Monday – Read Deuteronomy 30-31; Matthew 16:13-16. Who is Jesus? Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Most people could only see that Jesus was like someone from the past. Even today, some people would say that Jesus was a great prophet. Others would say that he was a teacher. Jesus asked the disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” The Hebrew word Messiah and the Greek word Christ mean the anointed one, the King, or the Savior. Peter was saying, “I know who you are Jesus. You are the King—not just any king. You are the King of kings and the Lord of lords. My allegiance to you is higher than my allegiance to Caesar or any other king.” The fundamental claim disciples of Jesus make is that Jesus is Lord. Jesus is the King. When you call yourself a disciple of Jesus, a follower of the Christ, the Messiah, you are a follower of the King. It is a counter-cultural statement. When you become a Christian, you place your highest allegiance in him. As you pray, ask Jesus “Lord, how do you want me to live? Who do you want me to reach? With whom do you want me to share the Good News of Jesus?” 

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Tuesday – Read Deuteronomy 32-32; Matthew 16:15-18. Built. Jesus loved Peter’s response, and he responded by saying that he would build his church on Peter, the Rock, by making him the foundation stone, the principal leader, of this new people of God. It’s a very powerful statement. The gates of Hades will not overcome it. Hell will not be able to hold back the Church. Jesus says he is going to unleash a movement that will be so powerful and intense that it will be unstoppable. This movement is the Church. It is not an institution, a building, a program, a creed, or a doctrinal statement. This movement is alive and growing. This movement is people. Jesus started the Church, and the gates of hell will not be able to contain it. In other words, the Church is kicking down the gates of hell. This passage is one of only two places in the Gospels where Jesus talks about the Church. The Greek word for Church is Ekklesia which is made from the Greek words Ek which means out and Klesia which means called. The Church is those who are called by God out into the world to serve God. When we work together in the name of Jesus to offer hope to the world by sharing the Good News we are kicking down the gates of Hades. Pray about how you will serve in ministry, and thank Jesus for giving us the victory over sin and death.

 

Wednesday – Read Joshua 1-4; Matthew 16:19-20. The Hope of the World. When Jesus gave Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven, he was giving him the joyful task to lead many people into the kingdom. We share in this task today to open the doors to God’s grace, forgiveness, love, and life. Jesus is helping us understand that what the church does—the decisions we make, the grace we express, the stands we take, the truth we teach—matters to God. When the church wrestles with a controversial issue, tries to speak the gospel to one who is alienated from God, provides hospitality to a stranger, teaches the faith to a child, or cares for those in need, it is acting out God’s future—the kingdom of heaven—in the present. When the church faithfully calls itself and the world to ethical responsibility and when the church truly proclaims God’s free forgiveness to one who has failed to live up to that responsibility God acts in and through the church. We believe that the local church is the hope of the world because we believe that God acts in and through the Church. As you pray, think about the ways God is working through you to offer grace and forgiveness in the name of Jesus Christ to the people in your life.

 

Thursday – Read Joshua 5-8; Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19; 26: 1-2. Jesus Must Undergo Great Suffering. Peter has just announced that Jesus is “the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Now Jesus tells Peter and the other disciples the other half of the gospel truth: The messianic road leads to the cross. Matthew says, “Jesus began to show,” because this hard lesson about suffering and death will take more than one session to sink in. Indeed, on four separate occasions, Jesus announces his impending death to his disciples. Jesus knows where he is going, and he knows what will happen to him when he gets there; but he walks determinedly ahead. Jesus does not go easily to his death, but neither does he face death with amazement, alarm, or uncertainty. His goal is passion, not pilgrimage. He will be hailed as a king of the Jews, but his enthronement will be paradoxical. His coronation will mean his death. However, his journey would not end in death but rather resurrection. The disciples were amazed and afraid, but still they followed Jesus. As you pray, ask Jesus to give you the faith and the strength to pick up a cross and follow him.

 

Friday – Read Joshua 9-11; Matthew 16:21-23; 4:8-10. A Stumbling Block. Hearing this startling news for the first time, Peter crumbles into a lesser kind of stone—a stumbling block. He takes Jesus aside and attempts to persuade him that he could be the glorified Messiah without having to go through the messiness of suffering and death. This reminds us of Satan’s third temptation of Jesus, the seductive possibility that Jesus could instantly have “all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor” at low cost and with no pain. Jesus will not be pulled off course with human folly or devilish temptation. While the idea of a crucified Messiah violates religious expectation and defies reason, Jesus will be Gods’ strong Messiah through the weakness of suffering and will liberate and save God’s people through losing his own life. Ask Jesus to help you follow him.

 

Saturday – Read Joshua 12-15; Matthew 16:24-28; 10:37-39. Take Up Your Cross. Peter was shocked and offended by the thought that the cross was God’s will for Jesus, and now Jesus deepens the offense by reminding the disciples that the cross is God’s will for them, too. Bearing a cross appears to be the way of losers and the path to defeat. From the world’s perspective, nothing could be more self-defeating, foolish, and wasteful than laying down one’s personal agenda and picking up a cross—the cruel instrument of suffering and loss, but in God’s eyes it is a victory. In the kingdom of heaven, suffering on behalf of others is what it means to save one’s life. It is the mystery of the gospel that what appears to crush everything one hopes to be is the only way for a person to be fully alive. Ask Jesus to give you the strength to take up your cross and follow him.