RE Verse reading–Matthew 16:13-26 (day three) “Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This will never happen to you.” (vs 22) The second step following Christ is often the hardest. It is when the high cost of surrender becomes clear. Most of us have a bias or “box” into which we expect God and His plan to fit. Peter certainly did. His confidence in Christ and his unrecognized ambitions made him expect a victory rather than suffering and a cross. He was adamant on this! “This will NEVER happen”, he said and earned the Lord’s rebuke for his presumption. Sometimes we imagine that if we surrender to Christ once we will be finished–that the hard decisions and real losses all come early. Not true. All along the way we learn that our thoughts are not His (Isaiah 55:8) To call Jesus Lord is as much about the second surrender as the first.
Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross DAILY and follow me.” I am often asking the Lord what does this really mean and although I am far from still having the full answer/understanding for me part of it involves this passage.
I see the Matt 16 passage as evidence that our enemy is real. Most people think of Jesus rebuking Peter, but I see it as He was rebuking Satan… who was trying to work through Peter. Our relationships are not sacred to our enemy… he will use them to do severe damage if we let him or are unaware. Satan was tempting Jesus with the thought that maybe there could be another way…maybe God’s plan is not best/does not really need to be carried out. Jesus (at least in my mind) said get behind me… I will not let you have any part in/of me (“I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me” John 14:30). As if He were saying, I will not agree with your suggestion that God’s way is not best/necessary. There are times when we have to strongly hold our ground against our enemy and decide in ourselves he will have no part in/of me. This can often feel a lot like denying myself.
This passage was also instructive to me when I realized that I need to be aware that the evil one will come at you (like a coward) disguised as people you love. I have since then learned to “check out” what is coming at me (through whomever… no matter how much I respect them) and see if it sounds like the Lord. If not… if it is anything that I can ascribe to Satan then I just realize they are being used. It helps me pray for them/not take it personally and, most importantly, it allows me to realize that even if that person is a brother/sister in Christ… it is not necessarily the voice of the Lord coming through them.
Father, I think you so much for Your Word and how it instructs us. You are such an amazingly Good God!