From the desk of Pastor Ben
Peter’s Presumption

Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.”         (Matthew 16:22)

We can be quick to rebuke Peter for such an arrogant presumption against the Lord. But we should be candid to recognize that we have contradicted Christ numerous times, as when we complain about our sufferings and trials. It’s easy to accept God’s blessings, but not His testings; the prosperity and health He brings, but not the hardship and sickness. Like Peter, we easily rejoice at God’s pleasant news, but we often second-guess God’s wisdom in the difficult news.

Peter’s presumptuous words may have derived from a self-important attitude and awareness that he was the leader of the apostles. Jesus had just commended him for his great confession and imparted key words about the church. This apparently gave Peter the brashness to speak out now, typical of his self-confident personality. Surely his love for and dependence on the Savior made any prospect of Jesus’ death a fearful thing for Peter. Whatever the case, the apostle’s sinful pride placed his human understanding above God’s.

In this context, the expression translated “God forbid it” is in the most negative connotation. So, when Peter used it with “Lord” the words resonate with hypocrisy because the apostle was placing himself above the Master. To further compound the sinfulness of his statements, Peter totally contradicted what Christ had just declared as being necessary when he said, “This shall never happen to You.” Because the elements of God’s plan of redemption were humanly unthinkable to him, Peter outspokenly rejected them. Sometimes the best of human “wisdom” is sadly antagonistic to God’s.

Peter’s Presumption
What have you been saying “never” to as you look down the road? What are you refusing to do, refusing to accept, refusing to forgive, refusing to endure patiently? What is the source of your “never,” and what have you learned from the ones you’ve spoken in the past?