[416 words]
Have you ever heard a rooster crow? Some of you with a little gray hair probably have. I would guess that some of our young people have not. A few years back, most of our grandparents or even our parents lived on a farm. If they had chickens, they also had a rooster or two. Roosters crow every morning about sunrise. Why? They let everyone know that a new day has arrived.
In the first four books of the New Testament, each author records the betrayal of Jesus. In Luke 2:31, we are told about a rooster. It’s the only rooster mentioned in the Bible. Jesus tells Peter that he will hear this rooster crow very soon. Well, as we continue to read verses 54-62, we read that Peter did indeed hear the rooster crow. However, it was not a pleasant sound to Peter. Why? Because it was the herald that caused Peter to remember the words that Jesus had told him. You see, Peter had done what he said he would not do! He denied that he even knew Jesus. He even swore this to the people around him!
The point of me writing the above two paragraphs is to ask this question: Have you ever been tempted to deny Jesus and then “heard the rooster crow?” There is usually a “wake up” moment when we’ve denied Him, and then we begin to think right again. Have you ever been in a conversation with a friend, coworker, or teacher where you needed to speak about being a Christian, but were slow to respond in a positive way? We need to always be ready to give an answer (1 Peter 3:15). It’s true that a literal rooster will not crow if we deny or turn away from Jesus, or even leave the church that Jesus died for, but in those moments, we need to wake up! You can be sure of this—unless repentance and returning to Christ are a part of our “wake-up,” the rooster will crow for us on the day of judgment!
What Peter did was very wrong. However, if you read Acts 2, you will read that Peter delivered the first sermon to the world concerning Jesus and the establishment of Jesus’ church. Yes, even though we may hear a rooster crow in our mind at a bad time for us, we can always come back to Jesus and His church. There is hope and forgiveness with Jesus.
Claude Vickers
via Graeber Road church of Christ
Rosenberg, TX