It is one of the saddest and, at the same time, most instructive stories in all of the Bible. In the upper room on the night before Jesus was crucified, Peter had committed to Jesus, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death” (Luke 22:33). But Jesus foretold that Peter was going to “deny three times” that he knew Jesus (22:34). And that is exactly what happened.
All four accounts of the gospel tell us that upon Peter’s third denial of Christ, “a rooster crowed” (Matt. 26:74; Mark 14:68; Luke 22:60; John 18:27). But Luke is the only one who tells us, “And the Lord turned and looked at Peter” (22:61). What do you suppose that must have been like for Peter? Why do you suppose that Jesus did that? Why do you suppose that Luke tells us about it? There are surely a number of lessons for us to learn in this Biblical account, especially regarding the seriousness of sin.
The Lord is aware when we sin. Peter had lied three times: “I do not know Him…I am not [of them]…I do not know what you are saying!” (22:57-60). No matter how private we think a particular act is, our violation of God’s will (no matter how small) does not go unnoticed by the Almighty. He knows every thought and every secret thing (Ezek. 11:5; Ecc. 12:14).
The Lord wants us to know that He is aware when we sin. I suppose that Jesus could have just “played dumb.” That’s what we do sometimes when someone has made a mistake, but we kindly ignore it and look unaware that anything happened. Jesus could have done that, but He didn’t. By looking at Peter, the apostle immediately knew that Jesus knew.
The Lord wants us to remember the gravity of sin. Peter’s response to the rooster and the “turn and look” of Jesus shows us how seriously we should take sin. Peter knew that he had sinned. He knew that Jesus knew that he had sinned. Was that a big deal? “Peter went out and wept bitterly” (22:62). Sin is not some toy that we can play with and not be affected. We must “resist the devil” (Jas. 4:7) at all costs.
The Lord wants us to remember His love for us. What look do you suppose Jesus gave Peter? None of us know. Was it a look of anger? I don’t think so. Was it disappointment or hurt? Perhaps. Was it a look of peace, gentleness and reassurance? Maybe so. What it turned out to be was the look of “a second chance.” With that “look” indelibly burned into his memory, Peter would remember that Jesus gave him another chance (and another, and another). That’s the “look of love” that Peter saw that day.
Will we learn the lessons that Peter learned that day? Peter was made stronger for it, and we will be, too!