In the end; a rooster is still a chicken

I love how the Bible is filled with such irony. Like in the story of Peter denying Jesus three times just as Jesus said he would. What I find ironic here is how Jesus brought in the rooster. After Jesus was arrested Peter followed at a distance, you could already tell he didn’t want to get too close and this was just after Peter promised Jesus that he would go to prison with Him or even die with Him. Then the first three times Peter was asked if he was a follower of Jesus (a Christian) he denied it. Peter learned real quick that being a follower of Christ was not all about picnics for 5,000 and time out on the water. Peter now knew that following Christ can put a person in difficult situations. It’s how you react in these difficult situations that tell what you are made of. Just because Peter denied Jesus does not mean he was not a Christian. What makes Peter a Christian is that when he realized what he had done he wept bitterly, he repented he turned from his sin of denying Christ to the point of actually being crucified himself for the sake of Christ. When it comes to us we too sometimes follow at a distance or may even deny Jesus when things get tough. The key however is to be just like Peter. We need to acknowledge it, and repent of it. The ironic part of the rooster thing is that even though sometimes we as Christians portray ourselves as tough guys able to do anything on our own the fact is we are not different than the rooster. Even though roosters can be portrayed as tough, proud, or cocky (pardon the play on words) in the end, a rooster is still a chicken.

 Luke 22: 54-62

⁵⁴ So they arrested him and led him to the high priest’s home. And Peter followed at a distance. ⁵⁵ The guards lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter joined them there. ⁵⁶ A servant girl noticed him in the firelight and began staring at him. Finally she said, “This man was one of Jesus’ followers!” ⁵⁷ But Peter denied it. “Woman,” he said, “I don’t even know him!”⁵⁸ After a while someone else looked at him and said, “You must be one of them!” “No, man, I’m not!” Peter retorted. ⁵⁹ About an hour later someone else insisted, “This must be one of them, because he is a Galilean, too.” ⁶⁰ But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. ⁶¹ At that moment the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Suddenly, the Lord’s words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.” ⁶² And Peter left the courtyard, weeping bitterly.