13 Submit to every human creature because of the Lord, whether to the king as the superior 14 or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do right. 15 Because it is God’s will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good.
I had some problems with how modern translations treat this passage. They tend to label this section something like “Submission to Authorities” as if Peter’s goal is to get Christians to fall in line with the pagans and mindlessly submit to every law and decree made by the emperor and his lackeys. That did not sound right to me. It didn’t seem consistent with the Peter who defied the authorities in Jerusalem when they commanded him not to teach in the name of Jesus. Has Peter changed his mind? Is he now saying that government is our friend, and it is the Christian’s obligation to mindlessly obey everyone placed in authority over them?
There are some Christians who think the Bible is about two things. It is about the gospel of God’s grace — the offer of eternal life through trusting in Christ’s death on the cross for our forgiveness and eventual resurrection to live eternally. All Christians believe in the gospel.
But some insist that the Bible teaches a second message — a message of governance. They teach that to live biblically we must also submit to the social and political hierarchies set up by men. Nations, churches, and families have hierarchies, and we should submit to them too. Nobody is equal. Everybody has a place on the totem pole.
As I began studying this passage in Greek, I noticed that Peter is not really teaching that message of governance here. He has not changed the subject of his letter. He’s teaching his readers how to live the gospel. We see hints of that fact in the phrase “because of the Lord” in verse 13 and the phrase “Because it is God’s will” in verse 15. If Peter is addressing the behavior of his readers, it is not so that they can be good Roman citizens. It is for them to effectively witness to the gospel message. They are not just to submit to those in authority, but to submit to everyone because it is God’s desire to save everyone.
For that reason, I took another look at the word κτίσις in verse 13. Most modern translations render that word as authority or institution. Those translations fall in line with that message of governance. But when I looked up all the instances of κτίσις in the New Testament, I found that this is the only text where it is translated that way. Usually, κτίσις is translated as creation or creature.
Paul, for example, used it to say that idolators worship the creature (κτίσις) rather than the creator (Romans 1:25). He also used it to say that physical circumcision does not matter. What matters is being a new creation (κτίσις) (Galatians 6:15).
The author of Hebrews used it to affirm that there is no creature (κτίσις) hidden from God’s sight (Hebrews 4:13).
So, if we translate the word in verse 13 with that gloss, we will render the phrase “Submit to every human creature.” This would make the verse consistent with the rest of the passage because verse 17 concludes the idea with “Honor everyone. Love the brothers and sisters. Fear God. Honor the king.” The message of this passage is not submission to a select group of civil authorities, church authorities, or male heads of households. The message is voluntarily submit to everyone because everyone you meet needs Jesus.
The message of the New Testament is not a new law of governance, it is a new gospel of grace. All Christians are called on to voluntarily submit to every human creature because every human creature needs to hear and respond to that gospel.
17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” 21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” 23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
Last Sunday we learned that Jesus was planning a campaign in which he was going to go to all the towns and villages of Judea on his way to Jerusalem. He was also recruiting a large group of his disciples to go ahead of him to those towns and villages preaching the gospel of the kingdom and winning people to Christ. In the beginning verse of today’s text, we find that …
The Seventy-two took joy from their victory in spiritual warfare (17-19).
They said “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” When they obeyed Jesus call to go on a mission to preach the gospel where it was not known, God’s Spirit went with them and removed the obstacles in their path. It did not matter whether those obstacles were cultural, political, social – even if they were supernatural. When God calls us on a mission, he equips us for that mission. He also goes with us because even though we are on a mission from God, we will encounter opposition. We will be involved in warfare. God does not promise to eliminate the opposition so that we do not have to do warfare. Instead, he promises to empower us to overcome amid the warfare.
The Old Testament shows us several examples of this. God sent Moses to Egypt to rescue the Israelites. He was at first opposed by the Israelites themselves. God empowered Moses to demonstrate his authenticity. Then Moses was opposed by the Egyptian magicians. God gave Moses power to overshadow the tricks of the Egyptian magicians. Pharoah was stubborn and he would not let the Israelites Go. God intervened a third time to show his power over all the gods of Egypt.
God sent David to do battle with the Philistine champion, Goliath. God did not strike down Goliath. He empowered David to do that. David had to obey the mission before he would see the deliverance. God was faithful to enable his missionary to overcome.
God sent Daniel to spend some time with the lions. Daniel was faithful to keep praying, which was all he could do. God was faithful to shut the mouths of the lions.
God sent Daniel’s three Hebrew friends (Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah AKA Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego) on a mission to defy the order to worship the golden statue. They obeyed that mission, and it got them thrown into a very hot place. The furnace even destroyed the soldiers who threw them in there. But God was faithful to keep the fire from harming the missionaries.
So, the seventy-two should not have been surprised that they would overcome in spiritual warfare. God’s people following God’s call to do God’s mission will overcome any opposition – even the opposition of the devil.
But Jesus tells these victorious missionaries that if they wanted to rejoice, there are some other things that they should take more joy from. Today I want to talk about that list.
Jesus said they should take joy in being known by God (20).
He said they should rejoice that their names are written in heaven. Most of the time when I thought about that statement, I thought Jesus was talking about the certainty of their eternal destiny. Since their names are written in heaven, the God was going to remember them and give them eternal life when Jesus comes again. But as I meditated on that statement this week, I realized that Jesus did not say that their names are going to be found someday when the role is called up yonder. No, his statement was “rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
Monday, Penny and I drove to Ridgecrest so that I could attend the ACGC Triennial Convention. It was a long 4 ½ hour trip. When I drove into the conference center, I stopped at the first building of several, and I wondered how long it would take for me to register. When I got to the counter, I told them my name. They immediately presented me with a key to my room, a meal ticket for the week, and a map to the building where I would be staying. I was in and out of that registration in less than three minutes. What made the process of registering so easy was that I had already preregistered a month ago. So, they already knew I was coming. They already knew my name.
What Jesus is saying is not just the fact that we have an eternal destiny waiting for us when Jesus comes back. No, it’s more important than that. Our names are already written in heaven now. We have a Father, and He knows our name. When Jesus returns, he’s not going to have to look your name up in the logbook to see if you will qualify for eternal life. Your name’s already there. You are important not because you will inherit the kingdom of God but because you presently have a relationship with the God of the kingdom. Your future is certain because it is already written down in heaven. You’ve got a key waiting for you with your name on it. You’ve got a meal ticket waiting for you with your name on it.
The hymn asked, “Is my name written there?” Jesus told these missionaries “Your name’s written there.” If you want something to rejoice about –- something to put on your joy list – put this: my name is written in heaven.
Now, the Bible doesn’t say that we are going to go to heaven. But it does say that when Jesus comes back, even if we have been asleep in our graves for a thousand years, we are going to hear his voice and come out of those graves alive and intact. It doesn’t tell us what he’s going to be saying. Maybe he will do for us what he did for his friend Lazarus. He said “Lazarus, come out” and Lazarus came out. I’d like to think that someday I’m going to hear “Jeff, come out.” Oh, what joy to be woke up by the Master’s voice!
Another thing we should put on our joy listis knowing what God teaches us (21-22).
Jesus rejoiced in that. He said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children.” You and I are the little children. God has taught us some things in his word that the greatest philosophers and thinkers the world had ever known missed. Hammurabi didn’t put it in his code. Plato and Socrates didn’t teach it to their students. Confucius didn’t know it. The Buddha couldn’t fathom it. But it’s common knowledge among us kids who read God’s word and believe what we read.
The popular and highly credentialed scholars of today look at God’s words and poke fun of them. But we know them as the words of eternal life. They think of them as myths and fairy tales. We think of them as the Lord’s instruction that makes us like a tree planted by the water: firmly planted and fruitfully living. We see the same words on the page as those worldly scholars do. The difference between us and them is that we know the author of those words. Other people stumble over those words, but to us, they are a lamp unto our feet and a light for our path.
Another thing we should put on our joy listis experiencing what God shows us (23-24).
Jesus told his disciples “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” They were living in amazing times. The kingdom of God was being built – one believer at a time. One village at a time. One town at a time.
The same is true today. God is still in the business of turning the world upside down and using ordinary believers to do it. Yes, ordinary believers. At least we know the names of the twelve original apostles. We don’t know the names of these faithful seventy-two. But they were successful and victorious because they were empowered by the Holy Spirit – the same Holy Spirit Jesus poured out on us.
Have you ever met someone whose life was dramatically transformed by the gospel? I have. I have seen it happen time and time again. I’ve seen whole families converted through simple acts of faithfulness by ordinary Christians. It can happen in your family. It can happen in our town. God wants us to see these things – to experience them. The prophets and kings could only imagine these things, but you and I can live them out. We are living in the gospel age, and the gospel is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes.
Michael Card writes of this passage “The world is being turned upside down because the Father wants it that way, and Jesus could not be more joyful at the prospect. It is a rare moment of light on an otherwise dark journey to Jerusalem.”[1]
When we say “Yes. Lord” when Jesus calls us to a mission that proclaims the gospel, we experience mutual joy with our Lord himself. He is committed to bringing the lost into his fold. He loves it when you and I cooperate with his plan. There is no happiness like the happiness of making the Lord Jesus happy.
[1] Card, Michael. Luke: The Gospel of Amazement. Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Books, 2011. p. 137.
I have been to a lot of funerals and memorial services — here and in several countries all around the world. The one passage of scripture that has been quoted and used for a funeral meditation more than any other has been Psalm 23. I think the reason so many choose that passage is that it helps us to concentrate on Jesus as our good shepherd. That picture of Jesus is comforting because it helps us to rely on Jesus and to know that he is going to take care of us throughout our lives and beyond. He is our shepherd, and we shall not want.
But I chose a different text for today’s message because I want us to look at three other pictures of Jesus. I want us to look at John chapter 11.
1 Now a certain man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived. 2 (Now it was Mary who anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and wiped his feet dry with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) 3 So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, look, the one you love is sick.” 4 When Jesus heard this, he said, “This sickness will not lead to death, but to God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 (Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.) 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he remained in the place where he was for two more days. 7 Then after this, he said to his disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples replied, “Rabbi, the Jewish leaders were just now trying to stone you to death! Are you going there again?” 9 Jesus replied, “Are there not twelve hours in a day? If anyone walks around in the daytime, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks around at night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11 After he said this, he added, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep. But I am going there to awaken him.” 12 Then the disciples replied, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 (Now Jesus had been talking about his death, but they thought he had been talking about real sleep.) 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and I am glad for your sake that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
Here we see a picture of Jesus Waiting (1-15).
I think it is very important that we see Jesus as he waits here. He does not rush to be at Lazarus’ side even though he knows he is sick. He loves his friend Lazarus, but he does not drop everything and rush to heal him.
There will come times in our lives when we pray — and pray earnestly — and it will seem like nothing is happening. We will be tempted to think that God is mad at us and that he is punishing us by ignoring us. That was not what was happening here. Jesus wanted to be at his friend’s side immediately, but there was a greater good that could only come about if Jesus waited to intervene.
A similar thing happened with Jairus. He came to Jesus pleading for him to heal his daughter, and Jesus agreed to do so, but before they got to his house, Jairus was told not to bother the teacher anymore. His daughter was dead. Jairus thought that it was too late. But it is never too late for Jesus to bring life back to the dead. That little girl was dead, but all it took from Jesus was the sound of his voice to make her alive again.
Jesus is waiting today. He waits on the edge of his throne for the time when he can come back and rescue all those who are imprisoned in death. He has a key in his hand. It is the key to that prison. No one else can unlock it. But Jesus has the key, and he is waiting to use it. We can trust him with our loved ones, the same way Mary and Martha learned they could trust him with their brother.
Let’s read on…
34 He asked, “Where have you laid him?” They replied, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 Thus the people who had come to mourn said, “Look how much he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “This is the man who caused the blind man to see! Couldn’t he have done something to keep Lazarus from dying?” 38 Jesus, intensely moved again, came to the tomb. (Now it was a cave, and a stone was placed across it.)
Here we see a picture of Jesus Weeping (34-38).
Jesus Wept. Oh, what an amazing thing that God’s own son would love a mere human enough to weep over him. He is everything, and we are nothing compared to his magnificence. Yet he has compassion for us and cares for us.
Some believe that nature is all there is — cold and heartless and unmoved nature. But the Bible tells us of a God who so Loved the world that he gave us his Only Son. And it tells us that the Son gave himself for us because he cares. We know he cares. The most natural pose for Jesus is the picture of him weeping. When the people of Bethany saw him weeping, they said “Behold how he loved him!” As he walked to the grave the Bible says he was groaning in himself.
Jesus is in heaven today, but he still feels the loss of one of his own. Before he ascended, he told us that he would be with us wherever we went, until the end of the age. He’s with us today. We do not weep alone.
Let’s read on…
39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, replied, “Lord, by this time the body will have a bad smell, because he has been buried four days.” 40 Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you that you have listened to me. 42 I knew that you always listen to me, but I said this for the sake of the crowd standing around here, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, he shouted in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The one who had died came out, his feet and hands tied up with strips of cloth, and a cloth wrapped around his face. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and let him go.”
Here we see a picture of Jesus Winning (39-44).
Jesus wept at his friend’s tomb but that was not because death was the end. Death is real, and it is an enemy, but it is an enemy that can be defeated. Jesus demonstrated his power over death that day by calling out the name of Lazarus and telling him to come out of that tomb.
The Bible says that ” The one who had died came out.” We are here today not to say goodbye forever but to say, “God be with you until we meet again.” The same Jesus who called Lazarus out of his tomb promises to do the same thing for all of us. He said, “Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out.”
The apostle Paul said We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed — in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. Now when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will happen, “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
The picture of Jesus winning over the death of his friend Lazarus in John 11 is a picture we need to keep with us because it will help us through all these days of temporary death and defeat. When Jesus showed up, Lazarus could not stay in the grave. When Jesus comes back, neither will we. He’s coming back.
Photo by Maria Lindsey Content Creator on Pexels.com
FOLLOWING
Matthew 16:21-26 NET.
21 From that time on Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him: “God forbid, Lord! This must not happen to you!” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.” 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life?
Our Adult Sunday School class recently watched a video series based on Kyle Idleman’s book Not a Fan. In his book, Idleman said “There is a tendency to define yourself as a follower based on how you feel about Jesus, but following requires there to be more than a feeling. Following requires movement.”[1] The book title reflects the fact that many think they are followers of Christ, but they are merely fans. A fan is enamored with Jesus, but not committed to obeying him.
In today’s passage of scripture, Peter starts acting not like a follower of Christ, but like a fan of Christ. He gets off target in his relationship with Jesus, and Jesus must rebuke him and get him back moving in the right direction. It would do us all well to study this Passage in more detail. We have determined to be more than just fans of Jesus. We are committed to following him.
The first thing we see in today’s text is that Jesus was fully aware of God’s plan for his life (21).
God had a plan for Jesus Christ. If you are familiar with the tract “The Four Spiritual Laws” you will recognize the first one is “God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life.” Well, God’s wonderful plan for Jesus’ life meant that he had an appointment in Jerusalem. There he would suffer many things at the hands of the religious and political leaders. There he would be wrongly accused of all kinds of crimes. There he would be put on trial. There he would be beaten and humiliated. There he would suffer the agony of death by crucifixion.
God’s plan for Jesus’ life on earth involved many wonderful things. But it also involved much hardship, suffering and failure. Some people describe the life of faith as if it is one victory after another, with no defeats and no negative and discouraging thoughts. Well, if you judge Jesus by such a description, he fails the test of faith. For Jesus, following his Father meant doing things he didn’t want to do, and suffering for things that were not his fault.
One difference between Jesus and us is that we do not always know all the details of following God. I’m glad that is the case because I know myself. If I were to know all the ramifications and results of following God, I would be constantly tempted to turn away. I don’t like to suffer. I don’t like to be misunderstood and hated and ridiculed and condemned. Nobody does. But Jesus knew exactly what would happen to him in Jerusalem and he went anyway. That is what it means to follow God’s plan.
Peter – on the other hand – was an obstacle to that plan (22-23).
As soon as Peter heard Jesus describe God’s plan for his life, Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him: “God forbid, Lord! This must not happen to you!” This is the same Peter who had just told Jesus “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” That was true and is true. Jesus is more than just a prophet. He is more than just an enlightened teacher. He is more than just a Rabbi. Jesus is God’s one and only Son. He is also the Anointed One – the Messiah – the promised king of Israel. As the Christ, he is also the king of God’s new kingdom which is coming to earth.
Peter knew all those things about Jesus and testified to that truth. Jesus had told Peter that he did not get that knowledge from flesh and blood. It had been revealed to him by the Father in heaven. Peter knew a lot about Jesus, but he was not prepared to look at the other side of the coin. When Jesus started talking about the suffering that he would experience, that is when Peter said, “this must not happen to you.” He was prepared to hear the good news of the gospel, but he was determined to rebuke the bad news of the same gospel.
Just like that – Peter turned from being a proclaimer of who Christ is to being a stumbling block to Christ. Just like that – Peter changed from being a revealer of God’s plan to being an opponent to God’s plan. Jesus looked right into the eyes of his disciple, and he told him “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.”
We are not following God’s plan until we are committed to following his whole plan. His whole plan includes some wonderful things and some not so wonderful things. If we only accept part of the plan, we are rejecting the whole plan. That is why there are some “Christians” who will stand before Christ, and he will tell them to depart into the fire. They will think they are representatives of Christ and his kingdom, but they will really be stumbling blocks.
To repair this damage, Jesus challenged Peter and all believers to follow him to the cross (24).
He said, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” That is one command that must be obeyed in three stages. The first stage is self-denial. Peter had to learn to let go of his own expectations and qualifications. He had determined to follow Jesus, but in his mind, there were certain conditions to his commitment. He would follow Christ to the throne, but not to the cross.
Whenever we say “Yes, Lord, but” we are putting conditions on our commitment. Those conditions are stumbling blocks for us, and they make us stumbling blocks for others. Self-denial means looking for all those conditions and caveats and qualifications that are part of our plans that may not be part of God’s plans for us. It means letting go of self to follow the Savior. Self does not want to suffer, but to follow God’s plan, we may have to suffer.
The second stage is taking up the cross. Jesus literally took up his cross and carried it to the place where they hung him on it. Many of his disciples did the same thing when it came time for them to die. But all true followers will have a cross to bear in some way. Your cross may be where Jesus wants you to live. Your cross may be the job he wants you to have. It may be the people he sends you to reach. Self wants to avoid the cross, but a denied self takes up the cross and bears it because it is God’s plan to reach others.
The third stage is following the Savior. He not only took up his cross, but he also allowed himself to die on it. To follow means to follow through. You are not following if you take an exit before you get to your destination. Peter wanted to start with Jesus in Galilee and end up with Jesus at his return, but he wanted to skip the difficult stage of the trip. It doesn’t work that way. When we commit to follow him, we are committing to follow all the way.
That is why Jesus warned all believers of the obstacles to their salvation (25-26).
He knew that along the way, we would be tempted to get sidetracked. That is why he told his disciples “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life?”
A more literal translation of his statement would be “Because whoever wants to save his neck will destroy it, but whoever destroys his neck on account of me will find it. Because what does a man profit if he gains the whole world but loses his neck? Or what will a man give in return for his neck?” Cut off your neck and you will die. It is that important to preserve it. That was why Jesus used that image. Our instinct for self-preservation is an obstacle to our salvation. To truly follow Jesus, must be willing to die for him.
A second obstacle Jesus mentions is our desire for gain. We must be willing to lose everything for Jesus. He is the pearl of great price that we must be willing to sell everything to get. Of course, the irony is that we are going to eventually lose everything anyway. Even the breath in our throats is going to disappear someday. When that happens, all that we have acquired in life will be gone. None of it can buy us back a second of life. Following Jesus costs us everything, but it is the only way to gain the permanent life he promises.
There will come times in our life when the decision to follow Jesus will be tested. Today’s text reveals one of those times in Peter’s life. He wanted to follow Jesus, but his own desires and ambitions would not accept the direction Jesus was going. Peter learned a valuable lesson that day. The life of the true follower always leads to the cross. Any Christianity that does not begin with self-denial is always a false Christianity.
That is why Jesus said that we must enter his kingdom by repenting. It is not just our sins that we must repent of. It is us. It is our desires, our ambitions, our expectations. It is all those things that we want that would keep us from doing and being what Jesus wants. All those things are leading us in the wrong direction. We must turn around and face the cross. Our way is not the way. He is the way, the truth, and the life.
[1] Idleman Kyle. Not a Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus. Updated & expanded ed. Zondervan 2016. p. 106.
