Revealing the Cross

Matthew 16:21-26

Matthew 16:21–26  “ From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. 22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” 23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” 24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

The Revelation 21, The Rebuke 22, The Response 23-26

The Revelation

Matthew 16:21  “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”

From what time? From the revelation of who Jesus is, Matthew 16:20  “ Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.”

Show - did he pantomime? No, what did Jesus do most of all? Lead his awesome 20 piece band with his 12 string lyre, and Mary and the girls were all background singers? No, he taught. What did He teach from?

The Word. Turn to: Daniel 9:24–27  “ “Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy. 25 “Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times. 26 “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.””

Turn to: Zechariah 13:7  “ “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, Against the Man who is My Companion,” Says the Lord of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered; Then I will turn My hand against the little ones.”

Hosea 6:1–2  “ Come, and let us return to the Lord; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. 2 After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight.”

Turn to: Isaiah 53:8–10  “ He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. 9 And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.”

Jesus took them to the same scriptures that the Rabbis spoke of as belonging to Messiah, but showed it was in Him. Now, a reminder many of the prophecies were just close, but Jesus lays down some specifics for them to realize as it begins.

He must (1) go to Jerusalem, and (2) suffer many things from the (a) elders (leaders) and (b) chief priests and (c) scribes - These were the rulers (sanhedrin) of Israel. John 1:9–11  “ That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.”

the angels refer to them Luke 24:6–7  “ He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7 saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ”” a huge duh.

however, to the disciple's, Jerusalem is the center of all things, the best people (Pharisees) the most powerful Jews (Sadducees), the most learned/educated (Scribes). It would be impossible to think that God would allow His son, to be murdered by those that follow Him.

Now Jesus says not just that it must, but will happen. Then Peter seems to react one would expect someone who had a revelation from God. Fleshly.

The Rebuke

Matthew 16:22  “ Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!””

Now we all want to pull Peter aside, tell him he cant do this, etc. but we might have done the same thing. After all, i figured out who He is, I must have the authority to say what I have discerned.

Peters spiritual authority (Jesus) says this must happen, not just according to Him, but He showed them. He put scripture on display for what would happen.

Peter seems to have missed the pay-off, Will rise on the 3 day! but you still dont want him to ge hurt!

The Response

Matthew 16:23  “ But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.””

We all know the accuser is usually blaming everyone trying to destroy because what is coming is a new testament, a new covenant.

The covenant God cut with Adam in Genesis, Abraham, Moses, all required blood. The blood of the innocent. This was the requirement of every testament.

Peter was trying to save his Lord. Its what we do. Men try to “fix it” . Jesus is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. The price was His blood. It was the mystery, the salvation of all through the sacrifice of the one.

like the pharisees, attributing the Work of the Holy Spirit to Satan, to stand against what had been decreed before the foundation of the world that 1 Peter 1:20 “He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” - now, in being in Christ, we enter into this as well. We hammer home Galatians what (2:20)? Its my our quoted verse, because it is everything.

Matthew 16:24–26  “ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Would you take up this cross? Would you lose the life you think you need for what Christ has in store for you?

Would you consider that nothing that happens to us here remotely compares with the incredible wonder that is prepared for us?

we’ll look more at this next time.

Peter was being an instrument of Satan through the works, not that Peter wasn't saved or possessed by a demon, but was being used by him. And Jesus didn’t call Peter Satan, he addressed Satan. Though I am sure that it humbled and set Peter back because he was countering what Jesus had declared must happen. Its a reminder to us that even being the physical presence of Jesus we can blow it. But Jesus, brought Peter in, declared he was praying for Him, called him to come to the cross, because even the life of Christ, was worth giving for what would be gained.

To take up the cross means to identify with Christ in His rejection, shame, suffering, and death.

Warren W. Wiersbe

Would you come to the cross? To be with Him in all the rejection, suffering, the shame? Lay down this life, to gain it all? Isn’t it worth everything?