A Costly Calling

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 on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” 23 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.”

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would 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 shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. 28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” –  Matthew 16:21-28 ESV

In response to Jesus’ question, “But who do you say that I am?,” Peter had been the first of the 12 to speak up.

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” – Matthew 16:16 ESV

And Jesus had commended Peter for his answer, acknowledging that it had been revealed to him by God. Peter’s awareness of who Jesus was had come as a direct result of God’s revelation, not human intelligence or the teachings of men.

This common fisherman had been able to see something to which the learned scribes and Pharisees remained oblivious. They were experts in the Mosaic law and students of the Hebrew Scriptures but had failed to see what Peter had seen. They had accused Jesus of operating under the power and influence of Satan. To them, He was little more than a heretic and a man who willingly associated with prostitutes and sinners. They were spiritually blind and unable to see what Peter saw.

Peter was blessed for having been given the capacity to recognize Jesus as the Messiah, but he was about to find out that the privilege of divinely-inspired insight came at a cost. The disciples were able to see Jesus for who He was – their Messiah and Savior – but now they were going to find out exactly what that meant. Their preconceived notions of the Messiah’s role were about to be rocked. Any hopes they had of watching Jesus set up His kingdom on earth and placing them in positions of power and authority were going to be shattered.

Following Peter’s confession came Jesus’ revelation.

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. – Matthew 16:16 ESV

And we don’t have to wonder how this pronouncement impacted the disciples, because Matthew makes it quite clear.

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” – Matthew 16:22 ESV

Once again, Peter was the first to speak up. But this time, his words would reward him with a rebuke from Jesus, not a blessing. In the Greek, Peter’s response was essentially, “God have mercy on you!”

He was expressing his deep-felt desire that God would not allow the words of Jesus to come to fruition. Peter was speaking from his heart. He was appalled by what he had heard. The thought of Jesus suffering and dying was not something he could get his head around. It made no sense. It didn’t fit into his expectations concerning the Messiah. And he couldn’t imagine that God would allow something like this to happen.

While Peter had been shocked at Jesus’ announcement, he was about to be rocked by Jesus’ response to him.

“Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.” – Matthew 16:23 NLT

Ouch! That had to have stung. Peter had just been pronounced as blessed because of his confession that Jesus was the Messiah. Now, Jesus was calling him “Satan.” What a dramatic turn of events. What an amazing fall from grace. Peter had gone from the teacher’s pet to a spiritual adversary.

But why did Jesus respond so harshly? Peter had meant well. He simply couldn’t imagine Jesus having to go through the things He had described. But Jesus saw Peter’s response for what it was: Satanically inspired.

Just as God had revealed to Peter that Jesus was the Messiah, Satan was attempting to influence Peter’s perception of what that meant. Satan wasn’t trying to dissuade Peter from believing Jesus was the Messiah. He simply wanted to confuse his understanding of the Messiah’s role. Like any good Jew, Peter’s view of the Messiah was somewhat self-centered and self-serving. He was interpreting his God-given awareness of Jesus as the Messiah through a man-made set of expectations. Notice what Jesus accused him of.

Peter was setting his mind on man’s interests, not God’s. He was thinking about what he wanted from the Messiah, not God’s purpose for the Messiah.

Peter was displaying a what’s-in-it-for-me mindset that viewed the Messiah as the answer to all of his personal problems. To Peter’s way of thinking, Jesus was no good to him dead. But what Peter failed to understand was that Jesus would not be the Messiah or Savior unless He died. Jesus had not come to fulfill the will of men, but the will of His Father in heaven. And Peter was going to have to learn that his personal expectations of the Messiah were going to have to take a backseat to God’s will concerning the Messiah.

This is why Jesus turned to all the disciples and said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24 ESV). All of these men had experienced the call of Jesus, inviting them to follow Him. Now, Jesus was letting them know the cost of that calling. Their original motivation to follow Jesus had been self-serving. They had seen something in it for them. But now, Jesus was telling them that their calling came with a cost: Self-denial.

Jesus had just revealed that the role of Messiah came with a tremendous cost. He would suffer and die. In the same way, the role of disciple came with a cost. Just as Jesus would have to die to Himself, they would be required to die to their own self-interests. Jesus would go on to tell His disciples, “whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:27-28 NLT).

Peter had simply wanted to save the life of Jesus. But Jesus told him, “whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25 NLT). The model for true discipleship was that of self-sacrifice and selfless service, not self-centeredness. Jesus was attempting to focus the attention of His disciples on the eternal rather than the temporal. He wanted them to think about the kingdom to come, not their own kingdom on earth. Peter wanted it all here and now. But Jesus warned that getting all you desire in this life was worthless if you ended up losing your soul. Temporal treasures and earthly kingdoms will all pass away. But those who focus their eyes on the eternal will discover that their future reward far outweighs any pleasure they find in the present.

Jesus ends His address to His disciples with a somewhat confusing statement:

“Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” – Matthew 16:28 ESV

These words must have left the disciples scratching their heads. They would have wondered what He meant. They would have wanted to know which of them He was referencing. And if we stop here, this verse will leave us just as confused as the disciples must have been. But we have the next chapter of Matthew’s gospel account to provide us with insight.

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. – Matthew 17:1-12 ESV

The disciples would have to go six days without a clue as to what Jesus had meant. Fortunately, we’re given an immediate understanding of just what Jesus had been talking about. But more about that tomorrow.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Not As Advertised.

Matthew 16:21-26; Mark 8:31-37; Luke 9:22-25

“‘Heaven forbid, Lord,’ he said. ‘This will never happen to you!’" – Matthew 16:22 NLT

We all had expectations of Jesus when we accepted Him as our Savior. Some of us had been promised a certain list of attractive options if we would just place our faith in Him. It may have been a well-meaning or a fervent pastor who told us that salvation in Christ would bring us a happier marriage, an improved life, increased joy, and an assortment of other favorable benefits. But then when we came to Christ, we found that our life actually got a bit harder. Living the Christian life proved to be far more difficult and demanding than we expected. We still found our lives plagued by illness, heartache, financial setbacks, relational meltdowns and the ever-present reality of sin in our lives. As a result, some of us became disillusioned and disheartened. This was NOT what we had signed up for. It may have even felt like a bait and switch.

I think the disciples felt the same way. When they made the decision to follow Jesus, they were under the impression that He was the long-awaited Messiah, and as good Jews, they had certain expectations and understandings of what the Messiah would do when He showed up on the scene. They had been raised on images of the conquering hero, the great emancipator, the powerful political leader, and a king over Israel, much like David had been. By this time in His ministry, Jesus had already begun to mess with their preconceived ideas of what the Messiah was going to do when He showed up. Jesus appeared as a peasant. He had no royal retinue or powerful army to back Him up. He had no wealth. He wielded no political influence. Even the religious leaders of the day refused to accept Him as the Messiah. So when Jesus starts dropping hints that He is going to Jerusalem, where He will suffer at the hands of the elders of Israel and be tried and killed, they are blown away. This was NOT what they were expecting. In their grand scheme of things, the Messiah was supposed to be a conquering king, not a suffering saint. He was to reign and rule from a throne in Jerusalem, not die on a cross. Jesus' announcement was a total disconnect for these men. And Peter refused to accept it. "Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things" (Mark 8:32 NLT). What's fascinating is that Peter actually told Jesus, the Son of God, "Heaven forbid, Lord. This will never happen to you!" (Matthew 16:22 NLT). Because Jesus' announcement didn't meet Peter's expectations, Peter rebuked Jesus and basically told Him that he would not allow any of it to happen. Peter didn't like what he was hearing, and so he swore that he would do all that he could to prevent it from happening. This would not be the last time that Peter made such a statement. Later on, Jesus told the disciples that they would desert Him in His time of need. Jesus said that when His actual arrest took place, they would run out on Him. But Peter responded, "Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you!" (Matthew 26:33 NLT). Jesus makes it clear that Peter will not only desert Him, he will deny Him. "‘No!’ Peter insisted. ‘Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!' And all the other disciples vowed the same." (Matthew 26:35 NLT).

And Peter would deny Him – three times. And they all would desert Him. Jesus knew what was going to happen. And He also knew that the events of which He had told them had to happen. They were part of God's divine plan for the redemption of mankind. And for Peter to swear that he would do everything in his power to prevent it solicited a harsh rebuke from Jesus. "Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God's." (Matthew 26:23 NLT). Peter was letting his expectations of the Messiah to stand in the way of God's plan for the Messiah. He was stuck on his own agenda, not God's, and that made him an enemy of God. That's a sobering thought. When we disagree with Jesus' plans for our lives or attempt to demand that He meet our expectations, we are placing ourselves in direct opposition to Him and to God the Father. The disciples had no need for a suffering servant Messiah. What good was a crushed Christ or a dead savior to them? They had an agenda for Jesus and they weren't really interested in God's agenda for Jesus or themselves. That's a dangerous place to be.

So what about you? Have your expectations of Jesus been met? Has He been the Savior you were looking for or do you find yourself a bit disappointed in how this whole Christian "thing" has turned out?

Were you expecting happiness and not holiness?

Where you hoping for prosperity, but got financial difficulty instead?

Were you looking for a trouble-free life, but find yourself with trials and setbacks?

Have you been waiting for your place of honor, only to be mired in obscurity?

Has Jesus turned out to be who you were looking for?

Has He disappointed you, let you down, or failed to measure up?

Maybe you've been looking for the wrong thing. Maybe your expectations of Him were wrong. Why not recognize that God's agenda for Jesus is different than yours? Place your trust in His plan. Let you go of your will, and rest in His perfect will instead.

Father, You had a plan for Jesus that did not fit that of the disciples. But it had to happen according to Your terms. Jesus had to die. If not, we would not have eternal life. He had to suffer on our behalf. And while Jesus did not bring the kind of kingdom the disciples were looking for, what they received from Him was far greater than anything they could have expected. And the same is true for us today. Amen.