READ: MARK 14:27-31, 66-72

A rooster crowed at the moment of the apostle Peter’s biggest failure.

Let’s back up a few hours before that awful choice. On the night of Jesus’s betrayal, He warned His disciples that they would scatter when He was taken from them.

That’s when Peter spoke up: no matter what the others would do, he would not deny Jesus! But Jesus had sad news for Peter. That very night, he would deny Jesus three times before the rooster crowed.

Sure enough, as we read in today’s Bible passage, Peter denied knowing Jesus. But, upon hearing the rooster crow and realizing what he had done, Peter broke down and wept. Peter loved Jesus and wanted to be faithful—yet he abandoned and denied Jesus in His darkest hour.

Have you had any rooster crow moments? Times when you were sure you would follow what God’s Word said? Times when a quick decision had to be made, and you made the wrong one? Times when you chose sin over Jesus? Then, when you realized what you had done, you stopped and wept. You mourned a choice that couldn’t be unmade. The rooster was crowing in the background.

But here’s the good news. Jesus loves us and knows our struggles against sin. He has not left us alone. When we trust Him as our Savior and Lord, He wraps us in His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). In God’s eyes, it’s like we’ve never done anything wrong. And God has given us His Word and His Spirit to teach us the way and empower us as we learn to walk in it.

When we are tempted to sin, we can listen to the Holy Spirit, rejecting sin and remembering who we are in Christ (Titus 2:11-14). And when we do sin, we can run to Jesus, knowing that we are securely held in His love and forgiveness— even in our rooster crow moments (Romans 8:33-39; Hebrews 4:14-16; 1 John 1:9–2:1). • Deborah del Villar

• Read John 21:15-19. After Peter failed, was Jesus done with him?

• Read 1 Corinthians 10:13 and Hebrews 4:14-16. When we sin or are tempted to sin, why can we always run to Jesus?

My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the righteous one. 1 John 2:1 (CSB)

READ: EZEKIEL 36:26-27; ROMANS 7:14–8:2; PHILIPPIANS 1:6

I’d been looking forward to the slumber party at our Sunday school teacher’s house for weeks. It was a rite of passage for girls at our church entering middle school. Little did I know the party included a surprise.

After living in a rundown house with a leaky roof in almost every room, our family built a new home. For the party, our teacher asked the girls in our class to bring a present for me to decorate the new bedroom I’d share with my sister. I felt so loved opening the unexpected gifts!

One girl, who I’ll call Nettie (I’ve changed all their names in this story) brought me a painting of a purple balloon with my name emblazoned across it. Carlotta and Lori gave me presents too. Then Kathleen arrived. She didn’t bring a present, and even though I hadn’t anticipated any gifts when I arrived, I suddenly felt cheated by Kathleen.

I didn’t like this self-centered demand I sensed stirring in my heart. I liked Kathleen and didn’t want to hold this against her—after all, Jesus doesn’t hold anything against me. I never asked about the lack of a gift, and we all moved on with the party. But I felt confused by my greedy attitude.

Even though we often desire to do the right thing, it’s hard to be consistently loving and kind. None of us can do it perfectly. We need Jesus to provide forgiveness because we continually miss the mark of righteousness. We also need His Spirit, guiding us in the rhythm of repentance and faith so that we can live in God’s good ways. Trusting in Christ, we receive both. He loves us so much that He lived a sinless life on our behalf, then died on the cross and rose from the grave to make the way for us to be forgiven and be part of His family forever.

But, like the apostle Paul, we often find ourselves struggling with ungodly thoughts or actions—even after we’ve put our trust in Jesus (Romans 7:21-25). It’s part of living in a broken world. We can be confident, though, that Jesus rescued us from the penalty of sin and has also promised to purify us through and through, making us more Christlike until He returns and makes us whole— never to wrestle with greedy or selfish impulses again. • Allison Wilson Lee

• As believers, we shouldn’t be comfortable with our sin. And, because of Jesus, we can experience complete forgiveness. How do these two truths exist together?

• Have you ever been surprised by sin? We can bring these confusing and discouraging moments to Jesus in prayer, lay it all out before Him, and rest in His sure forgiveness and great love for us.

He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. Psalm 103:12 (NLT)

READ: ISAIAH 53:3-12; MATTHEW 27:15-26; ROMANS 5:6-11; 8:15

I love names. I’m a fiction writer, and every time I start a new book, I have to choose character names. Sometimes one just lands on the character from the very beginning and sticks, but other times I have to do in-depth research about name meanings to pinpoint the name that’s just right.

God also likes using names with meanings! The Bible often outright tells us what people’s names mean, but sometimes it doesn’t, even when a name is significant. So it’s left to us to pay attention—and do some research. And that’s the case with today’s passage.

You may have heard about Barabbas—he might even make it into your church’s yearly Easter service. When Jesus was taken to be crucified, the governor offered to release one prisoner to the people, as was his tradition during Passover. The people opted for Barabbas—a revolutionary and rebel—to be released instead of Jesus. Barabbas, who had actually committed a crime worthy of crucifixion according to Roman law. Barabbas, who deserved to die.

Barabbas’s name is pretty simple to break down: bar and abbas. In Hebrew, bar means “son of,” and you may have heard abba before—it means father. Put it together, and Barabbas means “son of the father,” or even “son of a father.”

Every son is a son of a father, meaning Barabbas is…anyone. And if we look at his story, it’s true—Barabbas is like every single one of us. Barabbas sinned, and he deserved death, just as we do. But Jesus, through God’s great mercy for us, took the penalty for our crimes. Though He did no wrong, the Son of God died in Barabbas’s place…and my place, and your place. Then He rose from the dead, defeating sin and death to save us and adopt us into God’s family.

Barabbas lived out our story. He walked away, set free by the Son. And if we’ve put our trust in Jesus, that’s who we are: beloved sons and daughters of the Father, set free from the power of sin and death, forever. • Hannah Ruth Johnson

• Consider taking some time to read Barabbas’s story slowly, and imagine yourself in his shoes. What do you notice? How do you feel?

• If you know Jesus, you have a new identity—you are a son or daughter of the Father, beloved and free. When do you struggle to remember your true identity? Consider taking some time to talk to Jesus about this. Additionally, who is a trusted Christian in your life you could talk with?

Yet God, in His grace, freely makes us right in His sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins. Romans 3:24 (NLT)