Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Eric D. Huntsman and Trevan G. Hatch on Peter Denying Jesus

  

Regarding Peter’s predicted denial, some, understandably hesitant to criticize the chief apostle, have wondered whether Jesus was actually giving Peter directions to protect him, nothing that the future tense in Greek, as in English, can be used as an imperative. This suggestion, however, does not sustain grammatical scrutiny well. First, only Mark and Mathew even use the future tense for “you yourself will deny me [Greek, aparnēsēi] three times” (Mark 14:30; parallel Matt 26:34), and such a use of a future command is rare in New Testament Greek. Although Luke and John use a similar looking form (Luke 22:34; John 13:38), they actually use constructions that require another verb form (heōs aparnēsēi or arnēsēi, which ware what are called aorist subjunctives in temporal clauses). In other words, while we should suspend judgment about the motivations of Peter, refraining from accusing him of cowardice in his actions later that night, the texts nevertheless clearly present the literary character of Peter as one in a series of figures who fail Jesus that night—some falling asleep when he asks them to keep watch and others betraying, abandoning, denying, or otherwise leaving Jesus to face his atoning journey alone. (Eric D. Huntsman and Trevan G. Hatch, Great Love Hath No Man: A Latter-day Saint Guide to Celebrating the Easter Season [Provo, Utah: BYU Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2023], 125-26)

 

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