Who Do You Say That I am? (Part 2)

A Protest

After a probe and a perception, Peter has a protest. When Jesus went on to describe His mission and agenda as Messiah, Peter was startled and revealed his own faulty agenda. Peter recognized Jesus as the Messiah, but he did not recognize his messianic mission, His work.

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. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you." 23But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man." (Matt. 16:21-23)

Jesus revealed that His mission was to go to the cross. Jesus came to die. This Messiah came, “not to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom” (Mark 10:45). Jesus went out of His way to say that this was written in the scriptures, that his death was the plan God, foretold in the scriptures:
And taking the twelve, he said to them, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. 3And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise." (Luke 18:31-33, ESV)
Peter is scandalized by the idea that Jesus came to die and even tries to correct Him:
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!" Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." (Matt. 16:22-23, ESV)
Peter is protesting the way Jesus is going to love him. “You’re the Messiah and I know what Messiahs do!” He and his Jewish kinsmen wanted a certain kind of Messiah and so do I. They wanted a political deliverer. I have a certain kind of Messiah I want. He tends to be like a therapist who will affirm me in every way. You have a certain kind of Messiah you want, don’t you? You want certain things from a God if you are to follow him. He has to meet your standards. I am just like Peter. You are just like Peter.
Why is the cross so important? Why not just deliver the Jews from their oppressors? Why doesn’t God just help me with my needs? Because the core problem of human beings is sin and estrangement from God.

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him (Colossians 1:19-22, ESV)

According to this passage, the human race is in a hostile battle against the Creator. We are not just lonely victims. We resent God’s intrusion. But God sought to be reconciled to us anyway! He paid the penalty for our sin. It seems like people prefer to avoid looking at the problem of sin. Perhaps you don’t want to face that you need may more than a jump start, more than a little help with your life. Only the “blood of the cross” can help your deep alienation. This is “the gospel.”
As the reality of the gospel breaks in on you more and more as a Christian, as the depth of your sin and need to God’s grace is further revealed, you will be offended and you will, like Peter, protest (consciously or not). Nothing offends me quite so much as being reminded of my helplessness to secure God’s favor by own efforts. The gospel pours contempt on my pride. If you have not felt the gospel’s offense, you have not experienced it’s power.
My protests are revealed when I experience inordinate emotions like chronic worry, fear, and anger. These emotions are intense when God is not working the way I think He ought be working. I find myself actually giving God counsel on how he should run his kingdom. It struck me recently that if God worked the way I want, it would mean he hated me—he would be empowering my god-substitutes. He would be acting toward me like a drug dealer.

A Paradox
Finally then, Jesus directs our protests to His liberating paradox. A paradox is an apparent contradiction—in this case about the notion of freedom:

Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? (Matthew 16:24-26, ESV)

Jesus is not saying self-denial merits salvation. Only faith in Jesus’ death on your behalf can save. But He is saying that asserting yourself will not free you. Rather, it will enslave you. It is the problem in your life—not the solution. If you recognize Jesus as the Messiah, you will, as he says, “come after Him.”. You will let go of “saving your life.” If you don’t “come after Him,” you evidently don’t RECOGNIZE Him—you don’t trust Him as the Messiah. If you see this a terrible demand on you, you don’t trust the heart of the One this call comes through.

Repentance that really changes you heart and relationship with God begins when you recognize that your main sin, the sin under all the rest of your sins, is your self-salvation project. In both your bad deeds and your good deeds we are seeking to be our own Saviors and Lords. We have alternative trusts and “gods” even though we don’t call them that. We try to prove ourselves by our moral goodness or through achievement or family or career. Even diligent involvement in church or religion may have to repented of once we understand that it was all a way to put God and others in your dept. (Keller, Reason for God, 233)

To “save your life” means to stay in control and use God to further your agenda, to serve the lifeless gods of your own imagination. To “lose your life” means to shift your allegiance, drop your agenda and give yourself to God. If you surrender to the Messiah’s agenda, you will find what you were made for. The following is a wonderful explanation of the beauty of liberation from self-love:

Self-love is mundane and tiresome. Consequently, the more thoroughly I can be done with such tedium, the freer my soul will soar to its God-intended heights.
I fear that if I do not love myself there will no one to love me quite so well. And I am not convinced that there is someone out there who is worthy to be loved more than I. Arrogance lies beneath both of these causes: I love myself supremely because I am the most worthy person I know to be loved and because I think I can do a better job at it than anyone else.
The gospel frees me from the shackles of self-love by addressing both lies. First, the gospel assures me that the love of God is infinitely superior to any love I could ever give myself. And the deeper I go into the gospel, the more I experience the truth of His claim and thereby know how far His love surpasses even my own.
Secondly, the gospel reveals to me the breathtaking glory and loveliness of God, and in so doing, it lures my heart away from the love of self and leaves me enthralled by Him instead. And the more lovely He appears, the more self fades into the background like a former love interest who can no longer compete for my affections. (Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer for Christians)

I really desire that! That would be freedom indeed!
I want to conclude this chapter with an invitation from Jesus:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 2Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30, ESV)

These words, spoken by the same Messiah, are saying the same thing as His words about denying self and coming after him. To take his yoke is to come after him as your rightful leader. And that leads to rest. Asserting self will not give you rest—it will multiply your stresses and anxieties. Seeking to “save your life” is very, very tiring.
Jesus secured rest for you at the cross—He lost His life so you could have life. When he was taunted with “save His life and come down from the cross,” He said no. He said no to saving himself because it was the only way to save you—to say yes to you.

Summary
In this chapter we looked at a question Jesus asked that was designed to enable people to recognize him. He began with a probe to the heart, “who do you say that I am?” He granted Peter perception of his messianic identity, but the nature of his work Peter protested. Jesus then called his followers to embrace his freedom paradox. May you respond both honestly and submissively to the probe and be granted perception.

Questions for reflection and discussion

Who do you say Jesus is? Why do you say that?
If you agree with Peter, is it more than intellectual assent?

Do you really want to know God’s answers?

Do you realize that spiritual perception is a gift from God?

How do your protests to Jesus’ work come out?

What do you think about Jesus’ freedom paradox? Does it feel threatening?