Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Doooop!
There are just some things that should never be said. Some words just don't go together. "No, Lord" is one of those phrases. But Simon was never afraid to challenge Jesus if he felt something was said that went too far or missed the mark. Simon vocalized what many of the others were thinking. At least, he had the courage to say what was really on his mind. Rebuking the master is never a good idea. That is especially true when the master is Jesus, the Son of God.
Just after Jesus had told the disciples about His kingdom and that the gates of Hades would not prevail against them, He turned the conversation to the cross. This proved to be a stumbling block for the disciples. They could not understand how the death of Jesus would do anything other than disrupt the plans they had.
The disciples could not see how the cross would lead to glory or the establishment of God's kingdom on earth. The cross is a terrible instrument of death. Being crucified is a humiliating way to die. It is agony on a stick. Many Jews had been crucified by the Romans as they conquered Palestine. The cross was a reminder of Roman rule and cruelty. How could it have anything to do with God or love?
As Jesus began to tell His disciples what would happen to Him. You can understand how they would have been confused. They likely wondered why Jesus was saying these things. Could Jesus be depressed? Was the great teacher overcome by fear? Were demons telling Him lies that He believed? Who knows exactly what the disciples thought. But they could not have easily accepted the words Jesus spoke. It just didn't make sense.
According to Matthew 16:22, Simon took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee." Without being deterred from his mission for even one second, Jesus responded to Simon. His words must have seemed sharp. But Simon did not understand the real purpose of Jesus' life. He did not understand the spiritual battle going on in the background.
Simon was only speaking out of His love for Jesus and desire to see Him stay around and help make Israel a mighty nation once again. What could be wrong with that? The answer - everything.
God had a different plan because He understood the greater issue. Simon was only thinking about the current situation. Jesus looked through time at the seemingly eternal struggle of the ages. Simon fell into the trap of eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. He allowed his reason to overtake him. He allowed his mind to help him process the reality of God's redemptive plan through the cross. His intellect would never be able to understand such a deep spiritual truth.
Jesus said to Simon, "Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men."
Why did Jesus fortell His sufferings? If this was a shock to the disciples to hear what would happen, can you imagine how much bigger of a shock it must have been to their faith to see it? Jesus told His disciples to prepare them for what would come. He told them to help them see that the kingdom of God is established in ways different from how men go about conquering nations. Those who follow Jesus should not necessarily expect a lot in this world. Their kingdom is of another world.
Why did Jesus rebuke Simon so harshly? Or did He? Maybe this is merely an act of tough love because Simon had strayed far from the heart of God even though he did not know it. Jesus spoke those hard words out of love for Simon and all those He came to save through His death.
Sometimes the words of a friend can be a vehicle that Satan will use to keep us from God's way. People unknowingly become a tool for the enemy. And that is what happened to Simon. Bolstered by Jesus' recent commendations, Simon dared to correct his leader. Simon's statements seemed so right. But they were so wrong. Our enemy will use all means at his disposal to distract us from God's call. This includes our best friends and closest confidants. Christians must not be ignorant of Satan's devices. He will hide himself as an angel of light. We must not focus on who speaks but what is spoken. This is what we see Jesus doing here. His spirit immediately helps him discern that the thoughts behind Simon's words are not from God.
Jesus speaks as He spoke to Satan when He was tempted in the wilderness. He immediately replied to shake off the temptation brought through one of His disciples. Jesus models that He is not afraid to be real with those He disciples. He will step on their feelings to save their soul.
Remember that if Jesus had followed Simon's advice, neither Simon nor any of us would have ever found salvation from sin and entry into God's best life. This interaction shows us the resolute attitude of Christ to His mission. He understood it well even when everyone around Him did not. Jesus preferred our salvation over His own safety.
It is as if Jesus shook off the serpent trying to coil around Him. He would give no place to demonic words or thoughts. He publicly rejected Simon's words so that none of the other disciples would fall into a similar trap. Jesus said that Simon had been carried away by human ideas.
Just to make sure that nobody missed the point, Jesus called His followers close to Himself. He then spoke some of the hardest words in the Gospels. Jesus said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."
Jesus was destroying all of their notions about a temporal kingdom. He was calling them to a victory that would come at a great price. Simon quickly moved from a moment of great spiritual insight to a resounding slap in the face all in the same day. He had one of those "Doooop!" moments. The good news is that Jesus loved him enough to say the truth even when it hurt.
Just after Jesus had told the disciples about His kingdom and that the gates of Hades would not prevail against them, He turned the conversation to the cross. This proved to be a stumbling block for the disciples. They could not understand how the death of Jesus would do anything other than disrupt the plans they had.
The disciples could not see how the cross would lead to glory or the establishment of God's kingdom on earth. The cross is a terrible instrument of death. Being crucified is a humiliating way to die. It is agony on a stick. Many Jews had been crucified by the Romans as they conquered Palestine. The cross was a reminder of Roman rule and cruelty. How could it have anything to do with God or love?
As Jesus began to tell His disciples what would happen to Him. You can understand how they would have been confused. They likely wondered why Jesus was saying these things. Could Jesus be depressed? Was the great teacher overcome by fear? Were demons telling Him lies that He believed? Who knows exactly what the disciples thought. But they could not have easily accepted the words Jesus spoke. It just didn't make sense.
According to Matthew 16:22, Simon took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee." Without being deterred from his mission for even one second, Jesus responded to Simon. His words must have seemed sharp. But Simon did not understand the real purpose of Jesus' life. He did not understand the spiritual battle going on in the background.
Simon was only speaking out of His love for Jesus and desire to see Him stay around and help make Israel a mighty nation once again. What could be wrong with that? The answer - everything.
God had a different plan because He understood the greater issue. Simon was only thinking about the current situation. Jesus looked through time at the seemingly eternal struggle of the ages. Simon fell into the trap of eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. He allowed his reason to overtake him. He allowed his mind to help him process the reality of God's redemptive plan through the cross. His intellect would never be able to understand such a deep spiritual truth.
Jesus said to Simon, "Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men."
Why did Jesus fortell His sufferings? If this was a shock to the disciples to hear what would happen, can you imagine how much bigger of a shock it must have been to their faith to see it? Jesus told His disciples to prepare them for what would come. He told them to help them see that the kingdom of God is established in ways different from how men go about conquering nations. Those who follow Jesus should not necessarily expect a lot in this world. Their kingdom is of another world.
Why did Jesus rebuke Simon so harshly? Or did He? Maybe this is merely an act of tough love because Simon had strayed far from the heart of God even though he did not know it. Jesus spoke those hard words out of love for Simon and all those He came to save through His death.
Sometimes the words of a friend can be a vehicle that Satan will use to keep us from God's way. People unknowingly become a tool for the enemy. And that is what happened to Simon. Bolstered by Jesus' recent commendations, Simon dared to correct his leader. Simon's statements seemed so right. But they were so wrong. Our enemy will use all means at his disposal to distract us from God's call. This includes our best friends and closest confidants. Christians must not be ignorant of Satan's devices. He will hide himself as an angel of light. We must not focus on who speaks but what is spoken. This is what we see Jesus doing here. His spirit immediately helps him discern that the thoughts behind Simon's words are not from God.
Jesus speaks as He spoke to Satan when He was tempted in the wilderness. He immediately replied to shake off the temptation brought through one of His disciples. Jesus models that He is not afraid to be real with those He disciples. He will step on their feelings to save their soul.
Remember that if Jesus had followed Simon's advice, neither Simon nor any of us would have ever found salvation from sin and entry into God's best life. This interaction shows us the resolute attitude of Christ to His mission. He understood it well even when everyone around Him did not. Jesus preferred our salvation over His own safety.
It is as if Jesus shook off the serpent trying to coil around Him. He would give no place to demonic words or thoughts. He publicly rejected Simon's words so that none of the other disciples would fall into a similar trap. Jesus said that Simon had been carried away by human ideas.
Just to make sure that nobody missed the point, Jesus called His followers close to Himself. He then spoke some of the hardest words in the Gospels. Jesus said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."
Jesus was destroying all of their notions about a temporal kingdom. He was calling them to a victory that would come at a great price. Simon quickly moved from a moment of great spiritual insight to a resounding slap in the face all in the same day. He had one of those "Doooop!" moments. The good news is that Jesus loved him enough to say the truth even when it hurt.
