How quickly things change and why we always need to be on guard.

Check this out!

Matthew 16:13-19(NKJV)

When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus answered and said to 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 also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 

And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Wow, Simon Peter is in tight with the boss.  It seems to me that Jesus just made Simon Peter the top apostle.  Pretty cool for Simon Peter, right?

So just 4 verses later here is what Jesus says to Simon Peter.

Matthew 16:22-23(NKJV)

Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”

But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

What the heck?  Did Simon Peter go from being a man of God to being a man of Satan that quickly?  Was Jesus mistaken to name Simon Peter the top apostle?  Did Jesus take that designation away from Simon Peter after calling him Satan?

The answers in my opinion are no, no, and no.

I think this demonstrates what we all face on a daily basis.  Even when we seek God with all our hearts, we are still subjected to human emotions and reactions.  We are still swayed by what is happening in our daily life.

In the case above Simon Peter was acting out of concern and love for Jesus.  Simon Peter certainly wasn't trying to subvert God's plan on purpose.  It is just that in our daily lives we sometimes don't think things through or we lose sight of the big picture. 

The lesson here though is that when that happens, Jesus doesn't reject us.  He understands.  He has said many times it is a heart issue.  As long as He knows our hearts are on him He forgives us the stuff where we stumble.  Our responsibility is to stay in the Word and stay in prayer so that Jesus can bring our stumbles to our attention so that we recognize them and can do better in the future.