The New Testament in Poetry
by
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Denial of Jesus
Matthew 26:69–75
69 Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.
70 But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.
71 And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.
72 And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man.
73 And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee.
74 Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.
75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.
Betrayal
Coming toward me a young damsel asked: “Did I not see
That you were with this Jesus of Gallilee?” “Never! Never! No!” I say.
I turned my back and walked away.
Panicked, I moved outside to breathe the air. Then another maid confronted me there.
“Jesus the accused,” she said “from Nazareth land. Are you not a disciple of this man?”
“I swear, I swear, I never knew this man!”
“With God as my witness, he is a stranger in the land.” With fear and trembling I could clearly see,
That all their faces were fixed on me.
Then another from that fireside crowd inquisitioned me:
“From your distinctive speech we can clearly see, That you, like Jesus, are a man from Galilee.” “Hear me now!” I say again.
“I never even knew the man.”
Three denials of God, all in a row. Then as I heard a distant cock crow,
I remembered what Jesus had said to me:
“Three times denied is how you will abandon me.”
Denied by the man, who in devotion free,
Had walked with Jesus on the Sea of Gallilee.
The disciple who was the first to sing:
“He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings!”
Oh the pain that seized me there. The burden of guilt I could not bare. Peter the rock, who would never fail,
Had conspired in denial with the demons of hell.
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About the Book
The author takes major events described in the King James New Testament and restates them in poetic, rhyming verse. Each poem—dealing with the life of Christ, his disciples, and his followers—heightens the spiritual inspiration of each chosen passage. The primary thrust of the foundational verses, as well as the poetry based upon them, is man’s personal encounters with Jesus, angels, and human messengers. Because salvation is the continual theme, the poems possess a distinctly evangelistic tone.
Pastors, teachers, and other speakers will find the verses useful to be cited as heart-piercing restatements of biblical passages or to illustrate famous pivotal incidents that occurred during New Testament times. Each poem is written to be recited and thereby serve to create a greater spiritual impact for sermons, lessons, and speeches.
About the Author
Charles W. Gamble, who received his graduate education at Harvard Law School, is a lawyer and both Dean Emeritus and Henry Upson Sims Professor Emeritus of Law at the University of Alabama School of Law. He is published widely in the legal field, having authored many articles and books.
Gamble is former faculty advisor to student chapters of the Christian Legal Society at the law schools of Samford University and The University of Alabama. He has taught church-sponsored Bible classes since 1965 and has ministered as chairman and vice-chairman of deacons at two churches. In addition to his career in law teaching and administration, Gamble has served as a lay preacher beginning with Christian youth revivals in the early 1950s.
The author lives in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, near his beloved alma mater, where he and his twin grandsons fish and cheer for championship football played by the University of Alabama Crimson Tide.