The Bible says in Matthew chapter 26 verses 69 through 75:
Peter Disowns Jesus
69Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.
70But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
71Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”
73After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.”
74Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!”
Immediately a rooster crowed. 75Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Footnote from the Life Application Study Bible:
26: 69-75 Peter’s denial had three stages: (1) He acted confused and tried to divert attention from himself by changing the subject. (2) Using an oath, he denied that he knew Jesus. (3) He swore that he did not know Jesus. Believers who deny Jesus often begin doing so subtly by pretending not to know him. When opportunities to discuss religious issues come up, they walk away or pretend they don’t know enough to have such conversations. With only a little more pressure, they can be induced to flatly deny their relationship with God. If you find yourself subtly diverting conversation so you don’t have to talk about Jesus, watch out. You may be on the road to denying him.
26: 72-74 That Peter denied that he knew Jesus, using an oath and swearing, does not mean he used foul language. This was the kind of swearing that a person does in a court of law. Peter was swearing that he did not know Jesus and was invoking a curse on himself if his words were untrue. In effect he was saying, “May God strike me dead if I am lying.”
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Tyndale. NLT Life Application Study Bible, Third Edition (p. 11659). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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