpest single sentence in this unit’s brief: the shepherd image is not dropped after the striking, it governs the promise. Pulpit presses the same verb, noting that in the East the shepherd does not drive his sheep but leads them (John 10:4), and records that the Galilee meeting was by appointment rather than fortuitous, the place where Christ reunited the apostolic body and renewed its commission. Gill notes that Galilee was the native region of most of them, so the scattered are told where they will be gathered before they have scattered. Ellicott supplies the sober counterweight: the words appear to have fallen unheeded at the time, and no expectation of a resurrection is traceable in the disciples’ later conduct.

iii. Peter’s never against Christ’s Amen — 26:33-35

Peter answers in the exact vocabulary he was given. Christ said σκανδαλισθήσεσθε of all of them; Peter says σκανδαλισθήσομαι of himself and negates it with οὐδέποτε, not even at any time, so that he answers a warning about one night with a claim about every night. Barnes points out that the older English inserted “men” into his sentence and that Peter meant the disciples, which makes the boast comparative; Pulpit agrees and cites Chrysostom on the three faults, that he gainsaid Christ, set himself before the others, and attributed everything to himself. Gill notes that he was contradicting what Christ had affirmed of them all and confirmed by prophecy. Benson allows that the protestation was sincere and still blames the self-confidence that leaned on its own strength instead of asking help from the one from whom all human sufficiency is derived, and Henry states the principle without softening: improper self-confidence is the first step to a fall, and those fall soonest and foulest who are most confident in themselves. Christ replies with Ἀμὴν, a Hebrew word left untranslated, and Gill notes that he prefixes it to asseverate a certain truth; then a rare verb, ἀπαρνήσῃ, to deny utterly, recorded by the Verifier in only eleven verses, with an hour and a number attached. Peter raises the pitch again in v. 35, where Gill hears Mark’s more vehement speech and Cambridge renders the clause accurately as being obliged to die with him, and Pulpit quotes Augustine that he thought he was able because he felt that he wished. The others join him, and Benson notes that Christ was tender enough to make no reply at all. Poole, whose note covers the whole passage, ends where an honest reader has to: the evangelists wrote from memory, not from dictation, and must be allowed to vary in expression and circumstance while giving the substance.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

⚙ Our own fallible reading, offered to be tested. This passage is built on voice, not on will. Struck, scattered, raised: the three things that matter are passive or spoken by God, and the only volunteers in the scene are the ones who will fail. Peter’s mistake is not cowardice, and the text does not treat it as insincerity; it is a grammatical mistake with a moral root. Christ used a passive, you will be made to stumble, which names something done to a man by a night, a sword and a snare. Peter answers in the same verb as though it were his to conjugate, and he is not the only one: all the disciples said the same. What the arrangement of the verses then does is more striking than either boast. The promise of regathering (v. 32) is spoken before the boast (v. 33) and before the failure is recorded at all, so the reunion in Galilee is not a reward for the eleven holding on. It is announced over men who are told in advance that they will not hold on. Read that way, the sentence I will lead you forward is the quiet centre of the unit: the flock has a future because the Shepherd who was struck by God’s own hand is raised by the same hand and walks in front of them again. The line set apart below is our synthesis, not Scripture, and should be weighed as such.

The flock is not held together by the nerve of the sheep, but by the Shepherd who was struck on purpose and raised to walk in front of them again.

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

For it is written: the struck Shepherd of Zechariah 13:7 structural / thematic: confirmed

Matthew marks the citation formally with γέγραπται, a perfect passive meaning that it stands written. Ellicott takes the choice of this prophecy as evidence that our Lord’s thoughts had dwelt on the whole of Zechariah 13, with its fountain opened for sin and uncleanness, its One wounded in the house of his friends, and its Shepherd to whom Jehovah spoke as to his fellow. Pulpit prints the prophet’s wording, where a sword is commanded to smite, and observes that this is why Christ can say I will smite. ⚙ The link is as explicit as a citation gets, and it still cannot be tiered verbal here: the refs cross the Testaments, so no shared Strong’s lexeme can be computed between Greek and Hebrew, and qa.py check B forbids a verbal tier on such a pair. That restriction happens to be substantively right in this case, because Cambridge records that the Greek does not literally follow the Hebrew.

Zechariah 13:7

basis: Explicit citation marked by γέγραπται (G1125) in Matthew 26:31, but the pair is Greek to Hebrew: no shared Strong's lexeme basis is computable and qa.py check B forbids a verbal tier on refs mixing a New Testament and an Old Testament book. Tiered structural, with the further honest ground that Cambridge records the quotation not literally following the Hebrew (imperative Smite in Zechariah, first person future Πατάξω in Matthew).

Whose shepherd, and whose sword: the disputed text behind the quotation flagged: verify source

Poole records plainly that there are different opinions whether Zechariah 13:7 is to be understood primarily of Christ or is a proverbial speech the prophet used with another reference and Christ applied to himself; he inclines to the former, on the ground that Christ says it is written rather than that it is said. Gill records the rival readings on the other side: the Targum turning the line into a command to kill the king so that the princes are scattered, and Jewish commentators referring the shepherd to a king of Moab, a king of the Ishmaelites, or any Gentile king. ⚙ We hold the Christian reading, which is the reading Matthew himself gives. We also record that the text form and the primary referent are genuinely contested in the sources, and that nothing in the interlinear or the Verifier settles it, so this link is flagged rather than confirmed.

Zechariah 13:7

basis: Provenance contested inside the sources themselves: Poole records differing opinions on whether Zechariah 13:7 speaks primarily of Christ or is a proverbial speech applied to him; Gill records Jewish readings (Targum: kill the king) that refer the Shepherd elsewhere; Cambridge records that the Greek does not literally follow the Hebrew. Cross-Testament, so no shared-lexeme verification is possible.

Mark's telling, word for word verbal / quotation: confirmed

Mark carries the same warning and the same denial in the same vocabulary, and the Verifier computes the overlap rather than assuming it: shepherd, made to stumble and scattered at Mark 14:27, night, deny utterly and sound at Mark 14:30. JFB treats Matthew 26:31-35 as one pericope with Mark 14:27-31, Luke 22:31-38 and John 13:36-38, and refers the exposition to Luke. Poole notes Mark’s variant, this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, and draws the general rule that the evangelists wrote from memory and must be allowed to vary in expression while giving the substance. ⚙ Both refs are Greek, so a verbal tier is available and honest here, carried by the rarer members of the overlap.

Mark 14:27 · Mark 14:30

basis: Verifier: with Mark 14:27, shared Greek lexemes G4166 ποιμήν (in 17 vv), G4624 σκανδαλίζω (in 27 vv), G1287 διασκορπίζω (in 9 vv); with Mark 14:30, G3571 νύξ (in 58 vv), G533 ἀπαρνέομαι (in 11 vv), G5455 φωνέω (in 39 vv). διασκορπίζω (9 vv) and ἀπαρνέομαι (11 vv) are rare enough to carry a verbal link, and both refs are Greek, so no cross-Testament restriction applies.

One flock: the rare noun ποίμνη verbal / quotation: confirmed

The Verifier records ποίμνη (G4167) in only four verses of the Greek canon, and one of the others is John 10:16, where the shepherd who lays down his life speaks of other sheep and of one flock with one shepherd. Barnes independently sends the reader of this verse to John 10:11 and 10:14 for the identity of the Shepherd. Luke 2:8 holds the same two words in a very different night, shepherds keeping watch over their flock; 1 Corinthians 9:7 holds another of the four, in Paul’s argument from ordinary labour. ⚙ The verbal tie is computed and rare; what we add is the observation that the word for the flock as one body is the word chosen for the thing that gets broken up, and that observation is synthesis, not a datum.

John 10:16 · Luke 2:8 · 1 Corinthians 9:7

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G4167 ποίμνη, recorded in only 4 verses, which is what carries the verbal tier; with John 10:16 also G4166 ποιμήν (in 17 vv) and G4263 πρόβατον (in 37 vv), with Luke 2:8 also G4166 ποιμήν (in 17 vv) and G3571 νύξ (in 58 vv), with 1 Corinthians 9:7 the ποίμνη lexeme alone. All refs Greek. No quotation is claimed: the link is shared rare vocabulary.

Deny yourself, or deny him: the rare verb ἀπαρνέομαι verbal / quotation: confirmed

The word Christ chooses for Peter’s coming sin is not the ordinary negative but ἀπαρνέομαι, to deny utterly, which the Verifier records in only eleven verses. Two of those are Matthew 16:24 and Mark 8:34, where a man who would follow must deny himself and take up his cross; one is Luke 12:9, where whoever denies Christ before men is denied before the angels of God; and one is Matthew 26:75, where the same lexeme returns with Peter’s name and the rooster’s cry as the prediction is met. Ellicott notes that the disciple could not have failed to remember the penalty of Luke 12:9, and adds that as with all such laws the penalty might be averted by repentance. ⚙ The vocabulary chain is computed. The reading of it as a single ironic arc, from the self-denial Peter would not take up to the denial he did, is ours.

Matthew 16:24 · Mark 8:34 · Luke 12:9 · Matthew 26:75

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G533 ἀπαρνέομαι, recorded in only 11 verses, at Matthew 16:24 (with G5119 τότε, in 158 vv), Mark 8:34 (with G3101 μαθητής, in 247 vv), Luke 12:9, and Matthew 26:75 (with G4074 Πέτρος, in 150 vv, and G5455 φωνέω, in 39 vv). The rarity of the lexeme carries the verbal tier; every ref is Greek. No claim that any of these texts quotes another.

Sheep without a shepherd: the older pattern taken up and reversed typological

⚙ Scripture has a settled pattern before Matthew reaches it: remove the shepherd and the flock scatters. Ezekiel 34:5-6 has the flock scattered for want of a shepherd and no one searching after it, and Micaiah in 1 Kings 22:17 sees Israel scattered like sheep with no shepherd. This unit stands inside that pattern and turns it. Here the flock is not shepherdless through neglect: the Shepherd is struck by God’s own declared act, the scattering is foretold rather than merely permitted, and it is answered within three days by a Shepherd who leads them forward again. We record honestly that this is a figural reading. No shared Strong’s number can exist between Greek and Hebrew, neither Ezekiel nor 1 Kings appears in the Verifier’s candidate list for this unit, and none of the commentators in this unit’s brief names either text here, so the pairing is ours and is tiered typological.

Ezekiel 34:5-6 · 1 Kings 22:17

basis: Cross-Testament (Greek to Hebrew): no shared Strong's lexeme basis is computable and none is claimed. The recorded basis is the shepherdless, scattered flock motif of Ezekiel 34:5-6 and 1 Kings 22:17 read figurally against the struck Shepherd of Matthew 26:31. Neither ref appears in the Verifier candidate list and no commentator in this unit's brief cites them here, so this is our own figural reading, offered as novel in its pairing and tiered typological, never verbal.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The Shepherd smitten by God's own hand ancient/widely-held

The sentence that names the Passion in this unit puts God in the first person: I will strike the Shepherd. Barnes reads that as the language of God the Father, meaning either that he gave him up to be smitten or that he did it himself, and says both were done, God delivering him to Jews and Romans to be smitten for the sins of the world (Romans 8:32) and himself leaving him to deep and awful sorrows, alone under the atonement (Mark 15:34). Pulpit states the logic without hedging: if Christ is to be the Saviour he must be a sacrifice, and what happened took place according to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. Poole gathers the canonical shepherd titles around the smitten one, the good Shepherd of John 10:11, the great Shepherd of the sheep of Hebrews 13:20, the chief Shepherd of 1 Peter 5:4, and notes that the disciples were not to be disturbed by seeing him struck, because it was no more than had been prophesied of him. Ellicott adds that the chapter Christ cites speaks of a fountain opened for sin and of one wounded in the house of his friends. ⚙ The grammar of v. 31 supports every part of this: one active verb with God as subject, and the death of the Shepherd as its object.

Zechariah 13:7 · John 10:11 · Hebrews 13:20 · 1 Peter 5:4 · Romans 8:32

The Shepherd who goes in front of the scattered ancient/widely-held

προάξω is the one active verb Christ takes for himself here, and both Cambridge and Pulpit insist it is a shepherd’s word: Cambridge glosses it as I will lead you as a shepherd and says it falls in with the thought of the quotation, Pulpit that in the East the shepherd does not drive his sheep but leads them, as in John 10:4. Gill draws the whole arc: though the Shepherd is smitten with death and laid in the grave he will rise, and though the sheep are scattered they will be gathered again by the good Shepherd who goes before them, which is what the women were told to remind them of (Matthew 28:7, Mark 16:7). Pulpit notes that the Galilee meeting was by appointment and of the most solemn import, Christ there reuniting the apostolic body and renewing its commission. ⚙ The redemptive shape is in the ordering: the regathering is promised before the scattering happens, so it rests on the Shepherd’s resurrection and not on the flock’s loyalty.

Matthew 28:7 · Mark 16:7 · John 10:4 · Matthew 28:16

Kept by his prayer, not by their resolve ancient/widely-held

Luke’s parallel, which every commentator in this brief reaches for, supplies what Matthew leaves unsaid. Barnes records from Luke 22:31-33 that Satan had asked to sift Peter as wheat, that Christ had prayed for him that his faith should not fail, and that he was charged, once turned, to strengthen his brethren. Gill says the same of the whole eleven: their faith must have failed had he not prayed for them, as he did for Peter. Geneva reads the warning itself as care, Christ taking more thought for his disciples than for himself and providing them with comfort. Ellicott notes the penalty attached to denial at Luke 12:9 and that repentance might avert it, which is exactly the door Matthew 26:75 and the later restoration walk through. ⚙ Our reading, offered to be tested: the unit sets two securities side by side, a man’s double negative and a Shepherd’s Amen, and records which one held. The apostolic substance here is widely held; the framing of it as a contrast of grammatical voices is ours.

Luke 22:31-32 · Luke 12:9 · Matthew 26:75 · John 21:15-17

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

  • Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
  • Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
  • Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
  • John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
  • Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
  • Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
  • Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
  • The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

Text and sources. Scripture is the Berean Standard Bible (CC0); the interlinear, glosses, parsings and Strong’s numbers are the Berean data as supplied in the brief; the commentary excerpts are verbatim public domain and named by author; the thread bases are Verifier output. Everything marked ⚙ is our own fallible synthesis.

What is uncertain in this unit. First, the text form of the citation: Cambridge records that the Greek of v. 31 does not literally follow the Hebrew of Zechariah 13:7, Pulpit prints the prophet’s imperative addressed to the sword against Matthew’s first person future, and Poole records that opinions differ on whether the prophecy speaks primarily of Christ or is a proverbial speech applied to him. Gill records the competing Jewish readings, including the Targum’s command to kill the king. We hold Matthew’s reading and flag the provenance rather than smoothing it. Second, the chronology: Matthew and Mark place this warning on the walk out, Luke and John in the room, and Ellicott judges that the more probable hypothesis is a natural dislocation of the order of events rather than two separate warnings; Pulpit adds that Matthew’s “Then” marks a new incident rather than strict sequence. Third, the cock crow: Matthew and John have one crowing, Mark two, and Barnes, Gill and Poole each reconcile them differently, Gill noting a manuscript in which the word twice is absent as well as the sense in which the louder morning crowing is called the cock crowing. Pulpit observes further that the noun here has no article. Cambridge raises, and does not settle, the difficulty that Jews were not permitted to keep fowls in the Holy City, answering only that such rules did not bind the Romans.

Limits of the source set. JFB’s entry for every verse of this unit is a pointer that refers the exposition to Luke 22:31-38, so no JFB excerpt is quoted here; Poole’s notes for vv. 31 through 34 all redirect to his single comment on v. 35, which is why his voice is filed there; Henry’s note covers vv. 31 through 35 as one block. Poole’s own caution belongs over the whole unit: the evangelists wrote from memory rather than from dictation and must be allowed to vary in expression and circumstance while giving the substance of words and actions. Two commentary entries in the brief are capped, Gill on v. 31 and Poole on v. 35; we quoted only from the text supplied and did not build any claim on the capped remainder.

Verification limits on the threads. Shared Strong’s lexemes exist only within one language, so every Greek to Hebrew link in this unit (Zechariah 13:7, Ezekiel 34:5-6, 1 Kings 22:17) is tiered structural, typological or flagged, never verbal, however explicit the citation. The three verbal threads rest on lexeme rarity computed by the Verifier: ποίμνη in four verses, διασκορπίζω in nine, ἀπαρνέομαι in eleven. The pairing with Ezekiel 34 and 1 Kings 22 is our own figural reading and is not attributed to any commentator in this brief.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)