Luke 22 - Steve Wiggins Daily Devotional

“‘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 “feet”…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 Yeshua told Peter he would deny Him “Three Times”, He was quite possibly referring to Israel’s rejection of the essence of Shalosh Regalim. So, what are the three festivals, and what do 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/values in Judaism, and continuing with the Messianic community.

Pesach: G_d’s miraculous deliverance of the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery, proves His power to deliver and to keep His Word. Similarly, believers are delivered from the bondage of this world, and we await His promise of ultimate deliverance on the Last Day.

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

Sukkot: The Hebrews’ miraculous 40-year survival in the desert proves Divine guidance and abiding presence. G_d guides believers in Yeshua as we trust in Him, leaning not on our own understanding, but acknowledging Him in all our ways. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

In essence, Yeshua’s 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 power to deliver, My revelation, and My divine presence & guidance…all before your “new beginning.” **The rooster is a Hebrew symbol of new beginnings, because he heralds the dawn of the new day.

In order to embark on a new beginning…to be “saved”, WE must 1) Recognize G_d’s power and desire to deliver us, 2) Admit we fall short of His standard, revealed to us in the Tanakh, made clear to us by the work of the Ruach HaKodesh. 3) Trust Yeshua’s atonement and promise to abide with us, forever…in this life, and for all eternity in the Olam Ha-Ba (the Kingdom to come), resurrecting & gathering His own to Himself.

Blessings,
~Steve Wiggins, Assistant Rabbi
Shuvah Yisrael
Daily Devotional, Monday, June 24, 2013