This morning I am thinking about Peter, and his highs and lows, as evidenced in this chunk of Matthew's Gospel. Peter is one of my favorite Apostles, and that is probably due in part to the greater visibility we have into his life and mind. Here are the verses - Matthew 16:15-23 NIV:
[15] “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
[16] Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
[17] Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. [18] And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. [19] I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” [20] Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
[21] 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, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
[22] Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
[23] Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
First, when Peter proclaims Jesus as Messiah, that must have been a very significant moment, for it was when Jesus gave him his name Peter (Rock). Jesus was clearly pleased, and in His response says some awesome stuff. He blesses Simon, says that he could only have known this because the Father showed him and was thus commenting on the favor of the Father, and then signifies his importance in the coming church. Jesus gives him a new name and in scriptural history, receiving a new name from the Lord was on the level of Abraham and Jacob. It meant there was significant destiny and purpose that was being released by the Lord, this was huge. This was not some little nickname, but key to the transformation of Peter into the leader of the church.
I am sure the significance of this was not lost on Peter. The Lord saw in Him such purpose and such a calling and destiny that He gave him a new name. The name Simon in Hebrew mans that 'he has heard'. Peter on the other hand means 'stone or rock'. It is interesting that it was because 'he heard' from the Father that Jesus proclaims him the 'rock'. Peter was to become the 'rock' upon which Jesus would build His church, talk about a huge responsibility. New purpose, and new destinies require new understanding, encouragement and empowerment. From this point onward, Peter was called so, and this helped remind him of the destiny that the Lord had planned, and really who he was. His identity in Christ was solidified.
In the same way, each of us has significance to the Lord. Our identity, first and foremost, is as a son or daughter. Secondly, when the Lord looks at us, He has specific purpose and destiny planned for each of us. Coming into relationship with Him, helps us to understand who He says we are, and when He speaks about that we need to listen. I am convinced that many of us never even think to ask that simple question - Lord, who do you say I am? One of the other things I have learned is that just like most earthy father's the Lord has nicknames for us, that are signs of our endearment to him. I have special nicknames for both of my children, and my use of them, while not significant to their purpose and destiny, signifies my love and affection for them. The Lord does the same for us.
One of my favorite authors and speakers is Graham Cooke, and he introduced me to this concept. In his relationship with the Lord, he is aware of the fact that Lord calls him different names. The Lord calls him Gray when He is speaking with him from a point of affection and love, and He calls him Graham when He is speaking about other things. This opened up a whole level of intimacy to me that I never knew existed in the Lord. It caused me to press into relationship in a way I had never understood was possible. The Lord wants us all to understand how much we mean to Him, and if we go to Him and ask, I am confident He will speak His nickname for each us. He wants us to discover and understand our identity as sons and daughters.
Continuing on with the scripture, we find that it is a very short time before Peter oversteps his new found identity. One of the things that Lord DOES want us to do is try out new levels of authority as He calls us into them. It is like when you get a new car, you take it for drive to see what it drives like. If you are like me that usually means pressing it into previously uncharted territories of experience. Peter, confident in his new identity, decides it is time to act like the leader Jesus thinks he is. Peter had probably dreaming grand and glorious Kingdom dreams and was shocked to hear Jesus talking about suffering and dying. I can just see Peter thinking it best to take Jesus aside and correct the Him, for surely He was mistaken when He was just speaking the other day about building His church, and had selected Peter to help Him. It wasn't just Peter who didn't comprehend what Jesus was saying, apparently all the Apostles thought the same thing. They thought Jesus was here for the long-term and it was just a matter of time before His kingdom was going to be established, with all of them a part of the leadership team. They were probably pushing Peter to have the "talk" with Jesus and set things straight. Peter has the "talk" and it doesn't go the way he thought it would. Yikes!
What I find significant is the fact that Jesus, while He rebukes Peter pretty sternly, still calls him by his new name. Peter's huge miss does not impact his relationship or destiny. How often have we shut people down, or walked away from them when they have really messed up, or maybe demoted them at the very least? This is NOT how the Lord operates. He shuts down the talk immediately, for as He indicates, Peter is a stumbling block to Him. In other words, the idea that Peter was voicing was possibly the very temptation that satan was trying pounding on Jesus with every day - the temptation to set himself up as an earthly ruler. We know that this was part of His temptation during His forty days in the wilderness (Matt 4: 8-9). Anyway, Jesus would not allow that talk to continue, and then He provides the correction to Peter. He tells Peter that he is thinking like a man, not like the Father God. I, for one, can't fault Peter for this miss, nor do I think does Jesus. His correction, while sometimes direct and even stern, is meant to keep us on track and continuing forward in our purpose and destiny. Peter was thinking like a man, and as Jesus' representative, and as the 'rock' he needed to be thinking like God.
Jesus didn't demote Peter, didn't take back anything He had previously said, but instead told him he needs to stop thinking and start listening. We know that Peter was not punished for this mistake, for Jesus goes from here to the mount where He is transfigured, and Peter is one of the three companions He brings. I am sure that after the rebuke, Peter had to rethink what Jesus said, and spend time listening more intently to the Lord. He realized that his first idea of what this purpose would look like was wrong, so He started listening and trying to think like God. Correction from the Lord is meant to do exactly that, draw us back to Him, cause us to listen, cause us to change the way we think (repent) and begin to think like God. Correction does not mean we have been disqualified.
The other thing that Jesus said was "get behind me". I know that often I can find myself pressing into areas without being lead by the Lord. I think this is exactly what Jesus was saying - "get behind me Peter and follow my lead, and trust me because I know what I am doing!" I know that I have heard many people say "this isn't what I signed up for..." as in things didn't turn out the way they thought it would. Anytime we deal with the Lord, following after and trying to understand His words to us, we will likely run into this same thought. I am pretty sure that was what Peter was thinking, or at least some derivation. He needed to learn His place (servant leadership directed by the Lord) and trust that the Lord knew exactly what He was doing and that He was operating at a whole different level. He was missing the bigger picture, because he was thinking about himself, and his own concerns.
So, this morning I am encouraged to press into the Lord to find out who He says I am, in Him. I am encouraged to uncover my identity in Him, my purpose and destiny. I am encouraged to listen more and plan and strategize less, unless under the guidance of the Lord. I am encouraged to press in, but also allow the Lord to lead me. I am encouraged that the Lord will not treat me like other men, He will not punish me or demote me when I mess up or miss what He is saying. I am encouraged that the Lord loves me, and has an affectionate nickname for me.
Thanks You Lord for your personal love and direction. You are so good to me!
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