Matthew 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. 22 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord ! This shall never happen to You." 23 But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan ! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's." 24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 25 "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul ? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul ? 27 "For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS. 28 "Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."
When I was a kid I used to watch ABC's "Wide World of Sports." The announcer would come on and say: "Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport… the thrill of victory… and the agony of defeat." And while the 'thrill of victory' portion of the intro seemed to vary, the "agony of defeat" was always the same scene from the 1970 "Ski Flying Championship," and the horrific crash of skier Vinko Bogataj. Seeing his epic wipeout would be enough to turn a person off to ski jumping FOREVER.
Every time I get to this section of Matthew 16 and the role that Peter plays, I can't help but think of the intro to the Wide World of Sports. Peter has known the THRILL of victory. Last week he received the highest personal compliment from the Lord that any disciple ever received. Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah; and I say you are ROCK, and on this rock I will build my church.
As Matthew tells the story, Jesus then begins immediately teaching his friends what "being the Messiah" and "building the church" is going to look like. Vs 21...it's going to look like the Messiah launching a full frontal assault on Jerusalem. But not a military assault; an assault of humility; an assault of self-sacrifice; an assault of atonement. This is a surprise. This does not seem to be "Messiah-like" activity. In our modern lingo it almost sounds as if Jesus is **planning for failure. How dare he? Didn't he attend those "win at any cost" management seminars? Peter, no doubt still basking in the glow of his previous conversation with Jesus seems to sense that it's up to him to 'buck up' Jesus; to pull him out of this 'defeatist funk;' to remind Jesus that as "Lord"...as messiah...as Son of God...this need not be. This defeat talk need never happen. Surely with his power, Jesus could easily claim not only Jerusalem as his own, but indeed Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the world!
Perhaps Simon Peter didn't utter all of those words out loud, but from the narrative it seems obvious that his thinking was going in that direction. And to the Lord, it had a strangely familiar sound. Where had he heard that before? Oh, yeah, Matthew 4:8-10:
8 Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory ; 9 and he said to Him, "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me." 10 Then Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan ! For it is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.' "
Cue the image of Vinko Bogataj and his world-class wipeout.
Simon Peter....The Rock...the one chosen and appointed by Jesus to hold firm throughout God's master plan...had unwittingly defected. Through thought, word, and misunderstanding, he actually took up the mantel of Satan and tempted the Lord to avoid the cross. There could only be one response: vs 23 "Get behind Me, Satan ! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's."
What are the lessons here for us? Many, it would seem. An old memory verse from my youth comes flooding back to me: 1Cor 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. "Easy come, easy go," in our modern parlance. "Look before you leap" is another one. In other words, it's a short step to go from believing in God to believing we have God's gig fully figured out. We don't. And even committed disciples can get it all wrong. Put another way, committed disciples can at times be ESPECIALLY prone to getting it wrong. Even Peter the Rock needed this reminder that "leading" in Christ's Church is all about a humility of life that sees HIM as Lord, and humbly following him, even if/when his path takes us through the crosses of our own lives.
Victory and vindication will come, but it will come according to God's plan.
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