Matthew 26:33

But Peter answered and said unto him, If all shall be offended in thee, I will never be offended.

One's sympathy lies with Peter here, although he was wrong. His error was threefold, in that he: (1) contradicted Jesus' words, (2) rated himself superior to others, and (3) relied upon his own strength alone. Furthermore, he did not realize that the strength and righteousness he had were not his own, but were only the reflected strength and righteousness of Christ. Many "righteous" people today make the same mistake. Peter's estimate of his own power, based on the character and endowment received from the Lord, was a profound miscalculation in that it failed to recognize Christ and not Peter as the fountain of it. Any "righteous person" who has been kept back from gross sin should thank not himself but the Lord for his victory. Peter's blindness to this truth made it necessary for Christ to teach him through bitter experience that all of man's righteousnesses are as filthy rags.