In Matthew's Gospel, the 16th chapter, Jesus offers both praise and rebuke to Peter within just a few verses. The reason for Christ's praise of Peter was due to his awareness of who Christ was. "And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (verse 16). Jesus’ response was iconic to the Bible. "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven" (verse 17).
It is at this point that Jesus begins telling the disciples what fate He must face if He is to be utterly obedient to His Father's will for Him. The death of the cross was no fitting end for such a Savior and King. However, Christ's obedience to the Father's will was more important than His legacy among men.
When hearing the words of Jesus, Peter began rebuking the Lord. Peter's love for Christ was never seen more clearly. Truly, Peter held great emotion to the life of His friend and mentor. The thought of Christ's death was unbearable for Peter.
Instead of Christ embracing the true passion of Peter, He compared the flamboyant disciple to that of Satan. What was it that caused Christ to say to Peter, "Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me..." (Verse 23)? The remainder of the verse answers that question, "...for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men."
It was Peter's perspective of Christ's inevitable death that caused the Lord to rebuke him with such vigor. According to Jesus, Peter's vantage point was from that of the flesh and not of the Spirit. "...for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." Jesus rebuked Peter because of the way He viewed God's will.
Why was Jesus so intense about His rebuking of Peter? The text reveals it was because Peter was not consistent in his perspective of divinity. In verse 15 Jesus asked the disciples a hard question: "...whom say ye that I am?" Peter's response provoked great praise from Jesus. Jesus said, "...flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." Peter's perspective of God's will toward the life of Christ was spot on. It was easy for Peter to see the worth of God's Son as long as He was endowed with life.
However, Peter's perspective of God's will toward the death of Christ was entirely different. In fact, it revealed a lacking of belief in God's will. Where Peter found it easy to locate God's will when it benefited him, he struggled to see God's will when it didn't.
How does this relate to our response to tragedy? Just as we see divinity in the good times, may we also see divinity in times of tragedy. To do this, we must maintain our focus on God's sovereignty. It's difficult to see God when things are less than positive. It's then that we must ultimately realize that nothing comes our way that isn't first filtered through God's grace. He never sleeps nor slumbers. He never takes a vacation or even a break. Regardless of our perspective, He is still God.
While our perspective of God doesn't change Him, it most certainly determines how we feel about Him!
While our perspective of God doesn't change Him, it most certainly determines how we feel about Him!
Pastor Mike Carmody
