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A Hindrance to Christ?

Right Motive, Wrong Method

"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." (Matthew 16:23)

It's important to keep in mind that Jesus did not speak these harsh, withering
words to the devil himself, but to Peter-on whom, only moments before, He had
lavished such well-deserved praise. The same one who had boldly confessed Him
as Christ and Son of the living God, the one on whose faith, example, and
leadership Jesus promised to build His Church-this same one He now rebuked and
shamed.

What had Peter done to deserve such denunciation? He had become a hindrance to
the Lord Jesus, a stumbling block along the path to glory. And he had done this
out of what might seem the best of motives: Peter wanted God's will for Jesus,
and, of course, for himself, the titular head of the Church. His motives seem
to have been all right, mostly.

But he hadn't been paying close attention. Perhaps he was too busy imagining
what it would be like to be the chief builder of the Church, the one to whom
everyone else looked for direction and comfort. There he would be, right-hand
man to the King, making sure everybody knew what they needed to do, and that
they did it promptly and efficiently. Yes sir, the days of hard straining to
catch fish would be far behind him then. Life would be good in the shalom of
the Lord. Doubtless Peter couldn't resist glancing at the other eleven to see
if they were admiring him as much as he was.

But now Jesus was talking about, well, unpleasant things-suffering many things
and being killed. Clearly, that wasn't in Peter's little daydream about the
Lord, the Church, and himself. Well, he must have reasoned, one good
demonstration of leadership deserves another. So, just as he had blurted out
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," now Peter made bold to tell
this very one, "Mercy, no, Lord. This shall never happen to you!"

And then Jesus' withering denunciation.

Why was Jesus so brutal in putting Peter in his place? Because the stakes were
high, as the stakes are always high when the glory of Christ and the progress
of His Kingdom are at issue. For God will glorify His Son, and He will cause
His kingdom to make progress on earth, as it is in heaven, but He will do so
only on His terms, and not on ours.

PETER'S FAULTY FOCUS Didn't Peter want Jesus to be glorified? Undoubtedly he
did. Didn't he long for the coming of the kingdom and its progress on the
earth? Certainly. But Peter had begun to get a picture in his mind, both of
what that would look like and how it ought to proceed. And, frankly, that
picture didn't include anything like suffering and being killed.

Peter was thinking about God's agenda with the mind of a mere man, trying to
plan God's work for Him in ways that would be agreeable to his sense of how
things ought to play out. His motive may have been right, but his method was
all wrong. Peter knew a thing or two, after all. He was a man of the world. He
understood how to get things done, what would work and what wouldn't work, and
how a proper kingdom and church ought to be set up and function. What Jesus was
suggesting troubled him, doubtless for at least three reasons.

First, what Jesus was suggesting was simply not convenient. Who's gonna sign up
for that? Peter must have thought. If You're dead, who's gonna make sure I get
to be head of the Church? kingdoms come with pomp and glory, not with suffering
and death. Let me set You straight on this, Lord.

But Peter was thinking like a man would think. We want things to happen without
a lot of fuss and trouble, much less suffering and death. Things like suffering
and death just aren't convenient. There's gotta be a better way. Maybe if we
consult some marketing experts, an entrepreneur or two, and a few techies . . .

"Get behind me, Satan!"

In the second place Peter balked at Jesus' plan because it was unprecedented.
Nobody had ever seen anything like this before. Nobody would believe that the
death of the Christ, the Son of the living God, would have anything to do with
His honor and glory or the attainment of His kingdom. No, this will never do,
Peter must have reasoned. I'm sure I can think of a more believable message to
tell people . . .

"Get behind me, Satan!"

Finally, Peter became the instrument of the devil, presuming to stand in the
way of the glory of the Lord, because he was not willing to take the Word of
the Lord at face value, according to its plain meaning. Jesus had said,
"suffering" and "killed." Peter should have said, "Tell me more, Lord." He
should have said, "Help me to understand." He should have pled for faith to
believe the horrifying report. But Peter allowed his own sense of the way
things ought to be to lead him to reject the plain teaching of the Word of God,
and to suggest that he knew a better way . . .

"Get behind me, Satan!"

Peter, Jesus advised him, had allowed his thinking to settle on the things of
man, rather than the things of God.

THE THINGS OF GOD What can we say about the things of God? Well, they're
certainly not what we might expect. God's economy does not operate on our
terms. His kingdom is not of this world. We think the way forward is through
manipulation, self-vaunting, good positioning, and the careful accumulation of
power. Jesus said, "Lose your life. Take up your cross. Watch what I do, then
do the same." Who'd have ever thought of that?

Second, the things of God always find their defining reference in Jesus, not in
us. Peter was all filled up with himself at the moment, and Jesus' outrageous
idea about suffering and being killed simply didn't fit in with Peter's
fantasy. But Jesus is the centerpiece of the things of God, and, when we're
rightly focused on Him, we will accept whatever He calls us to do as in perfect
accord with the will of God and completely reasonable for living in His
kingdom.

Finally, the things of God often fly right in the face of what we think about
the way things ought to be. Who would come up with a plan for finding real
meaning and purpose in life that involved denying your strongest desires and
inclinations and choosing a road of suffering and sacrifice? Only God could
think of something so out-of-this-world.

If Peter had been paying closer attention he might have said, in response to
Jesus' announcement, "Well, that doesn't surprise me. After all, nothing God
does surprises me anymore. And if He says it's got to be this way, then that's
the way it's got to be. And if he says I need to deny myself and take up my
cross, right along there with Him, then He's the boss; so be it."

But, of course, that's not the way Peter responded. And it's not the way many
respond today to the Lord's plan for advancing His kingdom and getting glory
for Jesus.

OUT OF FOCUS AGAIN The Lord says that it is through the foolishness of
preaching that He will save people (1 Corinthians 1:21). But preaching is the
last thing today's postmodern generation needs, according to an ad for a
well-known seminary. And many of today's pastors are already there-substituting
homiletical monologues, skits and drama, hysterics and hoopla, and various
kinds of high-tech productions for the pure, simple proclamation of the kingdom
of God. "Foolishness of preaching?" Hey, Lord, I don't think so.

"Get behind me."

Or as seekers present themselves in our churches, looking for some hope, some
way out of their desperation, do we say to them as Peter did, "Repent and be
baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
sins" (Acts 2:38). Repent? Are you kidding? Nobody uses that kind of language
these days. Forgiveness? For what? Aren't we all just in need of a little boost
for our self-images, a little "healing" for our "brokenness"? A little "family"
to call our own?

And the Lord calls us to address our faith in Christ to every area of human
life and interest, to take every thought captive and make it obedient to
Christ, and to gather up everything we can find and spread it under His feet (2
Corinthians 10:3-5; Ephesians 1:23). But we wouldn't dare speak a word in
Jesus' name outside of church or Bible study. Or insist that our communities
would run better, and be safer and more prosperous, with a stiffer dose of the
Law of God in the mix. Or make a fuss at the school board meeting over some
aspect of the curriculum that denies the place of Jesus and the truth of His
Word. Or protest some injustice or malfeasance in our workplace. Or cut back
our way of life-forego that club membership or weekly trip to the mall-in order
to share more generously with the poor and needy. After all, there's a place
for us to practice our "religion," and it ain't where others might get
offended, or we might have to suffer their reproach or rebuke, or be in any way
inconvenienced by our faith.

Oops. Did I say "suffer"?

Many of us have made credible professions of faith in Jesus as the Christ and
Son of the living God. But when we assess the state of our lives, and when we
survey the focus of most of our thinking, it's just possible we may be more a
hindrance to Christ than a help to His kingdom project.

FOR REFLECTION Do you ever feel "inconvenienced" by your faith? Should you? Are
you afraid of suffering for the name of Jesus? Why?

T. M. Moore is dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and
principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic
Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has
contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and
poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a
wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The
Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet). He and his wife and editor, Susie,
make their home in Concord, Tenn.