The Rooster – Matthew 26:33-35, 69-75
Dear, dear Peter. The
chief of the apostles, but also the everyman we can all relate to. He has his highs and lows, and doesn’t seem
to do anything in a small way. When we
shines – he stands as a bright light of faith, a rock, like the nickname Jesus
gave him. But when he fails, and boy
does he, it is embarrassing and humiliating and especially in this case, brings
him to bitter tears.
The rooster, tonight’s animal in our series, will forever
remind us of Peter. The symbolism of the
church often remembers St. Peter with the crossed keys – because Jesus spoke
those words about locking and unlocking heaven – meaning the power to forgive
sins – and spoke those words to Peter.
But in more than a few of those depictions, you will see also a rooster
sitting on top of those keys.
I have to say, of all the animals, it seems the rooster is
well suited to remind us of Peter, not simply for this incident, but because
the rooster is the first to speak in the morning. And Peter seemed always the first to speak in
any situation, often before thinking. I
often come to church early in the morning, and the neighbors to the south here
have some chickens, and a rooster. And
I’m often greeted by that cocka doodle doo, and I think of Peter.
When Jesus told the disciples they would all fall away that
night when he would be arrested, Peter again spoke up. He surely meant well. After all, the spirit is willing, even if the
flesh is weak. The other disciples join
in – “if we have to die with you, Jesus, we won’t fall away. We won’t leave you. We won’t deny you!”
Peter even went so far that night as to draw his sword and
slash off the ear of Malchus. Had a few
things gone differently, maybe Peter would have been killed in action. Going down in a blaze of glory, his courage
remembered by all. But that’s not how it
was to be. There would be no clash of
swords this night. Jesus had other
plans.
Jesus had a long night ahead of him. First there was the trial by night before the
Jews. Then the rushed morning trial at
dawn. And an early appointment at
Pilate’s place in the morning. And Jesus
knew just how it would go for him, for the disciples, for Judas, and for Peter.
The rooster stands as yet another reminder that Jesus knew
what lay ahead. Everything unfolds just
as he says it will, down to the parts the characters play in betrayal, denial,
and desertion. He even knows the part
that rooster would play in heralding the fulfillment of his own little prophecy
about Peter. Every detail, just as Jesus
says, is fulfilled.
That’s because, contrary to outward appearances, Jesus is in
control of it all. He could have stopped
all this with 12 legions of angels at his beck and call. But he didn’t. He could have called on his followers to
fight. But he didn’t. He could have come down from that cross later
on in the story, but he didn’t. And he
didn’t have to die, but he did. No one
takes his life from him, but he lays it down of his own accord. He could have turned away at any point, gone
back home to Nazareth and lived the life of an obscure carpenter in peace and
quiet. But instead he set his face
toward Jerusalem, set his will to fulfill the Father’s will, and submitted to
the cup of punishment that was appointed for him – our cup – and he drank it
down to the last drop.
Peter, on the other hand, was not so determined. Brandishing his sword one moment, but cowed
by a servant girl the next. Sure, he and
John tagged along and went to the High Priest’s place to see what would happen,
but before long Peter’s courage failed.
When questioned about his accent, his origin, and his association with
Jesus – Peter hits his low point. He
denies Jesus. Denies being a follower,
denies even knowing him, and does so with curses.
Three times, not once.
If it were only once, we might say it was a moment of weakness and look
more kindly on Peter. But the repeated,
increasing vehemence with which he denies his Lord. It stands in contrast to the three times
Jesus was tempted by the devil, and he never wavered, never failed. But against a far less impressive accuser,
Peter crumbles and cowers, lies and denies.
It’s hard not to identify with Peter. More and more the world around us is starting
to ramp up the pressure. We see the
persecution of Christians coming, as a train in the distance, and wonder when
it will arrive in its fullness. Already
cancel culture is nipping around the edges of the church – threatening people
who speak unpopular opinions. Opinions
which we might well agree with as Christians.
We might well wonder when we will be next. Government initiatives further threaten to
formalize and concretize values and standards at odds with Christian
morality. It may be the servant girl
today that asks, “are you with Jesus?” and
tomorrow the officer and the magistrate who put you to the test. Be ready, dear Christian, for Jesus warned
and promised of such persecution, and we do well to heed.
But it doesn’t take the threat of arrest, or even the
pointing finger of a stranger to coax us toward denial. We are often quick enough on our own to find
reasons to deny our faith, and our Lord.
There is a sense in which every sin is a betrayal and denial of
Christ. Every time we cast our lot in
with the Old Adam and not the New.
Whenever we decide our way is better than God’s, through whatever
rationalization or excuse we tell ourselves.
When it comes to sinning, we don’t need much encouragement or temptation
at all.
And then the rooster crows.
That is to say, the reminder of God’s law breaks the silence of our
conscience and draws to mind what God has said.
The Spirit applies that law to us – and like Peter who remembered Jesus’
word and went and wept bitterly – we are driven to contrition. The law crushes us, too. It rubs our noses in our sin, and shines a
spotlight on our guilt and shame. Whoever
denies me before men, I will deny before my Father, Jesus warns. And so it’s not just that the law points out
our sin, it also shows us what we deserve.
But the point of this story is not “Jesus good, Peter bad”
or even, “Jesus good, you bad” The contrast between Christ’s willingness to
suffer all and Peter’s failure to be faithful teaches us just why we need
Jesus. And it opens the door for the
epilogue to this story.
After Jesus died and rose, he would meet Peter again. And in one of those early meetings, you’ll
remember, he took Peter aside. And
without specifically addressing the denial, Jesus restored and forgave
Peter. He had denied him three times. Jesus restores him three times. Peter do you love me? Feed my sheep.
With Jesus, the dark night of sin is always followed by the
dawn of forgiveness. The rooster that
heralds the morning might also stand to remind us of God’s mercies, which are
new every morning. Gone are the sins of
the past when Christ restores and renews us by his word. Gone is the night of sorrow and tears when
the morning of Christ dawns with the mercy he brings.
I would imagine that dear Peter pondered these things every
morning he was awakened by the rooster’s call, for the rest of his life. Surely he continued, daily, to struggle with
sin, as each of us does. Surely he
failed again and again, though never quite as memorably as that night at the
campfire. Still, God would restore and
renew his servant – and so the Peter who once denied Jesus in fear would meet
his death with courage that has also come down to us.
Besides the keys and the rooster, another symbol of Peter is
the upside down cross. This is to
signify the way he died. According to
the early church fathers, as Peter was about to be crucified by the Romans, he
requested to be crucified upside down, as he was unworthy to die the same way
Jesus did. And so, in their dark humor,
they agreed.
What a difference between the Peter of the denial and the
Peter who met his final cross with courage.
This can only be because the Lord sustained and seasoned him through a
lifetime of repentance and restoration, preparing him to make the good
confession at the last. May the Lord
sustain and strengthen our faith, that we too, may remain steadfast to the end.
So the rooster – a reminder of Peter’s bitter sin of denial,
but also of the dawn of daily grace in Jesus Christ. Weep bitterly over your own sin and denial of
Christ, but take comfort in the restoration he brings, the forgiveness he has
won at the cross. Remain in him even unto death, and rise to life again at the
trumpet call on the last day.
In Jesus’ Name.
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