Journey to the Cross 2017, Day 15

Friday, Day 15:  Matthew 16                    

Jesus’ time on earth is winding down. He knows he has to cement the disciples’ faith so they will have touchstones to call back to memory after he is gone. In Chapter 16 he engages them in a conversation that will certainly be one of those memorable moments. I love his question. He doesn’t initially ask who they say he is – but who the people say he is. They have their finger on the pulse of their society! They know what people are saying – and people obviously think Jesus is someone amazing – a reincarnated prophet –  with those mentioned being John the Baptist (who hadn’t been dead long enough for that to be true), Elijah, Jeremiah, or any of a sundry of other prophets...

Then Jesus asks them who they think he is, and my friend – the impetuous Simon Bar-Jonah – gives an immediate response, proclaiming, “You are Meshiach – the Messiah (translation in Greek: the Christ) – the Son of the living God.”

And Jesus tells him that on that proclamation of Jesus as the Messiah – the One who was prophesied to come – He would build his church, and they would be given the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is that key.    Through his atoning death and resurrection he opened the door to direct access to God through the gift of the promised Holy Spirit. The God of creation came – incarnate – and sacrificed Himself.  He made Himself man, bore our sorrows, bore our sin...oops! I’m getting ahead of the story....

Simon’s name was also changed to Peter at that point so he was also named ‘rock’ so there is an opportunity for a little confusion here – but Peter’s role was as a witness to the One who is the Rock....  Peter was not the rock on which Jesus would build his church – but the truth of his statement was.

Jesus clarified His purpose:  to build a church – that’s us, folks! We are the result of God’s holy purpose! Then, after revealing this clearly to them, he told them not to tell. It wasn’t time yet – but the time would come when they were to tell – it just wasn’t yet. God is a God of timing. I get impatient for His timing. I want to act as an advisor sometimes instead of waiting patiently for Him to be the One calling the shots.

In Chapter 16, from the time he confirmed to them so clearly that He is the Messiah, he began to explain what that was going to mean – that He must be killed, but on the third day He would rise again. Peter, who had just been affirmed as a rock – a solid follower – only hears the part about death and that didn’t fit in the rough draft of the script he had in mind. Wait a minute, Yeshua, you are supposed to be the ‘Deliverer’ who comes in on his white horse, vanquishes the foes, and sets the world right. What is this about death? No way!

Peter was so caught off guard that he didn’t even hear the part about ‘resurrection’ – that on the third day Jesus would be raised to life. All those of the Jewish nation who were looking forward to a Messiah thought he was going to set the world aright – that he was going to be both a religious and political force – and once they dared believe he was that promised Messiah, their thoughts turned immediately to an earthly kingdom where the detested Roman domination and all of the political unfairness would be ended.... They were ‘littlefaiths’ – they had faith in the wrong thing – and Jesus called Peter out on that point when he looked directly into Peter’s eyes and stated clearly, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

Wow! That had to pierce. One moment: Jesus’ praise; the next: a severe rebuke. But Jesus couldn’t softsoap that point – nor could He sidestep what He came to do. And then Jesus tells them the cost of being part of his kingdom: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life (soul) will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?....”

The answer is: NOTHING.  We can give nothing.  He was the only one who could give what was needed – and it cost Him His life.   

Jesus ends that teachable moment telling them that some of them will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom – and then six days later he invites Peter, and brothers James and John to go with him on a day hike up to a high mountain. He was transfigured before them and they saw a glimpse of Him being glorified. 

Humor for today:
Each Friday night after work, Bubba would fire up his outdoor grill and cook venison steaks, but all of Bubba’s neighbors were Catholic, and since it was Lent, they were forbidden to eat meat on Fridays.

The delicious aroma from the venison steaks was causing such a problem for the Catholic faithful that they finally talked to their priest. The priest went to visit Bubba and suggested that he become Catholic. After several classes and prescribed study, Bubba attended Mass, and as the priest sprinkled holy water over him, he said, “You were born a Baptist and raised a Baptist, but now you are a Catholic.”

Bubba’s neighbors were greatly relieved – until Friday night arrived and the wonderful aroma of grilled venison filled the neighborhood. The priest was called immediately, and as he rushed into Bubba’s yard prepared to scold him, he stopped and watched in amazement. There stood Bubba, clutching a small bottle of holy water which he was carefully sprinkling over the grilling meat, as he declared, “You was born a deer, and you was raised a deer, but now you a catfish.”

P S:

Happy St Patrick’s Day 2017!  St Patty’s is the celebration of Christianity coming to Ireland!  Erin go bragh!  I am 16% Irish according to the Ancestry DNA test I took in 2013.  The Irish in me is grateful for the Christian heritage that St Patrick brought to the old sod!  Wearin’ green! 

Observations in 2017:

Beware the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees jumps out at me in reading this today.  When I wrote my first blog series in 2010 I couldn’t address everything, and chose what leaped off the page most saliently to me then, and I need to recycle those, but I am also reminded of the poison leaven that the Pharisees and Sadducees taught.  Their leaven was one of rules to be followed, that made the outside of the person appear to be holy when inside they were corrupt and filthy.  Jesus came to change us from the inside out.  He cleans up the inside, and then the outside reflects that cleansing.  We cannot, cannot, cannot get to heaven by following a list of rules.  It is not about what we do, but what He did….  We will come more and more into alignment with Him as our model, but becoming who we are to be has to be begin with Him, not with us!  Beware the leaven!