God’s Advisor

Why do teachers give tests? They want to know whether their students are learning the material. And in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus gave this test to His disciples: “Who do people say I am?” (Mark 8:27 NLT).

They’d seen Jesus walk on water, heal leprosy, and even raise the dead. But did they really understand who He was?

Apparently not, because they replied, “Some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets” (verse 28 NLT).

So Jesus said, “But who do you say I am?” (verse 29 NLT).

Simon Peter got it. He said, “You are the Messiah” (verse 29 NLT). In Matthew’s gospel, Peter says, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (16:16 nlt).

Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you” (16:17 NLT).

But then Jesus dropped what I could best describe as a bombshell. He “began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead” (Mark 8:31 NLT).

Jesus spoke plainly. He laid it all out for the disciples. So Peter took Him aside “and began to reprimand him for saying such things” (verse 32 NLT). He was rebuking God Almighty.

As a result, Jesus told him, “Get away from me, Satan! . . . You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s” (verse 33 NLT).

Have you ever given God advice? I have. And you probably have too. We make our plans and then ask God to bless them. The question is who’s in charge? Who’s leading whom?

Let’s put God’s will above our own.