Our Text this Morning is an Difficult One

Not Difficult to Understand, But Difficult to Obey

In this Text, Jesus Calls Us to an Extreme Level of Commitment

And Because of that, I’d Like to Start with a Prayer

(Pray for God’s Spirit to Help Us Be True Followers of Jesus)

Matthew 16:21-26

I’ve Mentioned Many Times that Matthew is a Very Structured Book

One Way that Matthew Structured His Account…

Was Based on 5 Major Teaching Discourses of Jesus

But Another Way He Structured it was into 3 Major Sections

Introduction, Body, Conclusion

After Jesus’ Baptism and 40 Days in the Wilderness, We Read:

Matthew 4:17 (NASB95)

17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

These First Few Words in Red are Indicators From Matthew

Everything Before These Words is Matthew’s Introduction to His Account

And So Far, Everything After These Words has Been Focused on Jesus’ Galilean Ministry

And Now, Matthew Signifies to Us with Those Same Words…

That He is Transitioning Us into the 3rd and Final Section of His Account

Matthew 16:21 (NASB95)

21 From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.

We are Entering into the Conclusion of Matthew’s Account

Now that the Disciples (Peter Primarily) have Acknowledged Jesus’ Identity as the Messiah

Matthew is Now Going to Show Us What that Really Means

Jesus Begins Telling the Disciples What is Going to Happen to Him in Jerusalem

The Religious Leaders are Going to Kill Him and He is Going to Resurrect on the 3rd Day

This Isn’t News to Us…

But it Would have Been Horribly Shocking to the Disciples

They have Come to Believe Jesus is the Messiah

That Means He is Going to Reign Forever in Jerusalem…

Not Die There!

John 12:34 (NASB95)

34 The crowd then answered Him, “We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

(Put Matthew 16:21 Back Up)

To the Jews, Being the Messiah Meant Power and Glory

But What Jesus Just Described Sounded Weak and Humiliating

It’s Great that His Disciples Recognize that He is the Messiah

But Now They Need to Realize a Very Difficult Principle…

Concerning the Messiah’s Kingdom:

Jesus is Going to Reign in Power and Glory Forever

But Suffering Always Comes Before Glory

And Jesus Wasn’t Just Stating Facts…

He was Proclaiming His Mission

This is Something that “Must” Happen

But the Disciples (Specifically One) are Going to have a Major Problem with this

Matthew 16:22 (NASB95)

22 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.”

Peter Seems to Think that He Knows Better Than the Messiah

He Can’t Wrap His Mind Around What Jesus Just Said

“God Be Merciful to You, Lord!”

“This will Never Happen to You!”

“You’re the Messiah! God will Be Merciful to You”

“Not Only will this Never Happen to You…”

“But it’s Downright Unthinkable!”

“God Would Never Allow His Messiah to Suffer and Die”

“You’ve Got a Throne Waiting for You in Jerusalem…”

“Not a Cross”

Matthew 16:23 (NASB95)

23 But He turned and said to Peter, “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.”

Peter Went From Being Called the “Rock”…

To Being Called “Satan”

Jesus Compared Him to the Rock that He would Build His Church on

Now He Compares Him to a Stone that is Trying to Cause Jesus to Stumble

He Spoke the Truth About Jesus’ Identity Because God Revealed it to Him

Now He is Speaking Lies that are Inspired By the Devil

Peter Didn’t Realize it, But Satan was Using Him to Tempt Jesus

Satan Made a Similar Attempt When Jesus was in the Wilderness

He Tempted Jesus By Saying He would Give Him Rule Over the World…

If Jesus Would Bow Down and Worship Him

He Could Be King Without having to Experience the Pain, Suffering, and Death

Peter is Saying the Same Thing

“Lord, You’re the Messiah! You’re Not Going to Suffer and Die!”

“You’re Going to Rule the World!”

Satan Still Wants the Same Thing:

To Convince Jesus to Avoid Suffering and Dying

What Peter Thinks is God’s Will for Jesus, is Actually Satan’s

Jesus Responded to Peter the Same Way He Responded to Satan in the Wilderness:

hypagō (hee-PAH-go) - “Go Away”

“Get Out of My Face!”

The Desire to Avoid Suffering and Dying…

Was a Strong Temptation to Jesus

So He Refused to Allow it to Linger

When Temptation Came for Jesus, He Dealt with it Swiftly and Firmly

Don’t Allow Temptation to Linger

Remove it Before it has Time to Entice/Lure You into its Grasp

Like Jesus, Tell Satan to Get Lost

Matthew 16:24 (NASB95)

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.

Peter, Like Most Jews, had the Idea that Nothing Bad would Happen to the Messiah

And Therefore, Nothing Bad would Happen to His Disciples Either

Jesus Throws that Idea in the Trash

Jesus is Going to Die…

And in Order to Follow Him/Be His Disciples…

We Must to Be Willing to Do the Same

What Does it Mean to “Deny” Yourself?

This is the Same Word Used to Describe What Peter Would Do to Jesus…

On the Night of His Arrest

He Denied Any and All Association with Jesus

He Claimed to have Nothing to Do with Jesus

How Does a Person Deny Any and All Association with Himself/Herself?

We Must have Nothing to Do with Ourselves

We Must Be Selfless

That Means Denying Our Lusts and Desires…

And Putting the Desires of Jesus First

Making His Priorities Our Priorities

Taking Up One’s Cross Signified Being Willing to Die at Any Moment

The Cross was an Instrument of Execution…

But that’s Not All that it was

It was Also an Instrument of Suffering and Humiliation/Shame

To Take Up Our Cross Means…

Christians Must Be Willing to Die for Jesus

But Jesus Didn’t Just Die on that Cross

He Suffered Pain and Shame

Because of the Religious Freedoms We have in this Country…

It’s Easy for Us to Disregard this Command

We Know Deep Down that, at Least Right Now…

We Don’t Face Any Real Threat of Pain or Death for Our Faith

That’s Why I Believe it’s Important to Recognize…

Every Type of Suffering Brought on By the Cross

We Don’t Yet Face Threats of Pain or Death…

But We Absolutely Face the Threat of Shame

The World will Seek to Shame/Humiliate Us for Being Christians

Are We Willing to Suffer Shame/Humiliation From Our Peers…

In Order to Remain Faithful to Jesus?

Are We Willing to Be Mocked, Slandered, and Shunned…

Because of Our Relationship and Obedience to Jesus?

And if the Time Comes When Pain and Death are Real Threats for Us…

Will We Stand Firm in Our Faith?

“Follow Me” is in the Present Tense

That is to Say, “Keep On/Continue Following Me”

Luke Brings this Out in His Account

A Disciple Must “Take Up His Cross Daily” and Follow Jesus

Following Jesus in Self-Denial and Self-Sacrifice…

Is a Daily Commitment Christians Must Make

Matthew 16:25 (NASB95)

25 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

No One Wants to Be Humiliated

No One Wants to Experience Pain

No One Wants to Lose Their Life

But if Our Honor, Comfort, and Life…

Are More Important to Us Than Our Allegiance to Jesus…

Then We will have No Honor, Comfort, or Life in the Age to Come

But if Our Allegiance to Jesus is More Important to Us…

Than Our Honor, Comfort, and Life…

Then We will have All of These in Abundance in the Age to Come

This Passage Made Me Think of a Chinese Finger Trap

The More You Try to Gain Your Freedom…

The Tighter the Trap Becomes

But the Moment You Accept that You’re Trapped…

The Trap Loosens and You’re Free

Trying to Protect Your Honor & Pride in this Age…

Will Lead to Humiliation and Shame in the Next

Trying to Maintain Your Comfort and Health in this Age…

Will Lead to Pain and Suffering in the Next

Trying to Save Your Life in this Age…

Will Lead to Death in the Next

It’s Better to Surrender Our Honor, Comfort, and Life to Jesus in this Age…

Because if We Do, He Promises to Restore Them in the Age to Come

Matthew 16:26 (NASB95)

26 “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

Pretend I’m a Sadistic, Psychopathic Billionaire…

And I’m Making You this Offer:

I’ll Give You $1 Billion if You Let Me Kill You

I would Hope You’d Say:

“Absolutely Not! That Money Would Be Useless to Me!”

That’s an Absurd and Ridiculous Offer

But God Views the Way We Often Live Our Lives…

As Equally Absurd and Ridiculous

So Many of Us Spend Our Lives Pursuing:

Money, Fame, Sex, Comfort, Influence, and Power

Yet We Do So to the Detriment of Our Very Lives

We Trade Eternal and Blissful Life…

For Brief and Minuscule Amounts of Shallow Pleasure

There is Nothing More Absurd and Ridiculous than that

Only a Cause Worth Dying for is Worth Living for

What are You Living for?

What are Your Dreams, Goals, Aspirations in Life?

Are They Worth Dying for?

If Not, Then They Aren’t Worth Living For

Is Money, Fame, Sex, Comfort, Influence, or Power Worth Dying for?

No

Then They Aren’t Worth Living for Either

But a Relationship with Jesus that Leads to Eternal Life…

Is Worth Dying for

Jesus is Worthy of Our Lives

He is Worthy of Our Dreams, Goals, Aspirations

He is Worthy of Every Discomfort and Pain

He is Worthy of Every Bit of Shame and Humiliation

He is Worthy of Our Dying Breath…

As We Exhale Our Allegiance to His Name

What Would a Man Give in Exchange for His Soul/Life?

What Would You Pay/Sacrifice to have Eternal Life?

Anything Less Than Everything is Foolishness

If We Aren’t Willing to Give it All to Jesus…

Then We Can’t Be His Disciples

And We are Not Qualified for Eternal Life

Application

The Kingdom Lifestyle is Counterintuitive

It Sounds Illogical and Foolish to the Lost

They Say the Way to Hope, Joy, and Peace is Through Self-Preservation

The Way to Honor, Comfort, and Life…

Is By Seeking to Preserve Those Things for Ourselves

But Jesus Says the Way to Hope, Joy, and Peace…

Is Through Self-Sacrifice

And the Way to Honor, Comfort, and Life…

Is Through Sacrificing All of Those Things for Jesus

The Romans Intended for Crucifixion to Be a Deterrent to Crime

Whenever You Saw a Criminal Being Crucified…

The Romans Wanted You to Think:

“I Do NOT Want to Be Like that Guy!”

But When Christians Look at Our King on His Cross…

We Say, “I Want to Be Exactly Like Him!”

The Life of a Christian is About Sacrificing Everything for His Glory

Our Honor, Our Comfort, and Our Very Lives We Nail to the Cross

That’s Why Baptism as an Act of Surrender to King Jesus is So Appropriate

It Represents Our Death/Denial of Ourselves…

Along with Our Burial…

And Our Resurrection to a New Life…

That is Characterized By Daily Self-Sacrifice

From Beginning to End, the Christian Life is About Self-Sacrifice

Taking Up Our Cross Daily and Following Jesus

If You’re Not a Christian, are You Ready to Make that Commitment?

Christians, Have You Kept Your Commitment?