All Who Desire to Live Godly Will Suffer Persecution

As I was reading in Matthew 16 one morning last fall, I was a little stunned at Jesus' reaction to Peter in verse 23. He'd just begun sharing how He would suffer and die (v. 21), to which Peter takes Him aside and says, "Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you." And this is Jesus' response, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me."

Why did Jesus give Peter, who He had just called 'blessed' in verse 17, the same rebuke He gave His archenemy, Satan (Mt. 4:10)? As I began to look at the parallels and search a little more, the Holy Spirit showed me that both parties tempted Jesus with the same message: suffering isn't part of your job, avoid it. The devil said (4:8-9), "Worship me, and You won't have to suffer on this earth any longer." And my translation of Peter's words: "Seriously Jesus, You're the Son of God. You're not really gonna suffer and die at the hands of mere men." But suffering and dying are at the core of Jesus' messianic purpose -and He knew it.

“But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on himthe iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4-6)

The last words of His rebuke to Peter really convicted me: "For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man." How deeply-ingrained the “It’s all about me” mentality is in our lives! Suffering as our Savior suffered can’t really be part of the deal. But Paul’s words to Timothy resonate through the generations to all of us who call God our Lord today, “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Tim. 3:12).

Directly after His rebuke to Peter, Jesus tells all His disciples to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him. “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (verses 24-26).

Too often I fall into Peter’s boat of setting my mind on the things of man. Too often I react to my struggles with a “woe is me” attitude. But in 2 Timothy we see it is to be expected and in Philippians 1:29 that it is a privilege to suffer for Christ. Our trials also test the genuineness of our faith so that it will be found to “praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7). Furthermore, without trials, without frustrations, without hardships -I would never know what it means to be held in the arms of Jesus.

Trials make the promise sweet, Trials give new life to prayer; Trials bring me to His feet, Lay me low, and keep me there. ~William Cowper, from "Welcome Cross"

I pray that each of you, by the grace and strength of God, can break free of our carnal "woe is me", complaining attitudes in the face of struggles, and turn to the radiant embrace of our Savior.