THINK TOGETHER.
Have you ever been called a bad name by a friend?
READ TOGETHER.
Matthew 16:21-23. 21From 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. 22And 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.”
Why did Jesus come to earth from Heaven? Do you know how to answer this question?
Jesus came to us to save us, to rescue us from sin and from death. How? By dying for our sins on the cross and then rising on the third day. Read verse 21 again. That is what Jesus is telling his disciples – I must go to the city of Jerusalem to die.
But how does Jesus’ friend and disciple, Peter, respond?
He rebukes Jesus. That means that he yelled at Jesus and tried to correct him. This is always a bad idea, isn’t it? Jesus is never wrong, so there is no way we can ever rebuke or correct him. Not only is Peter trying to correct Jesus, he is trying to keep Jesus from doing the most important thing ever – dying on the cross for our sins.
And that’s why Jesus calls Peter, Satan. Yikes! That must have been really shocking and really hard for Peter to hear, especially since he was only trying to help Jesus and keep him alive.
Then Jesus says these words to Peter – you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.
What do you think that means? What is the difference between the things of God and the things of man?
In today’s story what is the thing of God? (Jesus goes to Jerusalem to die on the cross)
In today’s story what was the thing of man? (keep Jesus from showing God’s love for us on the cross)
When we have Jesus living in our hearts we can and should always want to do the things of God and not the things of man. The things of God will look like Jesus and his cross – love, kindness, sharing, sacrificing for others. The things of man will look like trying to stop Jesus’ love – meanness, selfishness, bullying, gossiping, not sharing, not giving.
Do you want to do the things of God or the things of man?
Because of Jesus we can know what the things of God are (like the cross).
With Jesus we can do the things of God.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Make a list of the Things of God and the Things of Man. What would you put on each list? Remember it’s not about the thing itself as much as it is about the attitude behind it.
PRAY TOGETHER
Jesus, you always do what God wants. Help me to choose what God wants to, and trust you that if I do what God wants I will not be disappointed. Amen.
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