Matthew 16:21-28 (Mark 8:31-9:1; Luke 9:21-27)
Once Jesus sees that the disciples are on the same page, through the declaration by Peter that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus begins to instill His ultimate mission into the minds of the disciples. He tells in detail what will happen in Jerusalem and what He must suffer at the hands of religious leaders to complete the sacrifice. Peter is not comfortable with the subject, and takes Jesus aside and scolds Him, telling Him there's no way any of this will happen. Jesus turns the tables on Peter, rebuking him and calling him Satan. Jesus tells Peter that he is a stumbling block to His purpose, because Peter is more worried about human issues than Kingdom cooperation. He expands His speech to include the disciples, reminding them the cost of following Him. The cost is life or death, but not necessarily in the way they might have understood it.
Peter, who was so bold in his declaration just a few verses ago, is now scolding Jesus over His next-level explanations. I'm sure it was shocking to go from "The gates of hell will not overcome us" to "I must go to Jerusalem and suffer and die." Peter, who was maybe riding on the high of being told that the keys to the kingdom of heaven are in his hands, took it upon himself to take Jesus aside and tell Him that this part was a bad idea and wasn't going to happen. Peter goes from being called "a rock" to being called "the enemy". 😨 Jesus uses this scenario to once again remind the disciples of what they've signed up for--disregard for personal agenda for the better Kingdom agenda. It's not a one-sided commitment Jesus expects of them. If they are willing to deny what they want, they may lose what they planned, but they will gain more than they ever dreamed. Jesus leads them to think for themselves by hypothetically questioning their loyalty--is there something worth more? Could they give their lives for a Better cause? Jesus is giving the disciples a chance to weigh the cost of following Him by giving them a glimpse into their ultimate reward--repayment from the hand of Christ Jesus Himself, escorted by angels and the glory of God, according to what each has done. But the question has a time limit, so they'd better decide. His Kingdom was coming soon, in their very lifetime.
This story changes me by seeing my own wishy-washiness. (Not sure if that's a word, but I'm going with it.) I want Jesus, high and lifted up, but in a way that looks like the best-case scenario to ME. I find myself so anxious to say "But Jesus, if you would do it this way, think how awesome You will look to everyone!" But what that mind-set is really saying, at the heart-level, is "But Jesus, if you do it Your way, it's not going to make sense to anyone, and also everyone may think I look like a quack for following You." I can be so earthly minded, so concerned about what I and others think, that I completely miss the Kingdom of heaven right in front of me. Even if I lose my "life" in the process, I will not be ashamed of the gospel of Christ, in this adulterous and sinful generation. Please, Lord, help me be faithful.
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