What Do You Have in Mind?
What is it with superheroes that they seem to be always hiding their
true identity?
Superman – who was Clark Kent, “a mild-mannered reporter for a
great metropolitan newspaper.”
Spiderman – who was Peter Parker – an orphan who was raised by his
Aunt May and Uncle Ben.
Batman – who was Bruce Wayne – a millionaire industrialist who
became a vigilante after his parents were murdered.
Even Jesus – who was the greatest superhero of them all – taught
about the Kingdom of God but did not tell many people that He was the
Son of God. He did, however, demonstrate His divinity in His miracles
and His insight into God’s Word.
While Jesus and His disciples were in Caesarea Philippi – which was
pagan territory, filled with idols and Roman soldiers who were flexing
their imperial muscles.
It was in that center of Roman religion and power that Jesus asks the
disciples, “What are people saying about me?” To which the disciples
reply, “Some say John the Baptist. Others say Elijah or Jeremiah or
another one of the Hebrew prophets.
That was all well and good. Jesus was causing a stir. People were
talking about Him – even if it was in opposition to Him. After all, P.T.
Barnum famously said, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.”
Oscar Wilde said something similar, “There’s only one thing in the
world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked
about.”
And Jesus was being talked about – even if people were mistaking
Him for someone else. There was plenty of buzz surrounding Jesus.
Unfortunately, not everything they said about Him was true. Some
mistook Jesus for John the Baptist – thinking he had risen from the
dead. Others thought He was one of the fiery prophets from the
Hebrew Bible days.
This was helpful information. Jesus had to know what wrong things
were being said about Him – so He could set the record straight.
This is where Peter spoke up:
“You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!”
“Good answer, Peter! You are blessed because no human being told
you this – my Father in heaven did.” That’s right – Peter had a divine
revelation. The poor guy who struggled so much with clarity suddenly
saw it all with 20/20 vision. Jesus added, “And on this rock (that is –
your statement of faith, Peter) I will build my church and the gates of
Hell cannot stop it once it gets rolling.”
Peter got his gold star for the day – but it wasn’t long before he lost it.
Because Jesus started talking about what would be necessary for Him
to get that Church going: He would have to go to Jerusalem, be falsely
accused by the religious elites, be killed, and then come back to life on
the third day. Peter didn’t like the path that God had in mind for Jesus
– and said he would never allow that to happen to Jesus.
Which prompted Jesus to tell Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!” The man
Jesus had just told He was giving the keys to God’s Kingdom, He was
now calling, “Satan” and “a stumbling block.” That qualifies as epic
whiplash! But Jesus didn’t like the path that Peter had in mind for Him.
The problem was not that Peter was being protective of Jesus – that
was a good thing. The problem was that Peter did not remember how
Jesus had repeatedly warned him and the other disciples that He
would be betrayed and killed and raised from the dead. Peter was
trying to write himself into the story as a hero – but wound up being a
zero – at least at that moment.
Or as Jesus put it, “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the
things of men.” Jesus knew very well why His Father had sent Him to
Earth – it was to be “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the
world.” He was to sacrifice Himself for our sin – so that we could be
forgiven and set free to love and to serve Him.
Had Jesus been thinking more like Peter – He would have said,
“Thanks for having my back, Peter.” But He knew full well that the Plan
of Salvation had to be implemented – and that could happen only on
the cross. Anything short of that would have been inadequate.
Anything less would have made Jesus something other than
“the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”
Peter did not understand that – but Jesus did. And Jesus was
obedient to the plan that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit had worked
out in eternity past. Peter – on the other hand – was failing to see the
big picture that Jesus saw. He was thinking emotionally – not faithfully.
The truth of the matter is that faith is hard at times. It calls us to give
up people and activities and thought processes that are comfortable.
It demands that we follow Jesus – not the crowd – which can be mighty
un-comfortable. It may take us to Calvary. It may cost us our lives or
the Church Her own life.
But it is the way of obedience that follows in the footsteps of Jesus –
all the way up the hill of Calvary. Or into a different line of work.
Or into a more challenging spiritual life or role in the Church.
Or out of one friendship and into another.
Peter was thinking as any normal human being would when faced with
the imminent death of his best friend. So Jesus challenged him – and
challenges us – not to cling too tightly to the things of this world – but
to be willing to let them all go for the sake of following the One who
gave His life for us.
The Scottish-American author and Bible teacher Allister Begg –
who was senior pastor at Parkside Church in Cleveland – put this
principle into words that we capitalist Americans can easily
understand:
“The kingdom of heaven is a good buy no matter what price you pay
for it. It’s a good buy at any price. This is a stock that you ought to own.
You ought to own stock in the kingdom of heaven. It would be worth
selling all the rest of your portfolio,” he says, “in order to hold this one
stock.”
Or as Jesus so clearly put it: “What good will it be for a man if he gains
the whole world but forfeits his soul?”
May we always have the correct answer to that question in our minds.
Amen.