M16: Reaction To The Reaction Series

APPLICATION OF VERSE 22

This reaction of Simon Peter is not what we expect, but it is what Peter does. I heard a statement a few months ago that stuck with me and I have no idea where I heard it: “It is not my actions that I struggle with, it is my reactions.” I identify with that. Peter had a reaction in which he began to rebuke the Christ and he was dead wrong (as we will see in a minute in verse 23). His reaction got me thinking about how I react to things and how I can react better.

How can we react to people better? How can we react to situations or comments or events that are out of our control better? How can we react to the nightly news better or to shifts in our country we do not agree with better? How can we react better? In order to answer that, I wondered what Simon Peter should have done!

I think Peter should have rooted himself in self-control in prayer and reflection. He should have really listened to what Jesus was telling he and the disciples and then he should have taken time to pray and reflect on what he heard. God will help us manage our reactions, but we have to let Him in to do so… otherwise we are reacting only in our flesh.

I think Peter should have rooted himself in love and compassion with some humble self-reflection. The older I get the more I see that being self-aware of our motivations and our emotions and our preconceived notions is half the battle in life. Peter could have realized that he brought notions of what Jesus should do to the table for which Jesus never agreed. Peter needed to check himself and perhaps he would have found bad attitudes before rebuking Jesus.

I don’t think Peter needed to do this in his particular situation, but we might. We might need to take a step back in love, compassion, and self-control and settle our heart on loving the people around us and dealing out forgiveness. Instead of tit-for-tat when it comes to our reactions, we can pray and reflect and ask the Holy Spirit to motivate us for compassion and forgiveness. Sometimes instead of anger for people we need to have pity instead. When we feel provoked or upset, we can run to Jesus to help us respond with love and compassion rather than anger or resentment.

I think Simon Peter reacted without thinking or reacted without any prayer and this always gets us into trouble. It got him into a bit of a pickle and it is the same for us. How we act is important, but so is how we react to people, situations, events, and feelings around us. I myself am not good at this, but it is still true.

TRANSITION

So, verse 22 of our passage has Peter reacting to the news that Jesus would suffer and die. Jesus’ purpose is bound up in salvation and deliverance and forgiveness and grace which goes through His suffering and death and Peter does not like what he hears. What do we find in verse 23?

VERSE 23: REACTION TO THE REACTION

RE-READ MATTHEW 16:23

23 But He turned and said to Peter, “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.”