Father, I am so weary tonight. Help me to clearly hear You speak through the fog that is in my mind. Amen.
Mark 14:66-72 (<<click to read the passage)
Traditionally roosters are the alarm clock of the farm. As the first rays of sunlight break the horizon, they announce its arrival with a loud “cock-a-doodle-do”, if you will.
I’ve never lived on or near a farm to testify to that fact but one thing I can say is, they don’t limit themselves to crowing at the break of dawn. I’ve heard roosters belonging to neighbors of my in-law’s crow at all times of the day. The same goes for roosters on my bus route.
But I would dare say that the rooster in today’s passage was following his Creator’s directive. He was to crow twice and on cue to boot.
Poor Peter…he was where most disciples were not – in the courtyard of the high priest where Jesus was being tried – but he had reached the limit of his nerve.
Two times a servant girl grilled him on the fact that he was an associate of Jesus – and he emphatically denied it…two times!
Then one of the bystanders with whom the servant girl had spoken stated, “You are in fact one of them, for [it is clear from your accent, that] you are a Galilean, too.” v70 (AMP)
And this time “he began to invoke a curse [on himself] and to swear [an oath], ‘I do not know this man you are talking about!’” – denial number three…
And this time it was just a simple denial, he invoked a curse on himself. The footnotes of the Amplified Bible state,
In Judaism such a curse took the form of “May I always be afflicted if I am not being truthful,” or “May I bury my son if…,” or “May I never see the comfort of Zion and Jerusalem if…,” etc. (as found in the Talmud).
That was some pretty strong language! He was a fisherman, after all. But the words had no sooner left his mouth when that “rooster crowed the second time.”
You might as well have slapped Peter across the face! That instant the rooster crowed “Peter remembered what Jesus said to him: ‘Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.’ And thinking of this, he began weeping [in anguish].” v72
Yes, he was standing in that courtyard with only John daring to stand any closer but in that instant, all of his efforts were for naught. He was undone by his own actions and had been called out (crowed out?) by a common farmyard animal. The rooster had proclaimed it for all to hear.
Lord Jesus, again Peter’s example stares us in the face and unfortunately for us many times it is a mirror. We are just as guilty as Peter was… But, praise Your name, we are not stuck in that predicament, no more than Peter was. We can humbly stand before You knowing that You understand us and though we have egregiously hurt You, You forgive us when we ask, for You love us beyond measure.
Forgive me, for I stand in that spot more often than I care to admit. Amen.
Aug 21st, 2019, Wed, 9:03 pm
