It is said, whatever must rise, must also fall. Perhaps this is just another misconception created by our sinful state, hopelessly bound to an addiction to failure … if not for Christ. The prophet Nahum gives us hope that affliction shall not rise up a second time, so once we are finally and fully perfected by Christ, we can trust Him that we will not fall back into the sin of who we are today. But before that final perfection has taken hold, we remain subject to the weakness of our selfish state. Even in matters of religion, and our relationship with Christ this is true. The Pharisees represented the class of religious leaders who despite lifetimes of studying, debating, and interpreting scriptures; missed the Messiah who stood right in their midst. They were members of the “right” religion, studying the “right Bible”, and worshipping the “right God”, but refused to see perfection in the sacrifice of loving others that embodied Jesus Christ. Instead they held to their own wisdom on matters of scripture, reasoning that no one could know them better than they.
But it is too easy to look only at the Pharisees and assign blame, and avoid seeing ourselves in them from the scriptures we read. Peter too, suffered from weakness of our addiction to sin, even while in the presence of Christ, even when only seconds before having been in direct communication with our Father God. It is very hard for us to imagine this. For if being in a prophetic state with the Father God is not enough to perfect us, what is? But perhaps that is the question Peter would wish us to ask as he relays the series of event to John Mark in his gospel chapter eight picking up in verse 27 saying … “And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am?” Only recently had Jesus and his followers been in Bethsaida, where Jesus had revealed Himself in the role of our Creator as He had privately restored the sight of the blind man. Now they were traveling again on the roads and byways near the town of Caesarea Philippi. As they traveled, and thinking on recent events, Jesus poses a question, perhaps “the” question, to His disciples about “who” He is.
As Peter relays this gospel to John Mark to transcribe, it is obviously written from the perspective of hindsight. Peter already knows the end of the story, he already knows now firmly who Jesus is. In fact, as he recalls events to John Mark, nearly all of them are intended to help the reader reach the same conclusion about the identity of Christ, that Peter already knows. But when this incident was happening in real time, things were not quite as certain. Jesus had not disappointed his own followers by not overthrowing Roman rule as yet. Jesus had not died or rose again yet. So no matter how excited the disciples were about the prospect of who Jesus was, and perhaps all of Israel with them, there still existed a lack of certainty, an echo of doubt that kept them all from the potential they had yet to explore. So comes the question of Christ to keep them thinking. Jesus carefully words the question asking at first only “whom do men” say that I am. In this way, He allows His disciples to offer answers that are popular, or even controversial, under the cover of saying they were only repeating what they have heard, instead of what they themselves are thinking. It is a clever way to reduce the pressure of accountability when answering “the” question of any age.
So the disciples put forward the popular thinking of the people, and as they do, they believe these answers to ALL be flattering to any man. John Mark continues in verse 28 saying … “And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.” John the Baptist, the first cousin of Jesus, who also had miraculous signs even at his own birth; was “the” most popular religious figure in Israel in that day. To assign and equate the identity of Jesus with that of John the Baptist, should have been a great honor. The living ministry of John, the humility he adopted in his clothing, and his diet, and long hair; was echoed only in how great the Holy Spirit had infected his preaching. John preached a message of repentance, for it was only repentance that could in any way “prepare” the people for contact with God. For Jesus to be considered as John in resurrected form should have been a great spiritual honor. Any man would have been flattered, but Jesus was not.
To equate Jesus to Elias was more calculating. Elias or Elijah had been whisked away to heaven on a chariot of fire and angels. He never saw mortal death. He was like Enoch in this regard. For Elias to have returned to earth again was logical, and possible, and subtly required far less faith to believe than in a virgin birth. No one had really heard of Jesus before He was thirty (except His parents, siblings, and a temple full of astounded leaders when He was twelve and taught them for 3 days). So to believe that heaven spit out a fully grown 30-year-old Elias to teach them again and do miracles, required less faith than to believe that Jesus was born here, and grew into “who” He was. In any case, Jesus should have been honored to have equity of His identity assigned to the great prophet Elias, for only Moses was greater in the minds of the people. But Jesus was unmoved by this attribution as well. So He challenges them to get more personal with their answers.
John Mark continues in verse 29 saying … “And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. [verse 30] And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.” Jesus now asks them directly, who do “you” say that I am. This question will now assign direct accountability to their answers. They cannot mask what they think behind the accumulation of what they have heard the “people” saying. They have to fess up with a personal answer. What if they get it wrong? He does not seem to be pleased so far with that He has heard. It takes a certain courage to answer this question first. So Peter steps up, in his loud and usually boisterous way. But He says something, that surprises even himself. He declares that Jesus is “the Christ”. This term is meant to say, “the Son of the Living God”. In his declaration, Peter is stating the identity of Jesus is Creator, is God, is more than Messiah, Jesus is everything and more. This is not something Peter could “know” at that time. They all suspected it. They all were teaching it to those who would listen, but not without harboring some level of doubt in themselves. But Peter was saying something out loud for everyone to hear. And Peter is correct.
The response of Jesus is interesting. In this version of the gospel, the one being relayed and recounted by Peter, he records only that Jesus tells them all to keep this knowledge secret. But Matthew has more to say on the incident, in chapter 16 and verse 17 the answer of Christ includes high praise for Peter. Jesus says there … “And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” Jesus now calls Peter “blessed”. This is a high honor, as the reason for his blessing is that our Father God has given this bold revelation to Peter. Perhaps this is the first prophetic encounter Peter has had, it will not be his last. Though the disciple John is most known for the prophetic gift, Peter too will have several prophetic revelations and record them in his works. It is telling that this recognition is left out of Mark’s gospel. Mark was not there, so he can only transcribe what Peter recounts, and in this case, Peter is not eager to record the high praise of Jesus as this incident unfolds. Peter knows of a truth, that he himself is only a disciple, no more, no greater than any other disciple. And Peter also knows what happens next.
According to how Matthew remembered this event, Peter should have been elated that he not only got the answer right. He did so, because the Father God was revealing it to him. In our day, we refer to this as a “spiritual high”. It is a time when we feel as though there is no better feeling we could have. We are as close to God as we have ever been, we feel His love and His approval, and to quote our Lego friends … “everything is awesome”. But this is Peter’s recollection of events. His memory is undimmed. He knows what happened and what was said. In the time he recalls it to John Mark, already his audience attributes too much spiritual authority to a man who is no different than you or I. Being bold, is not supposed to translate into being right. Being a leader, is not supposed to take the burden of taking decisions to God, instead of to men. Peter has seen the temptation that accompanies leadership in the church, the Pharisees were living examples of it. And Peter knows himself not to be immune.
The story continues with Jesus Christ adding to the blessing of revelation His Father has only seconds before, began in this encounter as it continues in verse 31 saying … “And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. [verse 32] And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.” God the Father had revealed to Peter who Jesus was. Jesus took that cue, and believed the disciples must be ready to hear the whole truth about what His mission truly was. Knowing He was God, should have allowed the disciples to know that death and rejection were not to be feared. But in the minds of the disciples, rejection of the leadership of the “right church”, that studied the “right Bible” would discredit Jesus as the Messiah. Not only would the people be discouraged by this formal rejection, but the disciples would as well. Add to that, Jesus was in the same breath blowing away every hope they had, that He would rise to be the conqueror all of them knew He could be if He just tried. Romans would stay in power. Romans would kill Him. Romans would be around to tax, torture and kill them forever if this all this came to pass.
These words spoken by God, went against everything Peter and the others wanted to believe. They countered their own interpretations of scriptures they shared with the Pharisees about the role of the Messiah. Instead of accepting the validity of God who spoke only truth, Peter thinks Jesus needs a good shaking to snap Him out of this nonsense. So again, Peter acts in his bold and decisive manner, he will grab Christ and snap Him out of this nonsensical diatribe of prophecy that must surely be wrong, as it counters everything in scripture they all understood. Jesus must be in some sort of shock, from the exhaustion of preaching all day and praying all night. But the rebuke of men as to the veracity of the words of God, never goes as planned.
Peter recalls what happens next in stunning clarity, a chill still goes up his spine as John Mark transcribes verse 33 saying … “But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.” Peter has fallen from Blessed of the Father God, to equity with Satan himself. For indeed it was Satan who prompted Peter to act in order to defend the religion he was so fond of. Satan often prompts men to be extreme in the defense of a faith that has no basis in truth. He goes so far as to convince them they should kill to defend the word of God, and men accept this lie and act on it. In this case, Peter’s rebuke of Jesus is nothing next to the clear rebuke of himself. Peter is not the greatest disciple by any means, Peter is not the stone of the church, only Jesus could be that. Peter instead is equated with Satan, for Peter has just espoused the very doctrines of Satan, and he has done it loudly, boldly, and with confidence in front of the others.
But here is the arrogance of us … that we should believe Peter rose at all because of anything he said or accomplished. And that we should think that Peter fell, because of anything that God did to see that happen. The wisdom that resulted in Peters declaration about the identity of Christ came from God the Father. Everything we “relay” that comes from God is good, is a blessing to us and the world. We “relay” His love to others, it passes through us, it does not originate within us. We are not infallible, only God is. When we can submit and be transformed to be devoid of self, a perfect vessel in the service of God, we can reveal God’s truth instead or our own. It was the truth of Father God about the identity of Jesus Christ. It was the doctrines of Satan and Peter’s own self belief that came in the rejection of the words of Jesus about His own mission and destiny. When Peter accepted what God told him, he was blessed. When Peter offered his own wisdom, he was rebuked. It was the injection of self that made the difference. It is the injection of self that makes us fallible, everyone from abject sinner, to the pope.
We can be perfect, we can make no more mistakes, when we can submit ourselves fully and know no more of self, revealing only Him in us. This ultimate state of perfection is possible, it is the journey we are on. The issue Peter faced was no different for you or I. For too often we savor not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. This doctrine is the doctrine of Satan. The wisdom of men is the mouthpiece of Satan. The reason why the identity of Jesus is “the” question of any age, is because the role of Jesus as our Savior and our Creator are the basis of our salvation. As our Savior, Jesus died in our stead, and paid the price of justice Satan demands for our choices. As our Creator, Jesus re-creates the core of our character, of who we are, as we submit to Him. In this, he not only pays for our sins, He provides us the means never to want to commit them again. That is salvation, to be saved from who we are. If the identity of Jesus is not God, not Creator, not Savior, then we are destined to remain slaves to self. This is why every other competing ideology lacks a viable plan to achieve utopia. Man must be saved from himself, he cannot do it himself.
Whether we are an abject sinner, a regular church attendee, or leader of a large congregation, our fallibility is determined by how much of His revelation we accept, and how much of our own, we interject …
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