Pastor Chris Doi
Japanese Christian Church

Matthew 16:23 Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, and not from God’s

In Matthew 16:23, we wonder why Jesus responded very harshly to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan!  You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”

We have to understand that Jesus had just explained to His disciples that He had to go to Jerusalem where suffering and death awaited Him.   His disciples understood that He would not be the Messiah who would free them from the tyranny of Rome.  Yet His death would have meaning and purpose as three days later He would be resurrected.

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Pastor Shawn Robinson
Clayton Community Church

Matthew 16:22 But Peter took him aside and corrected him. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!”

Jesus is nearing the end of his life, he has chosen the way of the cross. He makes it clear, “this is the way it has to be”, but Peter doesn’t quite see it that way. “Come on Jesus, you are in control, all this suffering talk is bad press. This won’t ever happen to you!”

Peter just doesn’t get it! He only wants to see a glorified Messiah, but he hasn’t grasped that the gospel message is incomplete without the cross. For Jesus there can be no savior without suffering, no glory without sacrifice.

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Pastor Kurt Holm
The Creek Church Community

Mark 9:7 Then a cloud came over them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”

Remember the first time you looked through a microscope?  What looks like a speck of simple dirt suddenly comes alive with texture, color and patterns. You now never look at things the same way again because everything has the potential to be more than it seems.

The transfiguration of Jesus was an event that revealed that there was more going on than what meets the eye. For Jesus, it affirmed the difficult path toward Jerusalem and the cross. Moses and Elijah assured him that this was what history had longed for and hoped for and looked forward to. God his Father spoke as well, to assure him he was acting as his own beloved son should act and must act. All of this was just a little frightening for the disciples. They were invited to witness a fuller reality of who Jesus is and of his relationship with his Father God. The voice from the cloud confirmed it. Jesus is the beloved son of the living God. And they were emphatically instructed to listen (carefully) to this Son of God. Listening carries with it the idea of not only hearing but obeying.

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