Simon Peter's Revelation and Rebuke

Meditations based on readings from

The Story of My Life As Told by Jesus Christ

October 11, 2019

Simon Peter's Revelation and Rebuke

Page 142-143

Matthew 16:13-28; Mark 8:27 - 9:1; Luke 9:18-27

Jesus was in Caesarea Philippi, which is due north of the Sea of Galilee near Mt. Hermon and the head waters of the Jordan River. The town has a Roman name because there was a temple built there to the Roman god, the Emperor. Against this backdrop, Jesus asked his disciples “who do you say I am?” Peter answers, “You are the Messiah.” The Jews expected their Messiah to do three things. First, he will cleanse the Temple. Second, he will defeat the occupying Roman army. Third, as the true and final King of Israel, he will rule the entire world with truth and justice.

When Jesus begins to explain how his ministry will end, Peter objects. Peter understands that Jesus is the Messiah; he doesn’t yet understand how or why the King of Israel must be killed. I believe Jesus makes it clear that there is a cost to discipleship, and that not all people will be willing to pay that cost. There is no simple formula to calculate this cost, but Jesus does want us to know we are secure in his grasp. He wants us to have the assurance of our faith; he wants us to rest in the knowledge he has us securely in his hand. We cannot earn this security; it is a gift of God. Just as God authored Peter’s confession, so also will God reveal to you the rock of our salvation: Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God.

This is how The Message translates Matthew 16: 17-18.

 “Jesus came back, “God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn’t get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I’m going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.”.

My Takeaway: God the Father Almighty revealed to Peter that Jesus was the Messiah, the son of God. He has also granted me that divine revelation, I pray that you too will so experience this wonder of God’s grace.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Copyright © 2019 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

• Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

• The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.