Sermons from St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Atlanta
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Aug 30, 2026 · 15 min · 8 segments
Sermons from St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Atlanta
Aug 30, 2026 · 15 min · 8 segments
So last week, it seemed like the disciples might finally be beginning to get it, especially Peter.
When Jesus asked who people said that he was, Peter was the one who finally said it out loud.
And for this, Jesus blessed him and affirmed him mightily.
It was one of Peter's finest moments.
And it lasted for all of about six verses.
He will go to Jerusalem where he will suffer and be killed and be raised on the third day.
But I don't think Peter heard that part.
Alarmed and frightened by what his beloved teacher and friend has just said to them, Peter has a bit of a come apart, and he pulls Jesus aside and he rebukes him.
The Messiah is supposed to win, to defeat Israel's enemies and restore what has been lost.
God's Messiah is supposed to be powerful enough to overcome the Roman Empire, not be crushed beneath it.
And Jesus, in turn, has a harsh rebuttal to Peter.
It's the same phrase that Jesus used during his time in the wilderness, when Satan tempted him with victory and power over all the kingdoms of the world.
And now Peter, who genuinely loves Jesus, is offering him essentially the same temptation.
Surely there's another way.
Surely you could use your power to save the world without letting the world destroy you.
This is an extraordinarily human instinct.
We spend a great deal of our lives trying to protect what is precious from being lost.
The people we love, the lives we've built, our security, all the things that make us feel safe.
But Jesus understands something that Peter does not.
If he were to save himself or his people by becoming the kind of Messiah that the Roman Empire would recognize, then nothing would have been redeemed.
Because Jesus has not come to establish himself as a more benevolent Caesar.
So last week, it seemed like the disciples might finally be beginning to get it, especially Peter.
When Jesus asked who people said that he was, Peter was the one who finally said it out loud.
And for this, Jesus blessed him and affirmed him mightily.
It was one of Peter's finest moments.
And it lasted for all of about six verses.
He will go to Jerusalem where he will suffer and be killed and be raised on the third day.
But I don't think Peter heard that part.
Alarmed and frightened by what his beloved teacher and friend has just said to them, Peter has a bit of a come apart, and he pulls Jesus aside and he rebukes him.
The Messiah is supposed to win, to defeat Israel's enemies and restore what has been lost.
God's Messiah is supposed to be powerful enough to overcome the Roman Empire, not be crushed beneath it.
And Jesus, in turn, has a harsh rebuttal to Peter.
It's the same phrase that Jesus used during his time in the wilderness, when Satan tempted him with victory and power over all the kingdoms of the world.
And now Peter, who genuinely loves Jesus, is offering him essentially the same temptation.
Surely there's another way.
Surely you could use your power to save the world without letting the world destroy you.
This is an extraordinarily human instinct.
We spend a great deal of our lives trying to protect what is precious from being lost.
The people we love, the lives we've built, our security, all the things that make us feel safe.
But Jesus understands something that Peter does not.
If he were to save himself or his people by becoming the kind of Messiah that the Roman Empire would recognize, then nothing would have been redeemed.
Because Jesus has not come to establish himself as a more benevolent Caesar.
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