PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
Matthew 16 (click the link)
REFLECTIONS:
I have to admit that the book of Matthew reads like the 2nd page of a newspaper for me, giving headlines and a bit of information about each subject before moving on to the next, unrelated story. I mean, sometimes I find scripture full of easy application, and sometimes I got nothin’! When I read or hear something that I know should be more meaningful than it currently is, I like to ask God to “say more about that” and He never fails to give more insight. This time, the “more” He said was Proverbs 4:23 “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for it determines the course of your life.”
And how may I watch over my heart, God?
By paying attention to the headlines in Matthew 16.
OK, God.
Looking For A Sign
Verse 1 - The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and
tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.
The Pharisees and Sadducees has
seen and heard of Jesus’ miracles, yet they were asking... no, demanding
something spectacular to wow the crowds. Truth is, they were testing Him, and
people then are like people now. Many can see miraculous things and still turn
away because signs alone can’t touch the part of the human heart that needs a
Savior. How often do I want Jesus to perform on demand for me... get me out of
my latest jam... find me a good parking spot... heal a hurt? He is a miracle
worker, after all, but more than I need a miracle, I need to be saved from my
own self-focus. The only sign he promised the Pharisees and Sadducees that day
was the “sign of Jonah”... one who would sacrifice himself to save others, and
after 3 days return as back from the dead, preaching repentance and a return to
God. That’s who Jesus is, and I can’t test Him by reducing Him to a
crowd-pleasing, user-friendly Savior.
Beware of Yeast
Verse 12 - Then they understood that he was not telling them
to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the
Pharisees and Sadducees.
Jesus used a metaphor to teach the
disciples how easily they could be lured by false teaching and hypocrisy. In this
passage, yeast is used as a picture of sin, and was often used to depict a
strong influence. Ever notice how gossip, dissention, selfish ambition, pride
and the like tend to swell rather than diminish when we treat them as
“weaknesses” rather than sin? My heart and my life cannot afford to be thrown
off course by them, and I must watch out for their subtle influence.
Who Do You Say I Am?
Verse 15 - “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I
am?”
In “the region of Caesarea
Philippi” is a rock outcropping which hides a deep cavern, and that cavern is
said to be the birthplace of Pan. Worshippers carved the surrounding rock into
a great temple to worship this god of fertility in as many ways as their
perverted minds could imagine. It was against this backdrop that Jesus chose to
ask Simon Peter “Who do you say I am?” deliberately setting Himself against the
world’s religions and all the indulgences they had to offer. For those who want
to follow Jesus, “Who do you say I am” will be asked of us often, usually in a
moment when the temptation is great to choose an easier god. In an age where we
are taught to “follow your heart,” our answer reveals more about us than about
Him.
New Revelation
Verses 16-17 - Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah,
the Son of the living God.” 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.
I love this! Even Simon Peter who
walked alongside Jesus sometimes lucked into divine inspiration. It’s not just
me! And like Simon Peter, I feel blessed by Jesus Himself when it happens.
New Name
Verse 18a - And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this
rock I will build my church.
Have you ever felt like you’ve gone
thru life with a label? Jesus chose this moment of humility to give
Simon-son-of-Jonah a new name. “Peter” (in Greek, Petros...rock) had always
been a part of his name, but Jesus made it his primary when he prophetically
affirmed Peter’s stability and authority in His “church” (in Greek,
ekklesia...my called out group). Ask Jesus what He calls you. His name for you
speaks your destiny.
New Power
Verse 18b - ...and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
While it’s generally accepted that
this refers to the dynamic sustainability of the worldwide church, there was a
more immediate meaning in Jesus’ words. Deep inside Pan’s temple cave was a
seemingly bottomless grotto used for human sacrifices. The grotto was lauded as
a passage to Hades, so the entryway to the temple was, quite literally, “the
gate of Hades.” Nothing the surrounding pagan world had to offer could
undermine a community faithful to Jesus. Not for them, not for us.
New Mission
Verse 19 - I will give you the keys of the kingdom of
heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you
loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
Peter is often artfully depicted
holding keys and guard of the “Pearly Gates.” In reality he opened the way for
everyone to enter the kingdom of heaven by preaching to Jew and Gentile alike.
Jesus then gives Peter authority to set standards for the new church. With
regard to the Old Testament Law, to bind something is to declare it forbidden;
to loose it is to declare it allowed. Considering how burdensome the Law was,
I’m thankful that we are loosed more than bound.
The Rest of the Story
Verses 21-23 - 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. Peter took him aside and
began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
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.”
Peter knew the prophecy Jesus was
referring to (Isaiah 53:3-12), but this must have come as a shock, and he had
the audacity to object. Surely Peter wasn’t aware that he spoke for Satan, just
as a moment before he wasn’t aware that he spoke for God, and Peter is a prime
example of how a sincere heart driven by man’s thinking can lead to disaster.
Verses 24-25 - Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever
wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow
me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their
life for me will find it.
The cross wasn’t about sanitized
religious traditions or warm feelings and does not refer to bearing some
irritation in life. Everybody knew that the cross had only one purpose...death.
By denying myself, I admit that it is beyond my own power to save myself, my
only hope being in the power of resurrection. My life depends on it.
I guess this one was full of application too. Thanks God.
WHO AM I?
My name is
Leigh Anne Bland and sometimes I don’t read instructions very well...more about
that tomorrow.
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