Reflections on Matthew 16:21-23

 

The idea of the stumbling block is in several places in the Christian Scriptures. Sometimes a stumbling block is created when a person believes that they have the only meaning of the Scripture. Each denomination of the church preaches that it has the only and correct interpretation of the Scripture. What is seen in this short narrative is that the church can have an incorrect interpretation? The mistranslation of the Hebrew and Aramaic word satan as the personification of evil, Satan, had made followers of Yeshua believe that he called Peter Satan when He did not. What this shows is that the church has locked the interpretation of Scripture and for centuries anyone who challenged the church interpretation was called heretics and put to death in many different ways. The idea of questioning the Scripture for a deeper understanding is not allowed. Those days are coming to an end. How could Yeshua call His number one disciple Satan? Well the church said so. The prevailing belief for 2000 years is that church must be right. In this case the church is incorrect. However, many Christians may read the case presented that Yeshua did not call Peter Satan and will reject it before even reading it. Why? The church has learned over its 2000 years how to enforce its beliefs on Christians. Today Christians should arise and question everything that the church, no matter the denomination, says to be truth. Searching and discovering the original meaning of Scripture is paramount today so that the questions of the younger generation can be answered.

 

Thoughts on Matthew 16:21-23

Peter thought that he knew what the LORD’s plan was for the restoration of Israel. When Yeshua said that he was going to die at the hands of the Hebraic leadership, Peter was compelled to say “not going to happen.” How many people today believe that they know what the LORD’s plan is? Many Christians say that they know that they are going to Heaven. How do they know that? In the case of Peter he believed that he knew the LORD’s plan for the Messiah. It turned out that he did not. So, how does one discover the true plan the LORD has for their life? That is a part of the discernment that is necessary to discover the plan. In ancient days prayer was the way to discover the plan. Prayer was a time to be quiet and listen for the voice of the LORD telling His people what He wanted to be done. Today people offer their words of prayer and rarely sit back and listen for the LORD. Listening to the LORD takes time and patience. The needed patience to wait for the LORD’s answer is not an integral part of society today.

Thoughts on Matthew 16:21-23

Peter thought that he knew what the LORD’s plan was for the restoration of Israel. When Yeshua said that he was going to die at the hands of the Hebraic leadership, Peter was compelled to say “not going to happen.” How many people today believe that they know what the LORD’s plan is? Many Christians say that they know that they are going to Heaven. How do they know that? In the case of Peter he believed that he knew the LORD’s plan for the Messiah. It turned out that he did not. So, how does one discover the true plan the LORD has for their life? That is a part of the discernment that is necessary to discover the plan. In ancient days prayer was the way to discover the plan. Prayer was a time to be quiet and listen for the voice of the LORD telling His people what He wanted to be done. Today people offer their words of prayer and rarely sit back and listen for the LORD. Listening to the LORD takes time and patience. The needed patience to wait for the LORD’s answer is not an integral part of society today.

Reflections on Matthew 16:13-20

 

The idea that a human can offer forgiveness for sin seems contradictory to Yeshua’s mission. Because of verse nineteen, the church grabbed the power over people through its 2000 year history. In today’s world, people are rejecting the notion that a priest of the church is the person who offers forgiveness for sin. The priest of the church also has the power not to offer forgiveness of sin as indicated in verse nineteen. If the theological idea of Yeshua forgives sins is universal then verse nineteen is a conflict. A fair question is did Yeshua say this, or is there a different meaning to what Yeshua meant? It is possible that the original meaning was that Peter could act as a judge in determining crimes committed against the community. In the early Christian communities persons were excommunicated for crimes committed against the community. The question remains about Yeshua forgiving all sins. Perhaps that is what the church twisted? Could forgiveness of sin have some caveats to it? In order to receive forgiveness of sin from Yeshua one must receive forgiveness on Earth. That idea placed a considerable amount of power in Peter’s hands. From there the church held on to that power even through today. It is possible this verse was added to the narrative by the church to allow it to have the power over people that it has exercised for almost 2000 years. Many people who do attend church regularly do not believe that any person has the right to decide whether their sins are forgiven. Only the LORD can offer forgiveness through Yeshua. Many Protestant denominations have this concept in their worship liturgy. If only Yeshua can offer forgiveness for sin then a conclusion is that the early church added this sentence so it could grab control of people.

Reflections on Matthew 16:13-20

 

The idea that a human can offer forgiveness for sin seems contradictory to Yeshua’s mission. Because of verse nineteen, the church grabbed the power over people through its 2000 year history. In today’s world, people are rejecting the notion that a priest of the church is the person who offers forgiveness for sin. The priest of the church also has the power not to offer forgiveness of sin as indicated in verse nineteen. If the theological idea of Yeshua forgives sins is universal then verse nineteen is a conflict. A fair question is did Yeshua say this, or is there a different meaning to what Yeshua meant? It is possible that the original meaning was that Peter could act as a judge in determining crimes committed against the community. In the early Christian communities persons were excommunicated for crimes committed against the community. The question remains about Yeshua forgiving all sins. Perhaps that is what the church twisted? Could forgiveness of sin have some caveats to it? In order to receive forgiveness of sin from Yeshua one must receive forgiveness on Earth. That idea placed a considerable amount of power in Peter’s hands. From there the church held on to that power even through today. It is possible this verse was added to the narrative by the church to allow it to have the power over people that it has exercised for almost 2000 years. Many people who do attend church regularly do not believe that any person has the right to decide whether their sins are forgiven. Only the LORD can offer forgiveness through Yeshua. Many Protestant denominations have this concept in their worship liturgy. If only Yeshua can offer forgiveness for sin then a conclusion is that the early church added this sentence so it could grab control of people.

Thoughts on Matthew 16:13-20

The church is supposed to be the expression of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. With that in mind, the church was to expand and reach out to all people evangelizing the ways of Yeshua. The expansion of the Kingdom of Heaven into people’s hearts was supposed to be by divine revelation in the same manner that Peter received the revelation that Yeshua was the Messiah. For many people that revelation came to them. The author did not come to know Yeshua until he was 37 years old. He grew up in a nonpracticing Jewish household where God was not spoken. By a divine revelation, he was touched by the Holy Spirit with the knowledge that Yeshua is the LORD’s Messiah. The Kingdom of Heaven was built in him through the truth of Yeshua through divine inspiration. There are many ways to receive divine inspiration from Yeshua. Perhaps a problem with today’s decline in the church is because fewer people are paying attention to the revelation of Yeshua being the Messiah; in other words, they are taking Yeshua for granted. The church should concentrate its efforts on trying to get the Holy Spirit to offer the revelation of Yeshua as the Messiah to people.

Reflections on Matthew 14:13-22

This narrative could be seen as symbolic of the need to receive spiritual direction, thus feeding on the spiritual bread of life. The narrative talks about bread and fish and the emphasis is that a huge amount of people came to hear the words of Yeshua. Then Yeshua sharing the bread and fish reminds us that we need to stay close to Yeshua, who has been called the bread of life. The bread of life will supply our physical needs and will supply our spiritual needs. The narrative also tells us that we need to put our trust in God who will take care of all of our needs. Thus, it is imperative in all circumstances to maintain one’s faith and belief in God’s Messiah Yeshua of Nazareth.

Thoughts on Matthew 16:1-12

It is amazing that when a given number of people are brought together to form an organization,  a core set of beliefs and behaviors develop. When 50 people, or 150 people, or 350 people, or over 500 people come together to create an organization that the core beliefs and behaviors are the same from individual units to individual units. For example, a lodge of Freemasons whose number is 50 members or less has the same core beliefs and behaviors (that is in leadership structure and function) no matter where in the country each is located. The same occurs at the 150, 350, and 500 levels. The same thing happens in church. A United Methodist Church of 50 or less Sunday attendees develops the same beliefs and behaviors as any other UMC church of 50 persons or less anywhere else in the same country. The development of a core set of beliefs and behavior happens naturally. There is no magic formula to prevent this development of the organization; it just happens. As a person moves from church to church of the same Sunday attendance size, one will be able to note the sameness between churches.

 

Reflections on Matthew 16:1-12

 

The Pharisees started as a sect with a noble and perhaps a divine purpose. They were organized to resist the Hellenization of the Holy Land. The Seleucids wanted to changeGalilee and Judah into a paradise of Greek Hellenism. The Pharisee sect was formed in 168 B.C.E. to combat this infringement on the people of the LORD. They were very successful in helping many Hebrews from losing their love of the LORD and turning to the Greek pagan Gods. Unfortunately, as the sect grew, corruption entered its core. When an organization learns that it can use its clout to oppress other people then corruption can enter the organization. It does not matter how large the organization is or might become, corruption accompanies the organization once people learn that they can control other people by their wills. The goodwill of the Pharisees disappeared when they learned that they held a strong influence over the people that they initially tried to save. Corruption took the place of the goodwill.

 

Unfortunately, this can be seen in all of human history. The church is no exception. It started with the noble purpose of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Over the centuries it developed its own set of rules and regulations that are mainly outside the scope of the true meaning of the Gospel. The Reformation, which started in 1517 is a prime example of the people striking out against the corruption of the Catholic Church. Today in 2019 there are numerous church denominations, all with their charters and books outside of the Bible, which defines the beliefs and accepted behavior of its members and allows for the exploitation of the members.
Jesus is warning us not to fall into the same trap that the Pharisees and the Sadducees did. These were at one time reputable organizations that fell from grace. Each disciple of Jesus Christ was created by the LORD to serve the LORD through His Messiah. Each disciple must ask themselves the question, “are you doing that which is pleasing to the LORD?”

Thoughts on Matthew 16:1-12

It is amazing that when a given number of people are brought together to form an organization,  a core set of beliefs and behaviors develop. When 50 people, or 150 people, or 350 people, or over 500 people come together to create an organization that the core beliefs and behaviors are the same from individual units to individual units. For example, a lodge of Freemasons whose number is 50 members or less has the same core beliefs and behaviors (that is in leadership structure and function) no matter where in the country each is located. The same occurs at the 150, 350, and 500 levels. The same thing happens in church. A United Methodist Church of 50 or less Sunday attendees develops the same beliefs and behaviors as any other UMC church of 50 persons or less anywhere else in the same country. The development of a core set of beliefs and behavior happens naturally. There is no magic formula to prevent this development of the organization; it just happens. As a person moves from church to church of the same Sunday attendance size, one will be able to note the sameness between churches.