Sounds of the Passion: The Rooster’s Crow :: Matthew 26:69-75

Then [Peter] began to curse himself and swear: I don’t know the man! And immediately, the rooster crowed (v 74).

5.

Every once in a while, something happens that really lets us know that we’ve failed. For Peter, it was the moment the rooster crowed. Of all the Sounds of the Passion, hearing the rooster crow must be the most overwhelming. Peter idolized his pride. He cursed and swore he didn’t know Jesus. He despised God’s Word. Then the rooster crowed.

Of all the people we would expect this least from, it is Peter. He was willing to take leaps of faith most of us would never think about, let alone try ... you know, like actually dropping his nets and abandoning his $100,000 boat, walking away from the only career he’d ever known, just because Jesus said, Follow me. Don’t we all wish we had that much faith? 

Though Peter would become a pillar of the church, he became perhaps the most conflicted disciple. One moment he’ll say he doesn’t want Jesus to wash his feet ... and the next he’s demanding a complete bath. One moment he will confess with his mouth that Jesus is Lord, but then turn around and become a satan ... that is, an adversary trying to prevent Jesus from going to the cross. One moment he swears he’ll never abandon Jesus, and then the rooster crows.

4.

On the night he was betrayed, Peter certainly knew something special was happening. Any time we receive the Lord’s Supper, something special happens. He just didn’t know how quickly he could fail after receiving the body and blood of our Lord for the forgiveness of his sins.

Matthew writes that after they sang a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, Y’all will be scandalized by me on this night, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I am raised, I will go before you to Galilee. That’s when Peter ... being Peter ... immediately bellowed, Even if it is necessary for me to die with you, I will certainly never deny you! (vv 30-34). 

I think you can hear the heaviness in Jesus’ reply: Amen, I say to you, on this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. It’s a stinging indictment of a man who had been given the keys to the kingdom of the heavens (16:19). But the rooster had not yet crowed.

So Peter did what we all do: He protested with vigor: Even if it is necessary for me to die, Peter said, I will certainly not deny you (v 35).

As they entered the garden, Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him and asked them to pray with him. Certainly we are all faithful enough to do that, right? ... But the next thing they knew, Jesus was jolting them awake. ... He said to Peter, Are you not strong enough to pray with me for one hour? (v 40) ... Are any of us? Then he said, See, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is being delivered into the hands of sinners! (vv 45-46).

That’s when Peter got angry. He drew a short sword he’d packed that night and cut an ear off a man named Malchus (Jn 18:10). Peter, Jesus cried, put your sword [away]! Do you think that I am unable to call my Father and he would set before me more than twelve legions of angels? But the Scriptures must be fulfilled (vv 53-54).

3.

How often are we like Peter? We also have faith. We also say we will not fall away ... that we will never be disloyal to Jesus. I bet you have tried to walk across a pond or pool at least once. 

But we all deny Jesus. We do it every day ... a hundred different ways. We deny him to protect ourselves ... our pride. We deny him by ignoring his Word. We deny him when we fail to pray. We deny him by rejecting his real presence. We deny him when we withhold forgiveness. We deny him when we stand by and watch as others suffer. 

Yes, we deny our Lord ... and our rooster crows.

2. 

It was just a matter of time for Peter. As the soldiers and temple guard took Jesus to Caiaphus, Peter followed at a distance until he reached the courtyard of the high priest. He wanted to be close to his Lord ... He really did. But no sooner than he walked into the courtyard, he was recognized by a maidservant. You also were with Jesus the Galilean, she said (v 69). And Peter immediately denied it, saying: I don’t know what you’re saying (v 70). Then, when he left the courtyard, another woman saw him, and said, This man was with Jesus the Nazarene. Again Peter denied it (vv 71-72). Finally, a man listening to Peter talk, had heard enough. Truly you are also one of them, for your way of speaking betrays you. Then [Peter] began to curse himself and swear: I don’t know the man! And immediately, the rooster crowed. Then he remembered the Word of Jesus ... and he wept bitterly (vv 73-75).

1.

It is indeed a good thing to feel crushed by your sin. That is the first sign of repentance. Sin, as you know, kills. It should bring bitter tears. But the balm of the Gospel, which came right after the rooster crowed, heals and enlivens. Peter knew the Gospel. He heard it repeatedly from our Lord.

And you know the fuller truth that Peter would later proclaim: Jesus was innocent, yet he took your sin. Jesus suffered and died on a cross for your sin, shedding his blood for you. Then he was raised from the dead for your justification (Rm 4:25). And now you are baptized. You are forgiven and free to live the eternal life he prepared for you. And like Peter, Jesus has restored you.

Have faith in this truth. We know there is a difference between speaking against Jesus and blaspheming the Holy Spirit (Mt 12:31-32). We know that denying we are Christians out of fear of men is not blasphemy. Blasphemy is a rejection of the forgiveness of sins, a rejection of the Holy Spirit, who calls us by the Gospel, who gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies. If you are worried even a little that you have committed the unforgivable sin, you most certainly have NOT. 

YOU’VE HEARD THE ROOSTER CROW, SHED BITTER TEARS, AND REMEMBER GOD’S WORD THAT WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN FAITH THAT SAVES

... in Jesus’ name.