Biblion Bible Commentary
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Before the Rooster Crows
Matthew 26:31-35
31 Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of me tonight, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ · WEB
He tells them all they will scatter, promises to meet them afterward, and Peter contradicts him twice.
"All of you will be made to stumble because of me tonight, for it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered'" Matthew 26:31 Zechariah 13:7.
The prediction covers all eleven and it is put in the passive — they will be made to stumble, by what is about to be done to him rather than by any failure of theirs beforehand.
"But after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee" Matthew 26:32. The reunion is arranged before the desertion happens. That sentence is the whole gospel in miniature: the failure is foreseen, named, and provided for in advance, and the meeting place is fixed while they are still protesting they will not need it. It is the message the angel repeats at the tomb Matthew 28:7.
"Even if all will be made to stumble because of you, I will never be made to stumble" Matthew 26:33. Peter hears the promise and answers the prediction. And the form of his denial is worse than confidence in himself — it is confidence at the expense of the other ten.
"Most certainly I tell you that tonight, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times" Matthew 26:34. The correction is specific to the hour and the count, which removes any possibility of the outcome being read as bad luck.
"Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you." All of the disciples also said likewise Matthew 26:35. He means it. That is what makes the scene useful rather than merely sad — the sincerity of the pledge is not in question, and it is worth exactly nothing three hours later. And the last clause quietly puts the other ten on the record too, so that the man who is about to fail loudest is not left standing alone in the account.
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