Sermon Notes on Matthew 16:21-28

We cannot enter the kingdom without the cross.

Last week Simon became Peter, the “rock”. He was given this new name because he had proclaimed the most important truth in our faith the truth on which everything is built, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God”.

In our text for today, just a few verses after his powerful witness, Peter, the rock, becomes a stumbling block. Jesus calls him “Satan”, the tempter, a powerful, stinging rebuke.

Why? Because Peter was trying to convince Jesus that the kingdom of God could come without the cross.

We can understand Peter’s confusion. Most of the people of Peter’s day would have agreed with him that the Messiah was supposed to come as a glorious king who would throw out their oppressors and bring back the glory days of Israel.

But Jesus knew differently. He knew that the Kingdom of God would not come, in fact he knew that it could not come without suffering. Jesus knew that without the cross there could be no kingdom.

And let’s be honest. We make Peter’s mistake every day. We want the Messiah to fit our stereotypes, to meet our needs, and to follow our agendas. We want Jesus to help us and to do things for us. We want Jesus to bring us the kingdom on our terms and in the way we want him to bring it.

We want the Messiah to fit our stereotypes. We want Jesus to be one who blesses America… or who chastises America. We want Jesus to affirm that our wealth is a blessing from God…or to criticize us for hoarding our blessings and neglecting the poor. We have some pretty strong ideas about how we want Jesus to behave and we are willing to shop around until we find the church that will support our ideas.

We want Jesus to meet our needs. We want our souls to be comforted, our diseases healed, and our loved ones protected. We want Jesus to bring us peace regardless of what sort of chaos we have built into our lives. We want Jesus to work like a rabbit’s foot or a lucky charm. We want our lives to go more smoothly because we have Jesus on board.

We want the kingdom to come and we want Jesus to bring it, but we reserve the right to decide what it is going to look like and what the process of bringing it will be like. We pray, “May your kingdom come. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” But in our hearts we add (as long as I can continue to live my life in the manner to which I have become accustomed).

When some prophet or pastor gets up and tells us that following Jesus is going to involve sacrifice and suffering we stand right by Peter and say, “God forbid it, Lord!” We might even find a church that won’t upset us with such uncomfortable ideas.

It’s so silly. The God of the universe is offering real life to us, life like we have never known it, life in all of its fullness and we hesitate as if we have something worthwhile to lose, as if we have a better offer.

I imagine myself as a homeless, uneducated beggar with my arms full of sticks and garbage and debris. Jesus comes along with diamond the size of a grapefruit and asks me to let go of my garbage so I can take the diamond… but I am reluctant. I am reluctant because I have grown so accustomed to the smell of the garbage in my life. I know the stuff in my arms. I know which sticks are mine. I know what it feels like to carry this debris. How do I know I am going to like receiving (even from Jesus) something that is really valuable?

We are amazingly good at losing the game even though we are hitting the bull’s-eye more than anyone else. I see it happen all the time. I see people shooting carefully and as often as they can. Some people fill the target with arrows and brag about it to all of their friends. Some people do OK, but not well enough to boast. Some people don’t even try, but we are all losing desperately. How? We are shooting at the wrong target.

How tragic that, when our lives are over, some of us will look back with painful regret as we realize how much of our efforts, our time in this life, and the gifts we had been given, were spent on the wrong things. What a terrible thing to realize how many of our accomplishments look like sticks and garbage and debris in the light of eternity.

Jesus said, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” The question for those who want to find this life is, “How do we do this?” When everyone around us is pointing at and celebrating and inventing all kinds of whoopla around the wrong target, how can we even hope to change? Jesus tells us.

1)      Deny yourself. Suspect every instinct you have about what is good for your soul. You have been duped for so long, there is no reason to believe that you will get it right this time. Instead, trust Jesus. Begin, moment by moment to bring every decision to him and his word. Make it according to his priorities.

2)      Take up your cross. This is about shame and suffering. This is hard. Don’t be afraid of being misunderstood or even shamed by those around you for refusing to shoot at their target with them. Don’t be turned around by people who will criticize and persecute you because you choose not to play their games. Love them, but don’t follow them. If suffering comes because of your decisions, trust that it will ultimately bring you life. That is Christ’s promise.

3)      Follow Jesus. Make it your daily routine to know where Jesus is going and what he is doing. Make it a top priority to understand his priorities and his heart. In every moment, make it a habit to follow him.

I rejoice in the fact that our success in following Jesus is not what makes us right with God. It is Jesus’ faithfulness in following God’s will and God’s plan that saves us, regardless of the target at which we spend our lives shooting. But God longs for us and for the world to know the life that comes from walking with Jesus in the kingdom every moment of every day.

If we help each other, I believe we can spend more and more of our lives shooting at God’s target, finding the life God longs for us to know, and bringing it to the world. Amen