And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.” After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.” Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.
(Matthew 26:71-75 ESV)
Having played dumb, Peter has set himself up for the successive traps of failure. Rather than admitting his error, his sin, he digs in to demand he is telling the truth. His resolve to not abandon his Lord has now become resolve to not admit his guilt. When challenged on this, he seeks to remove all doubt, with cursing and stronger anger - surefire ways in our society to try to convince people of our "sincerity". The people were not fooled; neither was the rooster. And thus Peter brought great sorrow to himself and his Master. How much sorrow will we bring today by our own stubborn sin?
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