Today's Scripture Reading (November 22, 2020): Matthew 16
It is easy to follow a leader when you agree
with where they are going. The real test of trust comes when we are asked to
follow our leaders as they lead us to a place that we don't want to go. It is the
test that defines a leader. We will follow great leaders, even when they lead
us in the opposite direction of where we want to go.
Peter declares that Jesus is the Christ or the
Messiah. He has no idea what that means, but he is okay with that because the
Jewish people have been waiting for the Messiah for generations. To be part of
the age that gets to see the Messiah is a privilege. But to be considered a
disciple of the Messiah was a privilege that Peter had never dreamed could be
his. Declaring that Jesus was the Christ, in a lot of ways, was easy because it
was a direction that Peter emotionally wanted to go.
But then Jesus begins to talk about his death.
He explains that he will suffer at the hands of religious leaders and die in
Jerusalem. And that is not a place where Peter has any desire to go. And so,
Peter stands up to Jesus, telling him that this will never happen. Peter is
confident that Jesus's followers will stand up against the religious
leadership, defending their teacher from any adverse effects that the religious
leadership might like to bring. But even more importantly, God would never let
harm come to his Messiah.
Jesus's response is blunt. Just seconds earlier,
he had called Peter blessed. He had said
that his confession that Jesus was the Christ would become the rock or
foundation on which the emerging church would be based. It was a massive moment
for Peter, and in the view of history, it was the moment that lifted Peter from
being one of the disciples to Peter being the leader, not only of the disciples
but of the Christian Church.
Which makes Jesus's comment declaring Peter to
be Satan even more significant. It is a
strong rebuke of this leader of the apostles. Origen, writing in the early
years of the third century C.E., argues that Jesus was telling Peter that "your place is behind me, not in front of me. It is your place to follow me in the way I choose, not to try to lead me in the way you would like me to go.'"
If you are indeed my disciple, you will allow me to lead you, even into
situations that you don't want to go. And this is the definition of a true
disciple of Jesus.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Mark 8
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