Matthew 16:21-23–Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation

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Welcome to today’s Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation covering Matthew 16:21-23 wherein we observe a much needed rebuke given to passionate Christian.

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 on the third day be raised.  And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.”  But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

It’s the tendency of most people to, at some juncture, act a tad too big for their britches.  A common place for observing this is in the home as a child gets a bit too, shall we say, confident in front of a parent or older sibling.  Sometimes this can come on the heels of the young one receiving blessing and praise.  For instance, we have to watch things in our house for what might follow a two or three day stretch of birthday celebration.  All of the sudden, the celebrated thinks a bit too highly of himself and needs to be “encouraged” back down to an appropriate level after repeated misbehavior.  Well, Peter had just experienced some “birthday praise” of sorts when Jesus spoke well of him following the testimony, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (V. 16).  What a statement in light of how confused people were about Jesus’ identity!  He thought so too and called him blessed because “flesh and blood [had] not revealed this to [him], but [His] Father who is in heaven” (V. 17).  From the passage at hand, however, it seems that Peter mostly just clued in on the “blessed are you” part and not that whole detail about how God had given him the knowledge of this great truth.

Can you imagine Jesus’ face, the face of the Lord and Teacher, when, after unraveling before His disciples the huge plan ahead, was then taken by the arm and rebuked by one of His pupils?!  No matter how wise Peter might have been in the previous conversation, and regardless of whether or not He understood Jesus’ doctrine on suffering, where in the world did he come up with the idea that the only One walking on the earth who was above rebuke could suddenly be corrected?  Jesus’ response, harsh as it might sound toward one He had recently praised, came as a much needed paddling: “Get behind me, Satan!”  You see, Jesus wasn’t looking for advice, other ideas, or rescue.  He was and is looking for devotion and service with minds set on the things of God.  Nobody would ever have said that Peter wasn’t zealous or passionate, and perhaps you or I are even wired a bit like Him.  The question though rests in whether or not we’re God motivated in the exercising of those passions.  For the solution to being a loose cannon is not passivity but a submission to the One who has given us our aim and direction.

Yes, we need to know and talk about how God is delighted to have as His children all of us who have put our faith in Christ, accept his love and encouragement, and be lifted up inside when we have in some way brought glory to His name.  But let us remember that we are pros at taking such wonderful things and suddenly turning them into the esteeming of ourselves, our ideas, and our intelligence instead of focusing all praise on the Master.  May we grow in our thrill of exalting Him alone today.

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