Matthew 16:21-28
Peace Lutheran Church, Berne, IN
1Lord God heavenly Father, since we cannot stand before You relying on anything we have done, help us trust in Your abiding grace and live according to Your Word; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Jesus begins to show His disciples what He must endure. - To win for us salvation. “From that time on Jesus began to explain to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things…” (V.21)
Last week we heard Peter’s great confession. Now we hear his great denial. Consider the change in Peter.
Last week. Peter made a good confession. Now we hear his great rebuttal. Today Jesus says, “Peter - You are a scandal. You are not focused on the things of God.”
Before. His confession came from God. Today. It comes from Satan as Peter is fixated on his sinful self.
Then. He was a rock. Today. A stumbling block,
Then. He made a good confession. Today. A denial of the Father’s purpose.
Then. He was following the will of the Father. Now. It was man’s will and human desires.
Then. He spoke from the vantage point of faith. Now. A lack of faith.
Then. It was Jesus on the Father’s terms. Now. It was Jesus on man’s terms.
Then. Jesus said, “Follow Me!” Now. He says, “Get behind Me!”
Jesus must suffer all. As we see Him. Cut off from the Father. From the cross Jesus will cry, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?”
Peter simply lost his focus. Peter was fixated with his own personal walk with Jesus. He desired a deeper connection. A profounder association to Christ. But, on his own terms. With his own agenda. His own plan and purpose.
Peter’s strategy? His proposal was designed to have a better life. It was safe. It was secure. It was worry free. He was not prepared for a cross. And suffering.
He desired a glorified Jesus. An awesome God. Who would cater to his every need. And serve him. Peter’s issue was his fascination with himself. And a man all wrapped up in himself make for a very small package.
Your focus must be on Christ. To avoid going back to the Law. This is the death we experience in baptism. In Baptism you died to self. Only to live a new life. Which is rooted in Christ.
Consider the ultimate sacrifice, which Christ demands.
I. Consider Christ’s sacrifice.
A. Christ denied Himself. “And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!” Likewise, the chief priests, also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save.” Mark 15:29-31
B. He took up the cross. A cross? Peter knew what that meant. Roman execution. The most horrific kind of death imagined. Carrying a Roman cross did not sound like the Messianic kingdom. It sounded like death. The picture of a man, already condemned, required carrying the beam of his own cross to the place of execution. The disciples knew what this meant, for hundreds of men had been put to death, executed by this means in their region.
C. Jesus followed the will of the Father perfectly. When He was twelve, He explained, “I must be about My Father’s business.”-Luke 2:48
By embracing the Father’s love for men, Jesus “loved them to the end,” –John 13:1 for “greater love has no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends.” – John 15:13
In Jesus’ suffering and death, there is salvation and life. Out of love for His Father and for men, Jesus freely accepted His passion and death. “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I lay it down and I take it up.” –John 10:18
He became the suffering servant. Silently. He allowed Himself to be led to the slaughter. He bears the sin of men. He becomes, “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”-John 1:29
II. Consider the Christian. A “little Christ.”
A. Deny yourself. It’s a hard life. Any death is hard. Especially the death of self. As Peter would later teach, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory “1 Peter 4:12-13
Forget. Ignore. Disown. And lose sight of yourself. - And your own interests. By the certainty of His cross and resurrection, you “rejoice in hope.” You are “patient in tribulation.” And “constant in prayer.” (Romans 12:12).
B. Take upon yourself your own cross and suffering. The cross is more than a thankless job. A nosy neighbor. A nasty mother-in-law. Even a physical illness is not necessarily a cross.
Taking up your cross and following Jesus means literally dying to self. It’s a call to total surrender. It’s a call to following Jesus. Even if it means losing some of your closest friends. Even if it means alienation from your family. Even if it means the loss of your reputation. Even if it means losing your job. Even if it means losing your life.
In some places of the world, these consequences are reality. The issue is, “are you willing?” Following Jesus doesn’t necessarily mean all these things will happen to you. But are you willing? To take up your cross? If there comes a point in your life. Where you are faced with a choice – Jesus or the comforts of this life –which will you choose?
C. Follow Christ. Join Jesus as a disciple. Siding with Him. Follow Him. Continually. Cleaving steadfastly to Jesus. The road that Jesus pointed is a narrow road. Someone walks a road not by keeping his life but by losing it. It is the road of resurrection. And the new life Jesus offers.
III. Consider the stakes. There are high stakes in life in terms of winners and losers.
A. Choose. But choose wisely. You may save your life. – And in the process gain the whole world. But in the end. - You can lose your own soul. You can’t buy it back. – What can you give as an exchange for your soul? Nothing!
B. There is only one clear option. Which is, to lose your life for Christ’s sake. The crucifixion of the old man; the self, brings pain. But crucifixion is always followed by resurrection.
Here you find your life. We want to avoid the pain of crucifixion. Pain and suffering are never easy. Yet without crucifixion there is no resurrection.
What more can you win but the resurrected Christ? Daily, through contrition and faith, the old man is drowned and dies. So that the new man; Christ within you, lives before God in righteousness and holiness.
So the writer to the Hebrews encourages us, “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. “Hebrews 12:1-2
As Jesus loses His life on the cross for the life of the world to be saved, Jesus expects His followers to look forward to a similar existence. This is what you are given to do. The focus must be on Christ to avoid going back to the temptation of living under the Law. This is the death we experience in baptism. In baptism you died to self.
The self-made man may be a part of the American dream. It can turn into a spiritual nightmare. Life is meant to be given, expended, sacrificed for Jesus’ sake. Life cannot be “saved”, or it will be lost. When we try to save our lives, we waste it on gaining the world.
Here is a sound, universal principle. Life is at its best, is most meaningful when it is invested in a cause greater than yourself.
In this particular case– it is the cause of Christ. Giving oneself to Christ’s cause takes us out of ourselves and we lose ourselves in the attainment of that cause. This results in happiness and purpose in life.
The path and journey of faith is to walk where Jesus has called us. To be His disciples is to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him to death of self only to find - resurrection - and new life in Him.
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Words –1,500
Passive Sentences –6.7%
Readability –82.6%
Reading Level – 3.5
Sources:
Luther’s Seal © Ed Riojas, Higher Things
Collect for Pentecost 14 For All the Saints A Prayer Book For and By the Church Vol. II The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau © 1995 Delhi, NY
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