The Right MovesSample

Spiritual Versus Physical

Jesus is our inspiration when it comes to saying the right things and being in the right places at the right time, however wrong they may seem to us. He walked into a graveyard to release a possessed man, associated with sinners, and visited a tomb to raise a man dead for four days- unthinkable places to visit by choice, but when you are a man on a mission like Jesus was, no place is beyond your jurisdiction and no person is out of your reach. 

When Jesus had set His mind on going to Jerusalem, He revealed to His disciples all the events that would befall Him there, including His death and resurrection. Hearing this, Peter is indignant and says, “Oh no, Lord, these things should never happen to you. You are God! If you die, all your followers will lose heart and be scattered. This ‘Jesus Movement’ will lose momentum and fizzle out, and then what will happen to us?” Jesus turns on him sharply, “You are an offence. You are the devil himself because you cannot envision the purposes and plans of God. You reason like mortal man. 

You are short sighted, not to mention short tempered and you go after the temporal things of the world. Just step aside, Peter!” After a pat of appreciation on the head earlier in Matthew 16:17, Peter now feels like he has received a solid clout in reprimand! What seemed like an extremely wrong move on the part of his teacher and guide in heading for Jerusalem where people were waiting to trap Him was just the first step towards winning the ultimate victory. Only Jesus has the power to turn a wrong into a right, a curse into a blessing. People would view His horrendous death on the cross as the end, but it was just the beginning of glory for Him and salvation for those who believe. 

A seed is a dead thing as long as you can see it, but the miracle takes place when it is put into the earth and covered with soil. Jesus' death seemed such a wrong thing to happen. God doesn’t die, does He? The ‘physical’ man viewed the event as depressing, futile, and barbaric, an utter waste of time and effort: a young life snuffed out in the prime of manhood, so much suffering, bloodshed and grief- to what end? But the ‘spiritual’ man saw beyond the cross, the planting of the seed, death springing to life, the reaping of the benefits, the glory, and the crown. The math involved in these events is all wrong- a solitary life taken away and countless millions added to the kingdom; pain and suffering for Him, joy and gladness for us! What an unsurpassed spiritual bargain!