Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost ~ August 31, 2008

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ. This we have focused on Matthew as the main Gospel to see the life of Christ. The lessons up till now have focused on the earlier ministry of Jesus of preaching and teaching and healing. We have seen Jesus choose his disciples, travel from town to town, feed the thousands, heal the sick, speak in parables and teach the crowds. Now there is a very deliberate change in Matthew. There is a subtle but important change and verse 21 of chapter 16 sums up this change – “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.” (Matthew 16:21, ESV) While Jesus’ teaching, healings, parables and visiting with people is important, it isn’t the main reason He has come. Jesus has come to go to Jerusalem, suffer, die and rise again to gain victory for the whole world!

This is so vitally important for the disciples and everyone to know that we see a surprising outburst by Jesus. Last week’s lesson we see Peter in all his “glory.” Jesus asked his disciples “Who do you say I am?” to which Peter answered “You are the Christ.” That was the right answer and Jesus said on this rock, this foundation, I will build my church. He blessed Peter for this confession of faith given by the Father. It was a good day for Peter!

But today we see the situation change dramatically. Jesus talks about his suffering and death and Peter takes Him aside and says in essence, “Not on my watch will you be killed.” Peter, as we can understand and sympathize with, doesn’t want this terrible outcome to happen to Jesus. He wants Jesus to live, to teach, to be with them always. Peter doesn’t want Jesus to take the difficult path of the cross. In many ways this is similar to the temptations Jesus faced in the wilderness when Satan tried to get Him from going the difficult road to the cross. And that could be part of the reason Jesus tells Peter, “Get behind me Satan!”

What harsh words! Jesus calls Peter Satan. The one who claimed Jesus as the Christ, the promised messiah, now is being called Satan. Well Jesus certainly got Peter’s attention and ours. So why is He calling Peter Satan? Well, I believe, it is to drive home the point that anything other that Jesus suffering death and resurrection is not God’s will and if from Satan and this sinful world. It is that important that Jesus tells Peter, either you follow the will of God or you are following Satan. That is a wake up call for Peter and us. Jesus must go to the cross. All of creation depends on this!

The same words that are spoken to Peter can be spoken to us when we stray from seeing Jesus suffering, death and resurrection as of the most important treasure of all. And so Jesus goes on to tell his disciples, and you and I, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24, ESV) “Follow me,” seems a simple enough request and the disciples were already doing that. But this request comes after two hard things to “achieve” - deny oneself and take up one’s cross. These things require a total change in our lives, a total commitment to God and his way.

I have always wondered about how the “take up one’s cross” was received by the disciples? You see, we have the luxury of knowing the end of the story, of knowing what the cross has become – a symbol of Christ’s sacrifice for us. But the disciple’s hadn’t seen Christ on the cross yet. They only knew of the cross as a form of execution by the Romans for those who broke their laws. Can you imagine what is going through their mind? It would be as if Jesus told us, “Go sit in the electric chair, or lay down on the lethal injection table.” It would be a shocker, just as being called Satan! But, again, this is to drive home the point – Jesus death and resurrection is what it is all about; anything else is not from God. The most important “task” of Jesus life is to give up His life for the world. Everything else Jesus has done is secondary to His becoming the sacrificial Lamb, the one who would suffer, die and rise again. And we are called to place that first in our lives!

But how can we? Why do we so often stray from keeping Christ first? What can we do when we follow the things of the world and not the things of God? Well, God answers that as well – by His strength and power. When we take up the cross we are letting Christ rule in our hearts and minds. We are dying to our selfish nature and following the one true and only source of life and salvation – Jesus Christ. And God gives us the gift of faith to cling to this reality.

Do you remember last week when Jesus praises Peter for confessing him as the Christ? Jesus also said that this knowledge came to Peter not by his own intellect but by the Father. We too don’t need to rest on our ability to deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Jesus. Actually if it was up to us we would find no rest. But the gift of God is that He allows us to follow Him. He works through the Holy Spirit in Baptism, in the Lord’s Supper and ultimately through His Word. It is God who gives us the strength to rely on Him no matter what we face in life.

To focus on Christ is to face the reality of sin – and the consequence – death. Death is something we want to avoid. But Jesus knew that to conquer death he would have to face it. Jesus was setting His sights on Jerusalem where the ultimate sacrifice would be made – His life for the world. Anything else would not do. The Devil tried to tempt Jesus away from this at the beginning of His ministry. Now Peter, in essence was doing the same thing. But to redeem the world Jesus would have to suffer, die and rise again. That is why He came into this world as a human. That is why He chastises Peter so severely. Jesus’ going to the cross could not be stopped for anything. His love for us means that He must die and rise to break the stronghold of Satan, to break the bondage of sin and to give to the world life and salvation. Anything else is of Satan!

Thanks be to God that He has won the victory over death by the death of His Son Jesus Christ. And may we, by the power of the Holy Spirit, deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus.

Amen