OUR FATHER WHO GAVE HIS SON AS A RANSOM FOR MANY

After Peter had said that he believed that the Lord Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God, Jesus began to speak of the end point of His ministry on earth where the religious leaders would orchestrate His death but that he would rise on the third day. Matthew chapter 16 verses 21 - 23 records this change in messaging that occured.

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.”

There seemed to have been an agreement between the Father and the Lord Jesus that Jesus would know that the time had come to prepare to fall into the hands of the religious leaders when the spiritual understanding of Jesusˋ true identity became clear to at least one person.

Jesus began to educate His disciples about the approaching eventuallity that was the ultimate reason for His mission on earth.

In reponse to this, Peter grew very concerned and countered Jesusˋ words by saying that He and the others would never let the terrible fate of death happen to HIm.

Jesus rejected Peterˋs objection seeing that it was a fleshly impulse to avoid difficulty while the pertinent impulse should have been to attend to Godˋs concerns over every other considersation.

Lord have mercy on us.

Amen.

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