Learning the Jesus Way of LifeSample

The Order Matters

Pray: Jesus, give me the faith to go where you go, do what you do, trust what you say, and love how you love. Today, I commit to following you. Amen.

In this chapter, we get clarity on a lot of important things. Things like who Jesus is, the kind of death He would die, and what it takes to be His disciple.

To be a follower of Jesus means we trust what He says and go where He goes—it means we actually follow Him. But this isn’t a blind trust. Our decision to follow Jesus gets to be based on the clarity that comes from knowing who He is, who we are, and what it is we are being invited into.

In the following passage, we watch a lightbulb moment in Peter’s apprenticeship to Jesus. Pay attention to the order of events written here. Where does Jesus start? Where does He lead the conversation next?

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:13–19 NIV

Jesus starts with theology. He begins this pivotal conversation by creating space for Peter to declare what he knows about Jesus’ identity, because this is foundational to the rest of the conversation. Theologian A.W. Tozer once said that what comes to mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you. Why? Because the way you see God shapes the way you see everything else. So, Jesus starts there, and Peter responds with an accurate view of Jesus as the promised savior-king and Son of the living God.

With this understanding established, Jesus moves the conversation to Peter and speaks to his identity. In fact, this is the very moment when Jesus gives him that name, Peter, which means "rock.” Again, the order matters. Because when we know who God is, we can know who we really are. How does that make sense? Think about how you got your name. Your parents, regardless of how great (or not so great) of a job they did at raising you, are the ones who got to name you because they made you—they brought you into the world. Now, think about it a little deeper. Your true identity—who you really are and how you are meant to show up in the world—who decides that? Well, if the maker of a thing is the one who gets to define it, and if we know God as the personal and loving Creator of everything, then He is the source of our true identity. Not ourselves. Jesus is the one who speaks identity and purpose over Simon Peter.

That’s where Jesus takes the conversation next: purpose. We’ve moved from theology (who God is) to identity (who we are) to activity (what we do—our purpose).

When we start to see God more clearly, we begin to see ourselves more truly. And when we know who we are, we know what to do.

Peter is invited by Jesus to play a pivotal role in building the Church. Something to note is that Jesus says, “I will build …” and “I will give …” Jesus’ invitation is to join in the work that He is already doing. We aren’t being called to do something impossible or to work in isolation; we are being offered the opportunity to walk and work with Jesus—to partner up with God, like we were created to do, and play a part in His good plan to restore the world.

That’s why the order matters so much. Because if we don’t know who Jesus is and who we are, we undertake work that we were never meant to do. We work to prove something, hide something, or to avoid losing something. And these efforts create fear, guilt, and shame, instead of producing love, freedom, and shalom.

Do you find yourself more often living in fear, guilt, and shame or in love, freedom, and peace?

Where and when have you gotten the order wrong? Where is there a misconception about God you need to correct? In what area may you be holding onto a skewed view of yourself? What work are you doing that is not motivated from a place of love and unity with Jesus?

For those of us who need an example of how to get the order right—to first live in the security of an intimate relationship with the Father, to ground us in who we really are, so that we can be confident about what to do—look at Jesus. Because this whole chapter points to Him as the supreme example of living a life ordered toward God.

Jesus Jesus knew who He was (the Son of God) and where His authority came from (His heavenly Father). So, when the Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus demanding a sign from heaven, He refused. Jesus did not undertake work with something to prove. Instead, He undertook work that really mattered, work that changed the world, because He knew who He was.

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Matthew 16:21 NIV

Jesus knew what He came to do. He wasn’t distracted by opportunities to prove Himself. He wasn’t derailed by secret doubts or hidden sins. And He didn’t shy away from loss, even the loss of His own life. Jesus suffered many things, was falsely accused, and endured the most painful death imaginable, even though He didn’t have to, because Jesus had nothing to prove, nothing to hide, and nothing to lose. He undertook work that really mattered, work that changed the world, because He knew who He was. So, He was confident beyond any question about what He came to do.

Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior King of the world, and He came to set us free from our sin, repair our relationship with God, and invite us to play a part in His plan to restore the world.

Are you in?

Application: Who is Jesus to you? What informs your view of God? What is He like? Who or what dictates how you see yourself? Do you have confidence about what you are on this earth to do? Do you think you can have clarity about your purpose? Why or why not?

Practice getting the order right by journaling through these questions and letting each answer be your starting place for wrestling with the next question. Pray and ask God to reveal Himself to you during this time. Ask Him how He sees you. Pray for boldness to step into the identity He has given you and to do whatever it is He asks you to do.