When will your rooster crow? Today we examine Peter, whose denial of Jesus was part of his process of being pruned of his pride to get to humility in person and sensitivity in spirit. This was the path for Peter to be used in amazing ways in service to God…
31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
33 But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”
34 Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”
54 Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. 55 And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. 56 A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”
57 But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.
58 A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”
“Man, I am not!” Peter replied.
59 About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”
60 Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Luke 22:31-34, 54-62 NIV
Don’t give up on the proud. Don’t discount their suitability to be part of the mission. In our circles, someone like Peter is the over-the-top almost braggard kind of guy. He’s better than you, more committed than you, and unable to see his own limitations. He is eager and energetic, but also overzealous. Luke is gracious with Peter in not sharing that it is Peter who cut off Malchus’ ear in the garden earlier that night (John gives that away to us). You want Peter to have your back, but you’re worried he might also get you in a fight or arrested. This is Peter.
Praise God for what he sees in Peter.
The potential that God sees in Peter is the same potential he sees in you and me. Jesus knew that Peter was going to be a foundational leader in the early church. He could see the value of using Peter as an apostle and as a writer of Spirit inspired scripture. He designed Peter to be who he was. He just needed to deal with some of the edges.
Don’t be afraid of God doing this in your own life. He designed you with the personality and passions you have. He made you to make an impact and a contribution to your world. And as you figure out who you are and how you’ll interact with the world, you might dial up some parts that need to be dialed back. You might dial back some parts that need to be dialed up.
In John 15, Jesus shares that the gardener prunes the branches of the vine so they will bear fruit. We all need the pruning, and Jesus knows we can all bear fruit. That’s why he lets this happen to Peter. It never feels good to be ashamed or embarrassed. To make matters worse for Peter, his case was so serious that Jesus actually had to looked straight at him when the rooster crowed. It was their secret moment. And it crushed Peter.
He let his Teacher down. Interestingly, he didn’t let him down in the way we might think. Peter told Jesus he would go with him to prison and to death. It’s an ‘I’ll fight for you’ commitment. But Jesus didn’t expect that and would not allow it. He wouldn’t even let Peter slice off Malchus’ ear. Jesus put it back on. Somewhere there is a Malchus version of Mr. Potato Head. Too soon?
Instead of letting Jesus down, Peter was simply being pruned in terms of his pride and some zeal to get to a place of humility in person and sensitivity in spirit. For Peter, that was the recipe to bake in his discipleship and apostleship. And it worked. After the resurrection, Peter is restored by Jesus into full service. I’d love to know if between this night and that restoration whether Peter held this all to himself, doing the personal work to change his heart and ways, or if he shared it with the other disciples.
Look in the mirror. Ask God what he needs to prune. Be willing. Do the work. Build your discipleship after the Teacher.
Amen.
Marc Kinna
marckinna 