7/12/25 Jesus on His Terms

Takeaway: To truly follow Jesus, we must surrender our expectations and embrace Him as He is.

Opening Prayer (Saturday)

Father, thank You for the gift of rest. As I slow down today, help me to find peace in You. Restore my soul, deepen my faith, and renew my joy in Your presence. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Reflection

We all want a Jesus who fits comfortably into our worldview, our values, and our expectations. But in Matthew 16, we find a Jesus who refuses to be reshaped, even by those closest to Him. Just moments after Peter confesses that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” Jesus begins to reveal what that actually means. Not power and glory in the way the disciples expected, but suffering, rejection, even death. It’s a shocking twist in the story. Peter, bold and well-meaning, takes Jesus aside and rebukes Him. “Never, Lord!” In that moment, Peter isn’t rejecting Jesus, he’s trying to save Him from the cross. But Jesus’ response is fierce and clear: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me.”

This encounter strikes at the heart of what it means to follow Jesus: we must follow on His terms. Peter loved Jesus, but he still tried to make Him into a Messiah that was more comfortable: a Savior without sacrifice. And we do the same. We want a Jesus who blesses our plans, fixes our problems, heals our illnesses, and who doesn’t ask too much. A Jesus who’s always comforting but never confronting. But Jesus refuses to be reshaped. He came not to meet our expectations, but to transform them. The real Jesus is not always easy to follow, but He is always worth following. He does not sidestep suffering, He walks through it. And, He does not grasp for power, He lays it down. Are we willing to follow?

The danger of remaking Jesus into someone easier is that we end up with someone who cannot truly save. A Christ without the cross may be more palatable, but He cannot redeem. A Jesus who only confirms our desires is nothing more than a reflection of ourselves. But the Jesus we see in scripture, the Jesus who sets His face toward Jerusalem, is the only one who has the power to transform us from the inside out.

To follow Jesus on His terms means we stop trying to reshape Him. We listen when His words are hard. We yield when His ways are higher than ours. We trust when His path leads through suffering. Jesus’ rebuke to Peter is not cruel; it is merciful. He loves Peter too much to let him cling to a false hope. He loves us too much to let us build our lives on a half-truth. And so He calls us to follow. He leads the way, and we must learn to trust that wherever He goes, even to the cross, is the way to true life.

Questions

In what ways have I tried to reshape Jesus to fit my preferences or expectations?

What would it look like for me to follow Jesus on His terms, especially in a season of suffering or uncertainty?

Application

Read a Gospel passage where Jesus says something difficult (e.g., Matthew 16:24–26 or John 6:60–69). Ask God to help you hear not just what is comforting, but also what is confronting. Identify one area in your life where you have been resisting Jesus’ terms, and take a concrete step toward surrender.

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, You are not always the Savior I expect, but You are the Savior I need. Forgive me for the times I’ve tried to fit You into my mold instead of being shaped by Your truth. Give me grace to follow You when the path is hard. Lead me, even to the cross, that I might find life in You alone. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Don’t forget to like and leave a comment letting us know that you are reading.