Graceways September 27 Devotional

MATTHEW 16:15-23 | ¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” ²⁰ Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. ²¹ From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised. ²² And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” ²³ But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me, for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

Mentoring is nearly always messy. Investing in others to enable their leadership requires patience. We have been looking at Moses who mentored and encouraged Joshua, his successor. In Mark 8, we get a look at Jesus investing in and coaching Peter. Peter, or Rocky, remember was to be a crucial leader in the formation of the church, and the initiation of the Jesus movement.

In this episode, we see Jesus commending and correcting Peter, both in the strongest terms possible! No leader is perfect in vision, direction, execution, or management. Everyone needs both encouragement and critical insight. Peter knew and loved Jesus, passionately, and partly because of this, resisted the cross and suffering of his Master.

Are you better at encouragement or correction? Why is that?

Gracious God,

Help me to be a source of encouragement and correction for those I invest in. Make me open to critical insight in my own life.

Amen.