God’s Purpose

from Because He Lives on Youversion

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

‭Matthew 16:13-20 ESV

Give it to me straight. Make it clear and easy to understand. Jesus did not always follow that formula. Often, he delivered veiled messages in the form of parables. Other times, and particularly to his disciples, he did tell the truth in plain language. Matthew 16:21 is a perfect example.

‬From 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.

‭Matthew 16:21 ESV

Jesus explained to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

‬The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.”

‭Matthew 27:62-65 ESV

There was no hidden meaning in his words. He simply let his disciples know all that was about to happen to him – what we know as the good news. The clarity of his words disturbed the disciples. They were dismayed at the thought of Jesus’ suffering and death. If you put yourself in their shoes, you no doubt would have felt the same way. Peter even took Jesus aside and rebuked him: “Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you!”

And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But 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.”

‭Matthew 16:22-23 ESV‬

Their Messiah was not supposed to die. He was to conquer Israel’s enemies and then establish the kingdom of God. Suffering and death were not in that equation. But as Jesus said to Peter, “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns” (Matthew 16:23).

Human concerns are too small to think beyond death to the reality of resurrection. For Peter and the disciples Jesus’s words, “on the third day be raised to life” did not register. Even after finding his tomb empty, instead of thinking that he was alive just as he said, they wondered who stole his body.

But here is the truth in plain language. On that third day, God raised Jesus to life. He delivered the fatal blow to sin and death. The life that was lost in the Garden was now restored through the resurrection. That’s why Jesus came – so that you might have life.

Jesus’ plain words troubled the disciples and filled them with grief. But their perspective was wrong. All that changed after God sent His Spirit to them. They saw the plain truth from God’s perspective. They wrote down the story so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

‭John 20:30-31 ESV‬