John 18:15-27 Jesus' trials part I, and Peter's denial

The next section interleaves the narratives of two trials and Peter's denial. Only Luke 23:6-11 records a third trial, before Herod. John records the trial before the religious court and the trial in the civil court.

Following the narrative of Peter after Jesus was arrested, John 18:15-18 and 25-27. Peter's close following of Jesus, and then his denial are recorded in all of the gospels. (Matthew 26:69-75, Mark 14:66-72, Luke 22:55-62) John speaks of himself in the third person, so he must have been that other disciple who was known to the high priest and entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest. So he also arranged for Peter to come inside the court.  While they are standing around the charcoal fire, casual banter with the slaves who were standing there, one of them recognized Peter as having been with Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. John mentions that this slave was a relative of the slave whose ear Peter had cut off, so it is possible that there was a bit of a threat in this recognition. In any event, Peter denied being with Jesus in the garden, or even knowing Him, in three separate statements according to the other gospels. Immediately after the third denial, a rooster crowed. This fulfilled Jesus' prophetic warning to Peter (Matthew 26:34, Mark 14:30, Luke 22:60, John 13:38). Luke records that The Lord turned and looked at Peter after the rooster crowed.

          In that day, farm animals were virtually everywhere. Roosters crow all the time during the day, but not at night. Since they will crow when the sky begins to lighten before sunrise, their crowing is often seen as announcing dawn. So Jesus' prophecy was most likely initially taken by Peter to mean that before sunrise the next morning this would happen. However, given all that transpires in this narrative after the rooster crowed, it is unlikely that Peter's denial occurred that late in the night. So the crowing of the rooster in the middle of the night was most likely a sign from God that Jesus' prophecy had been fulfilled. Matthew 26:75 records the Peter went out and wept bitterly. The guilt and self-condemnation must have been overwhelming.

          Is there even a possibility of restoration after a denial of faith, a breach of relationship? Most likely Peter did not think so. He went into hiding, and even after the resurrection, he returned to fishing. But John records that immediately after telling Peter that he would deny Him (John 13:38) Jesus told them to not let their heart be troubled (John 14:1). His love is greater than their weakness. It apparently took Peter until Pentecost (50 days later) to fully accept this.