Anchor My Faith

Peter Rebukes Jesus

Scripture: Matthew 16:21-22

With this lesson we begin a new section in which we find Peter rebuking Jesus, the importance of each of us taking up our cross and following Jesus, and the importance of not being ashamed of Jesus. We begin this lesson with Mathew informing us that Mt 16:21 “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

“From that time” points back to the Galilean ministry we just covered and marks its conclusion. The focus now will be the beginnings of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem to face the cross. This is the first of four times that Jesus predicts his arrest and crucifixion in the gospel of Matthew.

1. Matthew 16:21 ESV: “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”
2. Matthew 17:22 – 23 ESV: ²² “As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, ²³ and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were greatly distressed.”
3. Matthew 20:17 – 19 ESV: ¹⁷ “And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, ¹⁸ “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death ¹⁹ and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”’
4. Matthew 26:2 ESV: “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”

Again, and again, Jesus tells them this, but they are not able to understand. All that Jesus can do at this time before the cross is to keep this event before them so that when it happens they will not be caught by surprised.

In the previous lesson, Peter confesses to Jesus that he believes that he is the Christ, the Son of the living God, but now Mt 16:22 “Peter [takes] him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.”’

In that culture, for a disciple to correct his master, saying to him that he is wrong about something, is most improper and to rebuke him would have been audacious. Jesus knew why his Father sent him into the world and what he must accomplish for our salvation. As a student, Peter was to learn and understand that plan, not to challenge the plan, but he steps up tells Jesus that he is wrong and that should never go to the cross.

Peter brought out in the open how most of his fellow Jews believed concerning the Messiah. They resisted, and do even to this day, the idea that the Messiah must suffer, even though it is found in the Old Testament. Psalm 22 and especially Isaiah 53 speak strongly of this suffering. Zachariah 12:10 speaks of the Messiah being pierced: “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.”

Having been rebuked, Jesus turns to Peter and has some harsh words for him, which we will cover in the next lesson.

Conclusion

A short while ago, Peter makes a profound statement about Jesus being the Christ, the Son of the living God, but he didn’t understand what the Messiah had to do, as seen by his rebuke of Jesus. In Peter’s mind, the Messiah was to deliver the Jews from the bondage of Rome not from the bondage of sin. Deliverance from the bondage of Rome would require a powerful leader, but to deliver from the bondage of sin would require a perfect sacrifice.