Follow the Leader

Theme: Follow the Leader

1. Deny the world

2. Take up your cross and find life

Matthew 16:21-26 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!” he said. "This shall never happen to you!" Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"

The rules for the game, "Follow the Leader," are simple enough. One person acts as the leader, and everyone else has to follow along. If the leader jumps, the followers have to jump. If the leader runs, everyone else has to run. It's a simple game, and it can be a lot of fun. "Follow the Leader" can also be a very difficult game if the leader forgets about those who are following. For example, if I am the leader and the kindergartners followed me, I wouldn't want to run as fast as I can. I'd leave them behind, and they couldn't play. If I asked them to walk along a balance beam high above the ground, they could easily fall and hurt themselves. A good leader makes sure that everyone is able to follow.

We could easily compare our lives as Christians to a game of "Follow the Leader." Jesus is our leader, and as we walk along behind him, he asks us to follow. As we listen to the discussion Jesus had with his disciples, we will see that first we need to deny ourselves and the world, and then we need to pick up our crosses and find life.

A good leader prepares his followers for upcoming challenges. Jesus was a perfect leader. He knew that he was going to face some tremendous challenges in the next 6 months. He didn't want his disciples to fall down or be left behind. So, "from that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life" (Matthew 16:21). The path the leader followed would prove very painful and difficult for his followers. They had to follow their leader into the stronghold of his enemies. There, Jesus would allow his enemies to do whatever they wished. They would arrest him, torture him, and kill him.

Peter didn't want to follow in the footsteps of his leader. He didn't like the sounds of Jesus' plan. He didn't want to see the Christ suffer and die. He wanted to see Jesus stand victorious over the corrupt Jewish leadership. He wanted the Messiah to take his rightful place on David's throne in Jerusalem. Suffering? Death? That's not the right path for Jesus. When Peter heard what Jesus was planning, he took Jesus off to the side and said, "Never, Lord!" The Greek phrase actually means, "May God in his mercy spare you this!" He continued, "This shall never happen to you!" The follower didn't want to follow the leader. The follower wanted to become the leader. Surely God himself would not approve of Jesus' plan. The Messiah didn't have to suffer and die to establish God's kingdom. He needed to live. He needed to teach. He needed to gather crowds of supporters who would help him make it to Jerusalem at the right time—not now!

Jesus wasted no time responding to Peter's rebuke. "Jesus turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men" (Matthew 16:23). Jesus recognized Peter's words as an all-out assault by Satan. He heard the echo of another temptation, one in the wilderness when Satan said, "All [the kingdoms of the world and their splendor] I will give you, if you will bow down and worship me" (Matthew 4:9). Satan wanted Jesus to focus on an earthly kingdom. Satan wanted to snare Jesus with the same trap he had sprung on Peter. Satan didn't fool Jesus. Jesus responded to the temptation in the desert and the temptation through Peter with the same words: "Away from me Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men" (Matthew 16:24). Peter was looking in the wrong direction. He wanted to follow a path that focused on earthly things—power and glory, victory over enemies. He was looking in the wrong direction.

Jesus wanted Peter, and us, to follow him. So, he told Peter and the other disciples the first step in following him. "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself." Literally, "deny" means "to forget one's self." Peter and the disciples needed to forget who they were so that they could follow their leader. They needed to forget about earthly glory and kingdom building. They needed to forget about the things their sinful nature wanted so that they could focus on Jesus and follow the leader.

Jesus tells us to do the same. If we want to follow Jesus, we need to deny ourselves. We need to forget about ourselves and focus on our leader. Instead of denying ourselves, we usually turn around and act like Peter. Peter thought he knew what the leader should be doing and where he should be going. We like to dictate to God too, don't we? I know the direction that this congregation needs to take. I'll make sure that we get where we need to go. I can't stand it when other members get involved in the work of the kingdom. They never do things the right way. They aren't doing everything the way it's always been done. That's not my way! With that kind of attitude we are more concerned with telling them that they're doing it wrong rather than being thankful for their hard work and new ideas.

Jesus' words tear away all our pretense of goodness. He says, "Deny yourselves!" We need to forget about our sinful pride. We need to recognize that we are no different from anyone else. Paul told us in Romans 12:3, "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought." Then, we repent when we have sinned. The LORD told us in our first lesson this morning, "If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me" (Jeremiah 15:19). Like Peter, we are followers, not the leader. When we start straying from his path, that's sin. We need to stop sinning! God promises that he will forgive every one of our sins. He will make sure that his work is completed no matter who is carrying it out and no matter how they do it. He will give us the strength to reach out to others, no matter where they're from or what they look like. He will help us to appreciate everyone who serves out of love for their Savior.

Was that a hard step to take as we follow the leader? Our sinful nature doesn't like it, but through faith we follow. The next step may seem even more difficult. Jesus continued, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). Jesus showed us how difficult this step would be. As our leader, he went first. He willingly set out for Jerusalem, and just a few months later everything he predicted took place. After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead in Bethany, just outside of Jerusalem, the high priest Caiaphas told the other leaders, "'You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.' So from that day on they plotted to take his life" (John 11:50,53). Everything was in place when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. It all happened according to their evil plan. Judas served as the betrayer. Soldiers arrested Jesus in Gethsemane. The Jewish leaders tried and convicted him on false charges. They had Jesus beaten. They shipped Jesus off to Pilate so that he could be sentenced to death. Jesus carried his own cross on the road to Calvary until it became too heavy to bear. The soldiers pulled Simon from Cyrene out of the crowd, and he carried Jesus' cross outside the city. On the hill outside the city, soldiers crucified Jesus. He hung on a piece of wood to die.

Is that the cross we need to carry? Every year in the Philippines, Christians reenact Jesus' death by actually crucifying men who have volunteered to go through the agony. Is that what Jesus meant by "taking up our cross"? No! Jesus paid for our sins on the cross. That cross has been carried and discarded. Jesus carried his cross to show his love for us. That doesn't mean that our lives will be free from trouble. No, Jesus said that if we want to follow him, we need to pick up our crosses. The crosses we need to pick up aren't made of wood and nails. Our crosses come in all shapes and forms—problems at work, parents divorcing, a difficult student, illness, advancing age, struggles in marriage, car problems. The troubles and trials we deal with every day are examples of the crosses we pick up and carry as we follow Jesus. The crosses we carry may seem huge and impossible to carry, but as we follow Jesus, we see how small and light ours are as we compare our crosses to his. He bore the sins of the world. We carry our own problems. The apostle Paul, as he compared his burden to Jesus', called our crosses "light and momentary troubles" (2 Corinthians 4:17). We're following Jesus. We can expect to carry a cross, but not forever. As we deal with our crosses, Jesus promises to help us. He said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest…. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28,30).

The best news of all in this game of Follow the Leader comes at our final destination. When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, he died. He also promised his disciples that on the third day he would come back to life. As we follow Jesus, we are guaranteed the same results. Jesus promised, "Because I live, you also will live" (John 14:19). Our leader won't lead us wrong. He won't let us slip off the path. He'll bring us safely to heaven. Then we will put down our crosses and leave them behind forever.

Follow the leader. Which leader will you follow? Will you follow Jesus? He has shown us the way. He has walked the path for us, and has carried the cross first and best. He died for us and rose again. Or, will we follow ourselves, or the world and all its invitations? Jesus concludes this piece of instruction with two questions. "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26). What good is it? The world wants us to believe that gaining all that glitters and gleams is worth it. Satan wants us to believe that if we accept his offer, our lives will just get better. Our sinful flesh throws its arms wide and shouts, "I want it all! I want the toys. I want the money. I want acceptance by my friends. I want the job. I want the promotion. I want the spouse. I want the retirement fund. I want it all!" Is it worth it? What good will it be if we get everything we could ever want, but die and leave it all behind for an eternity separated from Jesus?

Jesus once told a story that illustrated this point. He told about a rich man who gained the whole world. Meanwhile, poor Lazarus fought with the dogs for crumbs from the rich man's table. The day came when both men died. God's angelic escort brought Lazarus to heaven. The rich man died and went to hell. He wished for a drip of water from Lazarus' finger to cool his tongue, but there would be no relief. The rich man followed the wrong leader, and lost his soul in the end.

Follow Jesus. Jesus tells us to begin by denying the sinful world and ourselves. Repent and believe that your sins are forgiven. Then, pick up your cross and walk behind him. He leads the way. He's walked the hard, painful path of life. He carried his cross so that our crosses wouldn't be impossible to carry. Follow the leader. He shows us the way to life! Amen.

To God alone the glory!