The Risk of Obedience

³⁰ Then, after singing songs of praise, they went to the Mount of Olives. ³¹ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Tonight you will all fall away because of me. This is because it is written,I will hit the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will go off in all directions. ³² But after I’m raised up, I’ll go before you to Galilee.” ³³ Peter replied, “If everyone else stumbles because of you, I’ll never stumble.” ³⁴ Jesus said to him, “I assure you that, before the rooster crows tonight, you will deny me three times.” ³⁵ Peter said, “Even if I must die alongside you, I won’t deny you.” All the disciples said the same thing. ⁶⁹ Meanwhile, Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant woman came and said to him, “You were also with Jesus the Galilean.” ⁷⁰ But he denied it in front of all of them, saying, “I don’t know what you are talking about.” ⁷¹ When he went over to the gate, another woman saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.” ⁷² With a solemn pledge, he denied it again, saying, “I don’t know the man.” ⁷³ A short time later those standing there came and said to Peter, “You must be one of them. The way you talk gives you away.” ⁷⁴ Then he cursed and swore, “I don’t know the man!” At that very moment the rooster crowed. ⁷⁵ Peter remembered Jesus’ words, “Before the rooster crows you will deny me three times.” And Peter went out and cried uncontrollably.