When the Cock Crows - Matt 26:30-35; Mark 14:26-31; Luke 22:33-39; John 13:36-38

Apparently Peter didn’t take too kindly to the implication that he was not truly converted because he responds saying, “Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.” That’s a pretty bold statement and I’m sure that he meant it at the time, and if he had not had this conversation with the Savior before hand, I think that when the officers showed up to arrest Him, Peter would indeed have followed Him to prison and to death. I always thought that because Peter didn’t die with Jesus, leading the church afterwards was God’s fall back plan for him. But the more I think about how this all went down, I realize that Peter was meant to lead the church afterward, it was always supposed to be him, it wasn’t a back up plan, it was always the only plan. I think that Peter did deny the Savior because he was afraid of being crucified as well, but I honestly don’t think that denial would have been his initial gut reaction.

Jesus answers Peter’s declaration by saying, “I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.” If I was Peter and my Master told me that, I would have been shaken to my very core. Peter was not a timid man, he was not weak, he was not apologetic, he knew what he believed and he stood by those beliefs. If Jesus had been arrested right then and there, Peter probably would have fought back just like he does in the garden, but Jesus introduced into Peter’s mind an alternate course of action. I honestly don’t think it would have occurred to Peter to deny Christ and that Jesus needed to make the connection of “when the time comes, don’t get yourself killed trying to stand up for me.” Peter was not supposed to die with Jesus, he was supposed to serve him afterward, so He had to introduce the idea to him.
This begs the question, why not just command Peter not to get involved, “hey I’m going to be arrested and crucified, don’t get involved because I need you to run the church afterward.” But it seems to me like Jesus has been telling them that this whole time, I’m going to be crucified, and what has been the response of the disciples? “I’m not going to let that happen, we will fight.” They have not been receptive to the idea that Jesus is going to die and there’s nothing they can do about it.
There is also another issue at play here, and that’s the theory that I subscribe to that says “nothing cements loyalty like a betrayal.” It seems like Jesus is giving Peter a way out, he’s telling him that Peter is not going to fight to the death to protect him, which is probably what Peter would have resorted to and been killed in the process. But Jesus doesn’t say, “it’s ok to run away, I know that you’re scared,” Jesus is showing Peter his weakness and letting him experience that gut wrenching regret that can strengthen resolve. Peter needs that experience to ensure his devotion as the leader of the church when Jesus ascends, and this is the way to do it.
I always thought that Jesus was pretty butt hurt that Peter denied him, and honestly, he probably was. Jesus had been rejected by most of his people, most of his family, most of his friends, and now only those few closest to Him are going to run away from him screaming. That’s a pretty bleak concept, and on top of all that, the suffering with the atonement is coming. Jesus is probably in a pretty miserable position right about now, so exposing Peter’s weakness for all to see most likely didn’t help matters at all. The IM says, “Peter responded by saying that he would never be offended because of the Master, but Jesus’ reply to him illustrates that He knew Peter better than Peter knew himself- and that He likewise knows each of us better than we know ourselves.”
It’s not just that Jesus can see the future, it’s that He can understand it as well, he can see everything in context, which is the real gift. For instance, if a “psychic” told me that I would marry a short, white doctor, then I would only go looking to date short, white doctors. But all this is without context because what she didn’t see was that I would be married beforehand to a tall, black man for 12 years and have two children and be a single mom for years and struggle, etc. I would go my whole life only looking at short, white doctors to marry but what I wouldn’t know is that I wouldn’t even meet him until I was older and if I hadn’t gone through the experiences with my first husband then I wouldn’t be the person I needed to be to have a successful marriage with the short white guy. It’s a process, one action or belief feeds into another and so on until we reach perfection, but we can’t skip steps, we can’t forgo the lessons that we learn as we grow, even though they might be incredibly painful. I guess that’s the difference between seeing the future and omniscience.
Matthew records the Savior telling all the disciples “all ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.” The IM says that This is a reference “to a prophecy found in Zechariah 13:7 by saying, ‘Smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.’ This prophecy that the Shepherd would be smitten is one of many uttered by the Savior during His mortal ministry to prepare His disciples for His coming death.” He’s trying to tell them in every possible way that mankind is about to be saved that night, but their lives are going to change forever.