Mark 14:66-72 — The First Rooster Crowed

 Mark 14:66-72

The Denial of St. Peter by Caravaggio

And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” 

But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed. 

And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” 

But again he denied it.

And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.” 

But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.” 

Photo by chuttersnap-xNCRkHVEqMY
 on unsplash

And immediately the rooster crowed a second time.

And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” 

And he broke down and wept.

Comments:

In these verses, we have the story of Peter's infamous three-fold denial of the Lord. Having tried to stand with the sword and having been rebuked by Jesus, Peter had fled with the others. Then, most likely tormented by his own cowardice and failure, he tried to follow the Lord again "at a distance" (v. 54). Peter was following in his own strength, still trying to keep his promise but he could not pull it off. I picture him coming into the courtyard incognito complete with "trench toga" and dark glasses and trying to warm himself by the fire along with the people of the household. But his plan was foiled. He was recognized by a servant girl as having been with Jesus, but he quickly lied about knowing the Lord, and to maintain his cover he withdrew to the porch and a rooster crowed.

If I were to give a title to this passage it would be the rather King James-ish sounding "And the First Cock Crew." Why would I choose this title? As I mentioned in a previous post, there is something very powerful about the message of the first cock crowing. Jesus had told Peter that he would deny Him three times before “the cock crew twice.” Peter had denied the Lord once when the rooster crowed for the first time. Would that not serve to remind Peter of his vow and of the Lord's prophecy? Would one rooster be enough to turn him back from his path of denial? It seems that Peter gave no thought to that first wake-up call. I wonder how often our gracious Lord gives us the first rooster to wake us up and turn us back to him and his ways. I also wonder how often we pay no heed, or if we do notice we merely determine to try harder in our own strength and willpower rather than turning to the Lord in dependent prayer. Peter trusted in his own resources and failed the Lord. He lied (v. 68), he denied (v. 70), he even vilified (v. 71), then he "woke up" and went out and cried (v. 72).

Imagine Jesus, sitting in the court of the high priest being lied about and slandered by false witnesses, yet listening to one of your closest friends lie about even knowing you. Certainly, Jesus could hear Peter's vehement replies in the courtyard below, perhaps he heard little of the mock trial going on around him as his mind focused on the drama being played out in the shadows and firelight below. What does this tell us about Jesus? As I wrote previously, he was taking the rap for Peter even as Peter cursed and swore to others that he didn't know Him. Jesus also took the rap for us even when we did the same thing Peter did. 

Then the second cock crew and Jesus turned and looked at Peter (Luke 22:61) and Peter was never the same. There was no denying his actions. But thankfully it didn’t end there.

Previously Jesus had prayed that when Peter returned that he would have a great ministry for the Lord. Peter began to mourn right there and Jesus would pay the price for Peter's sin, the next afternoon by dying on the cross. 

Later, Peter’s full restoration took place on the shores of Galilee with Jesus’ thrice-repeated question, “Simon, do you love me?” (John 21:15-19). Then on the Day of Pentecost, Peter, empowered by the Holy Spirit, would speak boldly regarding Jesus Christ and 3,000 would be saved (Acts 2).

Have we seen Jesus look at us the same way—with deep love despite our painful failures? 

"Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted" (Matthew 5:4). 

What is his love empowering us to do for him today?