The apostles knew that Jesus had to be the Messiah because they had seen and heard what He had said and done. Yet, they had a wrong view about the coming King and His kingdom. They were preaching that the kingdom was coming but had no comprehension of its nature.
This is so vividly seen in the event found in Matthew chapter sixteen. Jesus and His disciples were in northern Galilee when the Lord asked them to tell Him who people thought He was.
Some people saw Him as being like Moses, the great lawgiver, who had delivered laws and the commandments of God. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminded those who heard Him about what Moses had said about killing, adultery, divorce and oaths. Jesus was delivering new laws and commandments but contrasting what Moses said and then saying, “But I say…”
Some thought He was like Elijah. This prophet was so devoted to truth that he openly rebuked those who rejected what God had said. Jesus also openly rebuked the hypocritical leaders just as Elijah shamelessly rebuked Ahab and Jezebel.
Others thought He was John the Baptist whom Herod had killed because John kept on telling the king that he had no right to take another man’s wife as his own. Jesus spoke just as clearly about the sanctity of marriage. People responded to John’s teaching about baptism and when Jesus began His work, He baptized more people than John (John 4:1-2).
Jesus then promised that He would build the church and even the gates of hell could not prevail against this (Matt. 16:18). These words had to encourage the apostles about what was about to happen. They had been preaching about the coming of the kingdom and Jesus was ready to deliver the keys of the kingdom.
All of this happened just six months before the cross, and for the first time He revealed that the elders, chief priests and scribes were going to kill him. Peter took Jesus aside and rebuked the Son of God, saying, “Lord, this shall not happen to You!”
How did Jesus respond to this? “Get behind Me, Satan…you are an offence to Me…you do not savor the things of God, but of men.” He was saying to Peter that the church, the coming kingdom, did not belong to Peter. Peter was trying to tell Jesus what it should be like. He was far ahead of the plan of God. Jesus told him to get behind Him and to become a follower. Jesus is the Lord; Peter is the follower.
What a lesson for men today! The church does not belong to men. Too many are far “ahead” of Jesus and what the church should be like. We should follow Him and His plan.