Mark 14:66-72

By the time the band of soldiers had arrived at the house of Caiaphas with Jesus, Peter had recovered from his earlier panic and had decided to go along with the group ~ Mark 14:54. He was not admitted to the room where Jesus was put on trial. He remained in an outer court with the servants and the soldiers. The night was cold an they sat before an open fire. Suddenly, a servant girl began to examine Peter's face in the light of the flickering flame and to take note of his Galilean accent as he engaged in idle talk with the soldiers. You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus ~ Mark 14:67.

Again, fear gripped the heart of Peter, and saying, I don't know or understand what you're talking about ~ Mark 14:68, he left the room and went out on the porch.

The sound of a rooster crowing in the night was grim reminder to Peter of the words of Jesus a few hours earlier. Would his Master's words come true? Would he really deny Jesus over and over again? As if to indicate his determination to face up to any further temptation of the sort, it appears that Peter deliberately went back to join the servants and the soldiers. Once more a servant girl eyed him. As before, convinced that Peter was a follower of Jesus, she challenged him.

Peter was not as strong as he had supposed. He flatly denied this second accusation. When others around him brought a similar claim, Peter, for the third time, denied his relationship to Jesus and went on to call down curses on himself; and he swore to them, I don't know this man you're talking about ~ Mark 14:71.

There is no doubt that Peter's love for Jesus never failed; it was his courage that failed. His conduct, surely, was inexcusable but it was not unforgivable. The redeeming feature about the story is that Peter did not, for a moment, seek to justify himself. As soon as he had denied his Lord, his heart became heavy, and he burst into tears ~ Mark 14:72.