DAY
30
HOPE BEHIND THE CLOUDS
MATTHEW 16:13-23
From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem. . . . He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead.
MATTHEW 16:21
PETER HAD JUST come to a staggering realization about Jesus’ true identity not only as the Messiah but as the Son of the living God. To Peter and the other disciples, that identity surely sparked visions of glory, hopes for the redemption of Israel, and the nation’s restoration to an independent Kingdom where God could reign and draw people from all across the lands to Jerusalem’s Temple. Such glory had been prophesied for Israel long ago (Zechariah 8, for example), and now the time seemed to be at hand. This Jesus really was the long-awaited Messiah and King.
It made perfect sense, then, when Jesus turned his attention toward Jerusalem (verse 21). This quest marks a key moment in Luke’s Gospel as Jesus set his face toward the holy city (Luke 9:51), as though nothing could deter him. To the disciples, his resolve surely confirmed their hopes—until Jesus began explaining what would happen there. Jesus foretold terrible events, including his own death. He mentioned the Resurrection, too, but who could absorb a mysterious comment like that with the idea of a tortured and defeated Messiah still ringing in their ears? No, this could not happen, Peter insisted, as he rebuked the Son of God he had just affirmed. The Messiah simply cannot die.
But in God’s plan, the Messiah was sent exactly for that reason. The Incarnation served to reset the template for humanity and pay the price for our rebellion. This death was the only way to inaugurate life; you can’t overcome something by ignoring it. Jesus faced the brunt of sin’s consequences face-to-face, reversed the direction of history, and superimposed a Kingdom of life and growth over the remains of death and decay. Both streams are evident today, but only one will last. And it began with something that looked like the end of hope.
You won’t always understand God’s plan in your life—in fact, you may be surprised if you ever do—but you can be certain it makes sense to him and works out well for you. He often does his best work undercover, perhaps to keep our best intentions from interfering, as Peter tried to do. In God’s eyes, it’s far more important for you to believe than to understand. What looks to you like the end of hope may actually be hope’s beginning. And death—of God-given bodies, hopes, and dreams—is never the end.
PRAYER
Lord, my circumstances often look contrary to your purposes for my life, and I don’t always understand why. But I trust you, and I cling to that trust daily. It’s all I’ve got. And according to your Word, it is enough. Amen.
Why do you think God’s plan so often seems shrouded in dead-end circumstances? How have you seen this pattern play out in your life?
Further reading: Romans 4:18-22
The rosy morn has robed the sky;
The Lord has risen with victory:
Let earth be glad, and raise the cry,
Alleluia.
“THE ROSY MORN HAS ROBED THE SKY,” NICOLAS LE TOURNEAUX