Mark 14:72
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. 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.
The second crowing sounded in the early-morning darkness while Jesus was being mocked and reviled before Caiaphas, just as Peter with an oath denied being His follower. Absorbed in keeping up his false indifference he did not hear it, and went on to deny his Master with cursing and swearing. At that moment Jesus turned from His judges and looked full upon him with pity, sorrow and love mingled with reproof but no anger, a look that pierced Peter more than abuse pierced Jesus and brought the prediction back to his mind. His heart melted and he went away and wept bitterly, and that sorrow was genuine repentance that converted him and prepared him to strengthen his brethren. His fall warns that any disciple who hides faith for dread of scorn or lingers in company that invites denial will fall as he did, bold for open battle yet cowardly before ridicule.
Night of Denial
The second crowing belongs to the early-morning darkness when Jesus was being hurried with insult and mockery through dark and narrow streets to the palace of Caiaphas the officiating high priest, where He was coarsely accused, sneeringly questioned, reviled by the whole assembly, and subjected to a mock examination. It came directly after Peter's second denial, when with an oath he denied being a follower of Jesus while acting a lie with an assumed air of indifference and strained unconcern that itself drew the second charge against him. He did not hear that second crow because he was thoroughly intent on carrying out the false character he had assumed, absorbed in hiding his identity and blending in with Jesus' persecutors.
Peter's third denial was made in rage to fully deceive his questioners and justify his assumed character, denying his Master with cursing and swearing, and immediately the cock crew while the degrading oaths were still fresh on his lips and the shrill crowing still ringing in his ears. That denial with cursing and swearing pierced Jesus more deeply than the abuse of His enemies, giving Him a keener pang than anything inflicted while He endured that mockery. At that same moment Jesus turned His face from the frowning judges and looked full upon Peter, and Peter involuntarily fixed his eyes on Jesus, seeing in that gentle countenance deep pity, sorrow, compassion and love with reproof but no anger. After the third denial the crowing together with that look brought back to Peter's mind Jesus' prediction that before the cock crow twice he would deny Him thrice, exposing how completely he had failed.
Repentance and Warning
When he thought thereon his heart was melted and broken, and he went away and wept bitterly, for Christ's look of compassion and love conveyed pardon and gave him hope. That sorrowful, reproving look saved him by breaking his heart as he remembered the warning and recognized his complete failure after denying three times, even with cursing and swearing.
His sorrow was genuine repentance, not a sudden claim of salvation or an attempt to minimize his sin. He remembered the denial, repented of his sin, was converted, and was then prepared to strengthen his brethren and fellow disciples, no longer speaking with his former self-confident spirit.
He denied his Lord in the judgment hall because he was a coward before scorn, though he would have been bold and courageous if called to fight openly for his Master rather than face ridicule. He placed himself in the way of temptation by associating with those he should have avoided, and thus invited the enemy to tempt him to do and say what he never would have been guilty of under other circumstances, and the same exposure threatens any disciple who keeps such company. The denial warns that a disciple in any day who disguises faith through dread of suffering, reproach, or ridicule denies the Lord as virtually and truly as Peter did, being driven from faith by fear. Those who boast of freedom of thought and action and laugh at the scruples of the conscientious who fear to do wrong act as Satan's agents to persuade the righteous to yield their faith, and then despise those they led to ruin. John's open loyalty to Jesus stands in contrast with Peter's attempt to hide his identity.