[After Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah,] Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone who he was. “The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”
Key Thought
Once the apostles had the right designation for Jesus — the Messiah from God, they needed to have the implications of the term explained to them. While Jesus had to repeat this explanation for them later, [1] they needed to get it through their hard heads that God’s servant, the Messiah, had to suffer and rise from the dead. Jesus redefined everyone’s expectations of the Messiah, but not because he was powerless to accomplish his mission in another way. He suffered because it was God’s will that the Messiah would do so in an effort to reach all peoples and fulfill all the promises.
Today’s Prayer
Dear LORD God Almighty, please give me the courage to truly follow Jesus as the Messiah, all the way to the cross! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Related Scripture Readings
Luke 24:44-48Acts 8:29-381 Peter 2:4Ⓒ 1996-2023 Heartlight, Inc. This material may not be reproduced in part or whole for commercial use without written consent. What Jesus Did! is written by Phil Ware and is available in book form. Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.