Peter's Second Denial

Just as John often refers to the religious elite as “Judeans,” the Zealots—who were the underground terrorists opposing Roman rule—were identified as predominantly from Galilee, that is “Galileans.” Thus, more likely there was more to the accusation of Peter being a Galilean, than just identifying him as a follower of Jesus. Thus, the servants would have assumed that Jesus was a Zealot and had been arrested for sedition. Therefore, calling Peter a Galilean was tantamount to accusing him of treason to Roman rule.

Having followed Jesus and his accusers to the palace of Caiaphas, the events of Peter’s second denial are as follows: (1) Peter again joins the servants around the fire, this time in the palace of Caiaphas; (2) a girl again accuses him of being with Jesus; (3) he denies it.