Matthew 16
December 14, 2022
“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.’” (v21-23)
Jesus waits until Peter declares Him to be “the Messiah, the Son of God” (v16), and then He explains the kind of Messiah He came to be: one who would “be killed” (v21). Since Peter has plans for Jesus (and himself) that don’t include being killed, but rather setting up an earthly kingdom in Jerusalem, Peter takes Jesus aside to tell him that dying isn’t a very good plan for a Messiah. But Jesus rebukes Peter, even calling him, ‘Satan’ (v23), because Peter is echoing the voice of the devil in the Desert (Matt 4:1-11), tempting Jesus to take the easy road, instead of the path to the cross.
Lord Jesus, I praise You and declare You to be the Messiah, the Son of God, and the One to whom every knee will bow and every tongue confess that You are the Lord. And I thank You for being willing to leave the glories of Heaven to do for me what I could not (and would not) do. Thank You for fixing Your eyes on the cross, being resolved to die for my sins, so that I might be reconciled to the Father, adopted into His family, and made an heir in His Kingdom. Deepen my appreciation for the cross, so that I see “taking up my cross” (v24) as the only appropriate response to what You’ve done for me.
— Pastor Joshua Brooks
Use the following steps to guide your daily time with the Lord…
-
Start with prayer. Ask God to open your heart to help you understand and receive His Word.
-
Read and observe the passage carefully. As needed, read a second Bible version to help with understanding.
➡️ What does it say?
What does this passage teach me about God? What does it say about my sinful nature and my need for God’s grace? How does this passage point to Jesus?
-
➡️ What am I going to do about it?
Does this passage include a promise to claim, an action/attitude to avoid/embrace, or a principle to apply? How can this truth apply to my life? What could my next step be? How can I share this with others? Is there a verse or section of Scripture I need to memorize?
