Your Kingdom Come: The Cost of Discipleship

Introduction: Last Sunday, Tim shared with us Peter’s wonderful proclamation and confession at Caesarea Philippi, a confession made possible through the inspiration and revelation of the Father, indicating that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah. I can’t help but think when I read this passage, or hear it mentioned in a sermon, how my own understanding is informed by the experience of having visited Caesarea Philippi. In fact, it was just this past March that Corrine and I shared with Tim and Laura their first ever experience of standing in the pagan temple area at Caesarea Philippi and viewing the gates of hell mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 16:18. Were you aware that you can actually go to Caesarea Philippi today and see the gates of hell referred to by Jesus? I’m sure Tim would concur with this sentiment: when you read these passages after visiting these places you come away with a completely new perspective as the Bible comes alive through informed first-hand experiences at the places mentioned in scripture. You can visit Caesarea Philippi and I want to invite you to join us in February of 2027 as we tour the land of Israel. This ends my public service announcement, and we now continue with the regularly scheduled program, which is our study of Matthew 16:21-28.

I want to begin this morning by posing a question to you for consideration and reflection: Have you ever been the recipient of bad news? Whether it was real or perceived? I have no doubt that everyone in this room would answer that question in the affirmative. The follow up question is: How did you respond to that news and how did it impact you? Obviously, the answer is going to depend on any number of variables at play in your life when the news impacts you. Things like stress and anxiety levels, depression, as well as our general mental health impact our response mechanism. Additionally, family dynamics, social environment, and society all shape how we expect life to unfold and what we believe reality should look like. Finally, when such news involves our personal stakes and challenges our sense of control, it hits much harder than issues that don't directly affect us.

As we will see, while Peter's confession is a high point of the narrative, Jesus' predictions about his suffering, death, and resurrection are going to rock Peter's world, and not in a good way. The news he hears doesn't conform to his understanding of the messiah’s role in the society of his day, nor to his expectations regarding how God's plan for both Jesus and himself is supposed to unfold. While Peter is committed to following Jesus, he hasn’t anticipated what was unfolding and didn't like where this journey was headed. Yet, all of these things come together to create an opportunity for Jesus to expand on and clarify what it truly means to be a disciple of Jesus.

I. When God’s Plans Don’t Align With Our Expectations - vs. 21-23.

Matthew begins by recounting Jesus’ first explicit private announcement to his disciples of his impending suffering, death, and resurrection. Prior to these statements, there had been only veiled allusions to his death and resurrection.

Matthew 16:21 ESV

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.

A new phase in Jesus’ relationship with his inner circle of disciples.

The passage represents a new phase in Jesus’ relationship with his disciples, especially his inner circle of 12.

The opening phrase "From that time Jesus began to show his disciples,” emphasizes two main ideas:

This marked a new phase in Jesus's revelation to his inner circle.

Everything that follows after this phrase is for the benefit of the disciples.

Jesus isn’t announcing a future event as you would if you were a journalist covering a story, rather he’s instructing them and providing important information for their understanding and preparation. They need this instruction because he understands where they currently are, both theologically and psychologically: There are several fundamental ways they misunderstand him, his mission, and God’s plan.

They’re working under the assumption that the messiah will overthrow Rome and establish an earthly kingdom, not suffer and die. A suffering messiah doesn’t fit within their theological framework. They are technically correct, there will eventually be an earthly kingdom, they’re in error regarding its timing.

Jesus’ emphasis that he "must" go to Jerusalem and suffer reveals that the disciples fail to grasp that suffering wasn't an unfortunate detour but an essential component of God's redemptive plan. They saw suffering as incompatible with divine purpose rather than integral to it.

There was a glaring deficiency in their understanding of God's plan. Their theology was anthropocentric—they judged God's plan by human standards instead of accepting divine wisdom. They made human desires the measure of what God should do rather than submitting to what God revealed He must do. They needed their theology corrected to center on God's plan, not their own agenda.

They had an incomplete and inaccurate view of salvation: They wanted to reap the benefits of Jesus’ ministry without understanding its cost. They couldn’t conceive that redemption required sacrifice, because they were looking for the wrong type of liberation.

They were resistant to divine revelation. Their own theological frame work hindered their ability to clearly see what God was doing.

This private instruction is designed to equip them to understand and cope with the coming crisis and eventually proclaim the necessity and meaning of Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection.

All of this creates a conflict as their theology and human will clashes with the divine plan.

Matthew 16:22 ESV

22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.”

Peter embodies the fundamental human conflict between what seems right to us and what is part of God’s divine plan. He embodies the clash between human wisdom and divine wisdom—our instinctive resistance to God's ways.

The fact that Peter takes Jesus aside indicates that Peter’s response is not an impulsive outburst like we might expect when hit by information we haven’t processed and come to terms with, rather it’s deliberate, calculated, and thoughtful. At the same time, Peter is emphatic in his opposition to what Jesus has just stated. His reaction is one of shock and dismay; it’s the last thing he was prepared to hear. Peter is so strongly opposed to what Jesus has said, not only because it doesn’t fit within his theological framework, but because he knows that it directly affects him. He’s committed to following Jesus, but this wasn’t the direction he planned or envisioned for his life.

The phrase “Far be it from you” is a Greek expression that literally means, “merciful and gracious.” The full sense would be something like "May God be gracious/merciful to you [and prevent this from happening]!" Peter is essentially saying "Lord, may God prevent this terrible thing from happening to you!" It's an expression of horror and protective concern, invoking divine intervention to avert the calamity Jesus has just predicted. It’s an idiom reflecting the Hebrew mindset of appealing to God's mercy to prevent disaster.

Peter isn’t just theologically misalignment, he’s revealing the human tendency to embrace the benefits of divine love while recoiling from the cost that makes those benefits possible. Peter wants a triumphant Messiah without a suffering Messiah, blessing without sacrifice, crown without cross. The paradox is that we intuitively long for redemption but instinctively resist the means by which redemption comes. Our theology (what we think we know about God) and our will (what we want from God) naturally oppose the divine plan that actually accomplishes our deepest need. We are a flawed and broken race who need salvation yet resist the very process that saves us. We want the resurrection but not the crucifixion, the glory but not the suffering, the victory but not the via dolorosa. Peter's rebuke of Jesus perfectly encapsulates humanity's attempt to edit God's redemptive plan to match our preferences rather than submit to divine wisdom.

What happens when our desires conflict with God’s purposes? We stand as adversaries of God.

Matthew 16:23 ESV

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.”

The verse mirrors Jesus’ wilderness temptation in Matthew 4:10, where Jesus is offered all the kingdoms of the world if he will worship Satan. In both instances, the opposition is fundamentally about temptation that would derail God’s redemptive plan. Peter meant well, but he was obstructing the will of God — the very mission of the Messiah by trying to dissuade Jesus from his path to suffering.

Peter stood as an opponent of Jesus’ divine purpose and mission, rather than a devoted follower, because he was prioritizing human wisdom over divine purpose. Jesus isn’t implying that Peter is possessed of Satan or that he is literally the devil, rather the Hebrew term means adversary or opponent. Jesus is calling Peter, who stands as an opponent, to get behind him and become a follower. In other words, stop standing in opposition to Jesus and become the follower you profess yourself to be.

II. What Discipleship Looks Like - vs. 24-26.

An important idea to grasp before moving on to verse 24 and beyond is the fact that Matthew has a specific purpose in his writing that is distinct from the other gospel writers, especially the other synoptic writers, Mark and Luke. Most modern scholars believe that Mark’s gospel was the first gospel to be written, with Matthew and Luke borrowing material from Mark or other early oral accounts, and adapting them for their own purposes. Each author had a target audience and purpose in their writing, a purpose that goes beyond simply narrating and summarizing Jesus’ life and ministry. The gospel writers use the gospel accounts to emphasize specific truths to their target audience. A comparison of Matthew 16:24 with Mark 8:34 and Luke 9:23 helps us discern Matthew’s purpose from that of Mark and Luke. In both Mark and Luke’s account, each states or implies that the crowd is present or that the crowd was called together with the disciples before each author launches into Jesus’ discourse regarding discipleship. From this fact, it’s clear that Mark’s account represents a universal invitation; his tone is more evangelistic, and the call to discipleship is open to all because the invitation is a public proclamation. Like Mark, Luke’s call to discipleship is universal in nature; however, his emphasis is that discipleship requires a commitment to Jesus daily. In contrast to this, Matthew frames the “take up your cross” motif as instruction for those already committed to following Jesus, rather than an evangelistic outreach to the general public. Each account represents a different entry point: Mark is asking “Are you ready to die?” Luke is asking “Are you ready to choose Jesus every day?” Matthew is asking “Are you ready to grow?”

The cost of discipleship

Matthew 16:24–26 ESV

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?

Jesus’ first quotation in verse 24, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me,” emphasizes the current state of affairs: the disciples are currently committed to following Jesus. This is the current reality; the disciples have a sustained attitude of wanting to follow Jesus, not just a momentary impulse or future intention. They’re already committed to be disciples; they’re beyond the point of contemplation and consideration.

Denial of oneself - This is the same word used by Peter in Matthew 26:34, when Peter denies Jesus.

Jesus is emphasizing that the condition and cost of discipleship is the breaking of every link which ties a man to himself. Where self sat on the throne of the heart, imposing its will, a new Master and King now sit and the self bows in submission to the divine will.

Take up one’s cross - Jesus isn’t implying that the disciple experiences a one-time death by nailing herself to the cross, rather the emphasis is on ongoing discipleship: you carry your cross as you follow Jesus who is carrying his. Jesus is emphasizing a sustained journey, not a single moment of crucifixion.

These two conditions stand at the entrance to all true discipleship, and are required of every professing believer who has sworn allegiance to the King of Glory. What’s their end goal?

Conformity to Christ - To share in Jesus's experience, following the same path of obedient suffering that leads to resurrection and glory.

Death to self - The ongoing process of dying to selfish desires, self-will, and self-centeredness so that God's will can be supreme.

Participation in redemption- Joining Christ in his mission of salvation, which requires sacrifice and suffering for others' benefit.

Resurrection life - The cross-carrying journey leads to the same destination as Jesus's cross - victory over death and participation in divine life.

Immediate Concerns vs Ultimate Consequences.

The words “life” in verse 25 and “soul” in verse 26 are derived from the same Greek word. The context determines how the word is rendered in each verse. The two verses together represent a natural progression in Matthews argument: The passage moves from immediate concerns to ultimate consequences.

Immediate self-preservation instincts - vs. 25a

Temporal sacrifice for Christ - vs. 25b

Maximal temporal gain vs. loss - 26a

Eternal perspective - 26b.

The shift from "life" to "soul" reflects the movement from temporary to eternal concerns. Jesus isn't contradicting himself but rather escalating his argument from practical discipleship costs to the eternal stakes involved.

III. Discipleship In Light Of Eternity - vs. 27-28.

Discipleship in light of the hope of the coming kingdom.

Matthew 16:27–28 ESV

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.”

Matthew 16:27-28 serves as a crucial bridge connecting the previous six verses with the Transfiguration account in Matthew 17:1-8. Here’s how they relate:

The hope of discipleship - When we move from a place of opposition and become cross-bearing disciples, verses 27-28 provide hope by promising that the Son of Man will indeed come in glory to reward everyone according to their deeds.

Proof that suffering leads to glory - The promise of the Son of Man's glorious coming validates that the path of suffering and cross-bearing ultimately leads to divine vindication and reward.

Motivation for costly discipleship - The assurance of future judgment and reward provides the theological rationale for why someone should deny themselves and take up their cross.

Matthew 16:28 ("there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.") serves as an immediate preview and promise that is fulfilled just six days later in the Transfiguration, which we will look at next week. This event provides the disciples with a foretaste of Jesus's divine glory, validating both his identity as the suffering messiah, and his exhortation that suffering for Christ leads to glory.

Conclusion: Moving from opposition to submission, from consideration to commitment, from discouragement to hope.

From Opposition to Submission (Matthew 16:21-23)

When God's plans don't align with our expectations, we have a choice:

Examine your theology: Are you judging God's plans by human standards of success, comfort, and timing? When life doesn't unfold as you expected, resist the urge to rebuke God's wisdom with your preferences.

Check your resistance: Notice when you find yourself saying "This should never happen" about difficult circumstances. This may be a sign that you're prioritizing human logic over divine purpose.

Move from adversary to follower: When you catch yourself opposing God's revealed will, choose to "get behind" Jesus rather than stand in His way. Stop trying to edit God's redemptive plan to match your agenda.

From Consideration to Commitment (Matthew 16:24-26)

For those already following Jesus, discipleship requires daily choices:

Practice self-denial: Identify specific areas where "self" still sits on the throne of your heart. Deliberately choose God's will over your own desires in practical, daily decisions.

Carry your cross daily: This isn't a one-time decision but an ongoing journey. What does your personal "cross" look like today? Embrace the difficult path that leads to spiritual growth rather than seeking the easy way out.

Keep eternal perspective: When facing immediate costs or sacrifices for following Christ, remember that temporary losses lead to eternal gains. Don't forfeit your soul for worldly success.

From Discouragement to Hope (Matthew 16:27-28)

Live with future glory in view:

Find motivation in future reward: When cross-bearing discipleship feels costly, remember that God sees and will reward your faithfulness according to what you have done.

Look for glimpses of glory: Just as the disciples saw Jesus transfigured, ask God to give you foretastes of His glory that sustain you through difficult seasons.

Let hope fuel endurance: The promise that suffering leads to glory isn't just theological truth—it's practical fuel for persevering when discipleship gets hard.

The Bottom Line: True discipleship isn't about getting Jesus to bless your plans, but about aligning your will with His redemptive purposes, even when—especially when—they don't make sense to human wisdom. The cost is real, but so is the glory that awaits those who follow Christ all the way to the cross and beyond.