Just Then, A Rooster Crowed

The crowing of rooster in early morning is for me a nostalgic memory, but it was a stab to the heart for Peter.  That rooster ominously reminded Peter how scant hours before he had been “crowing” about how brave and loyal he would be to Jesus.  “Even if all the others fall away, yet I will not” (Mk.14:29).  His boasting wasn’t all that there was to it, because Jesus had gently warned Peter, “Before the cock crows (this very night), you will have denied me three times.”

How would you feel in Peter’s place?  Without a doubt he did truly love Jesus, and now at Jesus’ point of great vulnerability, here is His friend Peter turning his back on Him.  Luke tells us that at this point Jesus turned and looked at Peter (Lk. 22:61).  And overcome with guilt and shame, Peter wept bitterly.

With whom do we most readily identify in the story: Jesus, Jewish leaders, or Peter?  With the cosmic drama of redemption unfolding on Jesus this night, why this friend-of-Jesus distraction?  Why is Peter’s denial worthy of our attention, potentially distracting us with a side-bar on the story of the cross?  Follow me back through this story from the point where Peter’s guilt is exposed, moving back to the beginning to see guilt highlight grace.