Before the Rooster Crows (Mark 14:27-42, 66-72)

A sermon preached on Sunday, August 15, 2010 at Hebron Baptist Church, Denham Springs, Louisiana by Pastor Joe Alain.

Before the Rooster Crows

Scripture Reading: Mark 14:27-42; 66-72
It was called the “The Tarmac Tirade,” “The Flight Attendant Tantrum,” when Steve Slater opened the emergency exit of a Jet Blue flight at Kennedy International Airport this past Monday. Steve had reached his breaking point when he had an altercation with a passenger. People that know him said that he has been under quite a bit of pressure lately. His father recently died, his mother is ill, and he has battled alcohol and drug addiction in his past. After a very public profanity-laced tirade against the passenger, he grabbed two beers and slid down the emergency exit. Some people under pressure are one step away from opening the emergency exit. Pressure sometimes bring out the worst in people.

In the arrest, trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin and the denial of Peter in the courtyard of the High Priest, we have a paradigm for behavior under pressure. Jesus shows what we should do and Peter what we should avoid. Jesus exemplifies courage, Peter cowardice. Jesus, while losing his life through steadfast witness, ultimately saves it; Peter, trying to save himself, in fact condemns himself. We are called to follow Jesus but like Peter we often deny him. The good news is that our salvation depends not on our performance, but on the faithfulness of God. The question is “How can we stand under pressure? To live faithful to our Lord?”

I. Falling Away and Restoration (vv.27-28)
This passage begins with Jesus foretelling the falling away and restoration of the disciples. The Scripture in Zechariah 13:7-9 will soon be fulfilled. The shepherd will be struck down and the sheep will be scattered. But Jesus also knows that on the other side of death lies resurrection. He speaks of this in a matter-of-fact way, “But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee” (v.28). Here is the picture of the shepherd once again leading his sheep.

II. Boasting Allegiance to Jesus (vv. 29-31)
Upon hearing Jesus’ prophetic words, Peter and the other disciples boast of their allegiance to Jesus. Peter holds out the possibility that some or even all of the disciples might fall away but not him (v.29). He emphatically states, “I will not.” Tragically though, before the rooster crows twice Peter will deny the Lord not once but three times (v.30), even stating that he does not even know Jesus! Peter can’t leave well enough alone and continues to argue that he will not deny Jesus even if it means death (v.31). The other disciples that were there that day “said the same” (v.31).

III. Watching and Praying at Gethsemane (vv.32-42)
In Verses 32-42 we see Jesus and the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane. This olive orchard on the slope of the Mount of Olives was a favorite place of prayer and quiet for Jesus. Jesus knew what lie ahead. The “cup” was a symbol for the wrath or judgement of God. The wrath of God against unrighteousness was about to be poured out on God’s Son and our Savior. Our substitute: Isa. 53:5; Gal. 3:13; Heb. 2:9; 1 Pe. 3:18. Our Sin Bearer: Isa. 53:12; Heb. 9:28; 1 Pe. 2:24. Stricken by God: Ps. 22; Isa. 53:4; Rom. 5:8-9 (saved from God’s wrath because of Jesus). In His humanity, Jesus was “deeply distressed and troubled . . . overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (vv., 33-34). Because of the great suffering and sense of abandonment, Jesus truly desired the companionship and prayers of his disciples.

But in Jesus’ most desperate hour of need, the disciples let Him down miserably. Not once but three times the disciples fell asleep (vv.37, 40, 41). They could not even stay awake and watch and pray for one hour (v.37). The disciples who just moments ago were boasting about how they would never let Jesus down can’t even stay awake and pray for Him in His hour of greatest need. Maybe if they had “watched and prayed” a little more often they would not have been so weak. Jesus did say that “The spirit is willing, but the body is weak” (v.38).

Jesus though found strength in the Garden. While the disciples slept, Jesus poured out his heart and soul to God. Few Scriptures reveal the humanity of Jesus as this one. You see the deep struggle going on in Jesus’ soul in verse 35. He falls to the ground and prays “that if possible the hour might pass from him.” The hour and the cup are symbols that point to the final agony of crucifixion. Jesus prays that the cup be removed from him, “yet not what I will, but what you will” (v.36). Jesus refuses to abandon the will of God. His resolve gives him the strength to face his “betrayer” (v.42) and what lies ahead on the cross. There is a contrast between the disciples and Jesus. The disciples quickly dismiss the idea that they might somehow fail. They are so confident, so boastful, and yet so prayerless. Jesus on the other hand knows that the battle is real, he doesn’t enter into the arena lightly. He deals with this experience seriously, soberly, and prayerfully.

In Jesus we see how to deal with the tests, those times of crushing, suffering, while in Peter and the others we see what to avoid. But how things could have been different for them if they only had truly followed Jesus!
The Paradigm of Prayer
❶ Look again at what Jesus told them to do, beginning in verse 32, “Sit here.”

❷ Then, in verse 34, “Stay here.”

❸ And in verse 38, “Watch and

❹ pray.” To “sit” is to take some time apart. It is to be still and know that the Lord is God. To “stay” is to not get in a hurry, to linger long. To “watch” is to wait on God for He moves in His time and in His way. And to “pray” is to commune with the Lord, to draw strength from. Just think how different the outcome might have been had the disciples sat, stayed, watched and prayed. Maybe then they would have been ready as Jesus was to “Rise! . . . go” (v.42). This pattern still holds true for us today. How’s your sitting? Your staying? Your watching? And your praying?

IV. Denying Jesus (vv.66-72)
In verses 43-65 Jesus is arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Supreme Court. What’s significant for us to see is that Mark footnotes the arrest by stating that at that time “everyone deserted him and fled” (v.50). While Jesus was being brought to the Sanhedrin, Mark also tells us that “Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest” (v.54). It was there that Peter mingled in with the crowd of guards who were warming their hands by the fire. The irony of this scene is that Peter is warming his hands with some of the same guards who will soon participate in the beating of Jesus (v.65).

In a mockery of justice, the high priest and the others condemned Jesus “as worthy of death” (v.64). One of the servant girls of the high priest took notice of Peter by the fire. She recognized that he was a follower of Jesus “that Nazarene” (v.67). Peter of course denied that he even knew what she was talking about (v.68).

1. Denying Knowledge – “I don’t know or understand” (v.68)
In his first denial, Peter pretends ignorance.

2. Denying Membership – “Is one of them . . . he denied it” (vv.69-70)
But the servant girl persisted in her identification that Peter was one of Jesus’ followers (v.69) but Peter a second time denied his involvement with Jesus (v.70), this time disclaiming membership in the Christian community all together (see v.69, “one of them”). “I don’t know what you’re talking about and I’m not one of these Christians you accuse me of.”

3. Denying Relationship – “I don’t know this man” (v.71)
Others who are near Peter recognized that Peter was one of Jesus’ followers because he was a Galilean (v.70). At this, Peter denied Jesus a third time and he “began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, ‘I don’t know this man you’re talking about’” (v.71). Now, he denies any relationship to Jesus whatsoever. If we see Jesus’ humanity in the Garden, we certainly see Peter’s humanity in the three denials. Peter is doing everything he can to distance himself from Jesus. Why? Probably because he was simply scared that he was going to be next.

How far Peter has fallen. The higher you set yourself up, the farther you have to fall. Not too long ago Peter was on top of the world. Jesus had sang his praise. Peter had confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah. He was the leader among leaders, head apostle. Now he’s looking a lot more like Judas the betrayer than “Peter” the rock. The crowing of the rooster woke Peter up from his nightmare, but it wasn’t a dream – it was real (v.72). And when the rooster crowed, “Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him.” It’s funny how things remind us of a word that we have heard from Jesus. Here the rooster crowing reminded Peter of all of his foolish boasting, “If only I had not been so foolish and arrogant and prideful. If only I had listened to Jesus and watched and prayed, then maybe I wouldn’t have been so weak” If only Peter had not grown apathetic before the rooster crowed. Maybe then things would be different. Don’t wait till the rooster crows to get the message. Things can be different for you right now before the rooster crows.

Peter’s meltdown began long before he ever found himself warming by the fires in Caiaphas’ courtyard. Peter’s downfall began with his brash self-confidence that he was not going to be like everyone else, that he was special, that he would never fall. “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18). Peter’s troubles began in his heart. In a real sense the Garden was a test, a mid-term examination in discipleship. Gethsemane after all means “olive press.” “Could the disciples handle the pressure that was to come? Would they pass a simple test of watchfulness and prayer?”

The disciples flunked the final exam because they couldn’t pass the mid-term. Peter and the others slept through the test. They did not “Watch and pray” and because of that, they did “fall into temptation.” No qaulity time spent in the Garden in prayer meant no power to stand in the face of adversity. If you are going to stand strong in the world with all that you face, you will have to spend time in the Garden of prayer. Otherwise, you might just hear the rooster crowing.

What was the temptation that Peter faced? I propose to you that it’s not really all that different from what you and I face. Only the circumstances change. In fact, I believe that it is “The Temptation” that we face – it is the age-old and persistent temptation to not trust God in your circumstance. It is the temptation to take matters into your own hands. To trust in your self. Everything else Peter does is a symptom of the lack of trust problem in his life. Following from a distance, the denials, the desire to save himself at any cost, are merely symptoms of his inability to trust God. So what circumstance do you face today? You will be tempted, just like Peter, (if you haven’t already) to trust in your resources, to lean on your wisdom, and to not trust God.

The problem with trusting in ourselves, which is form of denying Jesus is what follows – it comes with guilt, condemnation, and it does not bring peace to our situation. Trusting in ourselves while denying Jesus never works. And this is why Peter “broke down and wept” (v.72).

Before the Rooster Crows
Peter’s denial is instructive for us on many levels, primarily though in the area of what to avoid. There were some problems in Peter’s life that precipitated his downfall. They are common problems that all of us face, but they surface even more so in times of adversity, when we’re under pressure. If we can identify these problem areas, just maybe we can see the iceberg before we ram straight into it. More importantly though, if we can see how Jesus modeled endurance in adversity, we can begin to take on His character. Because everything we need to deal with life is not so much achieved through human effort, but it occurs as we follow Jesus and take on His character. He does the work in and through us.

So what characteristics does Christ want to work into our lives now before the rooster crows, before we get into a place of compromise, self-preservation and denial as Peter did? There are at least three characteristics that mark the man or woman of God who will be able to stand in times of adversity. These three characteristics were modeled by Jesus.

1. A Life Marked by Humility
Humility is not so much an achievement as it is having the right perspective as to who you are in Christ. It is knowing yourself. Jesus displayed perfect humility. He knew who He was and he walked in humility before the Father, always submitting to the Father’s will. While the disciples were thinking about how great they were, Jesus was praying “not what I will, but what you will.” Humility before God is living without pretense. You are real with God because you know Him and He knows you and you know that He knows you. See Romans 12:3. The humble person makes no boastful claims to spiritual superiority. They recognize that apart from the grace of God they are nothing. And when they do fall, they still know that it’s God’s grace that enables them to stand once more.

2. A Life Marked by Purpose
Jesus lived a life of purpose, a focused life, a prayerful life, an obedient life. That’s what living a disciplined life is. It is living your life in tune with the Father. It is living a life of dependence upon God. You want to follow God’s will. You want Him to guide you. But for that to happen, we must follow the basic spiritual disciplines of sitting, staying, watching and praying. You get the impression that the disciples were not too disciplined at this point. Their boastful speech, apathy, Christ-denying speech reveals undisciplined hearts. When you live a disciplined life, God changes your attitude, he changes your actions, and he changes your speech. God uses the spiritual disciplines to shape us into His image, to make us like Himself.

3. A Life Marked by Trust
We might call this dependence upon the Father which Jesus modeled in his earthly life. If you don’t stay close to Jesus by following him everyday, you might just end up warming your hands around the enemies fire. The fact that Peter followed Jesus from a distance sums up why Peter fell as he did. He was trying to live on the fringes. He was going it alone. Peter tried to live as an anonymous Christian, living in the dim light of the world’s fires, facing life in his own power and in his own strength.

People on the fringes the people most susceptible to fall. It’s really impossible to follow Jesus from a distance. Some of you may be trying but it’s not working very well. When we are humble before God, when we live a disciplined life, when we stay close to Jesus, then it becomes easier to stand strong in the Lord because it is the risen Christ living in and through us.

Humility, discipline, trust – these qualities God wants to build in our lives and He will if we allow Him to. These qualities come through a personal relationship with Christ. Peter is going to need the Jesus he just denied, we too need Christ if we are going to hold up under pressure.

For His Glory!
Pastor Joe