Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.
In Mark 8, Peter made his great confession, saying to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the anointed one!” Jesus responded by telling the disciples he will be rejected and crucified.
This offended Peter. He thought Jesus was on a trajectory to success, not crucifixion. So he took Jesus aside and said, “No way. God’s anointed one doesn’t get crucified. He becomes king.”
Jesus replied, “Get behind me, Satan! You have no clue what God is doing. You’re speaking from a human perspective” (Mark 8:33).
Ouch. Whiplash. One moment Peter speaks the revelation of God about who Jesus is, the next moment he’s giving Jesus advice from hell. This is almost as chaotic as American politics.
I present three comments about this story.
1. The word on the street was that Jesus is Elijah or John the Baptist or a prophet. Until this point in Mark’s gospel, only God and the demons understand who Jesus really is. But finally, finally, a former fisherman clues in and says, “You are the anointed one. You are God’s man at the centre of history.” But two minutes later, Jesus is saying to that man, “Get behind me, Satan.” Did Peter understand or didn’t he?
2. Peter’s confession comes right after the story of the blind man Jesus healed in stages. He touched the man’s eyes, and the man saw people like trees walking. Then Jesus touched him again, he had 20-20 vision.
Similarly, when Peter declared Jesus to be the anointed one, he was seeing, but not clearly. He was correct that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, but he sure didn’t comprehend what that meant.
3. This is an interesting glimpse into Peter’s spiritual development. And into mine.
It’s helpful to get a flash of revelation about who Jesus is, but understanding how this plays out isn’t as easy. One day I see Jesus as the world’s savior, the next day he seems absent from the mess of wars and weather and chaos on earth. Where is God’s anointed one today? What is he doing?
Let’s pray.
Our father, you have touched our eyes and we see people like trees walking. We see Jesus on the cross and in the tomb and out of the tomb. But current events don’t seem to change under his kingship. Every day we see social chaos, corrupt kings, and natural and man-made disasters.
Where is the Jesus who saves from sin and promises heaven? What does it mean for us to be disciples of the anointed one and to enter his kingdom?
Touch our eyes. Help us lose our expectations for the kind of savior we want. Help us participate in the mission of the one who was crucified, was raised, and will soon return.
Amen.
I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.
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