Sunday 03 September 2023

Psalm 26:1-8

Background

Just before the passage we read today, Peter was praised for declaring that Jesus was "the Messiah, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16).

Now Jesus explains how he understands the term ‘Messiah’ (v. 21). It includes the exciting promises from the Hebrew scriptures of one chosen by God to save people from everything that keeps them apart from God and from doing God’s will as part of God’s kingdom – to rescue the people from what the Bible calls ‘sin’. However, this will not be achieved through power and strength, but by suffering for the sake of others. There will be resurrection and new life, but only after the Messiah has first suffered and died.

 Peter struggles to accept this – he thinks that Jesus is so special that it would be wrong for him to let himself suffer and die. Jesus explains that this is human thinking; God sees things differently (v. 23). It seems harsh of Jesus to call Peter ‘Satan’. This word’s root means ‘adversary’, associated with the ‘devil’, and the ‘tempter’ (Matthew 4:1, 3), and Jesus also calls Peter a ‘stumbling-block’. There is a link to the devil tempting Jesus before he begins his ministry (Matthew 4:1-11) – here again Jesus is being tempted to compromise the mission God has given him.

Jesus accepts a way of suffering and he called his followers to emulate this. The Christian life is about self-giving love (vs 24-26), possibly even to the point of dying for others. After Jesus has died and been raised, he will be like a judge who can evaluate what each person has done (v. 27) – he will be in the role of God (eg Psalm 62:12). This could be worrying for those who have struggled to follow Jesus’ example, but encouraging for any who have suffered for the sake of others – this will be explored more in Matthew 25:31-46. Verse 28 suggests that some of the disciples will soon see Jesus in this role. It could refer to several different points in time but might just be about the following episode in which three of them see even more clearly that he is the Son of God (Matthew 17:5).

To Ponder:

• Peter struggled to understand and to accept what Jesus was saying. Which part of it do you find hardest?
• This passage presents a challenging picture of Christian lifestyle. What situations do you face in which you can only help others by denying your own desires?

Prayer

Loving God, we thank you for the example of Jesus, who lived and died for the sake of others and not for his own benefit. Help everyone who is struggling to understand what Jesus has done and why. Help all who are struggling with the call from Jesus to love others. Amen.