When Death Brings Life
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
We live in a distracting world.
Things that grab at our attention. Some good some obviously bad.
Focus mode.
The Bible warns us to redeem the time for the days are evil. Anything that takes our focus off the mission God has sent us to accomplish is from the evil one.
In the Christian life there are many paradoxes. A paradoxes is a seemingly contradictory statement.
Today we are going to look at how death brings life to us as believers.
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.
22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.”
23 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.”
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
26 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?
27 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.
28 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.”
1. A Singular Focus (vv. 21-23)
1. A Singular Focus (vv. 21-23)
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.
The Singular Focus of Jesus
Jesus had to go to the Holy City
Most of His ministry had taken place in Galilee
All of the sacrifices for the people were offered in Jerusalem
Jesus had alluded to His death before with phrases like:
“Destroy this temple”
“The Son of Man must be lifted up”
“Eat my flesh and drink by blood”
Now Jesus is more direct and plain about the sacrifice that He had come to accomplish
Jesus “began to show” means this was an ongoing process of Jesus retraining the thinking of the Disciples about the Messiah
Jesus must suffer, die, and be raised to life
Matthew Henry writes
“The suffering of many things, if not unto death, is more tolerable; for while there is life, there is hope; and death, without such prefaces, would be less terrible; but he must first suffer many things, and then be killed.”
Who would Cause Him to Suffer
The elders, chief priests, scribes - these are all the leaders that make up the Sanhedrin
These are supposedly holy men who were searching the Scriptures to wait for and identify the Messiah
They were content with the way things were
They were corrupt
22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.”
The Rebuke of Jesus’ statement
Peter again speaks on behalf of the Disciples
He reverses roles and pulls Jesus aside to rebuke the Master
He says essentially, “Lord, may it never be. Have mercy on yourself!”
Peter couldn’t make sense of it. He wanted Jesus to dread suffering
Again Matthew Henry writes,
Note, When God’s dispensations are either intricate or cross to us, it becomes us silently to acquiesce in, and not to prescribe to, the divine will; God knows what he has to do, without our teaching. Unless we know the mind of the Lord, it is not for us to be his counsellors, Rom. 11:34.
-Matthew Henry
What great lengths have you gone to in your life to avoid suffering?
We dread suffering, but we should be joyful of it because it produces in us the eternal weight of glory and perfects our faith.
23 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.”
Jesus’s Stern Rebuke
These things “must take place”
Jesus came for a particular reason - to save us from our sin by being the sacrifice that was required
In the divine counsel among the Godhead, it was eternally agreed upon that Jesus would be the willing sacrifice for our sins to bring glory to God and grace to mankind
Jesus addresses this man that He has just praised without wavering.
He turns around to Peter and immediately calls him Satan
Satan means adversary
Peter is playing the role of Satan unwittingly
Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light
We must be on guard and have our powers of discernment trained
Anyone who would get in the way of the mission of God is an adversary (note that is not the same as an enemy, though the results may be the same)
Jesus was singularly focused on going to the cross to be the sacrifice for our sins and anyone or anything that got in the way must be eliminated
What is in the way of you accomplishing God’s desires for your life?
What do you need to get the scalpel after? Are you willing to do what is necessary to be holy and life in obedience to God?
Even good things and good people might be used by the devil to keep you from accomplishing the mission God has for you
God’s ways are not our ways
Jesus said that Peter was not setting his mind on the things of God.
Peter did not have that same singular focus
We often talk about knowing the voice of God and how to discern His voice, but have we ever stopped to consider that we also need to learn to hear the voice of Satan?
He can speak through a saint as well as a devil.
All too often his speech is seasoned like Christian speech but it is often tainted with subtle lies and often from unsuspecting people
Adam and Eve
Job’s wife - curse God and die
Jesus and Peter
Illustration:
Apollo 13 mission
Everyone had a singular mission to bring the astronauts home
Everyone worked tirelessly and relentlessly to get them back safely
We are not home yet! We may do lofty things here on this earth, but this is not our home.
Our mission is to get home safely and to get as many people into the life raft as possible along the way.
2. A Costly Invitation (vv. 24-28)
2. A Costly Invitation (vv. 24-28)
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
26 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?
27 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.
28 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.”
This became a teachable moment for the rest of the Disciples and for Peter
Jesus came to suffer and die, but rise again
Our calling is to walk the path Jesus has travelled
We are to be like Him
We are not greater than Him
Our path WILL include suffering
The condemned man would carry the crossbeam of his cross to the place of execution
Each of us must bear our own cross. It is our cross and not that of another.
How do we look to suffering with “the joy that is set before us?”
We must look at suffering not look for suffering.
We don’t go looking to find occasions to suffer.
What Carrying the Cross Entails
Take up our cross
Follow Jesus
Lose our Life to Gain it
Here is another paradox: If you want to gain your life, you must lose it first.
3 Statements:
Whoever would save his life will lose it
What will it profit to have the whole world and lose your soul
What is your soul worth?
7 Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life,
8 for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice,
There is a Reckoning that is Coming
Living on borrowed time = means that one day things are going to catch up to us, whether good or bad
Christ is going to come with His angels in judgement
He will reward the faithful and punish the unrighteous
Which will it be for you?
Conclusion
There is only one way to avoid the wrath of God that our sins deserve.
We must rely upon the one who endured the cross and despised its shame for us.
We must let Jesus go to the cross and suffer for us. He must take God’s wrath for our sins.
We must follow Him there and take up our own cross daily and be willing to suffer and even die for the Lord if that is His will.
There are not many who would be willing to do this.
They may be willing to fill the church pews
They may be willing to serve on a committee
They may be willing to send money to the church
Few are willing to suffer and die for the Lord
Again in closing we can look to Matthew Henry.
A disciple of Christ comes after him, as the sheep after the shepherd, the servant after his master, the soldiers after their captain; he is one that aims at the same end that Christ aimed at, the glory of God, and the glory of heaven: and one that walks in the same way that he walked in, is led by his Spirit, treads in his steps, submits to his conduct, and follows the Lamb, whithersoever he goes, Rev. 14:4.
