The Rooster Croweth

By Jerry D. Ousley

            Our neighbor has a rooster.  Nothing wrong with that; except we live in a housing edition where the homes are fairly close together.  Now this rooster crows when it’s morning.  But the darn thing also crows throughout the day.  It can get a bit annoying.  But, hey, far be it from me to tell a man what he can have on his property and what he can’t. 

            However, and come to think of it, I haven’t heard him crowing the last few days.  I hope he didn’t irritate his owner so much that he became dinner! 

            Whenever I think of a rooster, I can’t help but think of Peter.  He was a very outspoken man.  Jesus had prophetically told His disciples that all of them would forsake Him.  Peter brashly spoke up saying (and this is my paraphrase), “Not me, Lord.  I will never forsake you.  I am willing to die for you!”  That’s when Jesus laid it on him.  He told Peter that during that very next morning he would deny Jesus three times before the rooster crowd twice.  Peter was offended and told Jesus that it would never happen.

            Later that evening, when Judas, His betrayer, showed up with a host of priests and temple soldiers, Peter thought he would stand up for Jesus, but he was a fisherman by trade, not a soldier.  He swung the sword he was carrying and succeeded in cutting a man’s ear off.  Jesus promptly told Peter to put his sword away, then picked up the man’s ear and restored it.  I’ve never understood how they could go ahead and arrest Jesus after witnessing such a miracle.  But they did.  It was then that all the disciples fulfilled Jesus’ prediction – they turned tail and ran!

            As they took Jesus into the judgement hall where the priests and Sanhedrin were holding a mock trial in order to accuse Jesus of something worthy of death, John had managed to gather his wits and was present to hear what was going on.  Peter sheepishly showed up too and John spoke to the guards and they allowed him in.

            It was there that it happened.  Different ones accused Peter of being one of Jesus’ disciples. He denied it.  Twice he denied it as the rooster crowed in the background.  A third time someone told him, “Your accent tells us that you were from the same area as Jesus.  You must be one of His disciples”, and Peter became so angry that he began to curse and swear stating, “I don’t know the man.  What are you talking about?!”  Immediately the rooster crowed the second time, and Jesus, who was standing before His accusers turned and looked Peter right in the eye.  His words echoed in Peter’s mind and he realized that he had just done exactly what Jesus said he was going to do.  He was so sorry, so embarrassed and so afraid that he turned and ran from the judgment hall.  The rooster crowed – TWICE!  You can read this for yourself in Luke 22:60-61. 

            The crow of the rooster did two things for Peter.  First, it called him to take responsibility for his actions.  It immediately brought to mind what Jesus had told him and I’d say he never doubted what Jesus told him ever again.  In fact, I would be willing to bet that from that day forward, every time he heard a rooster crow, he was taken back to that early but dark morning when he had denied the Lord.  Jesus had graciously forgiven him but he learned a lesson that he would never forget.

            The second thing it did when it crowed was that it signaled the coming dawn of a new day.  As long as time stands there is going to be a new day.  As long as the rooster doesn’t become extinct, he will always signal that the sun is getting ready to rise, another day will begin and we have another chance to fix what needs to be fixed.

            We too need to listen to the rooster.  We all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23).  We might want to judge Peter for his denial, but if we will take a close examination of our own lives before we are quick to pronounce sentence on Peter, we’ll find that we aren’t that much different from him.  In our own ways, we have our own denials to deal with.  The crow of the rooster reminds us of our failures too.

            But that new day is coming.  The rooster crows once to bring us to accountability, but it then crows again to let us know that in Jesus Christ – in His crucifixion and death, then His resurrection – has made the way for a new day.  The dawn is coming and we have another chance to make things right.

            What about you?  Are you listening?  Did you hear that in the distance (or maybe across the street)?  It’s the rooster.  He’s letting you know that, yes you have failed (and me too), but that we don’t have to despair and give up hope, for a new dawn is about to happen.  Listen to the rooster …

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.?  Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.