But whosoever shall deny me before men
Deny that he is a disciple of Christ, and that Christ is his Lord
and master, act contrary to him, deliver things repugnant to his
mind and will; which for a disciple to do to his master was a
very heinous crime with the Jews:
``if (say they F14) Rabbi Jochanan, (rwpky) , "deny" Rabbi Eleazar, his disciple, he will not "deny" Rabbi Jannai, his "master".''Some regard may be had here to Peter's after denial of Christ; and this proviso be supposed, "except he repent", as he did. Moreover, to deny Christ, is to drop, or oppose any of those truths which regard his person, office, and grace; or to hide and conceal them from men, through fear, shame, or cowardice of mind: and even not to confess him, through fear of men, is interpreted, by Christ, a denial of him; and such who deny him in any form and shape, either by words or deeds,
him,
says he,
will I also deny before my Father which is
heaven;
he will deny them to be disciples, or that they belong to him; he
will deny that he ever knew them, loved or approved of them; he
will declare in the presence of his Father, his disapprobation of
them, his indignation against them, that they are workers of
iniquity; yea, he will do more, he will banish them from his
presence, and send them into everlasting burnings.