Christ and Lord

Day 25: Matthew 16:13-28, 17:1-9

“And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.’” - Matthew 16:22-23

Leave it to someone like Peter to recognize the ultimate identity of Jesus (verse 16), and then just a few verses down, he resists the way that Jesus had planned to carry it out.

This goes to show us that the disciples still didn't have a clue as to how Jesus was going to carry out His Messianic plan. There were still hopes of Him taking this show to Rome for a literal setup of the Kingdom and rule. To ultimately give freedom to Israel once again. Like a Gideon or a Deborah or even a Samson, but way better (more permanent).

Yet Jesus asserts that He plans to die and rise. Peter seems to be stuck on the "die" part of the plan. Though I can be pretty hard on Peter here, I can find the same kind of mentality in my own life.

I definitely recognize Jesus as the Messiah, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Yet do I resist when it comes to the paths that He asks me to walk, thinking that I know better than He does?

In a way, do I try to "rebuke" the God of all creation because things aren't turning out how I had hoped they would?

May we receive Jesus as both Christ (the Messiah that was to come) and Lord (ruler of our lives and the entire world).