Living Room Study

Luke 22

“‘Lord,’ he told Him,  ‘I’m ready to go with You both to prison and to death!’  ‘I tell you, Peter,’ He said, ‘the rooster will not crow today until you deny three times that you know me.’”  Luke 22:33-34

In the Jewish calendar there are three major festivals, collectively known as the Shalosh Regalim.  Shalosh means “three”, and Regalim means “foot”…therefore, Shalosh Regalim translates: “Three On Foot”. These three festivals are the 3 times when Jewish people were required to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem, on foot.

The common Jewish reference for “Shalosh Regalim” was “The Three Times”.

It is important to know the significance of these festivals, because when Jesus told Peter he would deny Him “Three Times”, He was quite possibly referring to Israel’s rejection of the essence of Shalosh Regalim. Here are the three festivals, and what they communicate to the Hebrew mindset:

Pesach (Passover):  Exodus from Egypt and slavery

Shavuot:  Giving of the10 commandments; also known as Pentecost.

Sukkot:  The 40-year period, during which the Hebrews wandered in the Sinai Desert, living in temporary shelters.

Each event marks a time of harvest in Israel.  Each symbolically expresses basic religious and ethical ideas in Judaism, as well as Christianity.

Pesach:  God miraculously delivering the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery, proves His existence. Similarly, believers are delivered from the bondage of this world.

Shavuot:  The giving of the law/God’s revelation. On Shavuot (Pentecost) God gave the Holy Spirit to those who believed and committed to follow Messiah.

Sukkot:  The Hebrews’ miraculous 40-year survival in the desert proves Divine guidance. God guides us as we trust in Him, leaning not on our own understanding, but acknowledging Him in all our ways.

In essence, Jesus message to Peter is also His message to Israel as a nation: “You say you will follow me anywhere.  In actuality, you deny Me, by denying the spiritual intent of the “Three Times”.  You will deny My existence, My revelation, and My divine guidance…all before your “new beginning.” **The rooster is Hebrew symbol of new beginnings, because he heralds the day.

Spiritually speaking, in order to embark on a new beginning…to be saved, we must 1) Recognize God’s existence, 2) Admit we fall short of His standard, revealed in the Bible. 3) Upon repenting and accepting Jesus as Lord & Savior, we are given the Holy Spirit, Who guides us. Shalosh Regalim.

Blessings.

Steve Wiggins