Peter
is the consummate enigma; he is one of the most confusing personalities in
Scripture. With this big fisherman it’s
always good news/bad news, hero to zero, feast
or famine when it comes to what comes out of his mouth.
·
He was the great apostle, making the declaration, Thou
art the Christ, but outside Pilate's gate he was a wimp, denying he'd
ever seen Jesus.
·
Peter thundered on Pentecost day, seeing thousands
added to the church, but he trembled with fear for his reputation when the
delegation from Jerusalem found out he'd been eating with Gentiles.
Why
such a roller-coaster spiritual ride?
It's hard to say; perhaps Jesus may have just been revealing something
about Peter’s character and future. Jesus
called Peter son of Jonah.
We don’t know if Peter’s father was named Jonah, but Jesus may have been
playing on the name, unmasking the character of Peter. Just like Jonah, Peter was to have a career
of incredible failures and unbelievable mountaintops.
Peter
became the spokesman for the disciples.
His leadership was not attributed to brains, but heart! Jesus declared that Peter had a heart in tune
with God (verse 17). The
other apostles observed what some people thought about Jesus (16:14)...but
Jesus needed a leader who wasn't a follower when it counted most.
This
text displays great spirituality, human dullness,
and God's mercy...all in the same lovable,
bumbling, and magnificent apostle,
Peter. And that which makes this
incident so truly relevant for you and me is that we see ourselves in the
humanity of Peter. First, we see…
Saint Peter Matthew 16:13-20
When Jesus came to
the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people
say that the Son of Man is?” “Well,” they replied, “some say John
the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other
prophets.” Then he asked them, “But who do
you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the
Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my
Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.
Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this
rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer
it. And I will give you the keys of the
Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you
forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you
permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”
Jesus
searched the hearts of the disciples.
They gave Him an answer about what people were saying, but Jesus probed
deeper, who do YOU say I am? It didn't take Peter long to make his
announcement. Although this was not the
first time the subject of Jesus' divinity had come up, this response was the
most definitive ever. Peter said, YOU
are THE
Christ, THE SON of THE living God. Friends, that leaves little to the imagination. There you have the Bible’s main message!
Jesus
was not referring to Peter’s character as the foundation for the church; that
character was fickle or short-sighted at best!
Rather, Jesus was referring to Peter’s confession – the truth that Jesus
was indeed Messiah – THAT would be the bedrock upon which the church would be
built and stand!
Now,
Peter wasn't always a saint, sometimes he came "crossways" with
Jesus' plan, and he was then:
Satan Peter Matthew 16:21-23
From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
The
name "Satan" literally means "the adversary." Peter spoke from the heart, but sometimes the
Lord just wants us to sit, and listen to Him, and keep our mouths shut. That was never Peter's strong suit. Jesus said, "I'm going to be killed, and
then raised." Peter reacted; Jesus
rebuked him.
The
why of Jesus’ rebuke of Peter has to do with the mindset
of many Jews, who were severely oppressed by the Roman Empire. Messiah meant political freedom,
economic boon. Jesus did not want anyone
getting the idea that His mission was to put a chicken in every pot. His was not a political
mission, but a prison mission. Jesus came to set the captives free!
The
disciples were subject to the same misunderstanding. Jesus wanted them to clearly see that this
mission was to be accomplished by a cross, not a sword. Peter was no different than James and
John. The “sons of thunder” were already
divvying-up the choice positions of authority in the Kingdom. Peter didn’t want anything to mess-up his
calculation of just how much reward was coming his way for leaving the fishing
business back home. This cross thing was
a could have severe economic implications! Peter
couldn’t see beyond his own possible losses, and the horror and degradation of
a cross, so he wanted to change Jesus’ mind.
Jesus told Peter to get behind.
There's
an interesting lesson in this exchange.
Peter was interested in keeping Jesus healthy. He'd left a fishing business and family
behind to stake it all on following this carpenter from Galilee. It just didn't sound like a good thing for
the leader to die. What would happen to
the movement then? What Jesus said to
Peter unmasked the fact that Peter was more interested in his own agenda, and
what would happen to him, than following Jesus.
Hence the lesson:
When we leave revealed heavenly truth for the comfort of human reasoning, we become a stumbling block for the kingdom.
You
and I do it all the time. We pray, God,
I don't like this thing that is happening to me. Please change it. Like Peter, we tend to instruct God rather
than listen for the instructions He is trying to give. Sometimes we just need to hush-up!
There
is redemption in this, however. Jesus
said to Peter, get behind.
Like Peter, we need to learn the lesson that Satan has always tried to
push God towards HIS planned agenda. God
has always said, NO…following is done from behind; I do the leading here.
We
have a choice in the church. When we are
demanding our rights, our way, our plan, we are not following, we're out
front. Jesus said to Peter, Get
behind, get in line; I will lead, you follow. If we follow as God's children, God will
bless. When we insist on getting our own
way, we pay the price, lost spiritual power - lost
blessings.
I
have become convinced that this mindset is the main reason churches split,
preachers get fired, and all human-run organizations shrivel and die…people
want what they want; they really don’t want to follow
anyone! Even the Son of God.
We've
seen the great spirituality of Peter, as well as his spiritual
dullness, but note the mercy of God as Jesus
shares the great principle of following...
Changing devils into
saints Matthew 16:23-28
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds. And I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”
One
of the principles of the kingdom is that everything works the opposite of the
way the world sees things. If you want
to be first, serve. If you want life,
die to self. If you wish to receive, give. We have a God who turns everything on its’
ear!
Peter
had made an important connection with heaven in recognizing the divinity of
Jesus. He'd made the incredible blunder
of thinking he would change Jesus' mind about the cross. Now Jesus laid-out for them the one
consistent demand of discipleship:
IF YOU WANT TO FOLLOW JESUSYOU HAVE TO FOLLOW JESUS!
There
is no such thing as serving two masters.
If you will be a follower of Jesus, you must give up your own life…not
necessarily physically, but the emotional, rational, and
willful part of self-determination in favor of God’s calling the shots.
The
disciples knew what Jesus was saying.
Twenty years before there was a rebellion against Roman authority in a
little town called Sepphoris. It was
only about 4 miles from where Jesus lived.
A man named Varus, a farmer of Galilee, organized the farmers of the
area into a rebellion army. They
attacked and killed all the Roman soldiers of the garrison at Sepphoris. Rome sent in the armies, and disbursed the armies
of Varus, about 10,000 men. Most of them
went back to farming. But the Romans
captured about 2,000 of them.
The
historian, Josephus, records that they were going to teach the rebels of
Galilee a lesson not to be rebels. They
took them, one by one, along the road out of Sepphoris, and crucified
them. They would put one on a cross, and
then walk down the road until almost out of sight, and then crucify
another. They went in every direction
out of Sepphoris, all over Galilee, until they had each of the 2,000 rebels on
crosses.
As
you walked the roads of Galilee you were never out of sight of a crucified
rebel. None could be taken down; they were
to rot there on the crosses. If anyone
took one down, another Galilean citizen would take his place. Jesus was about 10 years old when this
happened. He knew the cost of carrying
crosses and still He says it to you and me today:
“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me…”
What
does it take to change an adversary to a saint?
Everything
you've got.
Are
you willing for this?
Are
you really willing to step up and offer your life in
exchange for His? That's Jesus’ plan;
that’s Jesus’ demand if you would be His follower.
He
is coming back. I pray that you have
answered Jesus' question, a most personal question: Who do YOU say that I am?
If
you haven't answered that question yet in your life, DON'T BE AFRAID...DO IT!
Our Prayer
Father God, this is indeed a most personal question. Who do I say YOU are? It was easier and safer to read how Jesus asked that question to a small band of men back 2,000 years ago. It’s discomforting and downright scary to hear the words ringing in our ears right here…now…requiring a ‘yes’ or ‘no’. There’s no room for maybe, or we’ll see, or perhaps tomorrow. Lord, when You speak to our hearts, there’s an urgency that won’t let this decision be put off; we want time to think about this, and we would rather not be pushed into a corner. Father, teach us that there is no corner of the earth (or universe) where You’re not asking that question. Help us to not make Peter’s blunder, when he thought he could change your mind with his better plan. Help us know beyond doubt that there are only two answers – yes or no. Help us to make the yes choice…to follow…to leave all the Adversary attitudes behind, all those plans that make us a stumbling block to the kingdom. Help us to GET BEHIND…and FOLLOW.
Let
it be so in each of our lives…Amen!
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Title Image:
Pixabay.com
Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation Matthew
10:24-39©
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