InChristAlone
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Man's Wisdom Vs. God's Wisdom
Mark 8:31-33
"And he[Jesus] 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."
"And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him."
"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."
The setting--Jesus reveals the Gospel to His disciples. He speaks of His earthly suffering, His rejection by the top leaders, His death, and His resurrection. He was not speaking in a low tone or secretly, but openly. I think this also means He spoke plainly enough so that His disciples knew directly what He was referring to.
Peter feels that Jesus' words are not comfortable and that He should not talk of His death. Peter loved Christ, but he saw His death as a type of martyrdom. He did not want to see the One he loved endure suffering. But Peter was forgetting that Jesus was the Christ. Jesus rebuked Peter for his reaction. He also did this openly, maybe because He knew that some of the other disciples felt the same way. He was making a point.
Jesus states that Peter's reaction was of Satan and that the result of Peter's misunderstanding was that he cared more for the things of men than God. Peter spoke as one who did not understand the counsels of God. Peter could have possibly been convinced that Jesus' power would not compel Him to have to suffer. I think Peter believed that Jesus knew all things and therefore, He would see harm and danger beforehand and avoid suffering.
As Matthew Henry puts it, "...[Peter}he knew not that the thing was necessary for the glory of God, the destruction of Satan, and the salvation of man, that the Captain of our salvation must be made perfect through sufferings, and so must bring many sons to glory. "
The wisdom of man is foolishness when trying to determine God's ways. The cross of Christ is still to this day to some a stumblingblock.
Peter looked at Christ's kingdom as being temporal and human. He was so consumed with comfort and complacency that the world had to offer him that he did not understand God's sovereignty in suffering and agony.
As a person becomes so consumed by the things of men and not enough by the things of God, they will see suffering as an enfringement on their own comfortable life.This is not something to let go. This is a sin. My own comfort and ease can become an idol in my life. Suffering and pain will create misunderstanding because I am only understanding how God works through human eyes. I need spiritual eyes to see the glory of the Cross, the glory in suffering and how my faith is being tried in order to show the worth of my God and Saviour and my own worthlessness. The trying of faith should reveal that all hope is in Him.
"The mystery of the Cross I cannot comprehend
The agonies of Calvary,
You the Perfect Holy One crushed Your Son,
Drank the bitter cup reserved for me. "
Praise God for the agonies of Calvary and the bitter cup that Jesus drank for me! As Christ was in the world so are we and as He gloried in His Father's ordaining of suffering, so should we.
"And he[Jesus] 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."
"And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him."
"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."
The setting--Jesus reveals the Gospel to His disciples. He speaks of His earthly suffering, His rejection by the top leaders, His death, and His resurrection. He was not speaking in a low tone or secretly, but openly. I think this also means He spoke plainly enough so that His disciples knew directly what He was referring to.
Peter feels that Jesus' words are not comfortable and that He should not talk of His death. Peter loved Christ, but he saw His death as a type of martyrdom. He did not want to see the One he loved endure suffering. But Peter was forgetting that Jesus was the Christ. Jesus rebuked Peter for his reaction. He also did this openly, maybe because He knew that some of the other disciples felt the same way. He was making a point.
Jesus states that Peter's reaction was of Satan and that the result of Peter's misunderstanding was that he cared more for the things of men than God. Peter spoke as one who did not understand the counsels of God. Peter could have possibly been convinced that Jesus' power would not compel Him to have to suffer. I think Peter believed that Jesus knew all things and therefore, He would see harm and danger beforehand and avoid suffering.
As Matthew Henry puts it, "...[Peter}he knew not that the thing was necessary for the glory of God, the destruction of Satan, and the salvation of man, that the Captain of our salvation must be made perfect through sufferings, and so must bring many sons to glory. "
The wisdom of man is foolishness when trying to determine God's ways. The cross of Christ is still to this day to some a stumblingblock.
Peter looked at Christ's kingdom as being temporal and human. He was so consumed with comfort and complacency that the world had to offer him that he did not understand God's sovereignty in suffering and agony.
As a person becomes so consumed by the things of men and not enough by the things of God, they will see suffering as an enfringement on their own comfortable life.This is not something to let go. This is a sin. My own comfort and ease can become an idol in my life. Suffering and pain will create misunderstanding because I am only understanding how God works through human eyes. I need spiritual eyes to see the glory of the Cross, the glory in suffering and how my faith is being tried in order to show the worth of my God and Saviour and my own worthlessness. The trying of faith should reveal that all hope is in Him.
"The mystery of the Cross I cannot comprehend
The agonies of Calvary,
You the Perfect Holy One crushed Your Son,
Drank the bitter cup reserved for me. "
Praise God for the agonies of Calvary and the bitter cup that Jesus drank for me! As Christ was in the world so are we and as He gloried in His Father's ordaining of suffering, so should we.
posted by Heather Livingston at 8:09 PM
2 Comments:
Heather,
Thank you for sharing this. All the points of this entry are things that I learned on Sunday throught the messages and through fellowship. This was a great entry. I'm sorry I haven't been keeping up very well. Thank you again for sharing what God showed you through this passage. I love ya girl! Thank you for living your life to Glorify God. You are such a blessing to me!
Great post, Heather!
P.S. You should delete the prev post (the advertisment). Also, if you turn on word verification (in the settings), it will keep people with 'bots from posting spam like that.
-J
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