Mark 8:29-33, The Message - He then asked, “And you—what are you saying about me? Who am I?”
Peter gave the answer: “You are the Christ, the Messiah.”
Jesus warned them to keep it quiet, not to breathe a word
of it to anyone. He then began explaining things to them: “It is necessary that
the Son of Man proceed to an ordeal of suffering, be tried and found guilty by
the elders, high priests, and religion scholars, be killed, and after three
days rise up alive.” He said this simply and clearly so they couldn’t miss it.
But Peter grabbed him in protest. Turning and seeing his
disciples wavering, wondering what to believe, Jesus confronted Peter. “Peter,
get out of my way! Satan, get lost! You have no idea how God works.”
The
text from the last bit of the passage from the last reflection is included here
to remind us of what we noticed yesterday.
The disciples’ confession that Jesus is the Messiah (which is the main
message of the entire gospel of Mark) marks a critical shift in tone. It’s been mostly miracles and healings up
until this point, but things are about to get hard. Jesus tries to prepare his apprentices for
this by sharing with them what is about to happen. Jesus will increasingly be opposed, eventually
tried, and then be killed. Three days
later, He will be resurrected. Peter,
most likely speaking what the others are thinking, is having none of it. He tries to get Jesus back “on message.”
I’ve
read this passage dozens of times, so I know Peter is about to be called Satan
by Jesus. Still, I can’t help but empathize
with Peter. I think of half a dozen
times in my life where God’s direction and the direction that I think is right
diverge. Things seem to be going
well. Positive things are
happening. Forward motion is gaining
momentum. Then unexplainably, I’m pointed
in a different direction. Peter has a
reputation for being a bit impetuous, but that’s not me. If anything, I’m too passive. But I have to say, in those moments where the
direction suddenly changed, I was “take Jesus aside” angry. I believe my prayers in those moments probably
sounded a bit like what I imagine Peter saying to Jesus in private. I was not happy about not being consulted
about the change and I let God know about it (as if God didn’t already know
exactly how I felt). My conviction is
that being completely honest with God about our negative feelings is better
than trying to pretend that negativity in us doesn’t exist. You might as well “get it off your chest”
because God already knows what’s in your heart.
Back to
Satan thing. When we in the 21st
century hear the name “Satan” we hear something completely different than Peter
did when Jesus used that word. What
Peter heard would be likened to what we would hear someone say, “get out of my
way Adversary.” Jesus was not calling
Peter the Devil. Jesus was warning Peter
that he was now moving in the opposite direction from God, a position with which
I am all-too-familiar. It isn’t fun. But if we are going to be free to be honest
with God, than we ought to be willing for God to be honest with us. I’d rather be corrected by God than left out
of what God is doing. Peter evidently
felt that way too, because Peter takes the correction and moves on. He will eventually be the central leader of
the Jesus movement and He is still revered by Catholics as the first pope. But that only happens because Peter is
willing to admit he is wrong and take correction. In order to be a leader, one must first be a
follower.
But it’s
not easy to let go of what we think is right, even if it is God who is telling
us so. It takes a sense of humility and
submission. To the extent that we are
able to empathize with Peter’s resistance, we should also be willing to follow
Peter’s example of obedience.
Questions: Are you
able to be called out and corrected when it is necessary? Can you admit that even on important things,
you could be wrong?
Prayer: Lord, give us
a teachable spirit. May we correctable
when we are headed in the wrong direction. May we always hear Your voice and obey, even
when it’s hard. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray
for missionaries all over the world today.
Song: I Will Follow –
Chris Tomlin
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