Rachel Workman: 27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around
Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
28 They
replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one
of the prophets.”
29 “But
what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter
answered, “You are the Messiah.”
30 Jesus
warned them not to tell anyone about him.
31 He
then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be
rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that
he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke
plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
33 But
when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind
me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely
human concerns.” I love this reading. But what stands out to me is Jesus
taught the disciples that he MUST suffer many things. Jesus didn't have hope
that he would be rejected or that he wouldn't be rejected. He didn't hope that
he would suffer the cross and he didn't hope that he might not have to suffer
it. He knew that he MUST suffer those things in order for us to have
forgiveness and salvation. God used what appears as evil to bring glory
to His name. He continues to do that in our lives over and over. God uses any
situation we give Him. Good or evil. It's not that God plans or causes things
to happen to us. But our choices give God the material he uses. What might seem unusable to us is a beautiful canvas to God.
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John Burnett:
27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea
Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
28 They replied, “Some say John the
Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”
29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who
do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”
30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about
him. Peter was right but he thought Jesus would rise up and be King while
on earth and during his lifetime.
Jesus Predicts His Death
31 He then began to teach them that the Son of
Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief
priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and
after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took
him aside and began to rebuke him.
33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his
disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he
said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human
concerns.” Peter didn’t understand that Jesus had come to pay the price for the
sins of the world. Jesus was the lamb to be sacrificed once and for all
for all sins. This was the Father’s plan and Jesus submitted Himself to
the Father’s authority for our sake. This is a perfect example of how
quickly our self-righteousness kicks in when we are not focused on Jesus
Christ. Here is Peter actually listening to Jesus teach and Peter rebukes
Jesus because he thinks he knows more than Jesus Christ. Who doesn’t do
this several times a day either by omission or by commission? Thank you
Jesus for being my Messiah.
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Allen Michaels: 27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea
Philippi. This was an especially pagan city known
for its worship of Greek gods and it’s temples devoted to the ancient god Pan,
so this was a fitting place for Jesus to ask the disciples to recognize him as
the Son of God. On the way he asked them, “Who do people
say I am?”
28 They replied,
“Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the
prophets.”
29 “But what about
you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
It is not enough to know what others say about Jesus: you must know,
understand, and accept for yourself that he is the Messiah. We must move from
curiosity to commitment, from admiration to adoration.
Peter
answered, “You are the Messiah.”
30 Jesus warned them
not to tell anyone about him. Jesus knew they needed
more instruction about the work he would accomplish through his death and
resurrection. Without more teaching, the disciples would have only half the
picture. When they confessed Jesus as the Christ, they still didn’t know all
that it meant. This is where I have a problem with people who have recited a
sentence or read a line of scripture off of a tee-shirt. They may be saved at
that exact moment but it won’t last if they have no idea of what they say
really means and understand the big picture.
When
I was in Jr High school a friend of mine and me attended a meeting for Junior
Achievement. We were driven by a leader who we only knew by name. At the end of
the meeting he would not leave until we listened to his sermon about God and
then accepted Christ. After about a half hour, and becoming very nervous,
almost to the point of physically dragging him out of his car and driving it
home ourselves, we went along with his prayer recital. I think this is when I
started to have a very bad outlook on Christians. To this day I despise that
man, but as a Christian I can understand why he did it, but it was a very bad way
to go about it. I think Jesus would have wanted him to wait and learn, before
going out on his own.
31 He then began to
teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the
elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be
killed and after three days rise again. The name
refers to Jesus as the Messiah, the representative man, the human agent of God
who is vindicated by God. In this passage, Son of Man is linked closely
with Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Christ and confirms its Messianic
significance. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
33 But when Jesus
turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!”
he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human
concerns.” Peter wanted Jesus to be king, but not
the suffering servant prophesied in Isaiah 53. He was ready to receive the
glory of following the Messiah, but not the persecution.
The
Christian life is not a paved road to wealth and ease. It often involves hard
work, persecution, deprivation, and deep suffering. Peter saw only part of the
picture. We must never repeat his mistake. Instead we must focus on the good
that God can bring out of apparent evil, and the resurrection that follows
crucifixion.
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Tomorrow's reading for Mark 8:34-38
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