May 29/30, 2011
Nate Buchner
Matthew 16:21-26

On Maundy Thursday, I had the opportunity to listen to a pastor preach in Mequon. In his sermon he talked about a lady he had just met who asked him about Maundy Thursday. She did this because she really had no idea what it is. When she did this, the pastor then asked her what she thought Maundy Thursday was. She said that it was the night when Jesus got together with all of his friends and told them that it had all gone bad and that he was going to die soon. You see, many people don’t understand what Jesus’ death was all about. They don’t understand why he had to go to the cross to die. However, our lesson before us clearly tells us what the cross is all about. We have a cross-eyed view of Christianity. We see that Christ has born his cross. And we carry our cross and follow Christ.
Our lesson for today picks up in the middle of the year when Jesus was crucified. At this time Jesus was undergoing heavy persecution from those who denied his message. Because of this, he needed to prepare his disciples more fully for the events that were about to happen. Previously he had prepared his disciples by asking them who they thought he was. In response to his question, Peter confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
And although Jesus’ disciples had grown in their understanding of who he was, they did not yet fully understand Jesus’ mission. For this reason, Jesus prepared his disciples using obvious words by saying that “he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” These words not only show the suffering Jesus had to undergo, but they also showed the glorious ending. But the shock of these words was too much for Peter. He could not grasp that his friend was going to die. Because he got caught up with Jesus’ death, he was unable to see the magnificent ending Jesus had just foretold.
Because of this, “Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ‘Never, Lord!’ he said. ‘This shall never happen to you!’” Imagine Peter taking his Rabbi aside and you can almost hear what was going on in his head, “What? My friend’s going to die? Why would he ever have to do that? I better tell him that he’s wrong.” The emotion that Peter was feeling is made all too clear by his words, “Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you!”
But Jesus in his ultimate knowledge and compassion did not fall into this trap that Peter unwittingly placed before him. Without pause, Jesus turned and commanded Peter, “Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."
After hearing Jesus’ rebuke of Peter you may be thinking, these are some strong words! But when we understand the meaning behind Peter’s words, it becomes apparent why Jesus responds so intensely. First of all, the all-knowing God was the one dealing with Peter. And since he is God, there is no need to doubt that Jesus understood why Peter said these things. Peter had this view because he didn’t understand why his friend would have to die, and also because he did not understand his own sins. On top of this all, Peter was not looking at what Jesus’ death would mean for all men. Instead he acted as an instrument of Satan by caring only for the things of men.
Now you may be wondering, what are these things of men? By Jesus’ words, “you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men,” he is telling us that the things of God and the things of men are opposites. The things of God include his plan for salvation, something unattainable for men without the death and resurrection of his Son. But in opposition to this, Peter was thinking about things like the loss of a friend. At the same time he could’ve also been thinking, “If Jesus sticks around, I’m going be to an important man with a powerful friend. Perhaps if he stays I’ll even receive honor, praise, and wealth.” With such thoughts, Peter was trying to make Christianity into a cross-less religion.
And if you still are wondering why Jesus used such strong words, just look at what could’ve happened if Jesus would’ve followed Peter’s rebuke. If Peter would have succeeded in his rebuke, it would have meant that Jesus would never have died. He never would have risen. And ultimately, everyone who trusts in him as Savior would have had a faith that’s futile and would still be in their sins.
Also don’t doubt that this wasn’t a real temptation for Jesus. Remember that he was still true man. Can you think of a man who actually wants to go through suffering and absolute hell? That is what Jesus was facing. Again, this example reinforces why Jesus used such strong language and even called him Satan.
Take a step back and compare yourselves with Peter here. Aren’t we similar? Now, obviously, we never rebuked Jesus and then were told, “Get behind me Satan!” But yet, we have all been guilty of having in mind the things of men, instead of the things of God. Haven’t we all acted bitterly towards God because something wasn’t done our way? Haven’t we all been more concerned with things like riches, honor, and glory, than we were with God and serving him? This happens because we all like Peter have had in mind the things of men, and not of God. And also like Peter, we at times even doubt the seriousness of our sins.
And because of this, we all deserve death and hell. However, Jesus did have in mind the things of his Father, and not the things of men. For this reason, he sent his Son to, “suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law,” and then “be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” Because of our sins, it was necessary that Jesus do this all. It was necessary that he refuse to be trapped by Peter. It was necessary that he walk head on into the suffering of hell for us. For our sake he did this, because he knew that we could not do it on our own. In his grace, Jesus bore his cross in our place. And now through faith, we have a cross-eyed vision of Christianity. Thanks be to God that Jesus had a cross-eyed view, that he had in mind the things of his Father and not of men. He was more concerned with our well being and our salvation, than what he knew would happen to him.
When we hear of the great things Christ has done for us, we can do nothing other than give thanks. And we can express that thanksgiving by following the words of Christ. For Jesus explains not only to his disciples but also to us how to give thanks to God. In thanksgiving, we keep on with our cross-eyed vision and we do this by bearing our own cross.
Jesus says in verse 24, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Now you may be wondering, but what does this mean? What is Jesus asking by saying deny yourselves, take up your cross, and follow me? When Jesus asks us to deny ourselves, he’s asking that we put to death our sinful ambitions. This is no easy thing to do. For each of us, we have been waging war to deny ourselves since the day God gave us faith. However, even today we still wake up and wage that same war. Part of us sees what Jesus has asked us to do and we want to do it so that we may show our love for him. But, another part of us wishes that we lay down our arms and give up on the fight. Because of this, we must fight and wage that war, keeping in mind the things of God, and not the things of men.
Jesus also asks us to take up our cross. When we take up our cross, we stand out from the world. We endure the persecution of those who mock us for keeping our minds on the things of God. And we all know that at times the cross can feel like a boulder upon our backs. That boulder forms because our sinful self is right there with us, egging us on to put down our cross and follow the thoughts of man. Because of that sinful self, the way of our cross is a fight until the bitter end. However, we are not alone in this fight. We have a general. One who leads us into battle and shows us the way.
For this reason our general, Jesus Christ, asks us to follow him. And in reality who better to lead us? He has already born his cross. He knows all the temptations that face us along the way, especially the temptation to simply quit and to lay that cross down. And he knows that we do not follow his same exact path. So what is Christ saying when he asks us to follow him? He’s asking us to see him, to have a cross-eyed view of what he did and to live our lives giving glory to him. We fight to keep our focus on the cross, to maintain a cross-eyed vision, not giving into the things of men.
But if these tasks seem too daunting, Jesus shows what happens when a person is more concerned about the things of man and wants to save his life. Jesus states, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it.” If a man wishes to save his own life, that means he is only concerned about the here and now, about the things of men like riches and success. And although he may keep his earthly life longer by focusing on the things of men, he ultimately loses his spiritual life. The only thing this person has to look forward to is hell, a place of eternal pain and death.
On the other hand, “whoever loses his life will find it.” What Jesus is saying here is that this person does not have in mind the things of men, like his earthly life. Instead, he places his eyes onto the things of God, and through faith finds eternal life. We are this person. We focus our eyes on the things of God, doing so with a cross eyed vision. We through faith take up our cross and follow Christ, because we know that even if we lose our life here, we will have an eternal life awaiting us with Jesus.
We do this because the gift we have been given is worth it. Jesus shows us why in verse 26 when he says, “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” Not even all the riches of the world compare to the glories lying before us in heaven. The world only offers temporary things, but what God has given us is for all eternity. On top of this all, earth can only offer things tainted by sin, while God offers gifts of perfection. Not only this, but the world’s riches can’t even compare with the spiritual riches we possess now through faith. Because of this, we take up our cross and follow Christ.
Brothers and sisters, many people believe that the cross was the end for Christ. However, as Jesus foretold, the cross was not his end. He did rise from the dead. And because of this, our faith is not futile. We have a cross-eyed view of Christianity. He has born his cross, and for this we bear ours too.