Denies before cock crows
Mathew 26:34,74-75, “Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you that this very night, before a cock crows, you shall deny Me three times…74 Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a cock crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, “Before a cock crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.”
Luke 22:34,60-62, “And He said, “I say to you, Peter, the cock will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me . . . .60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, a cock crowed. 61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “Before a cock crows today, you will deny Me three times.” 62 And he went out and wept bitterly.”
John 13:38, “Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a cock shall not crow, until you deny Me three times.”
Denies before cock crows twice
Mark 14:30, “And Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, that you yourself this very night, before a cock crows twice, shall three times deny Me…”
If a cock crows a second time, then it has crowed once before. The problem is that in Mark, after Peter denies the Lord for the third time (Mark 14:71), immediately a cock crows a second time (v. 72). The other gospels tell us that after Peter’s third denial a cock then crows. How do we reconcile this difficulty?
Mark does not mention when the cock crowed the first time. Therefore, it is possible that after Peter’s third denial, the cock then crowed twice; that is, two times in a row. This is logically possible and does not necessitate a contradiction.
