Key Verse: Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind
me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things
of God, but the things of men."
Matthew 16:23
What a shock this rebuke must have been to Peter. What a
shock Jesus’ whole warning must have been to His disciples. They must have
wondered, "How are we still not getting it? What is Jesus saying here? This isn't what we've been taught. How can
this make sense?" Peter may have been the bold, outspoken person who
received the rebuke, but the sting must have been felt by all. What a contrast
to the praise Jesus gave in yesterday’s text.
Jesus had just admitted to being their long awaited hero. He
was supposed to be the victor, not the victim. "You do not have in mind
the things of God, but the things of men." (Matt. 16:23b) As with the
disciples in this situation, that is usually our problem as well. We are guilty
of thinking like sinful man instead of a Holy God. We could understand if we
were asked to do it man's way. The disciples would simply go back through the
towns and villages, to all the people that Jesus had been feeding and healing
over the past year or two and have a call to arms! Surely, everyone was sick of
the Roman oppression. Jesus had already proven that he could feed an army and
heal anyone who was injured. This plan was fool proof.
Now, He's talking about heading to Jerusalem, where the
majority of His critics reside? He is going to be punished and killed? If He
knows this, why isn't He planning to avoid it? How could Him dying help
anybody?
We think too much about the physical: what we can see and
touch. We collect things. We build or improve our houses. There's a place for that. God gave us all these things. But we tend to over emphasize that and not value enough what God values. He values more the intangible, the
soul, the spirit. The physical that we value so much is corrupt and decaying,
even as you read this. Our physical self is moving toward death every day. It
will end up in the grave. But every person is actually immortal and will live forever! Jesus died to bless that eternal existence and provide for that with forgiveness and salvation, for those who believe in and trust him.
Jesus’ death and resurrection is the only thing that could reverse
that through his victory over sin and death.
But this was a concept the disciples had never yet encountered in their
understanding of Scripture. Nobody, at
that time, could comprehend that God's plan for Jesus was far bigger than the nationalistic
plan of defeating the Romans and expanding the Davidic Kingdom to encompass the
whole world.
It's often the case in our earthly lives that, "now we
see but a poor reflection as in a mirror," (1
Cor. 13:12) and that is often our way as we walk with God. "His ways
are higher than our ways." (Isaiah
55:11) That's why there are so many examples, especially in the Old Testament of those who trusted, followed and obeyed, though the understanding
did not come until much later. This is what the disciples are being asked to do
in our reading for today, but this is also how we are often asked to live our
lives, trusting though we may not fully understand.
When we are called by God to do something that we may not
fully understand at the beginning, it may just be that the Lord of the universe
is asking us, "Do you trust Me?" When we can obey and step out
without having all the answers first, we are saying with our lives, "Yes,
Lord, I trust you." Then, we are becoming fully one with Him, which
pleases Him.
Hymn: "God, and God Alone"
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