Judas' Betrayal and Peter's Denial Foretold.

  33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews [see Section 78], Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say unto you.

  34 A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

  35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

[In the term of tenderness "my little children," with which Jesus opens this paragraph, we see one of the marks of love referred to by John ( John 13:1 ). It is found nowhere else in the Gospels. In the light of his near separation Jesus looked upon his apostles as about to be made orphan children. As to this new commandment, love had been commanded before ( Leviticus 19:18 ), but the Christian love here commanded is different from that which the Jew was bade to feel for the Jew, just as the affection of a loving family differs from the mere broad and kindly spirit of neighborliness. A love which had Christ's heart as the standard would of necessity be new, and would distinguish those who possessed it from all men.]

  34 A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

  35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

  ^b 27 And

  ^a 31 Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended in me this night: for it is written

[ 13:7 ], I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.   32 But

  ^b 28 Howbeit, after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee.

[The scattering would take place after the return of the apostles to Galilee, and there after his resurrection, Jesus would gather them together as their shepherd.]

  ^a 31 Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended in me this night: for it is written

  ^b 28 Howbeit, after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee.

  ^d 36 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered, Whither I go, thou canst not follow now; but thou shalt follow afterwards.

  37 Peter saith unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee even now? I will lay down my life for thee.

[Peter, grieved at the prospect of separation, can see no reason why he should not follow, since he is willing to pass even through the portal of the grave that he may do so. Though perhaps prevented by no moral inability, he was prevented by the plan of life which God had designed for him. It was not in accordance with the divine will that he should die at this time.]

  37 Peter saith unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee even now? I will lay down my life for thee.

  38 Jesus answereth, Wilt thou lay down thy life for me?

  ^c 31 Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have you, that he might sift you as wheat:

  32 but I made supplication for thee, that thy faith fail not

[The language here suggests a repetition, in some degree, of Satan's conduct in the case of Job. See Job :ii. Jesus, having insight into what might be enabled to endure the trial]; and do thou, when once thou hast turned again, establish thy brethren. [The language sadly intimates that Satan's test would leave him in need of repentance. As the one who perhaps exercised the strongest influence over the other ten apostles, Peter is exhorted to use his own bitter experience for their benefit and strengthening.]

  ^c 31 Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have you, that he might sift you as wheat:

  32 but I made supplication for thee, that thy faith fail not

  33 And he said unto him, Lord, with thee I am ready to go both to prison and to death.

  ^a 33 But Peter answered and said unto him, ^b Although, {^a If} all shall be offended in thee, ^b yet will not I. ^a I will never be offended.

[Thus Peter repudiates the idea that he could not stand the test.]

  ^a 33 But Peter answered and said unto him, ^b Although, {^a If} all shall be offended in thee, ^b yet will not I. ^a I will never be offended.

  ^b 30 And Jesus saith {^a said} unto him, Verily I say unto thee, ^c I tell thee, Peter, ^b that thou to-day, even this night, before the cock crow twice, ^c thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me. ^d Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, ^c this day, ^d till {^c until} ^d thou hast denied me thrice. [Mark speaks of two cock-crowings and shows that the denial of Peter occurred between them ( Mark 14:68-72 ). But Matthew, Luke, and John speak of but one cock-crowing and place the denial before it. The discrepancy is not an important one. Luke and John look upon the night in its entirety and speak of the cock-crowing at three in the morning, the signal of the dawning day. Mark looks at the night in its details, and shows that the denials of Peter began at midnight, the time of the first cock-crowing, and were finished before the last, or about three in the morning. Peter appears to have been thunderstruck at this prediction, which showed the nature, the details, and the nearness of his sin. He lapsed into silence, and we hear no more from him during the discourses which followed. But he did not yield without one final protest, as the sequel shows.]

  ^b 31 But ^a Peter ^b spake exceedingly vehemently, ^a saith unto him, Even ^b If I must die with thee, I will not deny thee. And in like manner {^a Likewise} also said all the disciples. [According to Matthew's account these accusations of our Jesus left the upper room and was on his way to Gethsemane. The reader may therefore conceive of them as occurring again in the opening lines of Section CXXIII.]

  ^c 35 And he said unto them, When I sent you forth without purse, and wallet, and shoes, lacked ye anything? [See Section 61.] And they said, Nothing.

  36 And he said unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise a wallet; and he that hath none, let him sell his cloak, and buy a sword.

  37 For I say unto you, that this which is written

[ Isaiah 53:12 ] must be fulfilled in me, And he was reckoned with transgressors: for that which concerneth me hath fulfilment.

  38 And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.

[In this passage our Lord draws a contrast between the favor with which his messengers had been received on their former mission and the trials and persecutions which awaited them in their future course. If they had prepared then to be received with joy, they were to prepare now to be opposed with bitterness; for the utter rejection of the Master would be followed by the violent persecution of the servants. The apostles took the words of Jesus literally, and showed two swords, and the Lord, for their future enlightenment, said, "It is enough," thus intimating that he did not mean a literal arming with carnal weapons, for had he done so, two swords would not have sufficed for twelve men.]

  36 And he said unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise a wallet; and he that hath none, let him sell his cloak, and buy a sword.

  37 For I say unto you, that this which is written

  38 And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.