From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
There was an officer in the navy who had always dreamed of commanding a battleship. He finally achieved that dream and was given commission of the newest and proudest ship in the fleet. One stormy night, as the ship plowed through the seas, the captain was on duty on the bridge when off to the port side he spotted a strange light rapidly closing with his own vessel. Immediately he ordered the signalman to flash the message to the unidentified craft, ’Alter your course ten degrees to the south.’ Only a moment had passed before the reply came: ’Alter your course ten degrees to the north.’ Determined that his ship would take a backseat to no other, the captain snapped out the order to be sent: ’Alter course ten degrees--I am the CAPTAIN!’ The response beamed back, ’Alter your course ten degrees--I am Seaman Third Class Jones.’ Now infuriated, the captain grabbed the signal light with his own hands and fired off: ’Alter course, I am a battleship.’ The reply came back. ’Alter your course, I am a lighthouse.’
No matter how big or important any of us think we are, and no matter how right we think our plans are, God’s Word stands forth as an unchanging beacon. All other courses must be altered to match His.
Are you like the captain in that story? Have you ever said something, and it turn out to be the wrong thing to say? And then you find yourself wishing there were some way to retract those words, and undo what you have done? Have you ever made plans, and then those plans turn out to be the wrong thing to do? Have you ever overstepped your bounds and took a wrong course of action?
If that is something you have done, then what one thing did you need most at that time? Did you need someone to give you a rebuke? Did you need someone to warn you out of love before you made a mistake? And, let’s just say there was someone there to do that very thing. Now, what would the right response be?
We all know what the right thing to do would be. Even though we don’t like it, the right thing would be to try and set right the wrong. The right thing would be to abandon your plan or your action for the right plan and action.
It’s one thing to make a mistake, even a big mistake. That’s just a really nice way of saying it’s one thing to sin, even to commit a big sin, but it’s just a whole new level of bad when we refuse to heed the confrontation that God brings across our path in an attempt to get us to change course.
Friends, here’s the truth. All of us mess up. We all say things we shouldn’t say, and we all do things we shouldn’t do. The real test is how do we respond when God brings us face to face with our mistakes, and tells us to change our direction?
In our text, we see an example of Peter’s plan being different than the plan of Jesus. That’s nothing unusual. Often our plans fail to line up with God’s plans. But, because of this very principle, we see a certain response from Peter. There are three things that you need to see this morning, and I would encourage you to take notes as this can be used throughout your entire life. There are three things, plus some application principles that you need to know, as we look at the message entitled, “But That’s Not How I Had It Planned; How to respond when God’s plan doesn’t match your own.”
The first thing you need to see this morning is; you need to expect that God’s plans can be different from your plans. Expect that God’s plans can be different than your plans.
You know what part of Peter’s problem was? The biggest part of Peter’s problem was that he expected God’s plan to always make sense. Peter thought that God’s plan should always be what he was thinking. It is because of that, Peter was not emotionally prepared to respond to what Jesus said.
Notice with me Jesus’ plan in verse 21. “From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.” And all of this seemed to make no sense to Peter. Peter had just a few moments earlier given an answer inspired by God in confessing who the person of Jesus really was. In verse 16 he said, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.” And Jesus blessed him and began to tell of His plans to build the church. Now, Jesus starts talking about death and suffering, and it just doesn’t make any sense to Peter.
That very same principle can be found throughout Scripture. In Isaiah 55: 8-9 God tells us that His ways are higher than our ways, and that His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Proverbs 14:12 tells us that there is a way that seems right to man, but the end of it is destruction. Psalm 92:5-6 says that the Lord’s works are mighty and that senseless man has no understanding of them. If Peter had been thinking correctly, then when God’s plan differed from his own, it wouldn’t have taken him by surprise.
When Jesus gave His plan to the disciples, it centered around one word, MUST. In other words, this thing wasn’t up for a vote. It wasn’t just some proposal that He was throwing on the table for a committee to think about it.
The word MUST in this verse is in the indicative mood, and present tense. To put it simply, the indicative mood means that the word must literally means a definite necessity. It was binding in nature and gave no room for an alternative. He MUST. The fact that it is in the present tense simply deals with its relevance. Jesus was saying, “I have a plan. I’ve had it for a long time. It has no room for deviation, and it is just as relevant today as it was when I made it.”
Notice that His MUST was four fold. First, He MUST go to Jerusalem. It was necessary for Him to go to the city of sacrifice if He were to be our sacrifice. Secondly, He MUST suffer. He knew that He would suffer rejection, ridicule, torture, and beatings. None of that took Him by surprise. Thirdly, He MUST be killed. He was going to fulfill His purpose by giving His very life as a payment for our sin. And fourthly, He MUST be raised again. If there had been no resurrection, then we could have no salvation.
He went for human sin. He died for us to have forgiveness from our sins. He died because He wanted to save you. He had a plan, and His plan was based on a MUST.
But that shouldn’t surprise you. Every plan of God’s is a definite. There is no means that the believer, or nonbeliever can alter the plan of God. John MacArthur put it well when he wrote, “God’s plan is not subject to change. It can be believed or rejected, but never altered.” Can you see that the unchanging God has unchangeable plans?
The point is that everything recorded in verse 21 was different than what Peter had wanted. It was nothing like what Peter thought, wanted, or conceived. But if Peter had been thinking correctly, he would have understood that God’s plan can be very different than his own.
Listen, you will respond to His plan differently if you are thinking differently. But do you suppose that one of the reasons we respond so wrongly to God’s plans is simply that we get caught off guard?
You think, well it would be best if you always had perfect health, but then you receive the doctor’s report, and you are unprepared. You think it would be best if the church would operate the way you think it should, but then you discover that God has a different plan to run it, and you feel deflated. You think it would be best if everything went your way, but God doesn’t allow it, and you are taken by surprise. You think it would be best if you could see every step of the way in God’s plan for you life, but you find out that most often you can hardly see the next step, and you are caught off guard.
Do you see the point? There are times when we have problems with the verse 21 in our life. There are just times when our verse 21 is just completely opposite of what we aspire to do, or desire to have. There are just sometimes we are completely taken by surprise, and God’s plan appears so different than what we had planned. That is simply because we were not thinking biblically, or theologically.
Often our plans go against God’s Word, or they go against God’s nature. A proper thought process allows us to see that when His plan differs from ours, then His is always right. Learn to expect that God’s plan will often be different than your plan.
But, secondly notice that we need to learn to respond differently when God’s plan is different. Learn how to respond when God’s plan is different.
Listen, you and I need to everything that we possibly can to stay out of verse 22. When you are faced with a verse 21 situation, don’t find yourself giving a verse 22 response. Let’s take a look at it. “Then Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.”
Peter began to rebuke Jesus. Isn’t it amazing how that when Jesus plan differed from Peter’s plan, then Peter develops a spirit of rebellion against the savior? Doesn’t that just amaze you? Or should that really amaze you at all? Isn’t that very similar to the very way we handle things when God’s plan is starkly different from our own? No, we may not rebuke God, but we certainly have a hard time with obedience to Him.
Notice something about this verse. The word rebuke is what is in what is called the infinitive mood. It’s kind of like the Energizer Bunny used to be. It keeps going, and going, and going… Well, Peter just kept rebuking, and rebuking, and rebuking…And there is a great example of the Lord’s patience. You know, there are times when we just don’t seem to understand God’s plan. Or, maybe we understand it, but we are just so stubborn we don’t want to do it. And so we refuse, and refuse, and refuse. While we aren’t going to look at it yet, just remember, there is a verse 23. There is coming a time when you will refuse His plan for the last time, and the results will not be very favorable for you. God is a patient God, but He is also a just God. He will patiently wait for you to follow after His plan for your life, but He will not wait forever.
But if the rebuke by Peter wasn’t enough, there is something here that tells us more about the nature of the rebuke. Notice that the verse says that Peter TOOK Him. The word took is the Greek word proslabomenos. It is a verb that carries the implication of having a right to do something. Peter took Jesus to the side and rebuked Him as he had every right to do so. While that should cause us to shudder at the very though of being so callous toward the Lord, often that is our very attitude toward His very plan for our lives. When God’s plan contradicted Peter’s idea of what was best, then Peter rebuked the Lord.
Look with me at how he did it. Verse 22 says that Peter said to Him, “Be it far from thee, Lord.” This was a Hebrew colloquialism that meant literally, “God be merciful to you.” Peter’s intention was good. He was just trying to protect the Lord. But, there is some irony here that cannot be missed. He also said, “this shall not be unto thee.” Peter used the strongest possible voice of negation. It is much like our phrase, “Over my dead body.” In essence, Peter said, “I hear what you said. I know this is what you think you need to do, but God be merciful to you, because there is just no way I’m going to let you do it.”
How much is that like you and I? We discover that God’s plan is different that our plan, and then we respond very similar to the way Peter did. We refuse, over and over to submit to His will. We sing songs like “Oh How I Love Jesus.” Then after affirming our love for Him, we continue our walk of disobedience to His will.
We need to take these things and make some application. There are four principles that are necessary to understand at this point, which will help you greatly in responding correctly to God’s plan.
First principle: The greatest test of your commitment to God is when your plan is different to yours. The greatest test of your commitment to God is when His plan is different than yours.
Has God brought some verse 21 things into your life lately? Has He taken the very plan that you had, and completely demonstrated how that it is not in accordance with His plan?
Well preacher, how can I know if it is really God’s plan that I have been confronted with? The answer is simple. God has revealed His plan to us through His word. If your plan goes against His word in any way, then you are acting in accordance with your plan, and not His.
How is God’s plan revealed in Scripture? For the sinner, God’s plan is that you would accept Christ as your savior. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Listen, God devised salvations plan for you from before the foundations of this world were ever laid. You can refuse to accept His plan of salvation for you. You can continue to go about life, living it how you think is best, but God really knows best. He knows what you really need is forgiveness of sin. He knows you need Jesus as the lord of your life. He realizes that apart from that, you are facing an eternity in a place called Hell. Why don’t you just abandon your plan, and let God work out His plan in your life? Why don’t you just accept Jesus as your savior?
God’s plan for the believer is revealed in Scripture. Listen, He desires for you to live a life that is holy before Him. That very command is given to you in His word. Be ye holy, for I am holy. Living a life of holiness means living a life that is separate form sin. If you desire God’s blessings on your life, don’t fool yourself by thinking God will bless you for having sin in your life. Friend, that just isn’t so. He desires not only that you live a life of holiness, but that you live a life that demonstrates love for others as well. Wasn’t that His great command to the believer? Thou shalt love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength, and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. It is clear today. If you plan doesn’t allow for a true love for God, and a true love for you brothers and sisters in Christ, and a true love that compels you to share the good news of God’s wonderful salvation to a lost world, then friend, you plan is not the same as God’s plan.
God’s plan for the church is revealed in Scripture. Just as He wants the believer to be holy, He also desires for the church to be holy. The church is the bride of Christ. God does not want a bride for His Son that is full of the blemishes of sin. Any time we attempt to say that God will bless the church while it allows sin, we have changed the truth of God into a lie. God never blesses when sin is present.
God’s plan for the church is that Christ be the head of it. There is no room for rulers in the church other than Christ. We looked at that last Wednesday night. If you usurp authority in His church, friend you are acting in complete disobedience to His plan for the church.
The greatest test for your commitment to God is when His plan differs from your plan. But the second principle you need to see is this. When God’s plan is different than yours, it is best to ask questions, not make statements. Let me repeat that. When God’s plan is different from yours, it is best to ask questions, not make statements.
How do you think this would have turned out for Peter if he had asked for teaching, wisdom, instruction, insight, and just plain old understanding? Wouldn’t that have been so much better than jumping the gun, and rebuking the savior? If he would have asked questions, somehow I just believe that he would have received answers.
But, it is often hard for us to do that. Sometimes it is just so hard for us to consider God’s plan and ask Him for a better knowledge of it because we often talk too much, and listen too little. It is often hard for us to stop and consider His plan because we often think we know best, even though we should know that God has perfect knowledge. It is often hard for us to consider God’s plan because we just somehow think that His plan will not work. All of this is simply because we do take the time to seek the details of His plan, and ask Him for a better understanding of it.
The greatest test for your commitment to God is when His plan differs from your plan. When God’s plan is different than yours, it is best to ask questions, not make statements. And thirdly, just because you passionately believe something does not make you right. Just because you passionately believe something does not make it right.
When you read the verse when Peter rebuked the Lord, you can just hear the passion in his voice. He honestly believed that the Lord’s plan was the wrong one, and Peter believed that from the depths of his soul.
You know, we often confuse passion with the truth. We often fail to consider that we can sincerely believe that something is the right approach, and be sincerely wrong about it.
There is an important thing to develop in the ministry of being a servant. We must develop a spirit of humility. Why? It is because you may sincerely believe and be passionate about being right, and be passionately wrong. And many times that difference, that very deviation from God’s already prescribed plan may become a dividing issue in the ministry of the church. Why is that possible? It is because many times our passions have more to do with personal preference than with God’s outlined plan for the church.
The greatest test for your commitment to God is when His plan differs from your plan. When God’s plan is different than yours, it is best to ask questions, not make statements. Just because you passionately believe something does not make you right. And notice this fourthly. Your definition of love may be different that God’s definition. Your definition of love may be different than God’s definition.
Peter believed that stopping Jesus was the loving thing to do. No doubt, Peter thought that this would be the greatest display of love to the savior that could ever be expressed. But, Jesus knew the most loving thing would be to follow God’s plan that would take Him to the cross of Calvary. Peter’s version of love would have stopped salvations plan. God’s version of love made salvation available to all who will believe.
That is why it is important for us to follow God’s plan, and not our own. That is why we need to know more about the ministry principles as He has outlined so thoroughly in His word. We are to minister to and serve others. Disregarding God’s plan misguides others. It is important to tell the lost person about Christ. That’s God’s plan for salvation. It is important to yield our personal will to His will for our person. That’s God’s plan for the believer. It is important to confront sin in the church body. That’s God’s plan for having a clean bride for His Son. It is important to receive sound biblical teaching on the plan of God. That’s the only way we can learn it.
We have covered two of the three things we need to see in this passage. We have said that you need to expect that God’s plans can be different than your plans. Secondly, we need to learn to respond differently when God’s plan is different. The last thing is this: we need to be willing to rebuke and to receive rebuke.
Notice with me what verse 23 says. “But He turned and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me Satan: thou art an offense unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.”
Jesus gave Peter the strongest rebuke that is recorded in all of Scriptures toward the disciples. He addressed Peter as Satan. The point was, “Peter, that is about as anti-God as possible. That is the very thing that Satan would have wanted. That would be the very end of salvation’s plan. And if you think you are acting in my best interest, then you are sorely misguided.”
When you think about it, Peter was tempting Christ with the very same temptation that Satan had used to tempt Christ. Satan offered Christ the right to rule the world if Jesus would but just bow down and worship him. He offered Christ the crown without having to take the cross. And, Peter did the same thing. He was more concerned with the comfort of Christ than with the “what” of Christ’s plan.
A. T. Robertson put it best when he wrote, “None are more formidable instruments of temptation that the well-meaning friend, who cares more for a person’s comfort than for his character.”
What does that make you? What do you become when you care more about a person’s comfort than you care about their character? Notice what Jesus said in verse 23. “Thou art an offense to me.” The word offense is the Greek word scandalon. It is where we get our English word scandal. It literally means public offense and shame, defamatory talk. It is commonly translated in the King James as a stumbling block. When we refuse to consider God’s plan for the sake of another’s comfort, we take the position of acting in a deceitful and scandalous manner against them.
Why should we be able to rebuke when another needs it, and receive rebuke when we need it? Notice verse 23 again. “For thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of man.” To make that a little easier to understand, it literally means, you are not setting you mind on God’s interests, but on man’s interests.
I would like to give you just three more principles to help you apply this point. First, sometimes rebuking another is the most loving thing you can do. In Matthew 18:15-16 it puts an end to differences. In Romans 15:14-16 it keeps God’s message clear. In Ephesians 4: 15 it helps others grow straight and mature in Christ. In 1 Corinthians 5:5 it works to ultimately save ones Christian testimony.
Sometimes rebuking another is the most loving thing you can do, but secondly, be on the guard for temptations veiled as an expression of love. Be on the guard for temptations veiled as an expression of love.
Christ was wise enough to see Peter’s plan as an attempt to thwart God’s plan. Proverbs 26:28, “A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin.”
The last principle is this. Be willing to receive rebuke when it comes.
Proverbs 13:1, “A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.” Proverbs 17:10, “A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.”
