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Hello, my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends,
When was the last time someone said something to you which left you so stunned you were speechless? Yesterday we watched that happen as Peter confronted Jesus! What, you might ask?
Yes, Matthew, who was an eyewitness, records it this way: “Jesus began to explain to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that He must be killed, and on third day be raised to life.” (Matt. 16:21) It was stunning news, but Peter took action. Matthew records this: “Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him. ‘Never Lord! This shall never happen to You!”
Peter was putting into words what I’m sure all the other disciples felt and what we would have felt if we had been there that day. I don’t know what response Peter expected from Jesus, but I’m confident he did not expect Jesus to say this: “Get behind Me Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God but merely human concerns.” (Matt. 16:23) Oh my! Jesus was upset and rightly so!
Only a short while before, perhaps a day or two, Peter had declared to Jesus: “You are the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the living God.” (Matt. 16:16) and Jesus had responded to Peter by telling him God in heaven had communicated that great truth to Peter and it would be upon this truth, the identity of Jesus Christ, that Jesus would build His church all around the world. But now, perhaps only a day or two later, Jesus needed to confront Peter in the strongest terms by calling him Satan! What does it mean, my friends?
Of course, disciple Simon Peter had not turned into Satan, nor should we suppose Satan had taken possession of Peter. Rather, Jesus is making it very clear that even a friend or follower of Jesus can be influenced by and join with the kingdom of darkness in their opposition to God. Satan always leads the dark kingdom in opposing God, God’s Truth, God’s Purposes, God’s Ways and God’s people.
Deceit and lying is Satan’s native language and foundational tactic. (John 8:44) Therefore it should not be difficult for us to look at our world, listen to the voices of our world and see the evidence of strong influence of the dark kingdom in our world. In fact, John wrote it in these words: “…the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” (1 John 5:19)
While Jesus, the Son of God, had great love for Peter and all His disciples, it was vital they learn to discern when their thinking, their attitudes, their words or choices or actions were NOT in alignment or agreement with God, but rather were actually in agreement with Satan and his opposition to God. In this moment, Jesus made it very clear to Peter and all His disciples that opposition to God’s Redemption purpose, which included the suffering and death and resurrection of Jesus, was joining with Satan’s opposition to God and God’s Redemption Plan.
So, Jesus took this ‘defining moment’ to teach His disciples and you and me, about true, God honoring discipleship or followership of Jesus. Matthew records that Jesus said: “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me.” (Matt. 16:24)
It’s one of the most profound statements Jesus ever made, isn’t it? It’s a deeply soul-searching statement beginning with a challenge to search our souls to discern the authenticity, the genuineness of our proclaimed desire to be a disciple, a follower of Jesus. So many people declare they are a follower of Jesus, and here Jesus clarifies the criteria, the qualifications to be a true follower of Jesus.
“Deny themself” is a staggering statement because from the time we were children, no matter where we grew up in the world, one of our primary aims every day has been personal satisfaction, enjoyment, fulfillment. Right? And, of course, our driving motivation is selfishness, self-advancement, self-preservation, yet Jesus said a true follower of Jesus will DENY themself and their selfishness, their self-focus.
Now that sucks the wind out of the sails of our pursuit of our personal agenda, our ‘me first’ mind set. Pause for a few seconds. Look closely at your soul and your life journey. How rare do you see ‘deny self’ in your journey? Can we see, my friends, why ‘Deny self’ is first in the list of three criteria Jesus gives for anyone wanting to be His follower? Of course, any advancement of self or pursuit of my agenda, my fame or fortune automatically pushes Jesus aside for we cannot serve two masters, ourself and Jesus at the same time! Remember Matthew wrote that in Matt. 6:24.
And if that wasn’t enough Jesus told His disciples that any true follower of Jesus must “…take up their cross and follow Me.” People living in the Roman Empire in that era understood, having seen criminals carry their cross through the streets to their place of execution. It was a public acknowledgment of their guilt and public declaration of their willingness to be held accountable and receive their due justice punishment for their crimes.
A first step toward being a follower of Jesus is acknowledging our sin, our inability to save ourselves and our desperate need for Jesus to save us! But then living by carrying our cross means we live, everyday, declaring our total accountability to Jesus and our willingness to be held responsible, by Jesus, for every aspect of our lives as we claim to follow Jesus.
A refusal or unwillingness to be held responsible and accountable for our lives is a rejection of Jesus as our Savior and our Master (Lord) and an elevation of ourselves to be our own Lord.
Now that, my friends, calls us to some deep reflection, doesn’t it? How often do we allow our thinking, our desires, our attitudes, our words, our choices, our actions to align more with the kingdom of darkness than with Jesus Christ and His kingdom of God? How often do we claim to be a Christian, even a follower of Jesus but rather than denying our selfishness, we scheme to fulfill our selfish passions, our personal agenda?
I urge us to spend some time with Jesus right here and as we worship with this song, let’s look closely at ourselves and this matter of Jesus defined discipleship, and Peter’s example of so easily getting offline and actually aligned with the darkness!
Today’s Scripture: Matt. 21-24.
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Matt. 21-24 Matt. 21
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Matt. 22
Matt. 23
Matt. 24
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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