21For(A) to this you have been called,(B) because Christ also suffered for you,(C) leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22(D) He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23(E) When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten,(F) but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24(G) He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we(H) might die to sin and(I) live to righteousness.(J) By his wounds you have been healed. – I Peter 2:21-24
Our natural inclination when we are wronged or feel persecuted is to fight back, to retaliate or defend. But this passage shows us that doesn’t have to be, and shouldn’t be the norm in the life of a radical believer.
Peter is trying to teach us how to respond in the face of wrongs or conflict. The need to be holy and loving, to act in our redeemed identity, should always outweigh the need to respond harshly to a wrong in order to show that we are right.
If we are living under the Spirit’s control, our standard operating procedure, as the normal response, should not be about defending ourselves. Because our old self was killed off, paid for, and redeemed by Christ on the cross, and since He lives in us, our automatic reaction should be what His was when He suffered wrong.
This is the picture we are to remember when we are wronged. Our thoughts shouldn’t immediately be how we have been treated, retaliation, correction, or even justice. Our first thought should be that the Lord sees. He sees the conflict. He sees us. He sees the wrong, and He will judge and handle the situation rightly.
This is what it means to be radical! God help me to live this out!
When you hear the word extravagant, what imagery comes to mind? Is it some jewelry dripping with diamonds? Maybe a palatial estate with a custom home? A tricked out brand-new car or a completely restored vintage hotrod? Or is it the love a husband or wife seems to lavish on the another?
Whichever picture filled your mind, my guess is that your thoughts weren’t about worship. Read Mark 14:3-9 to see a picture of an extravagant worshiper.
Mary comes into the noisy dinner at Simon’s house and refuses to let anything stop her from accomplishing what the Lord has put on her heart. She takes this perfume that cost 300 days wages and consciously forgets it’s original intended purchase, and she pours it dry not on Jesus’ head, but His dirty feet. Now feet in that culture were not touched by anyone but the lowest servant who would wash them upon your arrival. They certainly weren’t lavished with costly perfume. Think about this, she pours the whole jar costing upwards of $30,000 out on Jesus’ disgusting feet!
I love Jesus’ response to the people’s shock. He blesses her extravagant worship. He tells the crowd that she is preparing Him for burial. The fact is, her worship proves that she understood the Lord’s agenda better than the disciples and she altered her agenda to match His as an act of worship.
Jesus will always receive extravagant worship whether it is financial, through song, or in the way you live your everyday life. Jesus’ quote about the woman is, “she did what she could.”. Today, are you doing all you can to worship extravagantly the One who saves you?
When you hear the word extravagant, what imagery comes to mind? Is it some jewelry dripping with diamonds? Maybe a palatial estate with a custom home? A tricked out brand-new car or a completely restored vintage hotrod? Or is it the love a husband or wife seems to lavish on the another?
Whichever picture filled your mind, my guess is that your thoughts weren’t about worship. Read Mark 14:3-9 to see a picture of an extravagant worshiper.
Mary comes into the noisy dinner at Simon’s house and refuses to let anything stop her from accomplishing what the Lord has put on her heart. She takes this perfume that cost 300 days wages and consciously forgets it’s original intended purchase, and she pours it dry not on Jesus’ head, but His dirty feet. Now feet in that culture were not touched by anyone but the lowest servant who would wash them upon your arrival. They certainly weren’t lavished with costly perfume. Think about this, she pours the whole jar costing upwards of $30,000 out on Jesus’ disgusting feet!
I love Jesus’ response to the people’s shock. He blesses her extravagant worship. He tells the crowd that she is preparing Him for burial. The fact is, her worship proves that she understood the Lord’s agenda better than the disciples and she altered her agenda to match His as an act of worship.
Jesus will always receive extravagant worship whether it is financial, through song, or in the way you live your everyday life. Jesus’ quote about the woman is, “she did what she could.”. Today, are you doing all you can to worship extravagantly the One who saves you?
And you, Brutis? Have you ever been betrayed? Or maybe I should say, when was the first time you were betrayed? Maybe it was a school pal who spilled the beans revealing the identity of your secret crush? Or was it when your parents dropped the bomb of the true identities of the Easter Bunny, Santa, and the Tooth Fairy? Some of you have faced betrayal in a much more sinister ways. Your life was torn apart by a divorce, an affair, a bad business deal, a firing, or even the stabbing in the back by someone who claimed to be your closest friend. Betrayal is the most hurtful when it is achieved by those we drop guard around and allow to get close.
Jesus can sympathize with your pain of betrayal. Read Mark 14:1-2, 10-11.
Judas decides after an unbelievable display of worship that he would betray his Rabbi. How in the world could this be? He had walked with Jesus, talked with Jesus, eaten with Jesus, heard His powerful teachings, and seen the displays of impossible miracles. How in the world could he agree to betray the King of Kings and Lord of Lord? Betrayals will happen to us in this life, mark it down. Jesus said that just like people hated Him, there will be some that hate us. This life as a believer was never promised to be pain free. In fact, Jesus promised that if we were truly living with Him as Lord, there would be trouble and persecution. The great thing is, no matter what you face in terms of hardship, the book of Hebrews tells us that we know Jesus can sympathize with us. He was mistreated, undercut, taken advantage of, and betrayed.
Today, I would encourage you to use any act of betrayal as the very thing that spurs you to run to Jesus, the Savior who sympathizes with you and feels your pain. In doing this, you defeat the thing Satan is wielding as a tool to drive you further away from the Lord, and actually flipping it on its head to be the very thing that brings you closer to God. When you can master this, you can say like Joseph to his betrayers, “What you meant for evil, God meant it for good.”
Some of you are checklist people. I think others use the term task-oriented. Nothing brings your greater joy than to know you have your list, you are accomplishing your list, and now you can finally scratch through the last item on your to-do. What does it feel like when you are getting toward the end of the list? Maybe that never happens because yours is always getting added to continually.
Did you know the Father has a to-do list as well? He is accomplishing His story of building His kingdom filled with people He has redeemed that can never be taken away from Him again. He has an ending to that story, a happily ever after with his Bride, the church. And currently, He is checking things off the list that must occur before the happy ending. Read Mark 13:1-37 to see what I mean.
All the things Jesus references are items on our Heavenly Father’s to-do list that must be accomplished before He finishes His story. I just want to focus on one of those today. Mark 13:10 says that before the Lord wraps up His story the gospel will be proclaimed in every nation. This explains the Lord’s vision in Revelation where people from every tribe and tongue, believers, are gathered around the throne of God. To date, there are still almost 7,000 people groups that are unreached, having never heard the gospel.
Did you know that you can help God cross this off His to-do list? He has taken care of the destruction of the Jewish temple. He determines the wars
and rumors of wars. You can’t make earthquakes happen. But you are the only way this item gets completed. We, as believers, are the only way to see the gospel proclaimed in every nation. You and I are the only avenue to hasten the fulfillment of the last pages in God’s story to redeem humanity.
Today I has lunch with a pastor friend named Dennis. He is a pastor in Kenya and he also trains other Kenyan pastors. Would you pray for him today? Pray for his wife Allison and their daughter Anjela. Pray for them as the raise support over the next few months in preparations to go back to Kenya.
Today, pray for the Lord to show you how you can be a part of checking this off His to-do list in your community, our city, and the world!
I think as a culture, we have become oblivious as to how blessed we are in this country. Over the last few years as our economy has soured and people have lost jobs and savings, I think there has been a re-awakening to what a rare and successful experiment America has been. Even the poorest among us would rank as wealthy in many other countries. One thing that can be said about America’s people is that for the most part, we are a generous people. The people of our nation give more aid and funds to churches, charities, and aid organizations than almost any other nation on the planet. I know our generosity is equal if not more than equal in amount, but I sometimes wonder if our giving to those in need is equal in sacrifice.
Read Mark 12:38-44 to see what Jesus thought about this.
Jesus has just questioned the scribes with an unanswerable question and now we see Him unafraid to call their hypocrisy to the forefront. I can just picture Jesus as He displays a portrait of these men who were supposed to be leaders of God’s people, but who really were more apt to pursue their own glory rather than the Father’s. Jesus paints a stark contrast between these showmen and their worship versus the worship of the widow. Her worship elevates God, not self. Her worship is quiet, their worship draws attention. Their offering is heralded by fanfare as they dump in their sums, hers is seen only by the hidden Savior. They have given out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty. They gave a huge amount, but left a huge amount in their coffers. She gave the only penny she had. Jesus said that her worship meant much more, because it was from a genuine heart of gratitude for the glory of God, but also because it was given from a place of sacrifice.
Today, I know we are a generous people. But I wonder if the Lord looks at our gifts out of our abundance and longs for gifts of sacrifice? I wonder what would happen if you and I lived lives of radical giving? I believe these startling statistics would not exist…23,000 people die every day from starvation or malnutrition related illnesses. There are enough deaths in African children every year as a result of malaria (a completely preventable disease with mosquito netting and a curable disease with proper medication) that it equals 1 death every 30 seconds. As many as 1 billion people don’t have access to clean water, and every time they get a drink they do so at their own risk. Ask the Lord today how He would have you be like the widow, even if you are at a place of sacrifice, to meet these world needs!
In our last devotion, we talked about answering unanswerable questions. Have you ever thought about being on the other end of that scenario? I wonder what it would be like to ASK the unanswerable questions. What would it be like to pose a question that makes people stop and really examine their lives, really take pause, and rethink their whole way of life? Jesus wasn’t only the Master at answering questions, He was the audacious asker!
Read Mark 12:35-37 to see.
Jesus plays stump the religious leaders. The leaders of the day were looking for the Messiah, the Savior of the Jewish people to free them from the heel of Roman rule and restore Israel to the greatness she had lost. This Leader was called the Son of David because of the prophecies that He would be one of David’s descendants. The Lord made David a promise when he was king that there would be a ruler from his line to lead God’s people forever. As these religious leaders waited for this new leader to emerge, this descendant of David, Our Savior poses a question. He asks how the Messiah can be a descendant of David, but yet David himself refers to this Messiah as Lord. Jesus is saying that in their culture, no descendant is ever Lord over their ancestor. These rulers held up men like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Elijah, and David as leaders they looked up to, as ones that they followed. How could David as king submit himself to this Messiah as his Lord if the Messiah wasn’t even born yet? Jesus is proclaiming that He existed before David was ever born. He is the Creator and Lord of the universe. That’s why David could call Him Lord even before Jesus was laid in a manger. Jesus is God’s Son, the Second Person Of The Trinity! HE ALWAYS WAS, ALWAYS IS, AND ALWAYS WILL BE!
This question that Jesus posed to His Jewish brothers remains unanswered by Jews today. Jesus was never afraid to expose the flaws in peoples beliefs that were leading them away from God. What about you? Are you scared to ask someone an unanswerable question? Do you fear making someone uncomfortable? Sometimes the questions we ask reveal a person’s true reality, and the house of cards that comes tumbling down as a result, are what leads them from a pursuit of pleasure and a life of selfishness to a life of surrender. Do you need to ask someone today if their life is really making them happy? If their relationship with a person really is a good substitute for their needed relationship with God? If they say they really believe, then why don’t they worship at a church with other believers? Jesus was never afraid to ask people the question that shook them out of their existence into the life He planned for them. So let’s be good question-askers as the Lord leads!
Have you ever felt like you are being attacked with a barrage of questions? Maybe it was that time you were stopped by an officer. Maybe it was an overbearing boss. Or maybe it was an old dating relationship where they questioned you to the nth degree. My questioning usually comes from my toddlers. There are times where I get home from work and I feel like I have instantly taken the witness stand and the toddler trial lawyers are cross-examining me. Luckily, most of their questions are sweet. Could you imagine how on edge you would be if you were constantly inundated with questions from people who were intentionally intending to trip you up and point out just one failure? This is exactly what Jesus faced everyday from the religious leaders. They Pharisees and the Sadducees were on opposite sides of the religious spectrum but in this instance they followed the rule, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” They teamed up to question our Savior with ridiculously technical questions in hopes He would alienate one group of people enough that they could bring charges against Him.
Read Mark 12:13-34 to see some of the questions Jesus faced.
I love how Jesus answers their unanswerable questions. He slams the Pharisees who are trying to get Him to say there is no need to pay taxes to this swine of a government, which would endanger Jesus with Herod, or for Him to say they did need to be paid, which would deflate the people who believed He was the Messiah who came to free them from Rome’s oppression. Next the Sadducees try to trap him in a question about marriage after the resurrection when they don’t even believe in the resurrection. Finally, a man asks the greatest commandment. Jesus comes through each one with flying colors. There are no unanswerable questions for Him. Jesus is the root and Creator of all wisdom.
Today, do you have an unanswerable question for Jesus? Don’t be afraid to ask Him. He won’t be afraid to answer. What about you? Are you ready to answer any question posed to you about faith? The reason Jesus was always prepared is because He was a perfect example of living the greatest commandment. He loved the Father with all of His heart, His mind, and His strength. Then He loved His neighbor enough to answer their questions, even when their intent was to trap. If you want to be able to answer the unanswerable questions brought to you, first love God with every part of your life, then love the one who asks enough to find and give them their answer!
What images come into your mind when you hear the phrase “The American Dream”? I picture a nice house with a white picket fence, a husband and wife with 2.5 kids, a dog, and a sense of security. Whatever your vision of the American dream, sometimes I think our pursuit of it has led to an unfulfilling nightmare.
Read Psalm 17:13-15.
This Psalm has some beautiful imagery about the power and protection of God, how His kids can find rest in His arms knowing He will fight their battles. But these last few verses spoke to me today. Look at the life he describes. It is a life of security and riches. It is also a life of meaning beyond yourself, a home filled with children and a legacy left for them. It is a picture of the life many of us strive for. A life with a good job, a nice house, a beautiful spouse, great kids, and money in the bank. This life appears to bring satisfaction, but is always just out of reach.
But the writer says that his satisfaction won’t be in any of those things. The only thing that will bring him satisfaction isn’t health, wealth, and prosperity, but it is his unhindered relationship with the Father. The thing that brings him the most security isn’t his job, 401k, or even the development of great kids, but it is his relationship with God that is constantly transforming him to more resemble His Lord everyday.
Today, which pursuit are you seeking more heavily? The “American Dream” or the transforming reality of a Lordship relationship?
Today, I’d like to veer off our Mark passage and look at a follow-up to Sunday’s message.
There is a difference between temptation and testing. The way to determine who is the author of what’s going on in your life is simple. Temptation actually tries to get you to sin. Testing tries to empower you to stand against sin regardless of what is coming against you. God is the Author of testing, but never of temptation. As believers we can trust the Lord that His testing is purposeful. Read Psalm 11 to see what I mean.
David is saying, why flee when I know Who is in control. I won’t run from the testing because I know Who the Author is. I love Psalm 11:4. David is saying, “Your testing may shock you, but it never shocks God off His throne. He is still there, in control as the Author of your testing. He sees what is happening. He hasn’t left you. He will use this to write His story on your life.
Today, if you find yourself in the midst of testing, remember God is still in control, He sees, and claim the promise from Psalm 11:7 that as a result of this testing, “…you will behold His face.”
Sometimes I think we have this image of Jesus as a slightly feminine guy who walks around just loving people, keeping the peace, as He teaches about the kingdom of God. Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus was anything but feminine. Jesus was no stranger to conflict, and when He knew a cause was worth fighting for, He showed us the picture of God as a Warrior. Read Mark 11:27-12:12 to see what I mean.
I love this story about Jesus. These religious leaders have continually harassed Him and and caused Him grief. The Pharisees are immersing themselves in brainstorming sessions where they hope to come up with some question to expose Jesus as a fraud. They rally themselves and present what they believe is an unanswerable question to Jesus. If He says the authority is from God because He is God’s Son, then they will try to force the crowd to arrest Him for blasphemy. If He says His authority is from anything or anyone other than God, then they will try to expose Him as a scam-artist, or even worse, as the prince of demons. But Jesus, sees right through their trap and answers their question with a question of his own. Does the Lord ever do this to you? They are in the same quandary now. If they say the baptism of John was of men, the crowd would no longer view them as respected leaders because all of the common people believed John was God’s messenger. If they were to say that his baptism was from God, then they would condemn themselves because they didn’t participate. It is incredible to me how Jesus traps them with their own snare.
Jesus goes on to tell a parable that exposes the Pharisees for the frauds that they were. They looked good on the outside and they followed the rules, but their hearts were not connected to God. Jesus links them to the fathers of the Old Testament who refused to receive God’s prophets or messengers. He says they will try to kill Him, God’s Son, just like their forefathers killed every messenger that was sent. The crowd probably didn’t understand the parable, but the Pharisees did. They were infuriated even more and plotted even harder to see Him crucified.
Jesus wasn’t afraid of conflict. Peace at all costs, even when it sacrifices God’s principles or His truth is unacceptable in God’s eyes. There are things that we should be willing to fight for, to step in and place ourselves in the center of the battle, even when we know it will bring conflict our way. Ask the Lord today, is there any battle you have been avoiding that He wants you to join? Is there any cause that needs defending? Is there any conflict you have been putting off for the sake of keeping the peace, but He would have you to fight, in a spirit of love, to expose the fake religion?
“46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 52And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.” – Mark 10:46-52
Have you ever tried to walk through your house in the middle of the night when it was pitch black? With three kids in our home, Katie and I have taken mental photographs of all of the obstacles that lie in wait as we pop out of our bed and into one of the kid’s rooms to tend to their cries while we struggle to maintain a sleep state. But if you put me into a home that was unfamiliar, in the dark, I would stub my toe on every coffee table and piece of furniture around which would more than likely yield a momentary backslide in my faith. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be blind. I know that whatever struggle you face, the Lord gives great abilities to adapt and overcome, but I imagine in a rural society like Bartimaeus’, with no public transportation, no braille, it was extremely difficult to navigate the rigors of everyday life.
I love the image of Jesus presented to us in this passage. There are some staunch contrasts between Blind Bart and the crowd following Jesus. As soon as Bart heard that Jesus was coming, he immediately started becoming a Chatty Kathy. Nothing will deter him from calling on the One who can do the impossible to restore his sight. I think the contrast of the crowd here and their silence is deafening. Are there not people in the crowd that have problems that only a Savior can solve? Yet instead of calling on Him they are content just to follow Him, and they even tell Blind Bart to quiet himself. Jesus’ call to Bart sends him into action. I love the words Mark uses here, “…thowing off his cloak, he sprang up…”. This man was ready to SEE the Savior. Jesus heals Blind Bart and now his identity is shifted to Bart the Christ Follower.
Today, I wonder are you more like Blind Bart or the crowd? Are you, knowing their is a Savior present Who can do the impossible, calling out with all that is in you for Him to step in and intercede in your life? Or are you like the crowd, even though you have impossible situations and problems, just content to know the Savior is there, content to follow, but resisting the urge to beg Jesus’ involvement? As you read this devotion, what do you need to shout about for Jesus to intervene? Or what have you stopped shouting about, given up on, resigning yourself to the idea that things will not change? Don’t give up, start shouting again! Be like Blind Bart, shout loudly today until the Lord gives you His answer of yes, no, or wait!
What is eternal life worth? Or I think a better question is, what is the value of eternal life to you?
To see what it was worth to one man, read Mark 10:17-45.
I love this story. Here is this man who the psych world would consider to be someone with delusions of grandeur. He inquires of Jesus the answer to life’s greatest question. He asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus, knowing this man’s heart gives him an opportunity to admit his sinful nature to God, but the man says he has never broken a commandment. Now, let’s be honest, I think most of us have broken one or two commandments before lunch today. This guy is clearly lying.
Jesus decides to cut right to the heart of the issue. He knew that money was this man’s god. So Jesus says you only lack one thing, go and sell all your stuff and follow me. The man leaves sad because he would never exchange his god even if it was in repentance and a turning point to belief and a relationship with the Jesus. Let me say, there is absolutely nothing wrong with possessions. Possessions are neutral, not good or bad. What determines whether they are good or evil is who owns them. Either your possessions own you, you own your possessions, or God owns you and your possessions.
Instantly the disciples think about all they have sacrificed to be with Jesus over the last few years. They want reassurance that their belief in Him as Savior and their actions of following Him would be worth it. This reflection on all they’ve given up takes them to yet another discussion about will be the greatest.
Jesus wraps the passage by explaining to the twelve that it isn’t about what you hold onto instead of God, like the rich ruler. It also isn’t about how great you are and how you should rule for what you’ve given up in order to show the eternal life that Jesus has bestowed on you. What this life is all about is Jesus accomplishing his agenda of sacrificing His life as a ransom for many. And once He has redeemed you, out of the outflow of the new person and new identity He has given you, we should make our lives show as a reflection of His by serving everyone around us so they can see they have been ransomed too!
Today, would you thank Jesus for His gift of eternal life. Pray for five people that you can start serving today, so Jesus can accomplish His agenda of drawing them to the salvation He has paid for them through the sweet aroma of your service.
I have lots of fond memories of my dad. He was always good at showing us affection. Growing up, I can remember so many times he came in my room to tell me good night, and before he would leave he would give a little back rub to send me off to slumber town. There is nothing that yields more safety and comfort for a child than the strong embrace of a dad’s bear hug. For some of us, experiences like this bring back pictures of the reality we experienced. For others, it only suffices to resurface a dream that was never fulfilled. I believe whether you had the best father in the world, or the worst, this experience with our father makes a relationship with God so attractive.
Read Mark 10:13-16 to see what I mean.
These parents are bringing their children to Jesus so that He can hold them. They just want the Savior of the world to love on their kids. The Greek word for children is paidion, and it means little child. These kids were between 5 and 12. The parents just want their kids to experience what it is like to be loved and hugged by God. The disciples, always caught up in their agenda rather than the Lord’s, don’t think that Jesus has time for these crumb-crunchers. When Jesus sees this, He is indignant. This is the same word that Jesus uses when James and John ask to sit on His right and left directly after He talked about the way to greatness is through serving. Jesus is furious! He points out to the disciples that in the Kingdom He is building, the citizens are more like these children than like them. The citizens of His Kingdom receive His gift of salvation through faith and their ultimate desire is not their own agenda. Their desire is to love on and be in relationship with Jesus.
I love the last scene of this passage. It ends with Jesus begging the little rug-rats to come and just spend time with Him. Mark tells us that not only does Jesus desire their presence, but He embraces them and blesses them by laying His hands on them. For those of us who had the privilege of having a dad that represented Jesus well in showing us love, the idea of a Heavenly Father who wants to embrace us and spend time with us, to call us up in His lap and bless us is an easy idea to accept. It is just an extension and a perfection of our earthly reality. For those who didn’t have a dad that resembled Christ’s love and affection, who acted more like the disciples in saying he didn’t have time, know that the Heavenly Father is the fulfillment of everything you did not have in a dad. He looks at you as His son or daughter. He prioritizes time with you as one of His highest goals. He would never say not to come to Him, because at the heart of God, He wants to embrace and hug you as His child, adopted into His royal family. He wants to embrace you, to lay His hands on you, and to give you the blessing only a Father can give.
Today, would you spend five minutes with your Heavenly Father. Would you embrace Him as the perfection of the good foundation your father started? Or would you turn to Him as the fulfillment of everything your father was not? Ask Him to bless you with an intimate relationship with Him, one where you hear His Spirit’s voice constantly leading you. Commit to stay in fellowship with Him, that you will spend more time with Him, so He can teach you as His child. Thank Him for being your Father who cares about the details of your life! If you are a parent, would you spend some time in praying for your children, that each of them would come to a relationship with Him? That He would be their Father? That they would know Him intimately? If you are a dad, would you pray that He would help you be a good earthly example that points to what the Heavenly Father is like for your children?
Read Mark 9:1-13 for today’s devotion.
Jesus gives these guys a once in a lifetime opportunity. He leaves all of the other disciples behind and prepares to show these three something nobody else has ever seen. Jesus is changed before them and He glows so brightly even His clothes become whiter than any cloroxed t-shirts ever thought about being. Then all of a sudden the two greatest heroes to any Jewish man, Moses and Elijah, show up with Jesus and they start having a conversation. This is an awesome proof of Jesus’ eternal nature, because He is just catching up with these guys. He already had a relationship with them.
Jesus had a reason for Peter, James, and John to be there. They were to be observers, to take it all in, but of course Peter never met a situation that couldn’t use a little interjection and conversation. He basically compares Jesus to these two other finite humans and makes it appear as though they are equals. Peter is so flabbergasted by this experience that he just opens his mouth and out comes, “Hey Jesus, this is a really great experience. Let’s stay here forever. Forget about everyone else and your mission and all of that. It is good to be right here. Let’s build you a temple and one for Moses and Elijah too. What do you say?”
I can only imagine Jesus saying, “Are you for real? Are you serious? I show you my glory like no person has ever seen. I show you my God-ness and you blow this experience? Instead of looking, observing, and listening, you feel now is the right moment to air your ridiculous plan? Don’t you think this would be a good time to ask Me what My plan is since I am the One showing you my God status? Don’t you think this would be a good time to listen to what I have to say?”
But before Jesus could say any of that, God the Father shows up on the scene and with just a few words, He exposes the idiocy of what Peter said. He tells them, “Jesus is My Son, that He is special, that He is the One, the only One worthy of worship.” Then He gives the instructive command, “Listen to Him! Quit coming up with your own agenda and just listen!”
Has there been a time lately where God has shown you something about Himself, about His glory, about His character, about His plans for you? Were you content to listen or did you feel the need to interject? Today take some time and meditate on the amazing God/Man Jesus. Think about what He did for you, what His agenda is, about His glory? See Him for who He is and not the watered down version we make Him to be, and then, just listen!
