“And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.” Mark 14:72 (Read v. 66-72)
Do we weep over our sins? Do we consider what they cost the Lord Jesus when He suffered and died upon the cross? Do we treat His blood, shed for us upon the cross, as common and unholy? Cf. Hebrews 10:29
Peter had just denied his Lord a third time before the rooster crowed a second time. He had rejected Jesus’ words and vehemently affirmed that he would never deny the Lord Jesus (v. 26-31). But he had done it. He denied his Lord three times!
“And when he thought thereon, he wept.” When he remembered Jesus’ words and considered his sin, he wept (v. 72).
Psalm 51:16-17 says: “For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”
Like David, in the Old Testament, Peter saw and acknowledged his sin unto the Lord and looked to Him for forgiveness (cf. Psalm 51:1-13).
In 2 Corinthians 7:9-10, the apostle Paul wrote: “Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”
As we remember the many ways in which we have betrayed and denied Jesus, our sins which were the cause of Jesus’ suffering and death, hopefully, we too are moved to sorrow, like Peter, who “when he thought thereon, he wept.”
Psalm 34:18 also tells us: “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”
And, let that sorrow lead us to repentance – to be sorry for our sins and to trust in Christ Jesus and His death upon the cross in our stead for pardon and forgiveness and life everlasting!
God grant that we consider our sins and what they have done to Jesus, but that we then also place our faith in Jesus and His atoning sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world that we might obtain pardon and life eternal through faith in Jesus’ name!
Forgive us, O Jesus, for betraying You by our sins and denying You to avoid sharing in Your suffering and pain. For the sake of Your cross, grant us mercy and forgiveness that we might serve You and hold fast to You as our Savior and Lord unto life everlasting! Amen.
[Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible]