PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Matthew 16:21-23

What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?

“He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law.” (16:21)
This is a bizarre thought; how can God’s messiah suffer under God’s appointed leaders?
How can representatives of the Law of Love abuse the incarnation of God’s Love?
Jesus did not come to provoke the world, but to love and serve the world.
Jesus was not going to Jerusalem to cause trouble, but to love the people there.
But in a world (and church) possessed by self-love, Jesus will be a threat.
We get that the political leaders would feel this way, but the religious leaders?
It seems the religious leaders were more focused on “merely human concerns” (16:23)
Leaders in the church today need to pay careful attention to those words.
As with Peter, and the religious leaders, Satan has a way of leading them astray.
In the name of God, they speak and act in oppressive, non-loving ways.
They end up crucifying the people God loves, and furthering Satan’s agenda.
God’s agenda goes against the grain of our agendas; love makes those in power nervous.
Following the way of love will be challenged… even by the church!
PRAYER
Lord, forgive us as church leaders and denominations for crucifying the very people you came to love and serve. And bless those who are suffering for following the way of love!