Wrestling With God.

Genesis 31-32, Matthew 16

So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel,saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.”  – Genesis 32:30 ESV

This is such a fascinating story, filled with equal parts of faith and faithlessness. Throughout the events that occur, we see the faithful hand of God working behind the scenes, orchestrating the path of Jacob, and fulfilling His promises to Abraham. We also see Jacob struggle with taking God at His Word and attempting to take matters into his own hands – just in case God doesn't come through. Jacob acknowledges God's sovereign control over his life, having prospered and protected him all during his time in Paddan-Aram, but he also fears for his life, anticipating a less-than-cheery welcome from his brother Esau. We see the continuing conflict between Jacob and Laban, his uncle. But the real conflict of Jacob's life had always been between he and God.

What does this passage reveal about God?

The obvious lesson is regarding His sovereignty. God is always in control – in all situations – regardless of how they might appear to us at the time. While Jacob's flight to Paddan-Aram was his mother's idea, and one she had to come up with to protect Jacob from the revenge of Esau, God would use this "detour" to accomplish his will for Jacob's life. Even Jacob recognized the hand of God on his life during his time with Laban. He told his wives, "You know that I have served your father with all my strength, yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God did not permit him to harm me" (Genesis 31:6-7 ESV). God miraculously prospered Jacob, in spite of Laban's ongoing attempts to cheat him out of what was rightfully his. Upon receiving news that his brother Esau was on his way with 400 armed men, Jacob prayed , "I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children" (Genesis 32:10-11 ESV). Jacob feared. He lacked faith. And yet, His God had been proved Himself faithful every step of the way. Jacob was having to learn that Laban was not his problem. He was going to have to understand that Esau was not the one he needed to be worrying about. It was God. His real issue was with God, not man. He was going to learn that, while he could trick and deceive men, God was another matter. And while he could strive and work for the things of this world, what he really needed was the blessing of God. And it's interesting to note that as Jacob lined up all his possessions and prepared to hand them over to his brother as a peace offering, the one thing he demanded from the angel with whom he wrestled was a blessing. “Then he said, ‘Let me go, for the day has broken.’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me’” (Genesis 32:26 ESV). And Jacob received his blessing because he "prevailed." This does not mean he beat God. It means that he wrestled with God until he received that for which he was striving. So God told him, "“Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel,for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed” (Genesis 32:28 ESV). His new name was a combination of the Hebrew words for "wrestle" and "God." Jacob had clung to God, demanding He fulfill His covenant promise to him. He knew that his future was in danger without God's help. And God would prove Himself faithful yet again, delivering Jacob from his brother Esau and providing him a place back in the land of promise.

What does this passage reveal about man?

Jacob's entire life had been a wrestling match with God. At every phase of his life, Jacob had been given full notice that the covenant promises of God would be his. At Jacob's birth, God had confirmed to Rebekah that, while Esau was technically the first-born son and heir to the inheritance, "the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger" (Genesis 25:23 ESV). Jacob had cheated his brother out of his birthright. He had tricked his father into giving him the blessing reserved for the firstborn. And yet, he still doubted that God was going to bless him. He lived in fear of Esau's eventual retaliation. He had to constantly battle his own uncle just to make a living. He had watched his two wives bicker and fight, even bartering over their rights to have sexual relations with him. His life was a complicated mess filled with constant conflicts. And yet his real problem was with God. He was delaying the inevitable. At some point he was going to have to go to the mat with God and have it out over whether or not he was going to trust Him. And that is exactly what happened. That fateful night in the land of Seir, after having sent all that he owned and loved ahead of him, the Scriptures tell us, "And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day" (Genesis 32:24 ESV). All he held dear, his wives, children, and all his worldly possessions had been sent ahead as payment to his brother Esau. He was faced with the possible loss of everything, including his life – all that he had worked so hard for all those years. And he was left alone – with God. And they did battle. And Jacob, weary and worn out from the exertion of it all, clinged for dear life, demanding that "the man" bless him. Everything else was meaningless and worthless, but the blessing of God was essential. This would be a turning point in Jacob's life, resulting in a name change, but also a significant change in outlook. Jacob had been a man of the flesh, prone to do things his own way. Israel would become a man of faith, a spiritual man who was learning to trust in and lean on His God for everything.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

Over in the gospel of Matthew, we have that powerful rebuke that Jesus gives Peter. Jesus has just told the disciples that He is going to have to 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). Peter responds quickly and adamantly, telling Jesus that this is NOT going to happen. In essence, Peter is telling the Son of God that the will of God is wrong. And Jesus responds, "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 16:23 ESV). Oh, how easy it is to become a hindrance to God. That does not mean we can keep God from doing what He intends to do, but we can place ourselves in opposition to His divine will. That is not a place we want to be. That was not the place Jacob needed to be. He was going to have to learn to trust God and take Him at His word. He was going to have to learn to see God's hand at work in his life and trust that what He had done in the past could also be done in the future. That night in his wrestling match with God, Jacob had learned the truth of Jesus' statement found in Matthew 16:26: "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?" Jacob had become wealthy. He had been blessed materially. But all of that meant little or nothing without the blessing of God in his life. What set Jacob apart was not his net worth or personal portfolio, but his relationship with God Almighty. His uniqueness was based solely on God's divine determination to fulfill His covenant promises to him and through him. And the same is true for me today.

Father, I can see Your hands all over and around my life. I can look back and see Your activity all around me. But then I can look ahead and worry and fret over what I am going to do about future events or circumstances. I try to take matters into my own hands. I scheme and plan. I worry and stress out over what is going to happen. But what I really need to do is wrestle with You. I need to do business with You and strive with You to the point that I walk away wounded, but confident that You will do what You promise to do. You are faithful. I have nothing to fear. Amen.

Not As Advertised.

Matthew 16:21-26; Mark 8:31-37; Luke 9:22-25

“‘Heaven forbid, Lord,’ he said. ‘This will never happen to you!’" – Matthew 16:22 NLT

We all had expectations of Jesus when we accepted Him as our Savior. Some of us had been promised a certain list of attractive options if we would just place our faith in Him. It may have been a well-meaning or a fervent pastor who told us that salvation in Christ would bring us a happier marriage, an improved life, increased joy, and an assortment of other favorable benefits. But then when we came to Christ, we found that our life actually got a bit harder. Living the Christian life proved to be far more difficult and demanding than we expected. We still found our lives plagued by illness, heartache, financial setbacks, relational meltdowns and the ever-present reality of sin in our lives. As a result, some of us became disillusioned and disheartened. This was NOT what we had signed up for. It may have even felt like a bait and switch.

I think the disciples felt the same way. When they made the decision to follow Jesus, they were under the impression that He was the long-awaited Messiah, and as good Jews, they had certain expectations and understandings of what the Messiah would do when He showed up on the scene. They had been raised on images of the conquering hero, the great emancipator, the powerful political leader, and a king over Israel, much like David had been. By this time in His ministry, Jesus had already begun to mess with their preconceived ideas of what the Messiah was going to do when He showed up. Jesus appeared as a peasant. He had no royal retinue or powerful army to back Him up. He had no wealth. He wielded no political influence. Even the religious leaders of the day refused to accept Him as the Messiah. So when Jesus starts dropping hints that He is going to Jerusalem, where He will suffer at the hands of the elders of Israel and be tried and killed, they are blown away. This was NOT what they were expecting. In their grand scheme of things, the Messiah was supposed to be a conquering king, not a suffering saint. He was to reign and rule from a throne in Jerusalem, not die on a cross. Jesus' announcement was a total disconnect for these men. And Peter refused to accept it. "Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things" (Mark 8:32 NLT). What's fascinating is that Peter actually told Jesus, the Son of God, "Heaven forbid, Lord. This will never happen to you!" (Matthew 16:22 NLT). Because Jesus' announcement didn't meet Peter's expectations, Peter rebuked Jesus and basically told Him that he would not allow any of it to happen. Peter didn't like what he was hearing, and so he swore that he would do all that he could to prevent it from happening. This would not be the last time that Peter made such a statement. Later on, Jesus told the disciples that they would desert Him in His time of need. Jesus said that when His actual arrest took place, they would run out on Him. But Peter responded, "Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you!" (Matthew 26:33 NLT). Jesus makes it clear that Peter will not only desert Him, he will deny Him. "‘No!’ Peter insisted. ‘Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!' And all the other disciples vowed the same." (Matthew 26:35 NLT).

And Peter would deny Him – three times. And they all would desert Him. Jesus knew what was going to happen. And He also knew that the events of which He had told them had to happen. They were part of God's divine plan for the redemption of mankind. And for Peter to swear that he would do everything in his power to prevent it solicited a harsh rebuke from Jesus. "Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God's." (Matthew 26:23 NLT). Peter was letting his expectations of the Messiah to stand in the way of God's plan for the Messiah. He was stuck on his own agenda, not God's, and that made him an enemy of God. That's a sobering thought. When we disagree with Jesus' plans for our lives or attempt to demand that He meet our expectations, we are placing ourselves in direct opposition to Him and to God the Father. The disciples had no need for a suffering servant Messiah. What good was a crushed Christ or a dead savior to them? They had an agenda for Jesus and they weren't really interested in God's agenda for Jesus or themselves. That's a dangerous place to be.

So what about you? Have your expectations of Jesus been met? Has He been the Savior you were looking for or do you find yourself a bit disappointed in how this whole Christian "thing" has turned out?

Were you expecting happiness and not holiness?

Where you hoping for prosperity, but got financial difficulty instead?

Were you looking for a trouble-free life, but find yourself with trials and setbacks?

Have you been waiting for your place of honor, only to be mired in obscurity?

Has Jesus turned out to be who you were looking for?

Has He disappointed you, let you down, or failed to measure up?

Maybe you've been looking for the wrong thing. Maybe your expectations of Him were wrong. Why not recognize that God's agenda for Jesus is different than yours? Place your trust in His plan. Let you go of your will, and rest in His perfect will instead.

Father, You had a plan for Jesus that did not fit that of the disciples. But it had to happen according to Your terms. Jesus had to die. If not, we would not have eternal life. He had to suffer on our behalf. And while Jesus did not bring the kind of kingdom the disciples were looking for, what they received from Him was far greater than anything they could have expected. And the same is true for us today. Amen.

The Ultimate Question.

Matthew 16:13-20; Mark 8:27-30; Luke 9:18-21“But who do you say I am?" – Matthew 16:15 NLT

It had been a long day, and Luke tells us that Jesus left the crowds behind and was on His way to find a place to pray. The disciples were walking along with Him and so He took advantage of the moment and asked them a question. I don't think this was in order for Jesus to get information He was lacking, because I think He already knew the answer. He was simply engaging His disciples in a conversation that was directed at revealing what their true perception was of Him. They had been with Him for years now and had seen Him do some remarkable things. He had made it clear to them who He was. They had even heard demons call Him the Messiah, the Son of God. But Jesus knew there were still doubts in the minds of the disciples. While they hoped and prayed that he truly was the Messiah, so much of what He said and did was so unlike what they expected from the Messiah. He was not the conquering hero they had long anticipated. He was not regal, kingly, or a warrior like David had been. He was obviously as wise as Solomon, but He had no royal retinue and lacked Solomon's vast wealth.

So Jesus asks them a simple question: "Who do people say I am?"

The disciples immediately share all the various opinions that were floating out there. "Some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other ancient prophets risen from the dead" (Luke 9:18-19 NLT). In Matthew's account, they throw in the name of Jeremiah. Obviously, the people were having a hard time coming to grips with Jesus being the actual Messiah, so they had come up with a series of viable options to explain who He was and how He was able to do the things He did. Interestingly enough, all of their options involved someone having to be raised from the dead. John the Baptist had been killed by Herod. Elijah and Jeremiah, both Old Testament prophets had been long gone. So the people didn't seem to have a problem with Jesus being miraculously sent from God. They just had a difficult time believing He was the Messiah.

But Jesus cuts to the chase and asks the disciples the more revealing and important question: "But who do you say I am?" (Matthew 16:15 NLT). They had each been personally chosen by Jesus. They had walked with, learned from and lived alongside Him for over three years at this point. They had had intimate communication with Him and heard things from Him that the others were not allowed to hear. He had explained His parables to them. He had given them power and authority to cast out demons and heal the sick. They had seen Him raise the dead and walk on water. They had watched Him calm the storm and feed the multitudes. They had listened as He condemned the religious leaders and easily handled their attempts to discredit Him as a fraud and a lunatic.

Now Jesus was asking them the most important question of their lives. It isn't surprising that Peter was the first one to speak up. He was the always the first to open His mouth. Most of the time, that habit got him in hot water. But this time, He said the right thing. "You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God" (Matthew 16:16 NLT). Jesus blesses Peter for His answer, but before Peter can get a big head, Jesus lets him know that he didn't come up with this on his own and he didn't learn it from anyone else. It was revealed to him by God. In other words, this awareness of Jesus' true identity was divinely inspired. God had made it known to Peter and the other disciples. If left to their own devices, they would have come to the same conclusions as the people had. They would have rationalized away any thoughts that Jesus was the Messiah. But God had made it possible for Peter and the others to perceive and accept Jesus' claim to be who He said He was – in spite of any misgivings they may have had.

Even our ability to believe in Jesus comes from God. He must soften our hard hearts and breathe life into our dead souls in order for us to recognize and respond to the priceless gift being offered to us – His Son. Like the crowds, if left to the whims of our own intelligence, we would come up with all kinds of explanations or rationalizations to account for the Jesus as He is revealed in the Bible. We would conclude that He was a good man, a great teacher, a moral icon, and a worthy example to follow, but we would never conclude that He was the Son of God. Only God can reveal that to us. Living with Jesus for over three years was not enough. The disciples still needed God to open their eyes. Going to church your whole life is not enough. You still need God to open your eyes. Jesus made this perfectly clear when He said, "For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up" (John 6:44 NLT).

God calls. We respond. Jesus saves. God opens our eyes so that we can see His Son standing right in front of us, and He opens our ears so we can understand the offer He makes to us – and along with Peter we say, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." We have nothing to boast about. It is all the work of God.

Father, You made it all possible. You sent Your Son. He died in my place. Then you open my eyes and ears so that I can hear the message and respond. Otherwise, I would never hear. I would never choose Him. But through Your Spirit, You revealed Your Son to me. You did for me what I could not have done on my own. And Jesus paid a debt for me I could never have paid on my own. Thank You. Amen.

Deeper Truths.

Matthew 16:5-12; Mark 8:14-26

“You have eyes – can't you see? You have ears – can't you hear?" – Mark 8:18 NLT

The disciple were just ordinary men. Most of them were uneducated, even by the standards of their day. And each of them had willingly left behind whatever career they had chosen for themselves, in order to follow Jesus and learn from Him. It was a common practice for young men to follow a rabbi and become His disciples. But the disciples probably had no idea just what they were getting themselves into when they took up after Jesus. This was going to be one wild ride. Jesus was not like any other rabbi or teacher. He was the Son of God and the long-awaited Messiah. He had unprecedented power and unparalleled teachings. Learning from Jesus was like drinking from a fire hose. There was more truth than they could handle. Everything He said and did caused them to have to rethink everything they thought they knew about God, religion, life, ministry, the Messiah, and His coming Kingdom.

But what I love about them is their ordinariness. These guys were just like me. They didn't always come across as the brightest bulbs in the box. They could be stubborn, insensitive, uncaring, prideful, argumentative, overly competitive, and at times, just plain stupid. But then, so can I. Their hearts were in the right place, but they were having to deal with a lot of issues that sometimes blinded them to the truth of what Jesus was trying to teach them. They were just men, and they tended to get stuck on an earthly level, obsessing about things that didn't really matter. Today's passages share just such an occasion. They have crossed back over the lake, and when they arrive on the other side, Jesus makes a comment regarding the Pharisees, "Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees" (Matthew 16:6 NLT). Now the disciples were already a little put out, because they realized that they didn't bring any bread with them. And what makes this particularly funny is that they had had seven baskets full of bread left over from when Jesus fed the 4,000. They just forgot to bring any of it with them. So, the disciples get into a heated argument over the fact that nobody had brought any bread. They somehow think that Jesus is talking about bread, and so they start passing blame and pointing fingers. Jesus stops them right in their tracks. "You have so little faith! Why are you arguing with each other about having no bread? Don't you understand even yet? Don't you remember the 5,000 I fed with five loaves, and the baskets of leftovers you picked up? Or the 4,000 I fed with seven loaves, and the large baskets of leftovers you picked up? Why can't you understand that I'm not talking about bread?" (Matthew 16:7-11 NLT). Ouch! That had to have hurt. But Jesus is trying to get them to understand something far more important and life threatening than a lack of bread. It is as if He is saying, "I can get you plenty of bread when you need it. That's not a problem." But the greatest threat to their lives was false teaching. The kind of false teaching that the Pharisees and Sadducees were spreading among the people under the guise of truth. Like yeast, this teaching was working its way through the nation of Israel, contaminating the minds of the people against Jesus and His teaching. Ultimately, they would turn the people against the disciples as well.

Their obsession with temporal, physical things was preventing them from understanding the more significant issues that threatened the cause of Christ. They were majoring on the minors. Jesus could provide them with plenty of bread. He had already shown His ability to do that. But He was much more concerned that they understood why He was so strongly opposed to the religious leadership of the day. They needed to see the danger of following their ways and listening to their teaching. Because they were wrong. Regardless of how spiritual and righteous they may appear, they were prideful, arrogant men who were teaching a different kingdom and rejecting the very Son of God. Better to go hungry than feed on the false food these men offered up on a daily basis.

Jesus wanted the disciples to listen and learn. He wanted them to see the world around them with new eyes. The message He would leave them to take to the world would be opposed by these same religious leaders. They would face ongoing resistance from the Pharisees and Sadducees. Jesus wanted them to understand just how dangerous these men were. They were not allies. They were not on the same team. Their message stood in direct opposition to that of Jesus. And they would continue to be a stumbling block for many when it came to the Good News of Jesus Christ. And that piece of information was far more important than who forgot to bring the bread.

Father, it is so easy to focus on the wrong thing in this life. We can easily take our eyes off the task at hand and obsess about things that have no eternal significance. Help us stay focused. Help us to see what is really important to You and Your Son. Because we are so effected by the physical, we can easily get distracted by physical things like food, clothes, money, shelter, etc. But there are far more dangerous and subtle threats to our lives and to Your Kingdom. Open our eyes so we can see what You see. Amen.

How Much More Proof Do You Need?

Matthew 16:1-4; Mark 8:10-13

“When he heard this, he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, ‘Why do these people keep demanding a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, I will not give this generation any such sign.’” – Mark 8:12 NLT

Rarely did the Pharisees and Sadducees ever agree on anything. They were both religious parties of the Jews, but they disagreed about a number of things and disliked one another very much. But they shared a common enemy: Jesus. And on this occasion they joined forces in order to trick and trap Jesus. Their life ambition was to eliminate Jesus as a threat to their way of doing things. His arrival on the scene had disrupted their way of life. He had stirred things up with His message about the kingdom and his constant use of miracles. The people were flocking to Him in droves and they didn't like sharing the spotlight with anyone. And Jesus hadn't done Himself any favors with the way in which He talked about these men. He was unrelenting in His criticism of them, exposing them as hypocrites, charlatans, and unworthy of trust or admiration.

But the one thing that meant more to these men than anything else was the concept of authority. In their religious world, you had to have authority to say or do anything. And authority was passed down from one influential rabbi to another. They put high stock in tradition and deemed it necessary for anyone who wanted to make a statement about anything, to have received authority to do so from someone other than themselves. As far as they were concerned, Jesus had no authority. He had sat under no one's leadership or tutelage. He had not apprenticed with any known rabbi or religious expert. Much of what He was saying and teaching was heresy to them because it was new information. He was teaching things they had never heard before. And He had no authority to do so. That's why you see them constantly confronting Jesus about where He got His authority to do what He did. And that's what was driving them on this day. Mark tells us that when they arrived, they "started to argue with him. Testing him, they demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority" (Mark 8:11 NLT).

It is interesting to note that Jesus had already claimed to be the Messiah. He also claimed to have been sent by God, His own Father. He had healed the sick, cast out demons and raised the dead. But that was not enough proof for these men. They had already attributed Jesus' powers to Satan, not God. They considered Him a blasphemer for claiming to be the Son of God. The healings he performed were not enough for them. They wanted more. They wanted a sign from heaven. More than likely, they were looking for signs like Moses had given the Israelites in Egypt. They probably wanted to see Jesus bring down fire and brimstone on the Romans. They would have loved to have seen Him strike dead all the firstborn males in all the Roman households. They wanted a sign from heaven – from God Himself. Then that would prove Jesus' authority. But they really never expected Him to be able to pull off such a feat. Because they didn't believe He was who He said He was. Honestly, Jesus had already done more than enough to prove who He was and to demonstrate His authority. And He wasn't going to do anything more. He would not give them the kind of sign they were looking for because that is not why He came. He did not come to set them free from Roman rule. He came to set men free from slavery to sin. And for that to happen, Jesus had to die. And the amazing thing is that even after Jesus had died and was miraculously raised back to life by the power of God, these very same men would deny the veracity of the disciples' claim that Jesus was alive. They would go out of their way to disprove it and discredit the disciples.

Jesus refused to give them the kind of sign they were looking for. And the one sign that should have proven to them once and for all that He was the Son of God – His resurrection – they would eventually choose to ignore and deny. To their own detriment. Refusing to recognize Jesus' authority is a dangerous thing. Denying His God-given right to rule and reign in the lives of men is an unhealthy game to play. But like the Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus' day, there are thousands upon thousands of people doing just that today. They refuse to acknowledge Jesus' authority over their lives. They can't bring themselves to believe that Jesus has authority over sin and death. They struggle believing that Jesus alone has the authority to set them free slavery to sin. "So he got back into the boat and left them, and he crossed to the other side of the lake" (Mark 8:13 NLT).

Father, it is so hard to understand why so many still reject Jesus' authority over their lives today. But I know it happens. Their hardened hearts blind them to the reality of who He is. They stubbornly refuse to acknowledge His God-given authority and His power over sin and death. And as a result, they remain in their sins, unforgiven and unrepentant. Open their eyes Father. Help them to see. Give those of us who know Your Son the courage to speak openly and honestly about what we know and what we have seen. But only You can open the eyes of men and soften their hearts to see the truth. Amen.