Flip-Flop

Wednesday 4-29-15 (Gaiman IBP, Argentina)

Scripture reading:  2 Sam 4-5      Ps 139       Matt 16

S.  Matt 16:16-17  Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you.” 

Vs 22-23  Peter took him aside and corrected him. "Heaven forbid, Lord," he said. "This will never happen to you!" Jesus turned to Peter and said, "Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, and not from God's." NLT

O.  Simon Peter’s fast mouth was both good and bad.  One moment he was making his greatest declaration, “Jesus, You are the long awaited Messiah, the Son of the living God!”  And Jesus compliments him as receiving that revelation from His Heavenly Father.  The very next paragraph Jesus is saying, “Get out of here, Peter!  Satan is using you to try to trap me!  You are listening to the wrong voice.”  Flip-flop! 

A.  Sometimes I wish I wasn’t so much like Peter.  At times God uses me to bless multitudes and then there are times that I feel I have failed miserably.  In the above situation Peter’s answer to Jesus’ question had been thought through many times over.  He was profoundly convinced that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God.  And he blurted it out without hesitation.  In the second case Jesus had shocked him with the blunt announcement of his impending death and resurrection.  Now Peter reacts off the top of his head with, “No way!  Lord, that’s not going to happen!”  Peter cannot reconcile his first declaration of “Jesus as Messiah” with Jesus’ announcement of his torture, death and resurrection.  To Peter, simple logic said both cannot be true. 

P.  Lord, we still see as though looking into a hazy mirror.  Some of Your prophetic scriptures seem difficult to reconcile.  Men have poured over the majestic symbolism of John’s Revelation, attempting to set dates for Your return or to identify the anti-Christ.  Sometimes their logic, like Peter’s seems reasonable.  I am sure that some day as we look back upon the events… like Simon Peter did after Pentecost, we will understand much better.  Your prophetic word says to me: “There will be terrifying, difficult times, but You win in the end!”  For me it is enough to know that I am on the winning team. 

Your Holy Word is filled with many things that we can easily understand.  So help me to preach with total assurance Your message of Truth.  May my life and my preaching present a clear vision of You, my Precious Lord Jesus… and as You are lifted up… I am convinced that You will draw us into an ever increasing, intimate relationship with You.   Amen.

Ralph