The Full Gospel: For Wednesday

St. Matthew 16:20-24 (8/6) Gospel for Wednesday of the Eighth Week after Pentecost

The Full Gospel: St. Matthew 16:20-24, especially vs. 23: "...You are an
offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." It is tempting for us, frail and human as we are, even when illumined in the Christian Mystery, to adopt what St. Paul calls "a
different Gospel" (Gal. 1:6); for, as the blessed Apostle says, there "is
not another [Gospel], but there are some who...want to pervert the Gospel of Christ" (Gal. 1:7).

In these verses from St. Matthew, the Lord Jesus reveals three ways His full Gospel is "skewed" and made "palatable" for the convenience of "human
sensibilities': 1) minimize the supernatural, 2) modify the Person and Ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, and 3) gloss over the centrality of His
suffering, death, and Resurrection.

The disciple Peter, who would become chief among the Apostles (Mt. 16:18), had an intense, human reaction to the Lord Jesus' announcement that He "must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed" (Mt. 16:21). Peter was horrified at the prospect. He rebuked the Teacher for "allowing" this (Mt. 16:22). Peter's resistance to the Lord's prophecy of was so strong that he missed the all-important portion of the message, "and be raised the third day" (vs.21). The full Gospel includes the Resurrection.

Like the Pharisees and Sadducees, Peter and the other disciples did not fully comprehend the two dimensions of the "sign of Jonah" (Mt. 12:39): they understood "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Mt. 12:40) but missed the Resurrection to follow. Jesus told them, but still they missed it. So the Lord Jesus warned them of the "leaven of the
Pharisees and Sadducees" (Mt. 16:6,11) who demanded signs to believe in Him.

Ultimately, the disciples would be blessed to witness the most upernatural
of all signs, but, first, they would have to experience the Passion. Only
afterwards would the risen Lord stand in their midst.

Ah, but let us not be over-dependent on miracles. The full gospel is ours
by faith in Christ. As He says, "...Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (Jn. 20:29). Above all, let us not miss the full gospel by having an inadequate or limited understanding of the Person and ministry of Christ our God. Rather, let us affirm that He is fully God and fully Man in every respect, except He has not our clinging plague of sin - the tragic lot of our race.

This present passage shows that the disciples were growing toward a full understanding of the Person of the Lord Jesus. They rejected many popular
views of Him: that He was John the Baptist or Elijah - forerunners of the
Christ - or that He might be "Jeremiah or one of the prophets" (Mt. 6:14). Peter did declare, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Mt. 16:16). Carefully, the Lord modulated his true revelation. Note how He begins with the caution to "tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ" (vs.
20). While Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the living God," the full Gospel will include His death and Resurrection. Immediately, then, He told
the disciples of His Passion and of being raised the "third day" (vs. 21).

When Peter evinced a "normal" resistance to the idea of suffering and death, the Lord Jesus rebuked him sharply so that all His disciples might gain a full understanding of the Gospel. Beloved, grasp the foolishness of the Gospel - "...Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called...the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men" (1 Cor. 1:21-25). Only the full Gospel saves us despite ourselves.

The Bridegroom of the Church was fastened with nails, pierced with a spear.

Thy sufferings we adore, O Christ. Make us to behold Thy glorious Resurrection!