“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,chief priests and 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!'” (Matthew 16:21,22).
How would you save the world? If those you loved were taken from you and held captive. If they were doomed to be separated from you forever…what would you do?
Our ideas have been reflected over time through the arts (books, music and theater). We would storm the castle! We would ride in on a white horse and save the day! We would fight the enemy and take back what was rightfully ours.
Then we shouldn’t be surprised that when Jesus rolled out His plan to redeem the world He met resistance. In the Scripture above we see Peter challenging Jesus to “get with the program”. The good guy doesn’t die! And certainly not at the hands of the very ones He came to save. But, when Peter pulls Jesus aside to set him straight, Jesus lets Peter know clearly that this is God’s plan. “You don’t have in mind the things of God, but the things of men” (vs. 23). Jesus is saying, “You don’t understand, Peter, but this is God’s way’.
Today in our journey let us be reminded that we still misunderstand God’s work in our lives and the world around us. It doesn’t make sense. It’s not the convenient answer we were expecting. In the story above we have become so familiar with the details that we are quick to judge this doubting disciple. But before we are too hard on Peter we need to remind ourselves that God’s perfect love for us is not something that we can understand fully. Yesterday we were reminded that God left heaven to come to us because of His love. Today I challenge you to stand side by side with Peter and see the suffering and sacrifice of the cross for what it is…not what we would have done. Let it make you uncomfortable. It doesn’t make sense. It shattered the expectations of His closest friends. But, it was the greatest revelation of God’s love for us and the only way to redeem we who were lost.