Matthew 16:21-28 (2)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Good morning rivertree. I am so grateful to have this time with you this morning. If you have your Bibles go ahead and turn to Matthew 16. and in a moment we will start in verse 21
Just as a quick heads up Ross and I are preaching live today. I’m preaching downtown and he’s preaching at cove. We did this because of the exciting celbrations of baptism and baby dedication.
I had a great time working on the sermon with Ross this week and we even did our best to make sure each sermon had the same main points. We hope this serves you as you move into your grow group this week.
We’ve been walking through matthews gospel over the past year and last week felt like a climax. We get to a place in the gospel where people are really listening to Jesus words. He is gathering quite a following and many are saying he might be a prophet
and it’s here in this context Jesus looks at his disicples and says I know what everyone else is saying but what about you? Who do you say I am?
and Peter almost speaking on behalf of the disciples says
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
He’s right! Jesus is the Christ. He is the messiah, he is the anoited one, he is the king the nation has been waiting for.
and it’s right here at the heart of peters confession Jesus continues to share just what kind of king he was and how his kingship would effect the kingdom he was ushering in.
This had to be an icreadible moment to be a follower of Jesus. You are wondering what’s next? Can anyone or anything stop us if the Christ is really with us?
Let’s look at what Jesus says
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 on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
We should sit with this for a moment. This shoudl feel shocking. Jesus tells peter you are right I am the Christ. And I am going to be the christ crucified.
Peter and the other disicpiles must be thinking now that we have the king how do we get the kingdom? It’s time for us to take over. It’s time for us to overthrow Rome once and for all. Let’s sit down and figure out the strategy.
The plan. Jesus says is I am going to Jerusalem....and you are thinking that’s right. The city of David. Where the temple was of course you are going there and you are going set up your throne!
and when I get to Jeruslam I am going to suffer many things. by the elders, chief priest and scribes and the will kill me but I’ll rise again on the third day.
This is probably not the plan anyone expected. To put in in more modern language he is saying
The small group leaders, pastors and Bible teaches they are going to kill me. And then a few verse later we get the context for what kind of death he will die. He is going to be crucified.
and I know the cross is spirtual for many of us in this room today, it’s theoglogical(forms the way we think about God) and it’s a symbol but for the disicples who are listening that day it’s more
The cross was the way the Roman empire made sure they stayed in power, it’s how the ensured they were in complete control of the world.
It’s hard to grasp in some ways.
It wasn’t just a way of for crimanals to be punished and exucated. It was a stament of power. iT was a message to any would-be enimies of Rome they could be next.
It wasn’t just an instrument of Death. It was one of humilation.
The victims would hang naked. dogs would prow. and they would be left to rot. till the point birds would come and eat everything.
It was meant to publicly shame and leave no doubt of who was in charge. Rome is evertying, the crucified one is nothing.
so even when they Jesus was crucified and the sign above JEsus head was written “the King of Jews” it was meant as a statement of roman dominance
and Jesus says this is what’s going to happen to me.
it’s no suprise how Peter responded. This feels disconnected. In fact we might react like Peter
We can imagine the scene. Matthew tells us Peter took Jesus aside to rebuke him. saying. There’s no way. YOU ARE THE CHRIST.
We’ve seen you do so much. This is not the way it’s going to go. He’s missed the part of the resurection already. as soon as he heard people where going to Kill Jesus he starts to correct Jesus.
It’s almost like Peter is trying to control or maagane Jesus. It’s like peter is saying
Jesus why in the world would we suffer? Why should you suffer? That’s all our people have done for hundreds of Years. This is suppose to be an end of suffering.
It’s almost like Peter is saying “i’ve got a better idea”
and isn’t this how many of us relate to God specifaclly when it comes to suffering?
many of my prayers can be focused on God fixing my problems and sheilding me from suffering completly.
I could work thorugh something and think God I think I might know how this might go better. Maybe I could share some of my ideas. and it’s not that God doesn’t care about our thoughts. But we can trust his thoughts are higher then our thoughts and his ways are alwasy better then our ways.
It’s why what happens next is jaring. Jesus turns to Peter and says Get behin me, Satan!
Just a few minutes ealier he’s changed his name. He’s called him a rock. He’s said it’s on your very confession i’m going build my church and the next thing Jesus does is call you satan
Could you imagine?
Why would Jesus say this? Peter seems like he’s just trying to be encouraging right? He saying you are Gods faovite there is no way this will happen
but really this is almost the exact words Satan says in the temptation of Christ in Matthew 4:1-11
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,
“ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
“ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and
“ ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”
Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
“ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’ ”
Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
You might remember the scene. Jesus has gone into the wilderness to be tempted. and Satan shows Jesus a way other then suffering, other then going to the cross.
He even qoutes scripture to him.
and know peter is saying the same thing. He is saying. You are the son of God, you can’t suffer you won’t suffer.
it’s the same as the first temptaiton of Adam and eve
Satan came and tempted them. Said you will fillinal know good and evil. You will be like God
he questioned Gods goodness and then tempted them
but Even in Jesus rebuke he’s not done with Peter. He is patient with him. He says get behind me. The get behind me statement is actaully a call to follow him again.
he saying you are trying to lead me. You are trying to manage me. You are thinking Just like others think. You are thinking I would do anything to avoid suffering, anything to avoid death but this is actaully a hindarnce to me
Jesus knows where his life is heading. He knows the kind of suffering the kind of death he will die and hebrews reminds us he conisdered it joy.
He knew something better would come from his suffering. As he is moving towards what some would consider his worst day he was going to accomplish his best work. The savlation of the human soul
He is telling Peter. This is how the kingodm of God will come in me and through me, through wekaness, and through suffering and difficulty and death.
and as encouraging as peter meant for his words to be they were actaully a hinderence.
Jesus wants peter to know this is not the thinkin gof the kingdom.
there is a different way to think about life and to think about one self.
He offers a better way. He offers an invitation ot Peter and the rest of the disicples
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
I love how the inviation starts. He says “if anyone would”
it’s not limiting who can following him. He’s not saying it’s just for those in power, just for those who know enough about me, it’s not just for those who are not suffering.
No if anyone would come after me
the inviation is for all
and the inviation is this
deny yourself
take up your cross
lose you life
and when you lose it you will find it.
“Life” and ‘physche
How do you understand the way to become a self?
WE live in a world that longs for purpose. There is this idea in modern curlutre that we have to find our true self. That we have to find life.
so how do people do this? They strive, they achieve, the work harder. People are always trying to gain power and be in control
so they can feel purpose. They can have a sense of self and worth. They can know their life matters.
yet if that’s all life is connected to striving, achieving, gaining the world our soul is forfieted in the process.
we know it’s true. I was recently watching Urban myer former ohio state and florida football coach talk about wininng a national championship at Flordia. It’s remakrkable the effort, the intestiy the focus they had at acheiving perfection.
and Myer says we finally did it. We finally won the championship and then he said it wasn’t enough. He said the moment they went back in the locker room he locked his door and was on the phone with recruits. He was forfieting his soul.
In an attempt to achieve, to gain power and ocntrol. To feel purpose and aviod suffering he was foreiting his soul and adding to his suffering.
maybe it’s something we all share. If we aren’t careful we will posture our lives in such a way where we just try to get to that next place. The next sale, the next promotion, the next great family moment, the next thing
and while a lot of that can be good if that’s it we find ourselves forfieting our souls in the process
Instead of finding our idenity we lose it. Maybe in that process we gain the world but we we’ve lost ourselves in the process
There is some teaching out there that would say Jesus died for me so I don’t have to die
but Jesus call here in matthew 16 is different. he says if you follow me take your cross up and die
“Thus it begins, the cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our commitment to Christ. When Christ calls a man he bids him come and die.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
It’s almost like he’s looking at Peter, his disicples and saying not only are you wrong about me, but you are wrong about yourself also.
You won’t be able to aviod suffering. you want be able to avoid the cross.
He is telling his disciples this is what God centered thinking looks like. THis is what it means to follow Jesus.
He’s the inviation. Risk you life on the reality Jesus really is everything. Build your life on this truth.
Eugene Peterson is helpful in thinking about what Jesus is saying here. IN his translation of this passage he writes
Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?
Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005), Mt 16:24–26.
Peterson is holding out for us what Jesus is saying. If you actaully want to know your true self. Your real self. Who God has created you to be in yourvery soul. You will find out through suffering.
that’s how we find out who God has made us to be. That’s how we find idenity and purpose in life.
“The more I resist Him and try to live on my own, the more I become dominated by my own heredity, upbringing, surroundings and natural desires. It is when I turn to Christ, when I give myself up to His personality, that I finally begin to have a real personality all of my own.” - C.S. Lewis
and the fact Jesus connects suffering to the cross is also encouraging to me this morning. Because it means that my suffering isn’t wasted. That my suffering isn’t in vain. That when my suffering is connect to the cross it matters.
It matters in my own life and it matters to God.
what Jesus is teaching here is suffering is always the death of something.
Lewis is helpful here becasue he says nothing gets raised that doesn’t die
in other words. When we suffer it’s the death of a dream, it’s the death of an idea, it’s the death of a relionship, it’s the death of a hope, or a person, or a future
but when our suffering is connecting to the suffering of Jesus there is always hope of resurection. it’s why Jesus starts the passage reminding his disicples I’ll suffer, I’ll die but i’ll rise again.
because he wants thenm to remember that wehn they suffer, there is something better coming.
We can be sure of this. If the kingdom of God was going to come through Jesus through weakness, through suffering, through difficult and through death it can come through us in the same way
Jesus didn’t just go to the cross so we wouldnt have to. Keller says Jesus went to the corss so our crosses will be discipleship, and we can udnerstand that’s how the kingdom comes through us.
that’s how you find your true self. That’s how you hold onto your soul no matter what comes your way. IT’s when your life is connected to Jesus life
It’s in denying yourself you find your true self. The person God has created you to be
Jesus says if you deny youself you will actaully find life. He wants you to have you. he wants you to have yourself
He is saying. Look at my cross and let the cross shape everything else around you
It’s what Paul had on his mind in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
Pauls life was now hidden with Christ with the cross as his main focus
and eventually for peter it would be the same way. After Jesus died. Was buried and rose again decades later Peter would celebrate the cross
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
He knew it was the cross that changed everything. and the wounds of christ actaully brought healing to our lives.
and my hope is the same can be true for us. How do we end up being free from wordly way of thinking.
when we beleive whwat Jesus thinks of us is more important.
and when this becomes a reality you will have real strenght. Strenght and power that comes from God. You will be able to look at everytying in your life
you friends, you marriage, you stock and you can ysay your not my life. You’re not my idenity youre not my soul
Jesus is my everything
and if you are a christian in this room and you are walking through some terrible things. Bad things are happening right now in your life. You have troubles. You have crosses You might wonder what do I do about it?
you are to look at your cross in light of his
Because the cross reminds you just how much God loves you
Jesus went through all the same things we go through
at the cross Jesus lost his job, he lost all his money, he was stripped, he lost friends, he was abandonded, he suffered, he died
and what happened. the kingdom of God went forward
so when you look at your life and think nothing good could come from this. The cross challenges you and says why not?
If God gave up everything for you he won’t abadon you know
He loves you to much for that
and if you aren’t a christian. <now this is what it means to follow Jesus. you will lose your life and you will find it
you will lose your life for Jesus
and you will find it
if not Jesus and the cross then it is just more of the same.
The cross isn’t just what JEsus is doing for sin, but the very way in which God is making all things new.
and for some he wantst to do that today.
if you’ve never followed Jesus today he invites you to and says
If anyone would come after me
would you today?