Annas
sent him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest. Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said therefore to him, “You aren’t also one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it, and said, “I am not.” One of the servants of the high priest, being a relative of him whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?” Peter therefore denied it again, and immediately the rooster crowed.
John 18:24-27
John 18 [23.] Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken evil, testify of the evil; but if well, why do you beat me?”
John 18 [24.] Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest. Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said therefore to him, “You aren’t also one of his disciples, are you?”
He denied it, and said, “I am not.”
John 18 [26.] One of the servants of the high priest, being a relative of him whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?”
John 18 [27.] Peter therefore denied it again, and immediately the rooster crowed.
John 18 [28.] They led Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the Praetorium. It was early, and they themselves didn’t enter into the Praetorium, that they might not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. Pilate therefore went out to them, and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?”
Meaning:
Annas had questioned Jesus and found nothing to charge him with (John 18:19-23). Now Jesus was sent on to Caiaphas, while in the courtyard Peter faced two more questions. In a few short lines John records the second and third denials and the crowing of the rooster, just as Jesus had foretold.
- “Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest”
Jesus was still bound, treated as a dangerous prisoner. John does not describe the hearing before Caiaphas and the council, which the other Gospels report in detail: false witnesses, the high priest’s question whether Jesus was the Christ, and the verdict that he deserved death (Mark 14:61; Matthew 26:57). John’s readers knew that story. He focuses instead on Peter, and on the trial before Pilate that follows.
- “You aren’t also one of his disciples, are you?”
The second question came from the group around the fire. Like the first, it was framed to expect a “no”, and again Peter answered, “I am not.” Each denial made the next one easier. Matthew and Mark add that people noticed Peter’s Galilean accent, “for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it” (Mark 14:70).
- “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?”
The third question was the most dangerous. It came from a relative of Malchus, the servant whose ear Peter had cut off (John 18:10). This man had been in the garden and claimed to have seen Peter there. If he recognised Peter as the swordsman, Peter could have been arrested too. Fear won, and Peter denied it again. Mark says he even began “to curse, and to swear” that he did not know “this man of whom you speak” (Mark 14:71). The man who had drawn a sword to defend Jesus a few hours before now swore that he had never known him.
- “Immediately the rooster crowed”
At that moment the rooster crowed. Jesus’ words came true exactly: “the rooster won’t crow until you have denied me three times” (John 13:38). John says nothing more, but Luke adds: “The Lord turned, and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the Lord’s word”, and “He went out, and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:61-62). Peter had promised to lay down his life for Jesus. Instead, Jesus was about to lay down his life for Peter.
The Significance of John 18:24-27
- The weakness of good intentions
Peter truly loved Jesus and meant every word of his promise. Yet fear, tiredness and pressure overcame him. Believers should not trust in their own strength but pray, as Jesus urged in the garden, that they may not enter into temptation.
- Godly sorrow leads to life
Peter’s tears were the beginning of his return. Paul wrote, “godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation, which brings no regret” (2 Corinthians 7:10). Unlike Judas, Peter came back to Jesus. Failure is not final for those who turn back to the Lord: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins” (1 John 1:9).
- The Lord who restores
After the resurrection, the angel told the women to tell “his disciples and Peter” (Mark 16:7). By another fire of coals, the risen Jesus asked Peter three times whether he loved him, matching the three denials, and gave him the task, “Feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17). The one who denied his Lord became a shepherd of his flock.
Cross-References:
John 13:38: "the rooster won’t crow until you have denied me three times." Jesus’ prediction fulfilled.
Luke 22:61-62: "The Lord turned, and looked at Peter." Luke’s account of Peter’s tears.
Mark 16:7: "go, tell his disciples and Peter," The risen Lord sought out Peter.
John 21:17: "Lord, you know everything. You know that I have affection for you." Peter restored after his threefold denial.
Conclusion: While Jesus was sent bound from Annas to Caiaphas, Peter denied him a second and a third time, the last time to a relative of the man whose ear he had cut off. Immediately the rooster crowed, fulfilling Jesus’ prediction. Peter’s fall is a warning against trusting our own strength, and his later restoration shows the mercy of the Lord who forgives and renews those who return to him.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible