An Interesting Reading

The other day, my husband was telling me about the class he's taking at the seminary on the Passion narratives (the description of the events leading up to Jesus's death). In particular, he was telling me an observation he made regarding the trial, something that had never occurred to him before, and something he'd never heard before, so he's not sure of it, but I did think it was intriguing.

It comes from the trial before Caiaphas in Matthew 26:63 "And the high priest said to Him I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God."

Then go down to Peter's denials, where after the 1st denial, the bystanders say "Surely you too are one of them, for even the way you talk gives you away." Normally, the Greek for what was interpreted as "the way you talk" is translated and interpreted as his Galilean accent. But the Greek doesn't exactly say that (and the KJV and NKJV do not translate it that specifically). The Greek word means "saying, or tongue." That can be translated as accent, but it can also be translated as WHAT is said (your speech has betrayed you, or your tongue has betrayed you).

See, a few chapters before, in Chapter 16, Jesus asked Peter "Who do you say that I am?" and Peter responded "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." and then Jesus warned His disciples that no one should be told that He was the Christ.

But every time Jesus uttered that, after miracles and teachings, the opposite always happened; the stories spread like wildfire. What if it had been spread around that Peter had confessed this -- The EXACT same thing that Caiaphas was asking Jesus to admit, and that the bystanders were saying "everyone knows you were the one who said what Jesus is now being called to admit -- that He says He is the Son of God."

And that would also mean that at the same time that Jesus is called upon the name of God to confess that Peter's confession is true, Peter is there denying that he was the one who said it. Well, really that is the case either way.

Not that it changes anything theologically, but I did think it was interesting.