The Revelation of Jesus with Rick Sterling

"Lighten up!" We have all heard this phrase directed at us from time to time, because there are times when we feel that life becomes slightily more intense than our ability to cope. In these situations sometimes our friends can see solutions that we can not because they are not 'inside' that situation. That being said, I cannot imagine any of the disciples of Jesus saying that to Jesus, except for Peter. Matt. 16:22-23 describes Peter 'rebuking' Jesus for suggesting that He must go to Jerusalem, where He would suffer humiliation under the leaders of the Jews, be killed, and be raised from the dead on the third day. In other words Peter said, "Jesus, lighten up!" The response of Jesus was epic, ""Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's." (Matt. 16:23). 

In a forceful way Jesus was was reminding Peter that in order to be in the Kingdom of God you must THINK differently than those people that are in the world. The world is in darkness, the Kingdom of the Heavens is in the light. Jesus reminds us as He did Peter that, 

"This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. "For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.  "But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God." (John 3:19-21)

Here Jesus is saying to us, "LIGHTEN UP", by living the Truth, living the Way, and living the Life that Jesus came to earth to show.