The man has just had one of the highest moments in his life, and has received a great commendation in front of all of his friends. Then what happened? He slips and has a huge, humiliating fall, right in front of every one of them! None of us would like that to be our experience. This, though, is what happens to the Apostle Peter in our Scripture reading today.
As we read our passage, Jesus begins to tell His disciples that He will be going to Jerusalem, and the elders and chief priests will kill Him (vs. 21). But that won’t be the end, He will rise again the third day. This was not something that Peter wanted to hear. He wanted to protect Jesus from the suffering and death that He had just predicted, and Peter told Jesus that this should not, could not happen to Him (vs. 22). Peter did not realize that it was for our salvation that Jesus would die, and that if He didn’t die, we would all be condemned to hell. Peter was looking at things through carnal eyes and man’s perspective, not God’s.
What was Jesus’s response to Peter’s statement? Our Lord did not hesitate to rebuke the words Peter was saying (vs. 23). The words of rebuke that Jesus said contrasts quite sharply with the words He had spoken a few verses earlier in verses 17-19. Peter was speaking the words of Satan. Jesus’s death was part of God’s plan for the salvation of mankind. To turn Jesus away from fulfilling this, is to work Satan’s purpose and agenda. Jesus acted quickly when Satan, through the words of Peter, tried to deter Him from Calvary, and atoning for our sins. When sin starts creeping near in our own life, we need to act quickly to stop it. We must never let sin linger near.
Next, in verse 24, we read the familiar words of Jesus, that believers are to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him. Condemned criminals on their way to execution in this day would have to carry their own cross. This was a common sight, as executions were quite public, and done for many offenses. Following Jesus means a true commitment, and could possibly mean death. A true follower of our Savior will have no turning back. Whenever we suffer for identifying with Jesus and His cause, we take up the cross.
We also take up the cross when we deny something that we deeply desire (even if it is not sinful in and of itself) for the sake of Jesus and doing His will. Jesus doesn’t call every one of His believers to leave their homes and family. What He does want, is all of His followers to deny their selfish goals in life. We carry our cross by willingly doing the things God has called us to do without resentment.
Christians throughout the ages have been persecuted and killed for their faith, from being thrown to the lions and other wild animals in the early church age to being shot or beheaded by terrorist around the world today. Jesus wants total commitment from His followers. As the old-time hymn, “I Have Decided To Follow Jesus”, says, “The world behind me, the cross before me. No turning back! No turning back!”
When people try to live solely for their own physical life they may end up losing out on eternal life (vs. 25 - 26). What we accumulate here on earth has absolutely no value in eternity, yet that is what so many people do. Their whole goal in life is to get the bigger, better house, car, smartphones, or electronics. Consumerism is alive and well, but churches are being abandoned. Our eternal life should be our focus, not what we can accumulate.
When Jesus returns (vs. 27), He will bring believers to heaven. They will not be judged at the Great White Throne judgment (Revelation 20:11-15), which is for the unbelievers. Instead, believers go before the Judgment Seat of Christ (II Corinthians 5:10). Believers are not at risk of being sent to hell. They will, though, be judged for what we did with the gifts Jesus gave us, the help we gave other Christians, and the opportunities we had to win souls for Him. I know that on that day, I so dearly want to hear Jesus say to me, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
No comments:
Post a Comment