The Gospel According to Matthew
Once again we are still trying to finish Chapter 16. If you are reading online I apologize.
READ: Matthew 16:13-20
Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,“Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter,[b] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[c] will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[d] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[e] loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Can you imagine being Peter and hearing Jesus say this to you?
Read it again.
What I wouldn't give to here the voice of Jesus saying, "Blessed are you, Esther daughter of Claude." I believe I have heard Him, but to hear His voice to see his eyes looking at you as He says it. Can you imagine?
Then, he goes on to affirm that he has heard the very word of God. Wow. Wow. Yet what do we know that Peter does just weeks later?
Maybe he needed a song to sing, when asked the question, "Aren't you one of His disciples?"
As beautiful as this moment could have been for Peter, just wait. In a second Jesus is telling him to, "get behind me Satan."
READ: Matthew 16: 21-28
Can you imagine being Peter and hearing Jesus say this to you?
Read it again.
What I wouldn't give to here the voice of Jesus saying, "Blessed are you, Esther daughter of Claude." I believe I have heard Him, but to hear His voice to see his eyes looking at you as He says it. Can you imagine?
Then, he goes on to affirm that he has heard the very word of God. Wow. Wow. Yet what do we know that Peter does just weeks later?
Maybe he needed a song to sing, when asked the question, "Aren't you one of His disciples?"
As beautiful as this moment could have been for Peter, just wait. In a second Jesus is telling him to, "get behind me Satan."
READ: Matthew 16: 21-28
Jesus Predicts His Death
21 From that time on 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 the third day be raised to life.
22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “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.”
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life[f] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
28 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Poor Peter, I can't wait to meet him in heaven. What an incredibly complicated person he must be. Strong, week, understanding, completely clueless!
In this passage we see that he still doesn't understand how Jesus is the Savior of the world. He still is wanting and expecting a great king, a kingdom, he is limited to his earthly understanding of redemption.
How blind may we all be to the "how" Jesus is going to finish the work?
What can we do to make sure we don't "earthanize" (meaning use our limited earthly scope to explain heavenly ways) our heavenly Fathers ways? I made up this word because if we use our limited understanding, our finite earthly understanding, of our infinite Savior, we risk killing it all with our limited understanding.
Can you imagine if Jesus had been what Peter was expecting or hoping for?
Where would we be?
How much smaller was Peter's way?
How do we keep from doing this with are understanding of prophecy? Remember these men knew prophecy too. They had it right too. They just took the right prophecy and made it fit their earthly understanding which resulted in missing Jesus.
How do we not miss Jesus?
Right in the middle of this passage is a very familiar passage, where Jesus is talking. It is a beautiful passage. It highlights that our understanding, our common sense doesn't work with heavenly principles. My favorite part is, "whoever wants to save their life will loose it, but whoever gives up their life for me will find it."
Are you ready to loose your life for Jesus?
What does this mean for you?
How can you loose your life?
With our children grown and out of the house, I have been doing a lot of contemplating. I heard recently of a couple who aren't sure they want to have children. They gave a list of reasons. I get it. I agree. Having children means giving up your life. Your choices become limited, your desires are high jacked. Your heart completely shifts. There is no turning back. You can't undo it. Life before kids is no more and it never will be. Even after they leave they still have your heart, your thoughts, YOU! Yet I can most certainly say in loosing my life to my kids, I began to really live!
If we give it all up for Jesus, He will have our heart, our thoughts, our decisions, our world. IF we give it all up that is when life really begins!!!
Recap for chapter 16:
Ask for Jesus.
Instead of needing signs, need Jesus.
What he does in our lives will be the powerful proof of His very existence.
Ask for Jesus.
Be careful of false teachings by keeping our eyes on Jesus.
Remember what he has done.
Remember.
Proclaim Jesus to be Lord!
Don't fall into the trap of missing Him because of our limited scope.
Give it all up for Jesus and start to LIVE!!!!
To simplify it even more: Ask for Jesus, Listen to Jesus, Remember Jesus, Proclaim Jesus, See Jesus.
Who am I? Who am I, because of who He is?
I am in a relationship, spoken for, adopted, one of His.
I am remembering, seeking, sharing, resting in Him.
I have given it all up!
I have started to really LIVE!
Poor Peter, I can't wait to meet him in heaven. What an incredibly complicated person he must be. Strong, week, understanding, completely clueless!
In this passage we see that he still doesn't understand how Jesus is the Savior of the world. He still is wanting and expecting a great king, a kingdom, he is limited to his earthly understanding of redemption.
How blind may we all be to the "how" Jesus is going to finish the work?
What can we do to make sure we don't "earthanize" (meaning use our limited earthly scope to explain heavenly ways) our heavenly Fathers ways? I made up this word because if we use our limited understanding, our finite earthly understanding, of our infinite Savior, we risk killing it all with our limited understanding.
Can you imagine if Jesus had been what Peter was expecting or hoping for?
Where would we be?
How much smaller was Peter's way?
How do we keep from doing this with are understanding of prophecy? Remember these men knew prophecy too. They had it right too. They just took the right prophecy and made it fit their earthly understanding which resulted in missing Jesus.
How do we not miss Jesus?
Right in the middle of this passage is a very familiar passage, where Jesus is talking. It is a beautiful passage. It highlights that our understanding, our common sense doesn't work with heavenly principles. My favorite part is, "whoever wants to save their life will loose it, but whoever gives up their life for me will find it."
Are you ready to loose your life for Jesus?
What does this mean for you?
How can you loose your life?
With our children grown and out of the house, I have been doing a lot of contemplating. I heard recently of a couple who aren't sure they want to have children. They gave a list of reasons. I get it. I agree. Having children means giving up your life. Your choices become limited, your desires are high jacked. Your heart completely shifts. There is no turning back. You can't undo it. Life before kids is no more and it never will be. Even after they leave they still have your heart, your thoughts, YOU! Yet I can most certainly say in loosing my life to my kids, I began to really live!
If we give it all up for Jesus, He will have our heart, our thoughts, our decisions, our world. IF we give it all up that is when life really begins!!!
Recap for chapter 16:
Ask for Jesus.
Instead of needing signs, need Jesus.
What he does in our lives will be the powerful proof of His very existence.
Ask for Jesus.
Be careful of false teachings by keeping our eyes on Jesus.
Remember what he has done.
Remember.
Proclaim Jesus to be Lord!
Don't fall into the trap of missing Him because of our limited scope.
Give it all up for Jesus and start to LIVE!!!!
To simplify it even more: Ask for Jesus, Listen to Jesus, Remember Jesus, Proclaim Jesus, See Jesus.
Who am I? Who am I, because of who He is?
I am in a relationship, spoken for, adopted, one of His.
I am remembering, seeking, sharing, resting in Him.
I have given it all up!
I have started to really LIVE!
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