An often told story from the New Testament is the story of the beginning of the church. This event was the establishment of the New Covenant and the break from the Old Covenant. Now what is so unusual about this event was the excitement that the apostles showed. It was as if they had just discovered a gold mine and they were excited to tell about that discovery.These men had followed Jesus for three or four years. They had listened to him teach; they had watched him show his love as he healed many. Yet they still struggled with their preconceived teachings about the Messiah.Jesus asked his disciples who He was. Peter replying for the group said, “You are the Christ the Son of the Living God” (Matt. 16:16). In Matthew 17:22-23 we’re told that “Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.’ And they were GREATLY DISTRESSED.” They were distressed because that’s not supposed to happen. The Messiah can’t die, he’s the man who came to be the King of Israel! It doesn’t register in their minds, and they are distressed by it.Jesus had told them several times that He would suffer, be put to death, but that He would be raised. Apparently, the first time Jesus talked about this was right after Peter had declared that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took (Jesus) aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you’” (Matt. 16:21-22).Notice how Jesus responded: “He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men’” (Matt. 16:23). Jesus was telling Peter “You don’t understand yet.” None of the disciples understood what the Old Testament prophecies said of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection… until they witnessed Jesus death, burial and resurrection. Then Jesus spent the next month going back over what He had been teaching, and then He ...
