Proper 17A, Pentecost 14 2023

Text: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”—Matthew 16:24

Imagine having Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, say to you: “Get behind me, Satan.” If that doesn’t catch you up short, I don’t know what would.

One wonders what was going through Peter’s mind through this whole episode. As we heard last Sunday, he had just made a fantastic confession of faith—one that drew praise from our Lord that was just as grand as His rebuke here is cutting. According to Jesus, Peter was speaking words from God the Father, Himself. Then the tone shifts.

Today’s reading picks up with the rest of the story: “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 on the third day be raised.” Think about what it would have sounded like to Peter. Peter has been following Jesus for almost three years now. He’s been amazed by Jesus’ teachings; the elders, priests, and scribes have tried to catch Him in one trap after another, but He overcame them every time; it’s entirely possible that he, like others, has come to believe that Jesus would soon overthrow the Roman legions and establish Israel as its own, independent nation; and, certainly, he had to have come to feel a connection to Jesus, personally. But, now, suddenly, Jesus is saying that those same elders, priests, and scribes would, in fact, overcome Him one day. And not only that they would overcome Him, but that He would suffer and end up being killed at their hands—doesn’t it sound like Jesus is talking about failure? “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.”—isn’t that just what a good friend would say?

This is the reason why this is such an important reading for the Church in our day—it sounds a lot like what American Christianity—perhaps you and I, too, would say. It’s not just Peter that Jesus is addressing when He says, “Get behind me, Satan!” You and I are tempted to do the same thing that Peter did, aren’t we?

We live in a time when well-meaning pastors, churches, and Christians often fall back on sayings like: “Just trust God and things will work out.” Or “Just trust God and you can’t be stopped.”

For millennia, the Church has looked to the Bible as the ultimate source of truth about God, about us, and about our place in this world. We spent a great deal of time establishing doctrine based on it. It was the standard by which all other thoughts and views were judged.

Today, you and I look to the Bible for inspirational quotes.

Imagine that all you knew of the Bible was the social media posts with Bible verse placed over a picture of the mountains or the sun setting over the beach in the background? What if those were the only parts of the Bible you had access to? What kind of god would you believe in?

A god who says that you can do it? that he’s ready to take you to a new level, to release a new wave of His favor? A god who declares that you have a destiny to fulfill? that all you need to do is to be bold and take control of your own life? that you are called to be a cut above? that you have excellence on the inside which just needs to be brought to the outside?

Does the picture of God that you get from these stories and the inspirational quotes look anything like Jesus Christ, who says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”?

Every time a pastor proclaims to people that they have a divine destiny to fulfill, Jesus says to him, “Get behind me, Satan!”

In the past, the church told and retold the stories of the saints and martyrs. Now, the stories we tell and re-tell are the uplifting anecdotes about “faith conquering all”—where families are miraculously reconciled, where careers are miraculously boosted, where sick children are miraculously healed. “Just believe,” these stories assure you, “and you’ll overcome everything in the end.” But they never quite tell you who or what you’re believing in. Jesus says to each of these empty stories, “Get behind me, Satan!”

Our approach to evangelism has certainly changed. It used to be that the Church went out into the world proclaiming: “Repent and believe the Gospel!” Some of you literally went door to door, asking people if they knew for certain that they would end up in heaven if they were to die today— and there was only one correct answer to that question. Now, we ask them if they want to build stronger marriages and families. One famous pastor, was asked why a person should put his/her faith in Jesus. His reply was, “Just try Jesus for a week and I promise you that you’ll see a difference.” Jesus says to this kind of evangelism, “Get behind me Satan, you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Matthew 16:23).

It’s striking, too, how counter-cultural Paul’s words in our Epistle reading are—not in the world around us, but how counter-cultural they are within the church? “9Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor…. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ 20 To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink….’ 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:9–21)

Where has that church gone? It is becoming harder and harder to find that church in our day.

Bless those who persecute you? Far be it from you, Lord! Do you know the kind of people you’re talking about?

Live in peace with Democrats? Live in peace with Republicans? Far be it from you, Lord! We prefer to give as good as we get.

If your enemy is hungry, feed him? Far be it from you, Lord, to expect such a thing of us!

To such a church, the Son of the Living God most certainly says, “Get behind me, Satan!”

It may go against the culture of the church in our day, but a church like Paul describes is a Church that truly knows their Savior. To say that His love was genuine is an understatement. It was love that moved Him to leave His throne in heaven, take on human flesh, and be born of the Virgin Mary. His perfect love abhorred what is evil and held fast to what is good for every moment of His earthly life. It led Him to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep. It moved Him with compassion for the poor, the sick, the suffering.

He overcame evil with good. Even as He was persecuted, He continued to bless and to forgive. While you were still His enemy on account of your sin, He died for you. “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” It is on the cross, on Jesus Christ, that God chose to take vengeance for your sin. He has overcome evil by offering Himself as the final, perfect sacrifice on the cross. He has put Satan behind you, once and for all—left behind there at the foot of the cross. As one of our hymns puts it: “Satan, hear this proclamation: I am baptized into Christ! Drop your ugly accusation, I am not so soon enticed. Now that to the font I’ve traveled, All your might has come unraveled, And, against your tyranny, God, my Lord, unites with me!”

The tragic irony is that, by reducing the Bible to a set of inspirational quotes, we’ve stripped it of the true inspiration, the true power of God’s Word. It doesn’t promise families miraculously reconciled. It does promise, though, that—no matter what you endure—you are a dearly loved child of God. It doesn’t promise careers miraculously boosted. It does promise, though, that all the riches of heaven are yours. It doesn’t promise that you or your child will be miraculously healed. It does promise, though, that your dead in Christ shall live; their bodies will rise; that, on the Last Day, all who rest in the dust will awake and sing for joy.

Repent. Repent and believe that the cross was, and is, for you.

If you would follow Jesus, then deny yourself. Begin every morning and end every evening by putting to death your sinful flesh with repentance and faith that you have been buried with Christ and raised with Him to a new, holy life. Consider yourself dead to sin and alive in Jesus Christ.

If you would follow Jesus, then take up your cross.

Take up your cross and bless those who persecute you rather than cursing them.

Take up your cross and, so far as it depends on you, live in harmony with all.

Take up your cross and repay no one evil for evil, but do what is honorable in the sight of all.

Take up your cross and put away your need for vengeance. Vengeance belongs to the Lord.

Take up your cross and rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, and constant in prayer.

Take up your cross and overcome evil with good.

No, this is not a savior that you try for a week to see if your life is better. This is the Son of the Living God who has purchased you—not with gold or silver—but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death so that you may be His own and live under Him in His Kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.

Far be it from us to settle for anything less.

In His Name. Amen.