4.12.51b 11.17.2025 Matthew 16. You Must follow Me

Start:

Entice: Like many familiar institutions there are many ways to describe the Church, Jesus Himself uses many terms. 

Body

Bride

Building

Branches

Flock

Organization

To make sense of those descriptions we have to remember whose idea this whole thing was in the first place.

Jesus calls us, or’e the tumult of the world’s wild restless sea. 

Engage: We commonly talk about “Church membership.” Or we might ask someone “Where d’you go to Church?” Perhaps rather we should ask

“Are you following Jesus?”

or

“How long have you followed Jesus?”

“With whom do you share your walk of discipleship?”

How we have conversations about the Church largely determines our attitude and what others think.

Whether it be our neighbors, our children and  even our grandchildren How we think of the Church is essential to the nature of this or any worshipping community. 

Expand: We are going to break down a familiar passage tonight. When we do that the goal is not really for you to learn something new. Rather, we take what we know and use that information to remind us of who we are and to configure new and sometimes challenging applications. 

Excite: I want you to know: I love the Church. I say this over and over again. I have had the best times of my life in the Church and the worst times. I have experienced joy and sorrow. I have been grievously hurt and graciously healed. Jesus never disappoints. Sometimes we, His people do. Yet He loves the Church and gave Himself for her. He calls us and builds us into His worshipping people the temple of His own Holy Spirit. 

Explore:

The true Church exists in the merging of Jesus’ building and our following. 

Expand: This building  is a journey of discovery that passes through several levels of understanding.

Body of Sermon: First, there will likely be

1 Confusion.

Matthew 16:13–15 ESV

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

1.1 Who Jesus is.

1.2 What His message really means.

1.3 How He intended to save us. 

Next discipleship is defined by 

2 Confession.

Matthew 16:15–20 ESV

15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 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. 18 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. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

2.1 Heavenly origin.

2.2 Earthly expression.

2.3 Permanent foundation. 

Finally, and often with great difficulty we must make a difficult 

3 Concession

Matthew 16:21–24 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. 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.

3.1 Jesus and His cross.

3.2 The demands and duty of discipleship 

Shut Down

Nobody wants crosses! We didn’t vote for them and we were not really given the chance to choose.

The cross of Christ was essential for our salvation. Because of His cross, our cross may eventually become just as real. I understand that West Salem Moravian Church is confronted with a significant burden.

Such a cross creates stress. Such a cross gives Satan an opportunity to introduce chaos amid misunderstanding. Such a cross can hurt feelings and strain relationships.

Different crosses present different opportunities? What does God have in mind for this congregation, in this place, at this time?

Disciples carry crosses.

Sometimes we choose them,

other times they choose us. 

Discipleship is about following Jesus. His Church is a group of followers. We look to Him for guidance and direction and navigate our own treacherous and unforgiving world seeking to draw attention not to ourselves but to Him.

When we put our eyes upon Jesus, when our gaze is unwaveringly upon Him our vision of Jesus should be so powerful that others are motivated to follow Him along with us. 

Every congregation of believers has distinctive characteristics. The most important commitment, the best theological statement, the most verifiable comment in any small town  about a local church is “They follow Jesus, whatever the cross they must bear.”

Must Jesus bear the cross alone? And all the world go free?

NO. There’s a cross for everyone and there’s a cross for me.