Mateo 26

VBL · Chapter 26/28

¹Después que hubo dicho todo esto, Jesús le dijo a los discípulos:

²“Ustedes saben que en dos días es la Pascua, y el Hijo del hombre será entregado y crucificado”.

³Entonces los jefes de los sacerdotes y los ancianos del pueblo se reunieron en el patio de Caifás, el sumo sacerdote.

⁴Allí conspiraron para arrestar a Jesús bajo algún pretexto engañoso y matarlo.

⁵Pero dijeron: “no hagamos esto durante el festival para que no haya disturbios en el pueblo”.

⁶Mientras Jesús estaba en la casa de Simón el leproso, en Betania,

⁷vino una mujer que traía un frasco de alabastro que contenía un perfume muy costoso. Ella lo derramó en la cabeza de Jesús mientras él estaba sentado y comía. Pero cuando los discípulos vieron lo que ella hizo, se incomodaron por ello.

⁸“¡Qué gran desperdicio!” objetaron.

⁹“¡Este perfume pudo haberse vendido por mucho dinero y lo habríamos regalado a los pobres!”

¹⁰Jesús sabía lo que estaba pasando y les dijo: “¿Por qué están enojados con esta mujer? ¡Ella ha hecho algo maravilloso por mí!

¹¹Los pobres siempre estarán entre ustedes, pero no siempre me tendrán a mí.

¹²Al derramar este perfume en mi cuerpo, ella me ha preparado para mi sepultura.

¹³Les digo la verdad: dondequiera que se difunda esta buena noticia, se contará lo que esta mujer ha hecho, en memoria de ella”.

¹⁴Entonces Judas Iscariote, uno de los doce discípulos, fue donde estaban los jefes de los sacerdotes

¹⁵y les preguntó: “¿Cuánto me pagarán por entregarles a Jesús?” Y ellos le pagaron treinta monedas de plata.

¹⁶A partir de ese momento, Judas buscaba una oportunidad para entregar a Jesús.

¹⁷El primer día del festival del pan sin levadura, los discípulos vinieron donde Jesús y le preguntaron: “¿Dónde quieres que preparemos la cena de la Pascua para ti?”

¹⁸Jesús les dijo: “vayan a la ciudad y busquen a cierto hombre que está ahí y díganle que el Maestro dice: ‘Se acerca mi hora. Voy a celebrar la Pascua con mis discípulos en tu casa’”.

¹⁹Entonces los discípulos hicieron lo que Jesús les dijo, y prepararon allí la cena de la Pascua.

²⁰Cuando llegó la noche, Jesús se sentó allí a comer con los doce.

²¹Mientras comían, les dijo: “En verdad les digo que uno de ustedes va a entregarme”.

²²Ellos estaban extremadamente incómodos. Uno por uno le preguntaban: “Señor, no soy yo, ¿cierto?”

²³“El que ha metido su mano conmigo en el plato, me entregará”, respondió Jesús.

²⁴“El Hijo del hombre morirá tal como fue profetizado acerca de él, pero ¡qué desgracia vendrá sobre el hombre que entregue al Hijo del hombre! ¡Habría sido mejor que nunca hubiera nacido!”

²⁵Judas, el que lo iba a entregar, preguntó “¿Seré yo, Rabí?”

²⁶Mientras comían, Jesús tomó del pan y lo bendijo. Entonces lo partió y lo repartió entre los discípulos. “Tomen este pan y cómanlo porque este es mi cuerpo”, dijo Jesús.

²⁷Entonces cogió la copa, la bendijo y se la entregó a ellos. “Tomen todos de esta copa”, les dijo.

²⁸“Porque esta es mi sangre del pacto, derramada por muchos para el perdón de pecados.

²⁹Sin embargo, les digo, yo no beberé más de este fruto de la vid hasta el día en que vuelva a beberlo nuevamente con ustedes en el reino de mi Padre”.

³⁰Después que terminaron de cantar, se fueron al Monte de los Olivos.

³¹“Todos ustedes me abandonarán esta noche”, les dijo Jesús. “Como dice la Escritura: ‘Yo golpearé al pastor, y el rebaño estará completamente disperso’.

³²Pero después que me haya levantado, yo iré delante de ustedes a Galilea”.

³³Pero Pedro objetó: “incluso si todos los demás te abandonan, yo nunca te abandonaré”.

³⁴“Te digo la verdad”, le dijo Jesús, “esta misma noche, antes de que el gallo cante, me negarás tres veces”.

³⁵“¡Aun si tengo que morir contigo, nunca te negaré!” insistió Pedro. Y todos los discípulos dijeron lo mismo.

³⁶Entonces Jesús se fue con sus discípulos a un lugar llamado Getsemaní. Les dijo: “Siéntense aquí mientras yo voy allá a orar”.

³⁷Entonces llevó consigo a Pedro y a los dos hijos de Zebedeo, y comenzó a sufrir tristeza y aflicción agonizantes.

³⁸Entonces les dijo: “Estoy tan inundado de tristeza, que siento morir. Esperen aquí y estén en vigilia conmigo”.

³⁹Entonces se fue un poco más lejos, se postró sobre su rostro y oró.

⁴⁰Entonces regresó donde estaban los discípulos y los encontró dormidos. Le dijo entonces a Pedro: “¿Cómo es que no pudieron estar despiertos conmigo apenas una hora?

⁴¹Estén despiertos y oren, para que no caigan en tentación. Sí, el espíritu está dispuesto, pero el cuerpo es débil”.

⁴²Entonces se fue por segunda vez y oró.

⁴³Regresó entonces y encontró a los discípulos durmiendo, porque no pudieron mantenerse despiertos.

⁴⁴Entonces los dejó allí una vez más y se fue y oró por tercera vez, repitiendo las mismas cosas.

⁴⁵Entonces regresó donde estaban sus discípulos, y les dijo: “¿Cómo es posible que aún estén durmiendo y descansando? Miren, el momento ha llegado. ¡El Hijo del hombre está a punto de ser entregado en manos de pecadores!

⁴⁶¡Levántense, vámonos! Miren, acaba de llegar el que me entrega”.

⁴⁷Cuando dijo esto, Judas, uno de los doce, llegó con una gran turba que estaba armada con espadas y palos, y habían sido enviados por los jefes de los sacerdotes y por los ancianos del pueblo.

⁴⁸El traidor había acordado que les daría una señal: “Al que yo bese, ese es... ¡arréstenlo”, les dijo.

⁴⁹Judas llegó inmediatamente donde estaba Jesús y dijo: “Hola, Rabí”, y lo besó.

⁵⁰“Amigo mío, haz lo que viniste a hacer”, le dijo Jesús a Judas. Entonces vinieron y tomaron a Jesús y lo arrestaron.

⁵¹Uno de los que estaban con Jesús alcanzó su espada y la sacó. Atacó con ella al siervo del sumo sacerdote, cortándole la oreja.

⁵²Pero Jesús le dijo: “Guarda tu espada. Todo el que pelea con una espada, morirá a espada.

⁵³¿Acaso no crees que yo podría rogar a mi Padre, y él enviaría más de doce legiones de ángeles de inmediato?

⁵⁴Pero entonces ¿cómo podría cumplirse la Escritura que dice que esto debe ocurrir?”

⁵⁵Entonces Jesús le dijo a la turba: “¿Han venido con espadas y palos para arrestarme como si yo fuese algún criminal? Todos los días me sentaba en el Templo a enseñarles y en ese momento no me arrestaron.

⁵⁶Pero todo esto está ocurriendo para que se cumpla lo que escribieron los profetas”. Entonces todos los discípulos lo abandonaron y huyeron.

⁵⁷Los que habían arrestado a Jesús lo llevaron a la casa de Caifás, el sumo sacerdote, donde se habían reunido los maestros religiosos y los ancianos.

⁵⁸Pedro los seguía a la distancia, y entró al patio de los sumos sacerdotes. Se sentó allí con los guardias para ver cómo terminaban las cosas.

⁵⁹Los jefes de los sacerdotes y todo el concilio estaban tratando de encontrar alguna prueba falsa contra Jesús para mandarlo a matar.

⁶⁰Pero no podían encontrar nada, aun cuando habían venido muchos testigos falsos. Finalmente, llegaron dos

⁶¹e informaron: “Este hombre dijo: ‘yo puedo destruir el Templo de Dios, y volver a construirlo en tres días’”.

⁶²El sumo sacerdote se levantó y le preguntó a Jesús: “¿No tienes nada que responder? ¿Qué tienes para decir en tu defensa?”

⁶³Pero Jesús se quedó en silencio.

⁶⁴“Tu lo has dicho”, respondió Jesús. “Y también te digo que en el futuro verás al Hijo de Dios sentado a la diestra del Todopoderoso, y viniendo en las nubes de los cielos”.

⁶⁵Entonces el sumo sacerdote rasgó su ropa, y dijo: “¡Está diciendo blasfemia! ¿Para qué necesitamos testigos? ¡Miren, ustedes mismos han escuchado su blasfemia!

⁶⁶¿Qué veredicto dan ustedes?”

⁶⁷Entonces escupieron su rostro y lo golpearon. Algunos de ellos lo abofetearon con sus manos,

⁶⁸y dijeron: “¡Profetízanos, ‘Mesías’! ¿Quién es el que te acaba de golpear?”

⁶⁹Mientras tanto, Pedro estaba sentado afuera en el patio. Una joven criada vino donde él estaba y dijo: “¡Tu también estabas con Jesús el galileo!”

⁷⁰Pero él lo negó delante de todos. “No sé de qué hablas”, dijo él.

⁷¹Entonces regresó a la entrada de la casa, donde otra persona lo vio y le dijo a las personas que estaban allí: “Este hombre estaba con Jesús de Nazaret”.

⁷²Una vez más, Pedro lo negó, diciendo con juramento: “Yo no lo conozco”.

⁷³Un poco más tarde, las personas que estaban allí vinieron donde estaba Pedro y dijeron: “Definitivamente tu eres uno de ellos. Tu acento te delata”.

⁷⁴Entonces comenzó a jurar: “¡Que me caiga una maldición si estoy mintiendo! ¡No conozco al hombre!” E inmediatamente el gallo cantó.

⁷⁵Entonces Pedro recordó lo que Jesús le había dicho: “Antes de que el gallo cante, negarás tres veces que me conoces”. Entonces salió y lloró amargamente.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Jesus is anointed with perfume in Bethany, celebrates the Last Supper with the disciples, instituting the bread and wine as symbols of his body and blood, prays in anguish in Gethsemane, is betrayed by Judas and denied three times by Peter, and is taken prisoner to the Sanhedrin.

Explanation

The anointing in Bethany, criticized by some as wasteful, is defended by Jesus as a symbolic preparation for his burial, showing sensitivity at a moment of mounting tension. The Last Supper takes place during the Jewish Passover, a feast that recalled the deliverance from Egypt; by reinterpreting the bread and wine as his own body and blood, Jesus establishes a new meaning for this celebration, which the Christian church would go on to keep as the Lord's Supper. The anguish in Gethsemane, with the request that the 'cup' pass from him, reveals Jesus's real humanity in the face of imminent suffering, without denying his willingness to follow the Father's will. Peter's threefold denial, only moments after swearing loyalty even unto death, is an honest portrait of human weakness under pressure and fear.

Fun facts

Thirty pieces of silver, the sum paid to Judas, was historically the compensation price for an injured slave according to Exodus 21 — a symbolically low and humiliating amount.
Gethsemane means 'oil press' in Hebrew/Aramaic, a fitting name for a garden of olive trees at the foot of the Mount of Olives, where very ancient olive trees still stand today.

Verse-by-verse explanation

Mateo 26:1This closes the fifth and final major discourse of the gospel, the one on the parables of judgment — from here on, the narrative moves straight into the sequence of events leading to the Passion.
Mateo 26:2The Jewish Passover commemorated Israel’s exodus from Egypt and was the biggest pilgrimage festival of the year — Jerusalem filled with people from all over the region. It is this backdrop of a packed city, political tension, and the symbolism of liberation that sets the stage for Jesus’s final days.
Mateo 26:3Caiaphas had been the acting high priest since about AD 18, the highest religious office among the Jews, though appointed and subject to Rome’s political approval.
Mateo 26:4“By subtlety” indicates that the arrest would not be carried out openly or through clear legal means, but through cunning and deceit — a plan already in place well before the actual arrest took place.
Mateo 26:5The fear of an uproar during the Passover festival, when Jerusalem was packed with pilgrims, shows a calculated political concern, not merely a religious one, about how and when to act against Jesus.
Mateo 26:6Simon the leper had probably already been healed — no one with active leprosy could receive guests at home under Jewish purity law — but the nickname stuck with him even afterward.
Mateo 26:7Alabaster was a stone used for jars that held expensive perfumes, and the ointment was probably spikenard imported from India — a luxury item only wealthy families could afford. That is why the disciples react with indignation: that jar was probably worth almost a year’s wages, used up all at once.
Mateo 26:8According to John’s gospel, the disciples’ indignation came specifically from Judas — but Matthew generalizes the reaction to the whole group, focusing on the argument raised rather than on who raised it.
Mateo 26:9According to the other gospels, the ointment’s value reached three hundred denarii, nearly a year’s wages for an ordinary worker, which makes the argument about helping the poor with that money at least understandable at first glance.
Mateo 26:10Jesus defends the woman by calling her gesture a “good work,” valuing an act of personal devotion above even a noble cause like helping the poor, at a specific moment He considers important.
Mateo 26:11“Ye have the poor always with you” does not diminish the importance of helping those in need — it acknowledges an ongoing reality, in contrast with Jesus’s limited physical presence among them before His imminent death.
Mateo 26:12Jesus interprets the woman’s gesture as a symbolic preparation for His own burial — an anticipation she probably was not fully aware of making.
Mateo 26:13The promise that the gesture would be remembered “in the whole world” has in fact already come true: the episode is recorded in the gospels and has been read for nearly two thousand years in contexts completely different from the original.
Mateo 26:14Judas Iscariot is specifically introduced as “one of the twelve” — a detail repeated throughout the Passion narrative, emphasizing that the betrayal came from within the innermost circle.
Mateo 26:15Thirty pieces of silver was, according to the Law of Moses itself, the set price to compensate the owner of a slave killed by an ox — in other words, the official value of a slave’s life. It was neither a fortune nor a pittance: it was an amount with that very specific meaning, chosen deliberately by the religious leaders to pay for Jesus.
Mateo 26:16“From that time he sought opportunity” indicates the betrayal was not an impulsive act, but an ongoing plan, waiting for the right moment to be carried out.
Mateo 26:17The Feast of Unleavened Bread was tied to Passover and lasted a week, a period in which every trace of leaven had to be removed from the house, recalling the haste of the exodus from Egypt, when there was no time for the bread to rise. It is during these preparations, removing the leaven and arranging the Passover lamb, that the disciples ask where they will celebrate the meal.
Mateo 26:18“My time is at hand” is an enigmatic phrase directed at an unidentified host — it suggests Jesus already had a prior arrangement in place for the location of the meal, without spelling out how.
Mateo 26:19Preparing the Passover involved specific tasks: sacrificing the Passover lamb at the temple, preparing bitter herbs, and unleavened bread — tasks the disciples carry out exactly as instructed.
Mateo 26:20Reclining at the table, rather than sitting in chairs, was the formal posture for festive meals at the time, including the Passover meal — a cultural detail that helps set the scene of the Last Supper.
Mateo 26:21Announcing the betrayal in the middle of the Passover meal, a moment celebrating the people’s liberation, makes the revelation even more shocking to those present.
Mateo 26:22Each disciple’s individual question, “Lord, is it I?”, shows that none of them felt immune to the possibility — not even confident that he himself would not turn out to be the traitor.
Mateo 26:23At a meal of that era, it was common for several people to dip their bread in the same central dish — there were no individual plates as there are today. Jesus is not pointing out a rare gesture; He is saying the traitor is someone close enough to share the very same food with Him at that exact moment.
Mateo 26:24“As it is written” ties the betrayal to ancient prophecies about the Messiah’s suffering, but that does not exempt Judas from personal responsibility — the next line, about it being better for him if he had not been born, makes that clear.
Mateo 26:25Judas repeats the same question as the other disciples, perhaps trying to blend in among them — Jesus’s enigmatic answer, “Thou hast said,” confirms it without directly accusing him in front of the whole group.
Mateo 26:26The gesture of breaking the bread and calling it “this is my body” establishes what would come to be known as the institution of the Lord’s Supper, repeated afterward in Christian rituals throughout history.
Mateo 26:27Drinking from the same cup was a common gesture of fellowship at formal meals of the time — here it takes on an additional meaning tied directly to the words Jesus says next.
Mateo 26:28“My blood of the new testament” echoes the language of Exodus 24, about the blood of the covenant between God and Israel at Sinai — Jesus applies that same image of a covenant sealed by blood to His own sacrifice.
Mateo 26:29The promise to drink “new” wine again in the Father’s kingdom suggests that this meal is not a final ending, but a pause until a future celebration — a theme that also appears elsewhere in the New Testament.
Mateo 26:30It was customary, at the end of the Passover meal, to sing a group of psalms known as the Hallel (praise), likely the closing psalms of the book of Psalms. It is this traditional closing hymn, not an improvised song, that Jesus and the disciples sing before heading out to Gethsemane.
Mateo 26:31The quotation is from the prophet Zechariah, about the shepherd being struck and the sheep scattering — Jesus applies this ancient image directly to His own imminent arrest and the disciples’ coming flight.
Mateo 26:32The promise of a reunion in Galilee after the resurrection already anticipates, in the middle of the crisis, an outcome that goes beyond death itself — a detail that is in fact fulfilled in chapter 28.
Mateo 26:33Peter’s confidence in setting himself apart from the other disciples, even in the face of a clear warning, sets up directly for the specific prediction Jesus makes about him in the next verse.
Mateo 26:34“Before the cock crow” was a common expression for marking the turn of early morning — the specific prediction of three denials in the same night is fulfilled exactly as described later in the chapter.
Mateo 26:35Peter’s insistence, followed by the same claim from all the other disciples, shows a collective confidence that the narrative will dismantle over the next few hours.
Mateo 26:36Gethsemane was a garden of olive trees at the foot of the Mount of Olives, probably a place Jesus already frequented with the disciples — not a random last-minute choice.
Mateo 26:37Peter, James, and John once again form Jesus’s innermost circle, the same three present at the Transfiguration, now witnessing the opposite moment: the most intense anguish before the arrest.
Mateo 26:38“Even unto death” describes an emotional suffering so intense that Jesus compares it to the experience of death itself — a raw, unvarnished picture of genuine anguish.
Mateo 26:39“Let this cup pass from me” expresses the genuine human desire to avoid the suffering ahead, but the sentence ends by submitting that desire to the Father’s will — both halves of the prayer stand side by side without hiding the tension between them.
Mateo 26:40Finding the disciples asleep, right after asking them to keep watch, exposes the gap between their intention to support Jesus and their actual ability to do so in that moment.
Mateo 26:41“The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” sums up the tension the disciples themselves, and Peter in particular, were about to live out: good intentions not being enough in the face of real pressure.
Mateo 26:42The second prayer repeats the submission to the Father’s will, but with a slight shift in wording — Jesus now seems to accept that the cup will not pass, adjusting the request accordingly.
Mateo 26:43“Their eyes were heavy” is a simple physical expression for deep sleep — the disciples were not ignoring Jesus out of indifference, but were physically unable to fight off exhaustion.
Mateo 26:44The third prayer, repeating the same words, shows Jesus’s persistence in seeking the Father three times in a row — a pattern of intensity that contrasts with the disciples’ repeated sleep.
Mateo 26:45“Sleep on now, and take your rest” sounds almost ironic after repeated requests to keep watch — but the moment of rest no longer makes any difference, because the hour of the arrest has arrived.
Mateo 26:46“Rise, let us be going” marks the abrupt turn from a moment of private prayer to imminent action — Jesus walks out to meet His own captor, rather than fleeing.
Mateo 26:47The “great multitude with swords and staves” sent by the religious leaders themselves shows that the arrest was organized officially, with enough armed force to handle any expected resistance.
Mateo 26:48Arranging a kiss as an identifying signal was necessary because, at night and by torchlight, it would have been hard for strangers to pick Jesus out among the group of disciples without someone pointing Him out directly.
Mateo 26:49A kiss on the hand or cheek was the normal way for a disciple to greet his teacher in that culture — a gesture of respect, not something odd or overly intimate. It is precisely because it was so common and expected that it works as the arranged signal: no one would suspect Judas for approaching Jesus that way.
Mateo 26:50“Friend, wherefore art thou come?” is not a literal question — it reads more like a sorrowful acknowledgment of the betrayal already in motion, addressed directly to the one about to complete it with a gesture of feigned affection.
Mateo 26:51According to John’s gospel, this disciple was Peter, and the wounded servant was named Malchus — Matthew names neither of them, keeping the focus on Jesus’s reaction to the act, not on the participants.
Mateo 26:52“All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword” rejects armed resistance as a response to the arrest, even though the violence against Jesus was unjust.
Mateo 26:53A Roman legion had roughly six thousand soldiers — twelve legions of angels would be an overwhelming force, used here to show that the arrest happens only because Jesus chooses not to resist, not for lack of power available to Him.
Mateo 26:54Jesus ties His own non-resistance to the necessary fulfillment of the Scriptures — the arrest is part of a larger plan He chooses to follow, even though He has the power to avoid it.
Mateo 26:55Jesus questions the need for such a large armed force to arrest Him, since He had taught publicly in the temple every day with no previous attempt to capture Him — suggesting that the nighttime, covert action had calculated motives, not genuine security concerns.
Mateo 26:56The flight of all the disciples directly fulfills the prophecy from Zechariah already quoted earlier in the chapter, about the shepherd struck and the sheep scattered — the abandonment was expected, not a total surprise.
Mateo 26:57Taking Jesus first to Caiaphas’s house, rather than straight to a formal court, suggests an initial hearing that was more informal and rushed, ahead of any process before Roman authorities.
Mateo 26:58Peter following “afar off” shows a mix of cautious loyalty and fear — he does not fully abandon Jesus, but he also does not approach openly, keeping a safe distance.
Mateo 26:59Actively seeking false testimony, rather than investigating real accusations, exposes that the outcome of the trial had already been decided beforehand: find any justification for a conviction already intended.
Mateo 26:60The difficulty finding consistent witnesses, even among an abundance of false testimony, suggests the process did not even follow the council’s own formal standards of evidence required by Jewish law.
Mateo 26:61The accusation about destroying and rebuilding the temple twists something Jesus had said in a more symbolic way, according to John’s gospel, about His own body — a misunderstanding used as ammunition against Him.
Mateo 26:62Jesus’s silence in the face of the accusations, mentioned in the next verse, already begins here with the high priest’s provocation trying to force a response or reaction.
Mateo 26:63“I adjure thee by the living God” was a solemn legal formula that compelled an answer under oath — Caiaphas forces Jesus to state directly where He stood on His own messianic identity.
Mateo 26:64“Thou hast said” was a common form of indirect confirmation at the time; the rest of Jesus’s answer, quoting Daniel 7 and Psalm 110, is the most direct declaration of His divine identity in the entire trial.
Mateo 26:65Tearing one’s own clothes was a traditional gesture of mourning or horror in the face of something considered a grave offense against God — the high priest did this publicly to show he had just witnessed blasphemy. From that gesture on, the religious trial was effectively over: for the council, there was nothing left to discuss.
Mateo 26:66The high priest’s rhetorical question already seeks confirmation of a collective decision — the verdict, “He is guilty of death,” comes quickly, with no real debate over Jesus’s answer.
Mateo 26:67Spitting in someone’s face and striking them with fists was treatment reserved for criminals considered to have no dignity whatsoever — a sign of the total contempt the religious council had already decided to have for Jesus.
Mateo 26:68“Prophesy unto us” specifically mocks Jesus’s messianic claim, daring Him to show prophetic power by identifying who struck Him while He was blindfolded, according to other accounts of the same episode.
Mateo 26:69The scene of Peter in the courtyard happens at the same time as Jesus’s trial inside — the two events, the arrest and the denial, are narrated side by side to show the contrast between Jesus’s steadfastness and Peter’s weakness.
Mateo 26:70Peter’s first denial happens in front of a simple servant girl, someone with no real power to threaten him — showing that his fear was out of proportion to the actual risk of the situation.
Mateo 26:71The second accusation, from another person in the porch, shows that Peter’s association with Jesus was already being noticed by more than one person, increasing the pressure on him.
Mateo 26:72Denying “with an oath” the second time escalates the seriousness of the denial — Peter does not just deny it, he invokes a formal oath to reinforce the lie.
Mateo 26:73Peter’s Galilean accent, different from the speech of Jerusalem, is the detail that finally gives away his origin and his association with Jesus, despite his earlier denials.
Mateo 26:74The third denial, with even stronger curses and oaths, marks the lowest point of Peter’s fall — immediately followed by the exact sign Jesus had predicted: the crowing of the rooster.
Mateo 26:75Peter’s bitter weeping, as he remembers Jesus’s exact prediction, shows immediate, genuine remorse — a contrast with Judas’s calculated betrayal, which the next chapter will revisit.