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Do you remember the message from last week? Peter proclaimed in front of Jesus that “You are the Christ, Messiah. “ Peter seemed to have this hope that Jesus was the savior, glorious king, ruler, and He would deliver them from Roman rule. Despite this, Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected, and he must be killed and after three days rise again. (Mark 8:31) Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. (Verse 32) Peter probably said something like this, “Teacher, that will never happen. It cannot be. Please don’t say anything like that. “ But Jesus rebuked Peter saying “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” I feel this is such harsh and strict words.
Now, what does it mean to have human concerns? “You are such a good person and you cannot be killed miserably. You are God, so you cannot be dying in that way. “ Peter probably had a thought like that.
Then, what does it mean not to have in mind the concerns of God? Do you remember that God delivered the Israelites who were slaves in Egypt? The Ten Commandment was given to them, they were made God’s people, and they worshipped God in the tabernacle. Please read Exodus 19:5, 6. 「Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession…. you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ This is the promise of God.
God’s plan was that the savior died on the cross taking all of our sin so that he could bring forgiveness, rose again, and to give us eternal hope. God’s plan never changes. He decided even before we were born to set us free from sin because He loves each one of us. He now sees us, Christians, as His treasure, and He makes us priests and a holy nation.
And he said to them in Mark 9:1, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.” The Resurrection of Jesus is the coming of the kingdom of God, and the birth of the church through the Holy Spirit is the coming of God’s kingdom.
This year, 2020, we have Easter on April 12th. It’s sad that we won’t be able to celebrate Easter together as church this year. However, wherever we are at, we want to remember together that the Resurrection of Christ is the coming of God’s kingdom. We want to worship Jesus as our savior, remembering Christ brought change into our lives.