In Matt. 26:34 and John 13:38, the Bible says before the rooster will crow [once], Peter will have denied Jesus three times. But Mark 14:30 says before the rooster crows twice, Peter will deny Jesus three times. Is there any error? How many times did the rooster crow?

– Carlos, Italy

DR. GEORGY’S RESPONSE:

Matthew and John do not specifically say how many times the rooster will crow. According to their accounts, Peter will deny Jesus three times “before the rooster crows.” They do not say how many times it will crow. Mark’s account can be seen as more specific in that it specifies how many times the rooster will crow.

There is also the possibility that these differences are due to a copyist error in Mark resulting in the insertion of “two” in some early manuscripts (copies). These insertions are seen in Mark 14:30, 72. Some significant manuscripts of Mark mention only one crowing (like Matthew and John), whereas some other manuscripts have the word “two” appearing at different places within those verses. Therefore, there is no contradiction.