PT-2 "Intro to Matt. 16:21-23

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/18/2022 7:52 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                 Focus:  PT-2 “Intro to Matt. 16:21-23

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Matthew 16:21-23

 

            Message of the verses:  “21 From that time Jesus Christ began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. 22 And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You." 23 But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.’”

 

            As we look at this section we need to understand that Peter had been a believer for some time now and so what Jesus is saying here is primarily for believers.  The truth is that now even believers can know and truly understand God’s ways except through a proper understanding and submission of His Word and the illumination of His Spirit.  The problem is that when believers insist on their own way above God’s, then, like Peter, they become an offense and a stumbling block.

 

            We have talked about how Peter was the leader of the disciples, and so with that in mind it is likely that the way that Peter was acting that the other disciples were going along with this way of thinking too, so that makes them all wrong.  At this time all the disciples with the exception of Judas believed that Jesus was the Messiah sent forth from God, and that He could hardly be rejected by His own people, much less be put to death by them.  MacArthur writes “Jesus had just assured them that He Himself was building His church, which not even death could overcome, and that through the divine Scripture they had heavenly authority to declare what is acceptable and not acceptable to Him (vv. 18-19).  Jesus then ‘warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ’ (v. 20), not only because the Jewish people and their leaders had false notions about the Messiah but because the Twelve still shared many of those false notions. The idea of the Messiah suffering on a cross was anathema to Jews and a massive stumbling block to their faith in Jesus (1 Cor. 1:23).”

 

             I want to now look at the words “from that time” as this seems to be a transition phrase that Matthew has used before to indicate a significant change in Jesus’ ministry.  Matthew used this in 4:17 in order to mark the beginning of the Lord’s public ministry to Israel.  He now uses it to mark the beginning of His private ministry to the twelve disciples.  So the first phase was primarily public, with some occasional private instruction.  Now this second was primarily private, with some occasional public instruction.

 

            Lord willing we will begin to look at verse 21 which MacArthur entitles “The Plan of God.” 

 

9/18/2022 8:11 AM