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Peter Rebukes The Son of God – Matt. 16
Peter Rebukes The Son of God – Matt. 16
In the middle of our reading today we read of Peter’s confession concerning Jesus: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (16:16). As we begin to go back and apply this to the events of our reading, we are faced with a decision. Was Jesus right about the traditions of men versus obeying the Word of God? Was Jesus right about the heart of man and the importance of character and integrity before God? Was Jesus right about healing a Gentile? How was Jesus able to heal and feed 4000 people? Were the Pharisees right in demanding even more and greater signs from Jesus?
Peter’s conclusion answers all of these questions! He is the Son of God. But then an astounding thing happens: Jesus begins to explain to Peter and the apostles that He must DIE. All that Peter had witnessed and his conclusion are now TESTED. He disagrees with Jesus! He REBUKES JESUS. He ‘corrects’ Jesus!
Many times people are intellectually convinced about the claims of Jesus… up to a POINT. That point is simply when one disagrees with Jesus’ teaching! What then of our confession? What then of His being ‘the Son of God’? What then about “listen to Him”? Faith goes beyond such intellectual assent that He is the Son of God and demands that we TRUST Him. We are to trust Him not just in the easy things, but even the difficult things.
This all comes to a head when we have to deny SELF and follow Jesus. Be honest, what things have caused you to argue with Jesus? What sayings have you reacted by saying ‘surely, he couldn’t mean THAT’? Are you really willing to concede that He is right about the kingdom of God versus our love for self, family, fame, and riches? It is at this point that we MUST ask ourselves if we really want to argue with Jesus! “This is my beloved Son. Hear ye HIM!” Are you listening or telling?
Hugh DeLong
