Life of Peter 3
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Text: Matthew 16:21-23
As the golfer approached the first tee, a hazardous hole with a green surrounded by water, he debated if he should use his new golf ball. Deciding that the hole was too treacherous, he pulled out an old ball and placed it on the tee. Just then he heard a voice from above say loudly: "Use the new ball!" Frightened, he replaced the old ball with the new one and approached the tee.
Now the voice from above shouted: "Take a practice swing!" With this, the golfer stepped backward and took a swing. Feeling more confident, he approached the tee when the voice again rang out: "Use the old ball!"
The will of God, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.
Source Unknown.
The text in front of us this morning has been called the conversion of Peter. There is a lot of weight given to this text. I would submit an outsized amount of stress has been put around the events of this account. And then like most things not enough weight put on what does matter.
It all begins with our Unlikely Disciple’s response to a universal question. “ Who do you say that I am?”
The stage is set by Jesus when he asks,
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
The response is many. There was no consensus on the identity of Jesus Christ. Possible options were John the Baptist, Elijah, and Jeremiah.
But when Jesus asked his question, “Who do you say that I am?”
Peter was once again right on top of it.
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Have you ever heard someone use the expression even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. Consider Peter the enlightened squirrel.
Peter nailed it. He was perfectly right. Consider that for a moment. He truely was enlightened. Jesus maybe as shocked as anyone says to Peter.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Don’t underestimate how important this was. Peter hadn’t been raised in the West with its primarily Christian influence. Peter had only know the claim of Jesus it is altogether a different thing when we consider his understanding being enlightened and he can claim You are the Anointed, Holy Messiah, The one we have been waiting for, Son of God.
In response to this Matthew records the words of Jesus when speaking to Peter. I think it is telling to note that of the three texts that mention this event only one records this interaction.
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
So much is made of this text...
Some have said that Peter is being made the Pope of the Church with a successive line and He is the Rock.
Some have said that this location of Ceasarea Philippi was where Baal worship once thrived and Jesus was asserting his Kingdom.
I think that a Bible student understands the thrust of Scripture knows that he is Speaking of Himself. Jesus is the point of Scripture it wont change part way through.
What is important is what Jesus has set out to do...
Ever since Jesus made His first public appearance, He had been trying to reach the nation of Israel. He is their Messiah and He did everything He could do to convince them of that truth.
His miracles, His teachings, His compassion and His power were all clear evidence that the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament had appeared. Yet, when Israel saw Jesus, they refused to accept Him as their Messiah, their Lord or their Savior.
Jesus was rejected by the religious leaders in Israel, Mark 8:11.
He was rejected by the nation as a whole, Mark 6:3.
He was even judged to be a mad man by His Own family, Mark 3:21.
This total rejection is summed up by the Apostle John when he said, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not,” John 1:11.
Even as Jesus was attempting to reach Israel, He was also trying to teach His disciples. Jesus spent many months teaching them, displaying His power and revealing His identity to His men is powerful ways. For the longest time, they were blind to His identity. Even though they saw Jesus heal the sick, cast out demons, control the forces of nature, multiply bread and fish and raise the dead; they still could not grasp just Who Jesus was.
The disciples were like the blind man Jesus healed in Mark 8:23-35. When Jesus touched him the first time, he could see a little, but not clearly. Then, Jesus touched him again and his sight became plain.
Like that man, the disciples had a dim vision of just Who Jesus was. In Matthew 16:16 the final connection was made in the hearts of most of His men and they finally understood Who Jesus was. Their statement of faith is summed up in Peter’s words in, “Thou art the Christ!”
As soon as that connection is made, Jesus begins to teach His disciples what His mission is really all about. As Jesus speaks with His men, He destroys their misconceptions regarding Who the Messiah is and what Messiah is supposed to do. This passage also reveals the fickle nature of the human heart.
When Jesus came onto the scene preaching, teaching, healing and calling men to repentance; He was not what the Jews were expecting their Messiah to be. Thus, they rejected Him.
Yet, in this humble carpenter from Nazareth, Peter and most of the disciples recognized the Messiah. They believed that Jesus was the Christ, the fulfillment of the prophecies and the promises.
From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
Here, the Lord Jesus would use no parables and no messages with hidden meanings. He would speak clearly so that these men would not misunderstand what He was trying to tell them.
The revelation Jesus makes in this verse is devastating to all their notions of Who the Messiah would be and what He would do. In this verse, Jesus reveals His mission to His men.
While they are looking for glory, He actually came to suffer. Surely Jesus did suffer while He was here. He lived in poverty. He understood loneliness. He was a Man Who was rejected by most, hated by many and loved by few. He was truly a Man Who was “…despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not,” Isaiah 53:3.
Jesus tells His disciples that it will be the religious establishment who will be the most vocal of His opponents. When Jesus speaks of “the elders,…the chief priests, and scribes”, He is referring to the Sanhedrin. This was a council made up of seventy Jewish leaders. It functioned as the Supreme Court in Israel. It passed judgment on all matters related to religion and everyday life in Israel.
On more than one occasion they had tried to find fault with Jesus. And in Mark 8:11, they plainly declared their rejection of Jesus, declaring that He had not sufficiently proven that He as the Messiah. The Sanhedrin would eventually reject Jesus for the final and condemn Him to death.
They would accuse Him of blasphemy, Matt. 26:65.
They would sentence Him to death, Matt. 26:66.
They would turn Him over to Rome, demanding that He be executed, Matt.27:1-2; John 19:17.
These religious leaders would lead the people of Israel to demand the death of Jesus on a cross, Matt. 27:20-26.
These men would mock Him in their anger and hatred, Matt. 27:39-43.
Jesus told them that He was going to “be killed”! He lets them know that He, the Christ, the Messiah, would not only be rejected by Israel, He would also be put to death by them.
Jesus took this occasion to show His men that the path of the Messiah would lead Him to His death.
Then, Jesus told them while He must die, He would also rise again from the dead. Yes, there was suffering, pain and death in the Messiah’s future, but there was also glory! He would pass through death and conquer death, Hell and the grave for all those who would believe in Him.
Of course, the disciples did not understand this truth. They are so stunned to hear that the Messiah will be killed that they are incapable of hearing that He will walk out of death as the eternal Victor over it. In fact, they didn’t understand the Lord’s teachings concerning the resurrection until after Jesus had died and risen again. Then they got it.
Maybe what shocked them the most was the word “must”. This indicated that the things Jesus would endure were part of God’s plan for the Messiah. Messiah would be rejected and He would die for several good reasons.
· It was God’s will – John 3:16; Rom. 8:32
· It was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy – Psa. 22; Psa. 69 and Isa. 53.
· It would satisfy the demands of God’s Law – Eze. 18:4; Gen. 2:17; Rom. 5:12-21; 2 Cor. 5:21
· It was His Own will to die for sinners – John 10:11; 2 Cor. 8:9; Gal. 2:20; John 15:13; Mark 10:45
Every step He took; every pain He suffered; every lash He endured; every single thing Jesus did, He did for me and I bless His name for it! Hallelujah! Praise the name of Jesus! Like the songwriter said, “He did it all for me!”
Messiah’s Reprimand:
When His disciples hear Jesus speaking like this, they are dumbfounded! His words go against everything they have ever been taught about Who the Messiah would be and what He would do for Israel.
Someone needed to do something! Someone needed to speak up! Someone needed to talk some sense into Jesus. And, Peter is just the man for the job!
While the rest of the disciples stood there amazed by what they have just heard, Peter “took Him”. This phrase carries the idea of one person leading another person away to talk to them. Peter walks up to Jesus, puts his arm around the Lord’s shoulder and leads him away from the group. Then, we are told that Peter “began to rebuke Him.” This word means to “admonish or chide”.
Peter takes the Lord, leads Him aside and maybe he says something like this, “Jesus You need to watch what you say! We know Who You are! You are the Christ! Don’t be talking about dying, suffering and rejection! You should be talking about victory! We need a pep talk and not some discouraging sermon about death!”
Matthew tells us that Peter said this, “Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee,” Matt. 16:22. He is saying, “Heaven forbid! This will never happen to you Lord!” To Peter nothing could more foreign than the idea that the Messiah might suffer and die. He just could not see a cross in the Lord’s future!
The death of Christ was not a moment of weakness. It was a moment of divine triumph! God accomplished something in those six hours on the cross that man had not been able to do in thousands of years. God accomplished something through the shedding of the blood of Jesus that man had not been able to achieve through the shedding of millions of gallons of blood from animals. When Jesus did on the cross, He forever paid for sin and provided a means of salvation for all who will believe on Him by faith! (Ill. Heb. 9:12-14; 10:11-14; 9:28)
When Jesus died on the cross, one of the last things He said was “It is finished”, John 19:30. This was not the cry of a victim; it was the cry of a Victor. He did not say, “I am finished.” He said “It is finished!” What did He mean?
The word He used tells us. Jesus used the Greek word “tetelestai”. This was a common word in that society. It’s primary meaning is “to complete, to perfect”. When Jesus died, He completed something. When He died, He perfected something. When Jesus died, He completed the plan of salvation and He perfected the way to God. His death satisfied every demand of God for sin. Anyone who will believe on Jesus in saving faith will be born again and forgiven of their sins!
Peter’s Rebuke:
Jesus responds to Peter’s rebuke very harshly. He turns His back to Peter and looks at the rest of the disciples. They were probably nodding in agreement with what Peter had said the Jesus. Jesus looks at them all and He rebukes Peter. Jesus said, “Get thee behind Me, Satan!” Literally, “Get out of my sight you false accuser! You only care for fleshly things and not the things of the Lord!”
When Peter tried to talk Jesus out of going to the cross to die, Jesus heard the voice of another speaking. He heard in Peter’s words the voice of Satan. To Peter what he said made sense. To Jesus, the things Peter said revealed that Satan was using Peter to attack the Lord.
When Jesus was on the mount of temptation, Satan came to Him and tried to get Jesus to claim the glory of the kingdom without the agony of the cross, Matt. 4:1-11. Jesus rebuked the devil then and He rebukes the devil now.
Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
Jesus is not calling Peter the devil. He is pointing out the truth that Peter is speaking the words of Satan. He is telling Peter that He is being used as a tool by the devil.
Jesus is not sending Peter away; He is commanding Satan to leave.
CIT: The great purpose in this life is to do the will of God.
Peter was happy to declare Jesus the Messiah. But found it harder to actually let him be in charge.
Don’t make this a hard difficult thing. we have an entire Big Eva Bible complex with books, videos, and seminars on how to find the will of the God. Jesus has just told them the will of God.
“I will build my church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.”
Christ was demonstrating God’s will in alignment with the church. That his disciples would be about the business of participating in the church for assault on Hells Strong hold.
But we find the will of God in other places of Scripture as well.
Do good. Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Bring Glory to God.
Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
The issue is that we like Peter get our eyes on this life and we stay stuck in a life that can only go as far as our eyes can see. Jesus reminds Peter that when we think in light of what we can do and not the will of GOD we are falling to the same thinking as Satan himself.