Mark 8:31-32
The
more difficult the news is to hear, the more difficult it is to hear. Really
bad news often gets jumbled in the mind of the person hearing the news because
the brain goes into survival mode. Hearing the additional information is not as
important as surviving. “Your hair is on fire…” is more important than “with
the brightness of the sunshine.” And in an instant our brains send a rush of
hormones to our bodies signaling danger. We are ready for the fight, flight or
freeze. And this is long before our brain has caught up and processed the
sunshine bit.
I
think the disciples, and perhaps Peter more than the others, heard Jesus speak
about His coming suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection, and his brain
cut off before processing the rise again piece. That is probably because the
most popular picture of the Messiah in Jesus’ day was of a conquering hero who
would defeat Rome and set up an earthly kingdom, a kingdom patterned after King
David.
David
led Israel during the glory days. They were the leading power of that time.
They subjugated their enemies. They traded with the world. The riches of the
world were brought to them as tribute and to purchase peace. They lacked
nothing.
You
can see why a people placed under the oppression of Roman rule would want this
kind of Messiah, this kind of freedom. They were taxed to the point of
starvation. Extortion and bribery became a way of life. They always had big
brother Rome looking over their shoulders. Even a whiff of rebellion or
discontent was swiftly punished. We think the IRS targeting conservative groups
was bad, can you imagine if that was the normal accepted practice? Can you
imagine having laws that regulated how, when and where we could read the
Scriptures?
No
wonder Peter pulls Jesus aside and tells Him to knock it off, to stop talking
about suffering and death. Jesus is supposed to triumph over Rome. That is what
Peter signed up for in the first place. Peter wants a victory parade, not a
funeral procession.
But
Peter missed the third day results. He heard the suffering and death, alright,
but he missed the triumph over the greatest enemy of all. Rome was peanuts
compared to death. Rome came and went as a civilization. Rome fell. It was
replaced, divided up like a Gazelle carcass in the middle of a hyena frenzy. Once
it began to crumble, nothing could stop its collapse.
I
can imagine Peter at the end of his life looking back at this rebuke and
shaking his head. How stupid could any one man be! How could he have missed
what Jesus was saying! How could he have been so misguided! No wonder Jesus had
to specifically bring Peter back into forgiveness and restoration after the
Resurrection.
Have
you ever missed the obvious and lived to regret it? Well, I mean you obviously
lived! But do you regret having missed the obvious? What would have been
different in your life if you had gotten it the first time around?