“Then Jesus answered, ‘Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!'” (John 13:38)
“…at that moment a rooster began to crow.” (John 18:27)
Forgiven but not forgotten. Have you ever thought about what Peter was thinking every time he heard a rooster crow for the rest of his life. Jesus had distinctly tied that sound with the denial of Peter. He could have said, “Before morning you will deny me three times” but instead Jesus used an audible and familiar sound to signify Peter’s worst nightmare. This was the sound that alerted Peter that night that he had failed. When the rooster crowed the words of Jesus came flooding back and he realized what he had done.
One of the most common sounds in Peter’s day (and still in the middle east today) was the crow of the rooster in the early morning. Have you wondered what Peter thought the next morning (Saturday) when Jesus was laid in the tomb and the rooster crowed? Was he immediately transported in his mind to that courtyard and the denial only 24 hours earlier? I cannot imagine that he could think of anything else. Of all the sounds for Jesus to link to Peter’s failure. Every day for the rest of Peter’s life he was going to be reminded that he denied Christ. This bold and boastful fishermen would be humbled every day. He was reminded that he and his best intentions fall short of God’s goals for him. He must have started every day saying, “Lord, I cannot make it this day without you. Without you I would just deny you again. I need you and your strength if I am going to make it. Have your way with me.”
It was Peter who later wrote:
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6,7)
Jesus must have known that Peter would need a daily reminder of his fraility. It allowed Peter to keep an attitude of dependance upon God and a humble spirit. It also made Peter a vessel useful to God in growing the early church and spreading the message of the gospel to the world.
All of us need a daily reminder of who we are in the eyes of Jesus and who we can be when we humble ourselves before Him. That is part of the purpose of this lenten season. The “thing” that you gave up or added to your life should be a reminder each day that you are surrendered to a God who loves you despite your worst failure and gives you the strength to live the abundant life you were intended to experience. Again, hear the words of a guy who lived it:
“In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3)
Blessings.