Things of God
Read Mark 8:27-9:1.
How would you like to be called "Satan" by your best friend? And not jokingly, playfully either (though can you really call someone that "playfully"?). But critical moments call for serious language, and this is one of the most critical moments in the life of the disciples. They've just, for the first time, confessed Jesus to be the Messiah (or, at least, Peter did on their behalf). Jesus is the one they have been waiting for. After all the times of asking "Who is this?", it seems they have finally figured it out. He is the Messiah. He's the Savior. He is the hope of the world. He is the Son of God.
But there's a problem, especially when Jesus starts talking about suffering and rejection and being killed. There were three things, in their understanding, the Messiah would never do. The Messiah would never serve. He would never suffer. And he would never surrender. The Messiah was supposed to set up a kingdom in Jerusalem and rule from an earthly throne. It would be glorious, a time when Israel became a nation again and everyone else in the world would see how badly they had treated God's chosen people. The Messiah was to be a king, a Lord, ruling over a kingdom.
Well, they got part of it right. But not all. The Messiah would indeed be king and Lord, but he would not rule over any earthly kingdom. His kingdom is the kingdom of God, found in the hearts of those who would follow him, like these twelve disciples. That was God the Father's plan. That was what had been put in place at the moment mankind sinned. The idea that the Messiah would never suffer, serve or surrender was a merely human idea, and Jesus had come not to fulfill their wishes but to carry out the Father's plan.
But it's because of that human idea that Peter reacts so strongly to Jesus' predictions. "Never, Lord! That is not the path for you!" And that's also why Jesus reacts just as strongly, calling his best friend, "Satan." The key idea is in verse 33: “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” You're not paying attention to what God wants, Peter, and because of that, you've fallen so quickly in league with what the Enemy wants.
Do we ever do that? Do we ever put our own plans in place and then expect God to bless them, to do what we say rather than what is best or what he desires? Today, do you have in mind the things of God or the things of mere mortals?
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| Caesarea Philippi |
But there's a problem, especially when Jesus starts talking about suffering and rejection and being killed. There were three things, in their understanding, the Messiah would never do. The Messiah would never serve. He would never suffer. And he would never surrender. The Messiah was supposed to set up a kingdom in Jerusalem and rule from an earthly throne. It would be glorious, a time when Israel became a nation again and everyone else in the world would see how badly they had treated God's chosen people. The Messiah was to be a king, a Lord, ruling over a kingdom.
Well, they got part of it right. But not all. The Messiah would indeed be king and Lord, but he would not rule over any earthly kingdom. His kingdom is the kingdom of God, found in the hearts of those who would follow him, like these twelve disciples. That was God the Father's plan. That was what had been put in place at the moment mankind sinned. The idea that the Messiah would never suffer, serve or surrender was a merely human idea, and Jesus had come not to fulfill their wishes but to carry out the Father's plan.
But it's because of that human idea that Peter reacts so strongly to Jesus' predictions. "Never, Lord! That is not the path for you!" And that's also why Jesus reacts just as strongly, calling his best friend, "Satan." The key idea is in verse 33: “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” You're not paying attention to what God wants, Peter, and because of that, you've fallen so quickly in league with what the Enemy wants.
Do we ever do that? Do we ever put our own plans in place and then expect God to bless them, to do what we say rather than what is best or what he desires? Today, do you have in mind the things of God or the things of mere mortals?
Guilty as charged.
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