Matthew 16:21-28 NIV
From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Fatherʼs glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
“Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter had just been praised by Jesus for his acknowledgement that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. But now Jesus calls Peter a devil, because His apostle and close companion did not want to see Him die. Who would blame Peter for behaving the way he did? Jesus told His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem to suffer and die at the hands of the religious leadership. He also said on the third day He would rise from the grave, but who could hear that after the shock of hearing their beloved master was going to die a torturous death?
Jesus' response to Peter is the answer to my questions: "You have your mind set on human concerns, not God's." It's true. I'm reacting to this passage like a human. I am human after all. I'm not God. I'm going to think like a limited and fearful human who doesn't want to lose His teacher and friend.
How many times have you feared the possibility of losing a loved one? We've all likely grieved the death of someone close to us. We would seem inhuman if we simply accepted their death as something that must happen as part of God's plan. Grief, fear, astonishment, rage, happiness; these are all part of the human experience. So how can Jesus call Peter, Satan?
I don't think Jesus particularly thought of Peter as Satan or a devil, but that Peter's words came from Satan to try and turn Jesus away from Jerusalem and death. Satan used Peter's fear and astonishment over the thought of losing Jesus to tempt Jesus to abandon His mission in favour of living a long life with His friends. Jesus was speaking to the devil at work in Peter's fear, not to Peter himself.
The film, The Last Temptation of Christ, explores what life might have been like if Jesus would have settled down as a carpenter, married, and raised a family. All He need do to enjoy such pleasures would be to abandon His cross. But what then of the bondage of the world to sin and death? Who will save us? In the end Jesus chose the cross for our sakes because He cared more for us than He did His own life. He was obedient to God's will to be the sacrificial Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. While we may sympathize with Peter's feelings, there are much greater concerns, that is the salvation of the world.
After rebuking Peter, Jesus reasoned with those listening. What good is a life you're afraid to lose? But if you give your life for the sake of Christ and His kingdom, you will find your life. You will find life welling up inside you to eternal life!
We can fight to keep our possessions and people in our lives. You might strive to be the wealthiest of people on earth, but how will all your riches save you on the Day of Judgment? Do you think you can buy off God and pervert justice? All the riches in the world will not pay for the value of your soul. If you don't invest in your soul's eternal destiny you will find that you've lost everything. For all people, every soul, will have to give an account for what they've done in this life.
The leader of Focus on Family ministry, Dr. James Dobson, says we will be asked three questions when we face our Maker:
Who did you love?
Who loved you?
What did you do for God?
I'm not really sure how Dobson knows this, but the questions are worth exploring. How do you want those questions answered at the end of your life? What are you doing now to assure you won't be ashamed at the end?
The wisdom of Jesus in this passage is startling. His reasoning cannot easily be shoved aside as religious fanaticism. We get so caught up in day to day concerns about money, relationships, work, etc., that we barely think of how we are investing in eternity. Jesus taught us to stop worrying about what to eat, drink, or what to wear. Instead set your mind on the kingdom of God and seek to live according to God's right ways. All else will be provided according to your needs. Jesus said we ought to lay up treasures in heaven through good works, not store up wealth for ourselves that we cannot take with us and are so easily lost. No one can steal from your bank account in heaven. And your soul's worth never depreciates in value. Your soul may not mean much to this world, but this world is coming to nothing. Your soul lasts forever. Why should we continue to invest so much anxious concern over something so short compared to eternity?
Jesus would have His followers gain an eternal perspective. Think about the real long term and stop concerning yourself so much with the immediate heartaches and headaches. As Julian of Norwich wrote, "All shall be well and every manner of thing shall be well." So lose you life for Christ's sake and find life everlasting.
From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Fatherʼs glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
“Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter had just been praised by Jesus for his acknowledgement that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. But now Jesus calls Peter a devil, because His apostle and close companion did not want to see Him die. Who would blame Peter for behaving the way he did? Jesus told His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem to suffer and die at the hands of the religious leadership. He also said on the third day He would rise from the grave, but who could hear that after the shock of hearing their beloved master was going to die a torturous death?
Jesus' response to Peter is the answer to my questions: "You have your mind set on human concerns, not God's." It's true. I'm reacting to this passage like a human. I am human after all. I'm not God. I'm going to think like a limited and fearful human who doesn't want to lose His teacher and friend.
How many times have you feared the possibility of losing a loved one? We've all likely grieved the death of someone close to us. We would seem inhuman if we simply accepted their death as something that must happen as part of God's plan. Grief, fear, astonishment, rage, happiness; these are all part of the human experience. So how can Jesus call Peter, Satan?
I don't think Jesus particularly thought of Peter as Satan or a devil, but that Peter's words came from Satan to try and turn Jesus away from Jerusalem and death. Satan used Peter's fear and astonishment over the thought of losing Jesus to tempt Jesus to abandon His mission in favour of living a long life with His friends. Jesus was speaking to the devil at work in Peter's fear, not to Peter himself.
The film, The Last Temptation of Christ, explores what life might have been like if Jesus would have settled down as a carpenter, married, and raised a family. All He need do to enjoy such pleasures would be to abandon His cross. But what then of the bondage of the world to sin and death? Who will save us? In the end Jesus chose the cross for our sakes because He cared more for us than He did His own life. He was obedient to God's will to be the sacrificial Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. While we may sympathize with Peter's feelings, there are much greater concerns, that is the salvation of the world.
After rebuking Peter, Jesus reasoned with those listening. What good is a life you're afraid to lose? But if you give your life for the sake of Christ and His kingdom, you will find your life. You will find life welling up inside you to eternal life!
We can fight to keep our possessions and people in our lives. You might strive to be the wealthiest of people on earth, but how will all your riches save you on the Day of Judgment? Do you think you can buy off God and pervert justice? All the riches in the world will not pay for the value of your soul. If you don't invest in your soul's eternal destiny you will find that you've lost everything. For all people, every soul, will have to give an account for what they've done in this life.
The leader of Focus on Family ministry, Dr. James Dobson, says we will be asked three questions when we face our Maker:
Who did you love?
Who loved you?
What did you do for God?
I'm not really sure how Dobson knows this, but the questions are worth exploring. How do you want those questions answered at the end of your life? What are you doing now to assure you won't be ashamed at the end?
The wisdom of Jesus in this passage is startling. His reasoning cannot easily be shoved aside as religious fanaticism. We get so caught up in day to day concerns about money, relationships, work, etc., that we barely think of how we are investing in eternity. Jesus taught us to stop worrying about what to eat, drink, or what to wear. Instead set your mind on the kingdom of God and seek to live according to God's right ways. All else will be provided according to your needs. Jesus said we ought to lay up treasures in heaven through good works, not store up wealth for ourselves that we cannot take with us and are so easily lost. No one can steal from your bank account in heaven. And your soul's worth never depreciates in value. Your soul may not mean much to this world, but this world is coming to nothing. Your soul lasts forever. Why should we continue to invest so much anxious concern over something so short compared to eternity?
Jesus would have His followers gain an eternal perspective. Think about the real long term and stop concerning yourself so much with the immediate heartaches and headaches. As Julian of Norwich wrote, "All shall be well and every manner of thing shall be well." So lose you life for Christ's sake and find life everlasting.
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