Cock Crows

Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified, “Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant. One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining at Jesus’ side. So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant. He leaned back against Jesus’ chest and said to him, “Master, who is it?”

Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.” So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot. After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him. So Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”

Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him. Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or to give something to the poor. So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.

When he had left, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. You will look for me, and as I told the Jews, ‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you.”

Simon Peter said to him, “Master, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going, you cannot follow me now, though you will follow later.” Peter said to him, “Master, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times.” (John 13:21-33, 36-38)

These passages are about false promises and betrayals.  Both happened to Jesus, and many of us duplicate Judas’ and Simon Peter’s actions today.  We make promises we do not keep, and we betray our allegiance to him and his commandments.  

We fear we cannot live up to what is expected of us, so we quietly walk away.  This is somewhat similar to what happened after Jesus’ crucifixion.  Only a few remained at the cross.  The rest left.  According to Luke (23: 46-49), Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”; and when he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion who witnessed what had happened glorified God and said, “This man was innocent beyond doubt.” When all the people who had gathered for this spectacle saw what had happened, they returned home beating their breasts; but all his acquaintances stood at a distance, including the women who had followed him from Galilee and saw these events. 

Have we heard the cock crow three times?  At each crow did we lay down our lives for Jesus by following his way, or did we walk away?  Do we stand at a distance not wanting to get to close for fear of commitment to his teaching and of his reprimands for viewing him from afar?  Do we return home beating our breasts?

Like Simon, many of us ask, “Master, where are you going?” Although Jesus told Peter, “Where I am going, you cannot follow me now,” during this Easter season he seems to say to us, “Follow me now with commitment and loyalty. I have laid down my life for you.  You must now lay down your lives for your neighbors”

Deacon David Pierce