3.31.25
Good morning!
This week, I'll be devoting our time together focusing on the generational and eternal celebration of Passover, but our zoom call tonight will start with the beginning of Leviticus (the proverbial speed bump of the Bible): Now that God's glory has arrived, how does He expect us to approach Him?
With Passover just a few days away my mind continually runs through the passion week events. One of my favorites, maybe because I can identify so easily, is Luke 22:31-34 (cp. Matt. 26:34, Mark 14:30, John 13:38)
“And the Lord said, ‘Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren’. But he said to Him, ‘Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death’. Then He said, ‘I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow/phoneo this day before you will deny three times that you know Me'. (Lk. 22:31-34)
What does this mean? Why did Yeshua say, 'Wheat' and not a 'tare'? Aren't all of Yeshua's prayers answered? How could He pray for Peter that His faith wouldn't fail, yet He would fail? Huh? Which aspect of Peter's faith was he talking about that wouldn't fail (Present or future (1 Pet. 1:3-9)? Was it a cock that crowed or a human that proclaimed? Does it matter? Enquiring minds want to know!
Later that night the Temple Guards arrested Yeshua and took Him to the house of the High Priest. There Simon Peter was allowed admission to the courtyard in view of where they were questioning Yeshua:
“And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, ‘This man was also with Him’. But he denied Him, saying, ‘Woman, I do not know Him’. And after a little while another saw him and said, ‘You also are of them’. But Peter said, ‘Man, I am not!’ Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed saying, ‘Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean’. But Peter said, ‘Man, I do not know what you are saying!’ And immediately, while he was still speaking, the cock/alektorcrowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows, you will deny Me three times. Then Peter went out and wept bitterly”. (Lk. 22:56-62)
With Passover just a few days away my mind continually runs through the passion week events. One of my favorites, maybe because I can identify so easily, is Luke 22:31-34 (cp. Matt. 26:34, Mark 14:30, John 13:38)
“And the Lord said, ‘Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren’. But he said to Him, ‘Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death’. Then He said, ‘I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow/phoneo this day before you will deny three times that you know Me'. (Lk. 22:31-34)
What does this mean? Why did Yeshua say, 'Wheat' and not a 'tare'? Aren't all of Yeshua's prayers answered? How could He pray for Peter that His faith wouldn't fail, yet He would fail? Huh? Which aspect of Peter's faith was he talking about that wouldn't fail (Present or future (1 Pet. 1:3-9)? Was it a cock that crowed or a human that proclaimed? Does it matter? Enquiring minds want to know!
Later that night the Temple Guards arrested Yeshua and took Him to the house of the High Priest. There Simon Peter was allowed admission to the courtyard in view of where they were questioning Yeshua:
“And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, ‘This man was also with Him’. But he denied Him, saying, ‘Woman, I do not know Him’. And after a little while another saw him and said, ‘You also are of them’. But Peter said, ‘Man, I am not!’ Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed saying, ‘Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean’. But Peter said, ‘Man, I do not know what you are saying!’ And immediately, while he was still speaking, the cock/alektorcrowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows, you will deny Me three times. Then Peter went out and wept bitterly”. (Lk. 22:56-62)
Ouch! I think it's safe to say his 'present' faith failed (Mk. 4:40).
For many today, this is one of the more famous stories in the Gospel accounts. However, there could be a problem with our story line; chickens were not allowed in Jerusalem during Temple times. The reason for this prohibition was because chickens are very dirty birds and they have the obnoxious habit of finding their way into places where they do not belong. Therefore, to assure that chickens could not gain access to the Temple and desecrate the Holy Place or, worse yet, the Holy of Holies, the Priests simply forbids everyone in Jerusalem from having chickens.
So, what about this famous passage of Scripture? It clearly says that a cock crowed and it was heard in the courtyard of the palace of the High Priest.
Many of you are familiar biblically that the night was divided into 4 watches. Cock-crowing was also known as the period of time between midnight and three o’clock in the morning; the third watch of the night. This reflects the Roman custom of dividing the night into four watches: late, midnight, cock-crowing, and early.
There was a practice in those days that might lead us to believe that the cock really wasn't a unpredictable rooster, but a man. That man was a priest at the Temple. He was the one who had the responsibility of unlocking the Temple doors each and every morning before dawn. Every night this priest would lock the doors to the Temple and place the key in an opening in the floor of one of the Temple side rooms. Then he would place a flat stone over the opening and place his sleeping mat over the stone. He would literally sleep over the key to the Temple. In the morning this priest would arise at first light and retrieve the key. He would then proceed to unlock the doors to the Temple and cry out three statements in a loud voice: "All the Kohanim (priests) prepare to sacrifice”. "All the Leviim (Levites) to their stations”. "All the Israelites come to worship”. Then he would repeat these statements two more times.
The priest in question was known as the Temple Crier, and he was called ‘alektor’ in Greek, which can either be a ‘cock’ or ‘man’ (cock is Gever in Hebrew). It was his obligation to rouse all the Priests, Levites, and worshippers and call them to begin their preparations for the morning Tamid offering service (Rom. 8:37; Ex. 29:38). In the stillness of the early morning, sound carries well and since the palace of the High Priest was within a very short walk from the Temple, it was the Temple Crier's cry that was heard in the courtyard where Yeshua was being questioned and not the cock/rooster.
Josephus, the famous Jewish historian received an excellent education in Jerusalem. After leading a failed revolt of the Jewish forces against Rome, Josephus was captured and became a Roman citizen. He served as pensioner of several Flavian emperors and is most widely known by the name he then acquired, Flavius Josephus, and in his writings he confirms this by stating that no chickens were allowed inside Jerusalem’s walls at all as they flew into the Temple and defiled the Temple.
While this example does not change the meaning of the event (that Peter would deny Yeshua despite his bravado earlier in the evening), it does help us see the reality of the evening. Peter denying Yeshua the three times. Yeshua walking out of the Praetorium where the 'monkey trial' took place. The 'cock crowing' telling the Priest, the Levite and all Israel to get ready for the Passover sacrifices...and Yeshua being led off in preparation for the crucifixion!
Now, for the $64,000 question: As we head into the Passover season, will your faith be like a chicken or will you back up your brave words with action (Rom. 13:11)?
"And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed." (Rom. 13:11)
Shalom
For many today, this is one of the more famous stories in the Gospel accounts. However, there could be a problem with our story line; chickens were not allowed in Jerusalem during Temple times. The reason for this prohibition was because chickens are very dirty birds and they have the obnoxious habit of finding their way into places where they do not belong. Therefore, to assure that chickens could not gain access to the Temple and desecrate the Holy Place or, worse yet, the Holy of Holies, the Priests simply forbids everyone in Jerusalem from having chickens.
So, what about this famous passage of Scripture? It clearly says that a cock crowed and it was heard in the courtyard of the palace of the High Priest.
Many of you are familiar biblically that the night was divided into 4 watches. Cock-crowing was also known as the period of time between midnight and three o’clock in the morning; the third watch of the night. This reflects the Roman custom of dividing the night into four watches: late, midnight, cock-crowing, and early.
There was a practice in those days that might lead us to believe that the cock really wasn't a unpredictable rooster, but a man. That man was a priest at the Temple. He was the one who had the responsibility of unlocking the Temple doors each and every morning before dawn. Every night this priest would lock the doors to the Temple and place the key in an opening in the floor of one of the Temple side rooms. Then he would place a flat stone over the opening and place his sleeping mat over the stone. He would literally sleep over the key to the Temple. In the morning this priest would arise at first light and retrieve the key. He would then proceed to unlock the doors to the Temple and cry out three statements in a loud voice: "All the Kohanim (priests) prepare to sacrifice”. "All the Leviim (Levites) to their stations”. "All the Israelites come to worship”. Then he would repeat these statements two more times.
The priest in question was known as the Temple Crier, and he was called ‘alektor’ in Greek, which can either be a ‘cock’ or ‘man’ (cock is Gever in Hebrew). It was his obligation to rouse all the Priests, Levites, and worshippers and call them to begin their preparations for the morning Tamid offering service (Rom. 8:37; Ex. 29:38). In the stillness of the early morning, sound carries well and since the palace of the High Priest was within a very short walk from the Temple, it was the Temple Crier's cry that was heard in the courtyard where Yeshua was being questioned and not the cock/rooster.
Josephus, the famous Jewish historian received an excellent education in Jerusalem. After leading a failed revolt of the Jewish forces against Rome, Josephus was captured and became a Roman citizen. He served as pensioner of several Flavian emperors and is most widely known by the name he then acquired, Flavius Josephus, and in his writings he confirms this by stating that no chickens were allowed inside Jerusalem’s walls at all as they flew into the Temple and defiled the Temple.
While this example does not change the meaning of the event (that Peter would deny Yeshua despite his bravado earlier in the evening), it does help us see the reality of the evening. Peter denying Yeshua the three times. Yeshua walking out of the Praetorium where the 'monkey trial' took place. The 'cock crowing' telling the Priest, the Levite and all Israel to get ready for the Passover sacrifices...and Yeshua being led off in preparation for the crucifixion!
Now, for the $64,000 question: As we head into the Passover season, will your faith be like a chicken or will you back up your brave words with action (Rom. 13:11)?
"And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed." (Rom. 13:11)
Shalom
Comments
Post a Comment