Church Fathers Commentary John 13:36-38

"Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered, Whither I go, thou canst not follow now; but thou shalt follow afterwards. Peter saith unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee even now? I will lay down my life for thee. Jesus answereth, Wilt thou lay down thy life for me? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice." — John 13:36-38 (ASV)

St. John Chrysostom: Great is love, and stronger than fire; nothing can stop its course. Peter, the most ardent of all, as soon as he hears our Lord say, Where I go you cannot follow Me now, asks, Lord, where are you going?

St. Augustine of Hippo: The disciple asks this as if he were ready to follow. But our Lord saw his heart. Jesus answered him, Where I go, you cannot follow Me now. He checks his eagerness but does not destroy his hope; in fact, He confirms it: But you shall follow Me afterwards. Why do you rush, Peter? The Rock has not yet established you with His Spirit. Do not be lifted up with presumption—you cannot follow now. Do not fall into despair—you shall follow Me afterwards.

St. John Chrysostom: On receiving this answer, Peter does not check his desire but hastily conceives favorable hopes from it. Having gotten rid of the fear of betraying our Lord, he feels secure and himself becomes the interrogator while the rest are silent. Peter said to Him, Lord, why cannot I follow you now? I will lay down my life for your sake. What are you saying, Peter? He has said that you cannot, and you say that you can. Therefore, you will learn by experience that your love is nothing unless you are empowered from above. Jesus answered him, Will you lay down your life for my sake?

The Venerable Bede: This sentence can be read in two ways. It could be an affirmation: “You will lay down your life for My sake, but for now, through fear of bodily death, you will incur spiritual death.” Or, it could be mocking, as if He said:

St. Augustine of Hippo: Will you do for Me what I have not yet done for you? Can you go before, when you cannot come after? Why are you so presumptuous? Hear what you are: Truly, truly, I say to you, the cock will not crow until you have denied Me three times. You who promise Me your death will three times deny your life.

Peter knew his great desire, but he did not know his own strength. He boasted of his will while he was still weak, but the Physician saw his weakness. Some who perversely favor Peter excuse him, saying that he did not deny Christ because when asked by the servant girl, he said he did not know Him, as the other Evangelists witness more expressly.

As if to deny the man Christ were not to deny Christ! Indeed, it is to deny that in Christ which He became for our sakes, so that what He made us might not perish. How is He the Head of the Church, if not by His humanity? And how then is he in the body of Christ who denies the man Christ?

But why do I argue for so long? Our Lord does not say, The cock will not crow until you deny man, or the Son of Man, but until you deny Me. What is “Me,” but that which He was? So then, whatever Peter denied, he denied Christ; it is impious to doubt it. Christ said so, and Christ spoke the truth. Beyond a doubt, Peter denied Christ.

Let us not accuse Christ in order to defend Peter. Peter's own frailty acknowledged its sin when his tears witnessed the evil he had done in denying Christ. We do not say this because we take pleasure in blaming the first of the Apostles, but so that we may take warning from him not to be confident in our own strength.

The Venerable Bede: Nevertheless, if anyone should fall, let the example of Peter save him from despair and teach him that he can obtain pardon from God without delay.

St. John Chrysostom: It is clear that our Lord permitted Peter’s fall. He could have stopped him from the beginning, but as Peter persisted in his passionate claims, our Lord did not force him into a denial, but allowed him to proceed without assistance. This was so that Peter might learn his own weakness and not fall into such a sin again when the care of the world would come to him, but that, remembering what had happened, he might know himself.

St. Augustine of Hippo: What Peter offered to do in his body took place instead in his soul, though in a different way than he intended. For before the death and resurrection of our Lord, he both died by his denial and lived again by his tears.

This statement, The cock will not crow..., occurs in all the Evangelists, but not at the same point in the narrative. Matthew and Mark introduce it after they have left the house where they were eating, while Luke and John place it before. We may suppose either that the first two are recalling what had already passed, or that the latter two are anticipating what was to come. Alternatively, the great difference not only in the words but also in the topics that precede this statement—which provoke Peter's presumption in offering to die for or with our Lord—may lead us to conclude that he made this offer three times, and that our Lord replied three times, Before the cock crows, you will deny Me three times.