The Rooster Crows at Dawn

 Luke 22

Things are coming to a head now, as the religious leaders are intent on killing Jesus for his healings and teachings. They find a willing inside operative in Judas and pay him to watch for a suitable time to betray Jesus with a minimum of interference from the crowds who may riot if he were arrested publicly.

Then at night there is the Passover meal, modeled on the ancient Jewish tradition celebrating the Angel of Death "passing over" the Jewish people when they were slaves in Egypt. The meal had many rituals, including four cups of wine served throughout the meal, each marking a different aspect of God's deliverance promised in Exodus 6. The third cup, which is likely the one Jesus picks up after supper, was known as the cup of redemption. Jesus seems to be intentionally connecting his work on earth with the larger work of God's salvation for humankind.

After the Passover meal Jesus and the disciples head to the Mount of Olives where he prays and then is betrayed late into the evening by Judas. Here there are no crowds to stop them. Once he is arrested by the temple guards, Peter follows behind into the High Priest's house where Jesus would be mocked and beaten. Outside Peter is noticed and several people connect him as a follower of Jesus. He denies it three times, until the rooster crows, just as Jesus had predicted. As awful as this moment is, the rooster actually became a symbol of the Christian Church for a thousand years. It was a reminder that, when we deny Jesus, he is always willing to receive us back, just as Peter would eventually be accepted. No matter how dark the night may get, there is always a dawn to follow.