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)
