Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.
He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Mark 8: 27-33
Peter represents the best of humanity, and equally, the worst of humanity. He jumps into everything with his whole heart and big mouth, but not always his entire brain. He recklessly jumps out of the boat to walk on water, but quickly sinks when he loses focus on Jesus. When Jesus tries to wash Peter’s feet, Peter refuses until Jesus tells him he can have no part of Jesus otherwise. Then he wants Jesus to wash his hands and his head as well. Here, in the span of maybe fifteen minutes, he goes from being the first person to claim Jesus as the Messiah to being compared to Satan by Jesus. Ouch! I’d like to say I can’t relate to Peter, but I am just like him.
How many times I have jumped into a situation, leading with my heart, only to be chastened because I was either running ahead of Jesus or running behind him! I quickly jump out of the boat to get to Jesus but I lose focus and sink. Jesus asks me to do one thing and I want to try to do twenty. I readily claim Jesus as my Savior, yet I get in his way, dwelling on my human concerns, and not God’s concerns. Like Peter, though, God loves me and keeps giving me opportunities to get it right. I’ll probably never get it right by myself, but I pray God will move me ever closer to accepting His will without getting in His way. When things get tough, will we have in mind the things of man or the things of God? Don’t run ahead of Jesus, or lag behind him, but abide with him and stay in his will.
Lord, like Peter, we jump into situations and lose focus on Jesus. We react with our hearts and our mouths, but not always with our brains. Forgive us, Lord, for being mindful of the things of man over your will. We don’t want to get in your way, but we often can’t help ourselves. Help us, Lord, to walk with you, not ahead of you or behind you. Thank you for sending Jesus to redeem us and give us a multiple chances to get it right. Amen.
