Divine vs Human

Matthew 16:21–28 NIV

21 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. 22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” 23 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.” 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 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? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. 28 “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: Theological and Political Advisor

Jesus brings in a powerful and important part of Scripture he came to fulfill...

Isaiah 53:3 NIV

3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Looking back now we see how obvious it is that Jesus came to fulfill Isaiah 53. It’s a prophecy written hundreds of years before the arrival of Jesus. But it’s one most scholars overlooked in terms of the Messiah and how deep his mission of redemption was.

So Peter has realized that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. But those words were affected by the ideas of his time. So they meant only victory and glory in his mind. He was still thinking on the surface. Still thinking like the scholars and prophets of his day. It wasn’t just a case of foolish Peter. It was in the air: Messiah will solve all our problems and we don’t have to suffer to see it happen.

But Jesus doesn’t hold back the truth. Peter is so certain that everyone else is right about the Messiah that he pulls Jesus aside to set him straight. It shocks us, but maybe it shouldn’t. Are we really that different? Do we ever see Jesus as the one to make our problems disappear? Do we ever get our politics and our faith so intertwined that we stop letting Jesus shape how we think?

Or sometimes you think your parents don’t have a clue so you ignore what they say or argue with them. Only later you realize it might have been smart to wear that bike helmet after all.

What Peter does may surprise us, but what really shocks us is the reply Jesus gives him.

Matthew 16:23 NIV

23 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.”

Wow, he calls him Satan? Now there could be two levels operating here: we know that Satan did tempt Jesus to use his abilities to gain political power and avoid suffering. And we know Satan was going to return later to tempt him more. So it’s possible Jesus is letting the devil know he’s not falling for it, in case he tried to lead Peter astray here. But it’s also possible that he’s using the term more generally.

The Satan is The Accuser or the Adversary, literally. And he says get behind me! That’s important and I’ll come back to it later. But here’s something very clear.

Jesus: Repudiation of Seeking Approval and Earthly Power

Jesus Repudiates the seeking of earthly approval and political power.

Matthew 16:23 NIV

23 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.”

These are merely human concerns: Jesus says: we aren’t here to win. We are here to lay down our lives and serve. Jesus had really settled these concerns before his ministry ever began.

Matthew 4:7 NIV

7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

This verse is also important in our day. We should be careful we should wear masks. We don’t use risky behavior as a way to “prove” our faith in God.

Matthew 4:10 NIV

10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

When the Satan tried to get him to focus on using his power for himself, he continually refused. When he implied that as the Messiah he should not suffer, Jesus clearly said: no. He knew his path would not be all sweetness and light. There was no cheap solution to the problems of human beings.

Therefore it’s getting caught up in human affairs when we put our trust in the election and getting all excited or letting it ruin our day if our candidate goes up and down in the polls. First of all, we just need to hold whoever is in power accountable to the truth. We should not get too snuggly with any candidate or party. Every day is day to give thanks with Jesus as Lord.

American Christians: Political Advisors

But sometimes American Christians have become political advisors. I love Billy Graham. His messages were wonderful and his museum is an awesome experience over at Wheaton College. But he sort of started that tradition of snuggling up to the US president. Now to be fair he did so with members of both parties. I know all his intentions were good. But eventually Christians started thinking of themselves as a voting block and started trying to control the turnout of elections. There is a fine line here. We should be good citizens and we should make an effort to vote our conscience. But then we should move on to promoting the larger work of God’s kingdom. We don’t need to get lost in all the tiny moving parts of political campaigns. Make sure that political news reporting doesn’t dominate your mind. Let the good news of Jesus and his mission for you dominate your thinking. Be in the Word. Be in Prayer. Be together with other Christians. Worship God in public when you can. Serve those around you. In other words: be a Christian. Be about the father’s business. Don’t get bogged down in worldly matters. Elections don’t solve everything and they don’t destroy all hope, either. So beware anyone who tries to get you all anxious about that.

Christian Tradition: Jesus is Lord

The Scriptures and 2,000 years have shown us that the phrase: Jesus is Lord says it all. So let’s say that this morning, if we mean it:

Jesus is Lord. again. Jesus is Lord. One more time: Jesus is Lord.

Now it’s simple. It’s three words. And it means Caesar is not Lord. It means earthly candidates and government can’t be our savior. It means Fox and CNN do not deliver the truly good news.

So keep all three of those words together: Jesus is Lord. Remind yourself often when the load gets heavy and the news gets confusing. Turn the TV off and open your Bible and read or listen to it on your smartphone.

Get Behind Me = Follow Me

Let’s jump back into the story for a minute. When Jesus tells Peter to get behind him, let’s think about that. If you tell someone else to lead the way, but you insist on going first that isn’t going to work is it?

So in verse 23 Jesus says get behind me. Look what he says in verse 24:

Matthew 16:24 NIV

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

He says: take up your cross and follow me. Peter, you need to be behind me, letting me lead. Don’t try to out think me or get ahead of me. Follow me. The only place we can do that is from behind. Amen?

Jesus Empowers the Church to Follow Him Today

So here we are in 2020 the year that’s evidently gunning for Worst Year Ever, LOL. But let’s put that in perspective. If you were lost and on your way to hell and Jesus found you and saved you in 2020 that would mean it was the best year ever, right? If you faced overwhelming challenges but you kept looking to Jesus. You kept following him and he guided you through those challenges one by one. That would be a pretty good year, too, wouldn’t it?

We didn’t ask for any of this, did we? But Jesus said:

John 14:18–19 NIV

18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.

This speaks to his return. But the context of these words is about the Holy Spirit bringing the presence and teaching of Jesus directly to us. Here and now. In the world after Easter but before the 2nd Coming Jesus is always with us. He has given us everything we need for life and godliness. We have his very great and precious promises.

So let’s not trade our birthright for a mess of potage. Let’s keep our trust in Jesus alone. Only he is the true author and protector of our faith.

Matthew 16:26 NIV

26 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?

Follow me, Jesus says. Together, we can do it. Together we don’t have to lose our way. By the grace of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit we will keep Jesus first in our lives. We will love and serve and even be willing to lose. But in the end we will get what we really need. Salvation that lasts forever. Hope that doesn’t fade. Love that can’t be stopped. Divine things that change everything about what it means to be human. Let’s have these things in mind. Amen.

Let’s pray...