The Rebuking of Peter | Mark 8:31-33 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Series)

I'm gonna ask you to turn in a in a moment to the book of Mark. But before I do that, I was reflecting the past couple of days on a statement that the psalmist made in Psalm 73, Asaph, who was struggling in his heart about the benefits of being righteous and serving God, especially when he contrasted his life with the wicked who seemed to get away with so much and inherit blessing on top of it, though they have turned their backs on God. And yet at the end of that Psalm, there's a there's a declaration that Asaph makes that I present to you. He says, but as for me, it is good to be near God. But as for me, it is good to be near God.

And I know usually when we preach sermons, you tend to warm up before you get to any applications or exhortations, but I wanna begin by simply asking you this afternoon, are you near God? Are you near God, or are you far from him? You know, some would say it's self righteous. It would be arrogant to say that I am near God. Well, Asaph didn't think so.

Asaph didn't think that it was proud or dishonest to be able to acknowledge and self assess that he was near God. And so it's good to ask that question from time to time. Am I near God? How do you know if you're near God? This isn't gonna sound deep.

You know when you're near God. Your heart will testify if you're near God. He is constantly in your meditations. He has captured your affections. He is unrivaled in your pursuits in life, your desires, your longings.

He is not peripheral in your priorities. And it's possible to be here today very near others, near the people of God, near the singing of God's praises, near the proclamation of God's word, and yet at the same time to not be near God. And so I hope that you are close and walking closely with him. If you are not, I wanna give you a little insight into something. No matter what message is proclaimed behind this pulpit, the aim is always the same.

And it is this, that regardless of the subject at hand, no matter what verses we are expounding on, it would end up wooing you closer to the Lord always. Or else, what is this all about? Right? What do we just do the past thirty minutes? Are we just singing into the air and trying to make this less awkward as possible by participating?

Or are we singing to God? What's the purpose of this right now? To hear from God. For what purpose though? To come closer to God.

And my prayer in preparation for this text is that you would be, in the end, more enamored and drawn closer to your Lord and to your savior. And we're gonna do that by examining probably one of the most shocking incidences in the gospels because Jesus is gonna give one of his strongest rebukes to one of the closest people to him while on the earth. So turn with me to Mark chapter eight verse 31 as we examine a couple of verses today. Mark eight thirty one. And he began to teach them that the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priest and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.

And he said this plainly, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, get behind me, Satan, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man. Father, we pray as a church today, members of this church, visitors to this church, grateful that we are yours. Would you do what you did to the disciples in Luke 24? Open our minds that we may understand the scriptures.

And may the delivery of this word be cloaked in the power of the Holy Spirit, and that our hearts would also be by the Holy Spirit ready to receive your instruction for your glory, and yes, even for our good. We give you maximum praise, and we pray these things in the strong name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. Here's how we're gonna understand these verses.

Here's here's how we're gonna dissect this episode. I want us to look at three things concerning the rebuking of Peter. The first is Peter's presumption. The second thing is Peter's problem, and the last thing is Peter's posture. A lot of p's.

Right? Peter's presumption, Peter's problem, Peter's posture. The last thing that we see concerning Peter was that he made an incredible statement, an incredible confession to Jesus in the presence of the disciples. You are the Christ. This was an accurate identification of the person of Jesus, and it was response to Jesus' question concerning himself to his own, who do you say that I am?

And Peter was the one here who spoke up as he often does, and he gave this clear, concise, but profound understanding about who Jesus is. You're the Messiah. You're the one we've been waiting for. And that confession is significant for many reasons, and one of the reasons is that it would introduce, it would trigger a new shift in the teaching ministry of Jesus Christ. What I mean by that is that from this point on in the gospel of Mark, Jesus is gonna build upon that revelation that Peter had and will now focus his attention, not just, but a lot on a theme, a particular theme concerning his mission on the earth as the Messiah.

And what is that theme going to be? It's going to be the determined plan of his impending death and resurrection. This is what Jesus is gonna teach repeatedly over and over again, and it was absolutely crucial for the disciples to grasp because these disciples, like many of the Jews, were the under the impression that this rabbi, at least some who who thought he was more than a rabbi, but definitely the disciples were were thinking this rabbi at any moment is going to establish and occupy a real throne and fulfill what we've been longing for as a people, politically speaking. And Jesus here fully aware of that understood that the idea of him being mounted upon a Roman cross was a million miles away from their theological imagination. And so he's going to educate them by bringing this up more than once.

And you're gonna see that as we go through the gospel of Mark to try to clarify the Messiah's complete redemptive purpose as the time of his betrayal was drawing closer and closer. And that's why you read in verse 31, and he began to teach them. He began to teach them this. Because now Peter's mind is open as well as the disciples, and now he is able to work with them in expounding upon what it means for him to be the Christ. And notice this here.

It says he began to teach them that the son of man must suffer, must suffer many things. The sufferings of Jesus, the the torment that he endured was not optional nor was it accidental. It was precisely the predetermined will of God. The foreknowledge of God was at work here concerning Christ and what he would undergo. He must suffer because apart from his suffering, there would be no atoning for sin.

Apart from his suffering, there would be no possibility for reconciliation with God. Apart from his suffering, there would be no eternal life that could be granted. Jesus Christ had to suffer. He had to. And he entered into this world with that soul and ultimate purpose.

Post resurrection, he appears to these disciples, these two that are walking toward Emmaus, and he rebukes them because they also didn't understand how this messiah could suffer. And he says there in Luke 24, was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory. It was necessary. Now you can imagine how these 12 who have given up everything to follow this messiah, demonstrating great power, giving so much hope that at any second, by the snap of the finger, he can overthrow Rome and he can bring in a golden age that would make Solomon's reign look pale in comparison. You can imagine how they receive this news that Jesus must suffer.

And take it too lightly, especially Peter. And so Peter now is about to do something that I would say is unthinkable. Peter now is gonna do something that if you really think about it is crazy for anybody to even entertain the thought to do, and this is where we look at his presumption. Jesus explains what he's going to undergo, what he's going to experience, and Peter has the audacity, the boldness, the courage to get up, take Jesus aside, and rebuke him. Think about how shocking that is.

Rebuking the Son of God, assuming superiority over Jesus and attempting to claim that he is misunderstood concerning his destiny. I was meditating on this earlier, and I thought to myself, what gave Peter this sense of courage and boldness and right to come to Jesus and attempt to correct him? Was it love? Was it fear? Was it a mixture of both?

You could say that. But I believe that if you just look at the immediate context, there's a suggestion. There's something else that is important to take note of that might have added to Peter's willingness to do this. What happens right before this? Again, he confesses you are the Christ.

And Matthew adds in Matthew 16 that Jesus praises he praises Peter. He says, Simon, this is something that was not given to you by flesh. This is not something that was given to you by flesh and blood. This was given to you by God himself. This is something that the father himself revealed to you, and he praises Peter, and he tells Peter on top of it, you're blessed.

You're blessed to have this kind of revelation to come to this understanding of who I am. Now we don't have commentary on Peter's heart at the moment, but I wonder if it did something to him to hear that. Imagine hearing that from Jesus, that out of all the people of Israel and then you zone it out of all the disciples, you were the one to rightly identify who Jesus is. Wow. I am blessed.

Again, we don't know his thoughts, but could it be that what had just happened after being told and informed that you received divine guidance to come to this conclusion, something happened to his confidence. Something happened to his confidence to the degree that he felt like it was appropriate to even try to bring correction to the message of the son of God because it didn't align with his own understanding. This is for our instruction. Because if we're not careful what God does in you and in me, what God chooses to do you to do in you and to do in me can create in us an attitude that would warrant divine rebuke instead of blessed praise. You know, our instead of blessed praise.

You know, our hearts are so corrupt, so creative in inventing sins and making things that should be pure and holy to something dwarfed and horrible. That even our excelling maturity and even our blessed labors can spoil us and can even bring harm. And if we don't understand that, then we will not be on guard against spiritual pride. Usually from the pulpit, you hear warnings to those who are, you know, drifting away spiritually, falling asleep, being allured by the love of the world. But Peter's example here is a charge to those who stand out among other believers like Peter did.

Who stand out. You know what I mean by stand out? There's something unique about you, about your gifting, about your insight, about how God uses you. People tell you, people acknowledge it, I'm sure. Pride is always lurking on the other side of genuine, unusual experiences and every fruitful endeavor in the name of God's glory.

It's right there waiting. Right there waiting. The apostle Paul himself I mean, think about Paul. He championed the message of grace. Paul confessed that he was the chief of sinners, that he was at least deserving of God's mercy, and that same Paul who wrote about grace, who rejoiced in grace, who sang about grace.

This Paul also said of himself in second Corinthians twelve seven that in order to be kept from becoming conceded because of the surpassing revelations, a thorn was given to him. Paul. Paul himself, that man who swam in the grace of God, the mercy of God was fully aware that he himself was capable of falling into that trap. Of thinking more of yourself than you should. And so if Peter, if Paul, these giants can actually be tempted to have a certain attitude that would demean, that would even attempt to challenge the word and will of God, how much more we?

How much more we? How much more do you and I need to be careful? So be careful, my brother. Be careful, my sister, when people praise you because of your godliness. Be careful when your ministry grows in number.

Be careful when people begin to seek you for counsel, for prayer, and you feel as though more people are coming to you than the next person. Be careful. What can happen to your heart can be very ugly very quickly, and so we must be on guard, and God will help us as we are at least aware of that possibility. And more can be said about that, but there's something else to consider about this this Peter and his attitude here. Peter's rejection.

Right? When he when he refuses to accept what Jesus says, clarifies what we didn't touch on the last time we were talking about Peter's confession three weeks ago. Look at what what we didn't touch on in verse 29. And he asked them, but who do you say that I am? Peter answered him.

You are the Christ, and he strictly charged them to tell no one about him. Okay. So this is a a right answer. You are the Christ, the most important answer you can have concerning who Jesus is. They got it.

And your response to the right answers, these guys that you're training up to be messengers, apostles, the foundation of the church, you're asking them not to tell anybody about it. Does that make sense to anybody? At least from immediate reading, you can confess it. It's not a sin. It challenges you.

Right? Lord, why wouldn't you? Why wouldn't you say, you're right. Now go. Tell it on the mountains.

I am the Christ. Prepare the people of Israel that the Messiah has indeed come. He is here. The wait is over. And this is why you gotta continue reading your bible.

A verse a day on the app doesn't help you get to these conclusions. You read verse 30 and you say, okay. He strictly charged him not to tell anybody about him and the answer comes to our text today. The answer is brought when you continue to read. Because right after he says, don't tell anybody about this, he goes on to now teach them, yes, you know I'm the Messiah, but do you know what the Messiah is supposed to do?

They thought they did, but they prove Peter proves that they really didn't. They understood the Messiah is Jesus, but they didn't understand what Jesus was to do in his first advent. And so listen, if the disciples were given the opportunity or disobeyed Christ and went about telling everybody this is the Messiah, what would they have said? Well, they had the same level of understanding as most of the Jews. Then he must be the one that's gonna come and overthrow our oppressors.

Then he must be the one who's gonna establish the earthly reign. Then he's gonna come and and ransack the enemy and we're gonna know prosperity politically, economically. They would have fueled false hope. They would have misguided the people. And Jesus was aware of that, so he says, pause.

Yes. I am the Christ, but you need to understand that I must suffer. You don't get that part yet. And when I looked at this, I thought to myself, evidently, they were permitted not to share Jesus being the Christ because they themselves did not comprehend the complete assignment of the Christ. They had a skewed limited elementary view and that needed to be changed before they can go out and teach.

You look at that and you say that's true of the disciples, but do you realize the principle behind it? Here it is. Some believers in their great zeal and desire to serve the Lord at certain capacities feel frustrated. They feel frustrated because they're not doing what they believe they should be doing for the Lord. They feel like they are in one place.

They feel like there should be more opportunity. They feel like there should be more more audience, more influence. And though that might be a noble cause, the reasons why certain opportunities and certain doors are not open, they can vary, but consider this one. I know this one might hurt, but it's true, our own unpreparedness. I know we always feel like we're ready.

We always feel like we're prepared. But as we see with the disciples here, oftentimes before the Lord will use us in a certain way, he will cause delay for the sake of development. He will cause delay for the sake of development. And whether that be your character and mine, whether that be your knowledge or mine, Christ in his love, not just for you, but for other people as well, takes his time with us. And he has a way in providential power and wisdom to train and mold us so that in the long run, we would be more effective, so that we cause less damage and more blessing instead.

So let your heart not be so discouraged. Don't be so anxious. Believe that the Lord leads you perfectly. Even in your zeal to serve him, he knows when and how and where every step of the way. You know, you see that throughout the Bible from beginning to end.

This is how God works. This is how the school of God works. Even when Israel came out of Egypt, there was this verse that came to mind when I was meditating on this truth with the disciples. There was a shorter way to get to the promised land, and God chose rather to go the longer way. More days in the wilderness, more temptation and trials.

He chooses to go the longer route instead of going the shorter, and we're told why he did that. Why did God not make it quicker for the Israelites to get where they needed to go? Can I read it to you? In Exodus thirteen seventeen is your answer. When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines.

Although that was near, it was near to go through the way of the Philistines. And he said, we're not doing that. We're we're gonna take a detour. For God said, lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt. They had gone the shorter way.

Sure. It would be less time in the wilderness, but they would have been confronted with military force and opposition. And guess what? These freshly delivered Israelites were not trained militarily. They were not equipped for that.

Here's the understanding. If the Lord had taken Israel to go through this route, it would have been more dangerous for the nation of Israel than anything else. They would have been put in a compromising situation. They would have been tempted to give up and turn back. The Lord knew that.

The people didn't necessarily. And that's the kind of thinking we must have as we look out into this world, as we walk with the Lord, and perhaps don't understand how his timetable works for our own lives. Even in the lane of serving him and the desires that you have, the dreams and the hopes and the prayers, understand this, that he knows what's ahead. He knows what you and I can handle. He knows what and when can harm you or bless you.

And so he sometimes, oftentimes, will prolong something, will keep you waiting because he knows what you can endure. I look at these disciples and I see the same thing. He charged him not to tell anyone about it. That seems counterintuitive, but he understands something about the disciples and their need before they should go. What about Israel and their monarchs?

We're studying David. We just finished second Samuel, but I always come back to this thought when I think about how the Lord delays or how the Lord does things with his men and women before he uses them in a certain way. You have Saul. You have David. You have Solomon.

The first three kings, each of their reigns were how long? Forty years. Forty years. Forty years. Forty years.

They all messed up in their own way. Royally, no pun intended. But let's be honest, Saul and Solomon ended in apostasy. You have Saul who seeks a witch for guidance. You have Solomon who does what?

He worships false gods after marrying a thousand women. David made many mistakes, but David didn't end up being an idol worshiper. And I've always wondered, how is it that these men had the same opportunity, the same length of time, but why did David stand out? Why was David different? And you can make many arguments for why David was different.

He was a man after God's heart. But I also see something else, and this isn't dogmatic. This is just an observation for you and I to consider. When you look at David's arrival to the throne, when you look at the process, it was very different than Saul and Solomon's. Was it not?

That man went through trials. That man went through the grinder. That man was stuffed in caves and willed and he was running for his life. That man was gradually brought from one place of authority to the next. That wasn't true of Saul and Solomon.

And so if that has any contribution to David's longevity and devotion to the Lord, then what a wonderful truth concerning how God works. He takes his time. He lets you suffer. He brings you through trials. He brings it's a dangerous thing for somebody to receive something so great, so so responsible, so large without having the adequate preparation from God's school.

So dangerous. And so be patient. Trust. Wait. Pray.

Seek the Lord. This is Peter's presumption, but then we come to Peter's problem. Look here in verse 33. Says here, but turning in Mark eight thirty three, but turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, get behind me, Satan, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man. Look, the Lord has given many rebukes in his ministry, very hard rebukes.

I mean, he's given rebukes to the extent where if you heard somebody rebuking the way Jesus did, you would you would say that's not Christ like. I wonder if some Christians would have said that to Christ if they heard him rebuke the way he rebuked. Whitewashed tombs. You serpents. Imagine going to church and hearing that.

You serpents. You brood of vipers. You hypocrites. Now that was primarily to the Pharisees, the religious leaders of his time, but he said that in some of his meetings, particularly to them. What about Herod in Luke 13?

Go tell that fox. Wow. I don't think he was calling him cute. Go tell that fox. But out of all the things that the Lord said in his righteous indignation, he's never called anybody Satan.

People argue, did he say to Satan or did he say it to Peter? Get behind me, Satan. The closest thing that Jesus has ever said anything like this was when he spoke to Satan himself. In the wilderness in Matthew four, what does he say? Begone, Satan.

And I think that connection is important. You know why? Because in Luke's account of the wilderness temptation, after Satan failed to tempt Jesus to avoid the shame of the cross and to have the throne by worshiping him, it says there, and the devil left him until another opportune time. That wasn't the end of Satan's attempt to try to persuade Jesus away from the cross. I believe he found it here with Peter.

What do I mean by that? Well, when Satan learned that by tempting Jesus directly, that failing well, let me try it indirectly and try to tempt the Lord through one of the closest people to him. And Jesus discerned that. You know what this teaches me? It teaches me how the enemy works.

The enemy is able to use people, even the people who are very close to us, to persuade us away from the will of God. You won't hear amens about this point. And I'm not trying to bring this point to you to make you cynical or to justify your isolation or to live with relational anxiety, but it is a call to be very discerning about the counsel and the encouragement that you and I receive from others, especially, highlight that, especially from those who are spiritually weak and immature. The reality is some people will speak into your life and they will speak into your life even with great sincerity like Peter, but out of human wisdom. Genuine affection, but misguided affection.

Fear, sometimes jealousy, and often shallow spirituality. Instead of relying on the mind and will of God by saturating and submitting to what God had revealed in his word, be very careful how you allow others in your life to shape your way of thinking. Be very careful. Peter was one of those kind of people who had a certain personality. He had a leadership kind of personality where he just could easily persuade people.

He was able to to get them to go somewhere to agree with him. That was the kind of charisma that Peter had. Can I prove that to you actually? If If you wanna turn there, you can. I can just read it to you in John twenty one three.

This is after Jesus resurrected and the disciples were kinda at a standstill. They didn't know well, they did know, but they were very impatient concerning the next instructions that they were to receive from Christ. And so Peter decides to do something in John twenty one three. It says, Simon Peter said to them he's speaking to his disciples, his friends. Simon Peter said to them, I am going fishing.

I'm going fishing. Now people debate, is this, Peter just, you know, doing something recreational, just trying to find something to kill the time, or is this Peter going back to what Jesus called him out of? I agree with that. This is Peter going back to what Jesus called him out of. And he says, I'm going fishing.

Did he say, you're going fishing with me? No. He just said, I'm going fishing. What happens? They said to him, we will go with you.

We'll go with you. They went out and got into the boat but that night, they caught nothing. There are people like that in Christians' lives. And they're professing believers as well. But because they don't go to the meetings, you won't go to the meetings.

Because they won't serve the Lord in a certain way or serve the Lord at all, you won't serve the Lord. When they begin to gossip and speak against the church, it influences you. It influences the way you think because there are certain people who have been gifted in a certain way to be very persuasive in their speech and their actions. So I wanna say to you through this example, be very careful who speaks into your life. Do they walk with God?

Do they fear God? Do they honor the word of God? Do they have a genuine relationship with the Lord? Peter was a follower of Christ to an extent, but Peter, he went in a moment of weakness convinced others to join him where they should not have gone. Christ met them in his mercy, and that's what we rejoice in.

But I've seen throughout the years people, wonderful followers of Christ, wonderful lovers of God, but when they get around even just one person and that person does not have the maturity or the bandwidth to understand how their decisions and words can influence others. They change. They they become different people. And when that person is not in their lives, they're better. It's crazy.

Satan understands that that that's a strategy, and so he uses Peter here with all the things that he had in terms of gifting and ability and personality, and he tries to do that with Jesus foolishly. Now how does that happen? Is Jesus suggesting here that Satan was indwelt by Satan? You have some people on social media who would say yes. Those who propose that you can be a follower of Jesus Christ and be possessed with a devil.

If that is true, may I suggest one simple one simple question that can dismiss that without any debate. If Peter was possessed with Satan himself, why didn't Jesus cast Satan out of him? I'm very concerned with this teaching that's going around because it's gonna torment a lot of millennials and gen z especially who are being told that they have a devil living inside of them though they profess Christ. And they use this as a proof text. No indication whatsoever that Satan was indwelling Peter, but he was influenced by Satan.

And that is possible for Christians. It is possible for genuine followers of Christ to be unwittingly used by the evil one, unknowingly being used by the enemy to hinder the work of God while they're actually thinking that they're helping the work of God. Peter is doing this with right ambition, but right ambition isn't enough. Right motive isn't enough. It's whether it's true or not.

And the enemy saw an open door and he utilized this to try to bring obstacles. You know what? It's not entirely wrong with hearing that. I would be careful throwing around Satan's name and accusing people of satanic activity. But at the same time, you've probably been through disappointing things in church life long enough and wondered, is is this the enemy doing this even among believers?

It's very possible. Yes. Even among believers for there to be demonic infiltration. Very possible. And if that is true, then I gotta ask the question, how is it?

How is it that church members and professing believers open themselves up to this horrible possibility and Jesus gives us the answer. In this very same rebuke, he gives us the answer. He says, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man. That's how Satan gets into the thinking of believers. The entryway for the enemy's influence in the lives of those who are followers of Christ is by how they think.

When our convictions and our outlooks are not conformed and submitted to the word of God, it leaves room for satanic influence. But the more you and I allow God's word to and his wisdom and his will to govern our thinking, our outlook, our convictions, our attitude, our decisions, our reactions. The more the word of God shields us, the less room we give the enemy to direct our paths. And in Peter's case, his thoughts about the Messiah did not align with the word of God. It was selected by personal interpretation and preference.

He did not like the idea of a suffering Messiah. He had already given up so much to follow Jesus, and now, Jesus, you're talking about going to die? Not on my watch. Now you're gonna conquer and we're gonna we're gonna reign with you. Didn't they always talk about who was gonna be the greatest?

Didn't that reach a feverish pitch where you had James and John say, even using their mother, hey, who can we sit closest to you on your throne? This is what they were thinking about. And we see here that, yeah, Peter was right in identifying that Jesus was the Messiah, but he was wrong in applying and understanding how that played out. And the enemy loves to work with those who mix personal preference with truth, who will quote this verse, but not that one, Who love the parts of the bible that justify what they want, but dismiss the others that might even condemn them for doing something that they're trying to justify. The enemy doesn't need us to totally deny the word of God.

All he needs is you and I to misapply it and that would suffice. And if that's true, then we have to ask ourselves very carefully. Here's the question that we have to ask ourselves in light of this revelation. Do my thoughts not just about the Messiah. Do my thoughts about everything.

Money. Money. Ministry helps to divide things. Marriage, relationships. When you look at these things separately, ask yourself this question.

Do these different compartments of my existence, my ideas about them, my hopes, my dreams, my convictions, do they echo God's thoughts or do they sound different? How do I know we have God's thoughts? And that's what renewing your mind looks like. It's submitting your thoughts to the will of God and allowing the will of God to transform your mind so that you would not be conformed to this world, but you would know what the will of God is. And one of the glories and the benefits of that is Satan has very little to work with to get in there so that he can do more damage.

He made Peter a spokesperson for himself because his thinking was not right. That's the open door. So this is Peter's foundational problem. And it can be the problem for us if we are not careful to allow God's word to be our ultimate authority and to live under that and to allow to shape your life. Not just quote it, not just teach it, not just preach it, but to allow it to actually influence you.

That's when you are bulletproof from being a foothold to the evil one and being his ambassador unwittingly. That is Peter's problem, but notice something with his posture. What I mean by his posture is his attitude, his heart disposition, at least here in response to this. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, get behind me, Satan, for you're not setting your mind on the things of God but on the things of man. Imagine receiving that kind of correction from Jesus publicly.

Would it offend you? I mean, Lord, you just told me I was blessed by the father and now you're telling me, Satan. Talk about spiritual high, spiritual low. But there's no such reaction from Peter. You get clear indication in the bible that when Jesus said certain things, some people received that correction and other people were outright offended.

Who was often offended by the words of Jesus? The Pharisees. Often offended. When you look at Matthew fifteen twelve, that's one place where it's explicitly said that they were offended. The disciples knew the Pharisees were offended.

Jesus just finished correcting their view about human tradition. And the disciples came to the Lord and said, Lord, do you not know that the Pharisees were offended by this? You know what Jesus does? Oh, no. Really?

Okay. Let me find does not let them be offended. They're blind guides. You know what that shows me? If I live in offense, if I allow offense to take over, I will be limited in my spiritual transformation and growth.

The Pharisees stayed the same for many reasons, but instead of receiving and hearing what Jesus had to say, no matter how strong the charge was, they chose to be offended rather than to be convicted and to humble themselves and to examine their hearts more carefully. Offense has a way of keeping you in the same place and leading you in the wrong place ultimately. Peter made a couple big blunders in his life as as a servant and follower of Jesus Christ, but Peter knew how to acknowledge his wrong and to repent, and the Lord used him. Teachability is absolutely massive for the Lord's hand to be on our lives and for us to reflect and honor him the way he designed us to. There's so many examples of that in the bible.

One of my favorite examples about having a teachable spirit is a man that we often don't talk about, and there's legitimacy for that, but Apollos. I like this guy Apollos. Do you know who I'm talking about? Maybe you don't, so you have to see it because we have a biography about him. In Acts 18, look at Apollos.

In Acts eighteen twenty four, now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria came to Ephesus. Now look at this description of this man. He was an eloquent man, competent in the scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. So think about this.

He's eloquent. He's competent. One translation says that he mastered, in a sense, mighty in the scriptures. And he was fervent in spirit. He wasn't a dull theologian.

He wasn't a ice cold academic. No. He had some fire in him. And so he was engaging. He was captivating, but it was also educational.

He just had the whole package as a public speaker and he utilized it for the glory of God. He was limited in his understanding though and that's being told for a reason. So this man is in Ephesus and he spoke, right? Verse 26, he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. Boldly.

But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. So in attendance on that synagogue service, there is this couple, Priscilla and Aquila. They were friends of Paul. And this this couple here, something happens. They're they're hearing what this awesome speaker has to say, but they were perceiving that he didn't understand fully the mission and the purpose of Jesus Christ.

I don't know who's doing that, but if the ushers or one of the deacons can help. Thank you. And so we see here that they're in attendance and they hear and and they look at each other perhaps saying, this guy is good, But I don't think he really gets it all. And so what do they do? After the service, Apollos is there shaking people's hands.

And Priscilla and Aquila say, we were so so so encouraged by what you have to say, but are you willing to come over? We we wanna we wanna share some things with you concerning Jesus of Nazareth. Here's Apollos, preacher, traveling minister, eloquent. He already has a reputation. You know what these people were, this couple?

They were tentmakers. They weren't priests. They weren't theologians. They were tentmakers. And Apollos was willing to give him an ear and sit in their house and hear what they had to say, and he received their instruction.

Do you know the result of Apollos' humility here? It's found in verse 27. Look what happens. And when he wished to cross to Achaia, that's in Corinth, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. So Apollos had this desire to see his ministry expand.

He wanted to go to this region and to preach Christ. And because he's here in Ephesus, you make the connection that he developed a relationship with these brethren and he was able to receive a recommendation letter from these brethren to say, receive this man. Receive this man. He is a sincere brother. He is a dear brother, and he will be a blessing to you.

As a result of Apollos' humility, his ministry broadened. Humility will do that. It will open more doors. It will cause others to want to work with you. That's what teachability does.

It makes you more attractive. It helps others see this is a team player. This is somebody who's not all about themselves. This is somebody who wants to work with others. And so teachability is necessary.

If if there's gonna be any possibility of expansion of your ministry and mine. But not just that. Look what else happens here. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public showing by the scriptures that the Christ was Jesus. He greatly helped those who were there.

Why? Because he pow well, how did he greatly help? Well, follow the context. He was he was further enlightened. He received greater understanding about Jesus, and he was able to take that to the next level, and others were blessed by it.

So because Apollos was willing to grow, God could say, now go. And because he was willing to submit to even these people who who had no credentials, they weren't fellow ministers, tent makers. He was able to powerfully refute the Jews because he was taught more accurately the ways of Jesus. This is so important to understand. This is so crucial to grasp.

How do you and I respond when somebody reproaches you about something that you believe you have mastered? I've been doing this for twenty years. Are you defensive? Do you recoil? Do you turn tune out the person and just nod your head?

Just wanted to get the conversation over with. Do you attack the person back in a veiled manner by what? Offering them correction? They didn't come to ask for your correction. They came to offer you some suggestions.

How did this turn around and become about them? But we do that. Oh, thanks for the correction. But you know what, brother? This isn't about you.

This is about you, sister. I noticed that as well. There's no need for that. Do I pretend to have accountability by surrounding myself with yes men who will always agree with what I have to say. But at the same time, I can justify with a false humility that I do have people that speak into my life.

There's designated yes men. That's not the same. Apollos was a man who was able to listen no matter who was the person giving the correction. He was a man who was willing to pause and give time and learn something also from Priscilla and Aquila. They didn't stand stand up in the middle of the sermon and say, hey, preacher.

You did a good job, but you missed this, this, and that. No. What are we told here that they took him aside? I added there that just for the sake of presentation that they took him aside privately to their home, perhaps that was the case, but they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. They made it a private matter.

They didn't embarrass Apollos. They didn't shame him. They're very wise in how they offered this kind of correction. So we can learn both sides here. I love I I was looking at this, and I thought, I wanna know more about Apollos.

I wanna know so much more about him. There's an interesting place about Apollos at the end of first Corinthians 16, and I'll end it here in first Corinthians 16 in verse 12. Paul's writing to this church in Corinth, and he he mentions Apollos by name. Now concerning in first Corinthians sixteen twelve. Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now.

He will come when he has opportunity. Why is Paul bringing up Apollos? Because Apollos had a great role in playing and watering the seed of these Corinthian Christians. And so they had a strong relationship with Apollos. Apollos had discipleship relationship with many of these believers.

And so he wants to comfort this church and let him know, hey. I asked Apollos if he was willing to come by the church, but he said not now, maybe at another time. And there's a lot of debate. Why didn't Apollos want to go? It's not explicitly said.

You know what many people believe though? Apollos was not too happy what was happening in the Corinthian church. There are many issues, but one of the primary issues was what you see in the introduction of this book. There were divisions in the church. You know what people were saying?

Hey. Hey. We're the Paul guys. We follow Paul. And this group over here saying, no.

We follow Cephas. Another group over there saying, we follow Apollos. What many believe is that Apollos and knowing about the factions that were caused with his name in it was disgusted. And he didn't want to fuel that. He didn't wanna be captured by that.

He didn't wanna entertain that further, And perhaps even by his refusal to come at first is trying to communicate that he does not approve of what's happening. If that is true, because it's not explicitly said, then that just solidifies to us again the kind of heart posture this man had. He was a man who didn't take advantage of the praise that he received. He wasn't a man who was all about himself. He wasn't a man who got caught up in what people were saying about him.

He didn't wanna set up a personality cult. He shunned that. If that is the case, why he did not go. And that might be debated, but you know what's not debated? I love Paul in this verse.

Do you see what Paul is saying here? Hey, I urge I strongly urge him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity. Paul, as a leader in the church, never dictated or determined what other people should do forcefully. What a leader.

What a leader. He understood that there in some areas are personal subjective convictions and that the spirit leads us in different ways, so he didn't force himself. He didn't threaten Apollos. But even more than that, Paul was a man who was humble himself. In what sense?

Think about it. He knew that the Corinthians really really loved Apollos. And he knew that there were even people in the church comparing him to Apollos and Cephas. There was kind of this competition going on, and their names were involved. And yet, this Paul was not intimidated by Apollos.

He wasn't threatened by Apollos. Apollos was a very gifted man and Paul knew that Apollos would be a greater benefit to the church. He said, Apollos, go. Go. They will benefit.

Who knows how we strongly urge them? But if Paul was insecure, he wouldn't have made such a suggestion. I'll take care of this to Paul's thanks. Okay? I'll just do this myself.

Alright. Hopefully, they'll like me more now if I come in here and fix some of these issues. It's not what he thought. Yeah. Ministers think like that.

People think like that in the church. They see their brother and sister as a threat to their gift, to their reputation. I've played this instrument my whole life. I've preached my whole life. I hold on to this pulpit.

This is my pulpit. This is my ministry. I've been in the Sunday school for this long. I've been this for the That's not Christian. That's not that's not what we see with these leaders.

So you have Peter who is able to be called with a strong rebuke and receive it. You have Apollos who was willing to listen to Priscilla and Aquila. You have Paul who understood that there are some people comparing him with other preachers and he still championed and advocated the other preachers because he saw their gifting and their abilities. He says, go. They will benefit from you.

May God help us. May God help us. May God help us. Peter's presumption, Peter's problem, Peter's posture. Lord, we thank you for the word of God.

It can encourage and it can cut, but even when it cuts even when it cuts, you wanna heal us. You wanna remove things from us. Thank you that your word says in Revelation three that those whom you love you rebuke. You loved Peter. Lord, you loved Peter not only when you restored him at the beach in John 21, you loved him even when you said, get behind me, Satan.

Lord, give us wisdom to know how to relate to one another. Protect our hearts from pride when you use us in a certain way. Help us, oh, Lord, limit more than just limit, completely be shielded by Satan's suggestions by having every aspect of our lives submitted to the word of God. And teach us to serve you with each other, to love each other, to champion and praise you for one another. Help us see one another as members of the same body.

You are our head. And so, Lord, today we say thank you again for this, not just your blessings, not just your grace and mercy. We say as we've studied Peter's rebuke, thank you for even your rebukes in our lives because you rebuke those whom you love. Now we worship you in Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen. Why don't we stand and worship the Lord together?