Matthew 16:21-26
Peter’s Great Denial
Lord 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.[1]
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.
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, who have You forsaken me?”
Peter simply lost his focus. Peter was fixated with his own
personal relationship with Jesus. He desired a deeper connection 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. 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 putting
to death, executed by this means in their region.
C. He 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. 13But 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 it means losing some of your closest friends. Even it if 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 the 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; the cause of
Christ. Giving one’s self 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 to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him to
death of self and resurrection and new life in Him.
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Words –1,470
Passive
Sentences –4%
Readability
–82.6%
Reading
Level – 3.7
Illustration "The Crucifixion" from a woodcut by Baron Julius Schnoor von Carolsfeld, 1794-1872, a distinguished German artist known especially for his book, Das Buch der Bücher in Bilden (The Book of Books in Pictures). copyright © WELS used by permission for personal and congregational use.
