The Word of the Lord from Matthew 16:21: \u201cFrom 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.\u201d This is the Word of the Lord.<\/p>\n
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I. Peter v. Jesus
\nLast week, Peter was the star student of the Gospel lesson. When Jesus said to the disciples, \u201cWho do you say that I am?\u201d, it was Peter who said, \u201cYou are the Christ, the Son of the living God.\u201d He nailed it. As you remember, Jesus called him blessed and then declared that He would give the keys of the kingdom, the forgiveness of sins. Last week\u2019s Gospel lesson is a huge one in Matthew as Jesus is revealed to be the Messiah. But it ends on a strange note: after all the great stuff to celebrate in that text, the last words are, \u201cThen [Jesus] strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that He was the Christ\u201d (Mat 16:20).<\/p>\n
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\u201cGo and tell no one about Jesus.\u201d That\u2019s hardly the best slogan for an evangelism campaign; in fact, it sounds like something our old sinful nature would say. But this isn\u2019t our old sinful nature: this is Jesus\u2014the Christ, the Son of the living God\u2014saying to His closest followers, \u201cNow that you know who I am, don\u2019t tell anybody.\u201d But why would He say such a thing? <\/p>\n
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All sorts of theories have been offered\u2014right down to logistics and crowd-control, but the reason is evident. Sometimes in talking theology, we speak of \u201cthe person and work of Christ.\u201d It might sound a little stuffy and abstract, but it isn\u2019t. The person of Christ is who He is. The work of Christ is what He does. To get the Gospel right, you\u2019ve got to know both of those: if you get the person or work of Christ wrong, you\u2019re going to get the Gospel wrong. And there\u2019s never a better example of this than Peter in our Gospel lesson for today. <\/p>\n
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This is the same day, same conversation as last week: this is what happens next. Peter has just proclaimed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. In other words, he\u2019s gotten the person of Christ right. The disciples know who Jesus is. Now that they\u2019ve got that down, it\u2019s time for Jesus to tell them the work of Christ\u2014what He\u2019s come to do. So He does: \u201cFrom 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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That\u2019s clear enough to you and me: the work of Christ is that the Son of the living God goes to the cross and dies for the sins of the world. This is hardly earth-shattering news for us, since we\u2019re blessed with 2000 years of 20\/20 hindsight. But for Peter, this is more than a shock\u2014it\u2019s impossible. It just can\u2019t be. It is so wrong in Peter\u2019s mind that he finds it appropriate to take the Son of the living God aside and rebuke Him: \u201cFar be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.\u201d The work that Christ describes doesn\u2019t match with the person of Christ, thinks Peter, so Jesus must be wrong. The Son of the living God just doesn\u2019t get pushed around by chief priests and then killed. He\u2019s way too powerful for that. The Christ is way too glorious for that. It would be far too submissive and weak and shameful. There is no way that Jesus is going to be killed, not if Peter has anything to say about it.<\/p>\n
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There\u2019s little doubt that Peter means well, which is why Jesus\u2019 response must come as a shock: \u201cGet 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.\u201d It\u2019s got to be a crushing moment: Peter\u2014who got the person of Christ so right, is now Peter\u2014who got the work of Christ so wrong that the Christ has just called him \u201cSatan.\u201d The accusation is correct: at the moment, Peter is trying to do the same thing as the devil. He\u2019s trying to prevent Jesus from going to the cross to die for the sins of the world. Peter is trying to prevent your salvation. If Peter gets his way, you\u2019re in hell forever. <\/p>\n
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Peter\u2019s problem, says Jesus, is that he has set his mind on the things of man, not the things of God. The things of man work in such a way that glory builds and power increases. In the case of the Christ, man\u2019s plan for the Messiah is pretty clear: it can only be that the Christ will grow in power and gather more and more followers to Himself. It can only be that He\u2019ll eventually become so great that He\u2019s invincible, and He\u2019ll sit on a throne and rule over His enemies who can\u2019t lay a finger on Him, while taking care of His own people. That\u2019s how the things of man work, because man sees power and might as the glory and the goal. So in Peter\u2019s opinion, the Christ is supposed to have same game plan as, say, Nero, Stalin and Hitler. He\u2019s just going to be a good guy, rather than a tyrant. <\/p>\n
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According to the things of man, it\u2019s unthinkable that the Messiah would be beatable, shameable, and killable. If that\u2019s true, according to man, then He just can\u2019t be a very good messiah. And that\u2019s exactly what the devil wants you to think, because then you\u2019ll never be happy with Jesus. <\/p>\n
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The things of God are different, because God isn\u2019t a sinful man with a lust for power. By nature, God is powerful; but He is also a servant. He does not desire to exercise His power by cracking heads and crushing His enemies. He desires to express His power by means of mercy and service. So when the Christ appears, He is not there to rally the troops, draw the sword and lead a glorious revolution. He\u2019s going to save sinful mankind by serving sinful mankind. And how will He do that? By the ultimate act of service, the ultimate sacrifice. The Son of the living God\u2014holy and righteous\u2014is going to bear the guilt of mankind on the cross. He\u2019s going to suffer the judgment that they deserve so that they might be pardoned for their sin. He\u2019s going to die so that sinners can have life. <\/p>\n
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That\u2019s how it goes according to the things of God, who is both almighty and by nature a servant.<\/p>\n
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The things of God are foreign to man: not inconceivable, just foreign. In other words, we can grasp such ideas of sacrifice. In fact, we often applaud them. We rightly honor the soldier who throws himself on the grenade so that his brothers survive. We applaud the one who runs into the burning building to save the child, or the one who gives up his place on the lifeboat. We\u2019re in awe\u2014and even shamed\u2014by those who give up much and devote themselves to a life of caring for the unfortunate. There is a part of us that knows that such service is right. But at the same time, we don\u2019t want to BE the guy who falls on the grenade or the one who sacrifices to live a life of service. We much prefer power and being served. It\u2019s a disturbing evidence of the slavery of sin that we can easily say, \u201cI understand how heroic and praiseworthy such sacrifice is…and I don\u2019t want that to be me.\u201d The lure of power and ease is too strong.<\/p>\n
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But the things of God are things of sacrifice and service. That\u2019s why Jesus says, \u201cIf anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?\u201d <\/p>\n
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These words aren\u2019t very mysterious, really. The one who follows Jesus also follows His teaching. Jesus comes to serve, so His disciples are to serve. By serving in a sinful world, Jesus suffers\u2014and God uses that for the good of the world. For following Jesus and serving in a sinful world, Christians will suffer\u2014and God will use that for good, too. If your life is about serving and saving yourself, you\u2019re going to lose it all; it\u2019s the one who denies himself and trusts in Christ who is going to be saved. If you live by power and might, you\u2019ve got a shot at gaining a chunk of the whole world; but living by power and might destroys the soul: for the soul has life only because of Jesus\u2019 sacrificial service, and the soul lives in service to others. <\/p>\n
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You live because the Son of the living God died for you. What powerful service and sacrifice is that! <\/p>\n
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II. Bearing Crosses
\nIt\u2019s important that we keep on saying the Nicene Creed in our services, because it has those words, \u201cWho for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary And was made man; And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.\u201d With those words, you\u2019re saying, \u201cGet behind me, Satan: Christ was crucified for us\u2014for me, so that I might have eternal life for His sake!\u201d <\/p>\n
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Now, there are assaults on your faith because you\u2019re still attracted to glory. There\u2019s always a subtle temptation to believe that, because you\u2019re a Christian, life should go easier than it does. Or, to put it another way, there are things that could happen that would cause you to pull Jesus aside and say, \u201cFar be it from You, Lord! This shall never happen to me. I\u2019m one of your followers\u201d <\/p>\n
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What I mean is this: creeping around your mind are certain trials that you especially want to avoid, certain crosses that you dread bearing. It might be dementia, cancer, stroke. It might be rebellious kids or an unhappy marriage. It may be the prospect of living alone. But the possibility bothers you greatly, so much that you start to propose deals to God along the lines of, \u201cI will trust in You because these things don\u2019t happen to me.\u201d <\/p>\n
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Instead of potential crosses, they might be actual ones. You\u2019ve suffered some sort of setback or blow that has you reeling and saying, \u201cI thought God was more powerful than this. I thought He was more faithful than this. Why has Jesus failed me? Does God even exist?\u201d<\/p>\n
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It is difficult to discuss this when these things are happening. It is far better to prepare for them beforehand. The truth is that you\u2019ve got the person of Christ right, but like Peter you\u2019ve got the work of Christ wrong. You want miracles and wonders and power on demand, not mercy and strength and patience in tribulation. You want Jesus to work with might and power, but Jesus still ministers to you chiefly with mercy and grace. You want immediate deliverance from affliction: yet Jesus, who used His suffering on the cross to deliver you from hell, still works through suffering\u2014including the crosses you bear\u2014for your good. To accuse God of being faithless during trial is simply not true, for the One who has already shown His faithfulness by dying on the cross cannot be anything but faithful to you now. <\/p>\n
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The law here boils down to this: do not base your understanding of God\u2019s mercy and faithfulness on how life is going. Let me repeat that: do not base your understanding of God\u2019s mercy and faithfulness on how life is going. Hear of His mercy and faithfulness in His Word, and rejoice in it despite how life may be going. <\/p>\n
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Because this is true: Christ took up His cross that you might be His follower. Or as Luther puts it: \u201cthat I may be His own\u201d. He laid down His life to gain life for you. Risen again, He has given you new life in your baptism, and He continues to grant you grace by His Word and Supper. As His way of saving the world perplexed Peter, so His way of permitting suffering will perplex you; but just as the Lord did not abandon Peter, neither will He abandon you. The day is coming when the Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and many rightly fear that Judgment Day. You do not. Rather, you know that you are already innocent before God for the sake of Jesus, and you know that Judgment Day is the day when your sufferings are finally ended, and only life and glory remain. <\/p>\n
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All this is yours for the sake of Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the living God; who went to Jerusalem, suffered many things and was killed, and on the third day was raised. All of this is yours because of His WORK, and because of his work, you are forgiven for all of your sins. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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