Quick Summary:

Strange and wonderful things can happen on mountaintops. Each year the death toll on the world’s highest peaks ticks upward as novice climbers with plenty of money for guides temp fate by entering a realm they are ill prepared to deal with. Mountains are nothing to trifle with. Still, there’s nothing quite like being high up a mountain on a clear, sunny day.

When you're choosing a route up a mountain, you're taking a calculated risk. One way mountaineers talk about this risk is in terms of exposure factor. The higher the exposure factor the greater the risk. If the climbing route you’re on takes you through areas of high exposure, you do everything you can to increase your margin of safety. That being the case, we could say that Peter is just trying to be a safe climber! What he wants is the safest, the least exposed route to Jerusalem and to glory.

But Jesus knows what Peter cannot, that bringing healing to the world requires him to take the path of greatest exposure. The risks cannot be avoided, they must be embraced.