M16: Reaction To The Reaction Series

M16: REACTION TO THE REACTION

MATTHEW 16:21-23

#m16sermons

READ MATTHEW 16:21-23 (ESV)

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. 22 And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” 23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get 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.”

INTRODUCTION

I was thinking and praying over the passage that we just read, and for some reason, Isaac Newton’s Third Law popped into my head. Newton’s Third Law states that “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” For example, birds flying; birds push down on air and the air pushes birds up. For example, a swimmer pushes water back with hands and feet and the water pushes the swimmer forward. For example, a ball is thrown down to the ground and then bounces up from the ground. This is a normal “law of physics” that describes mutual influence.

I was thinking that this “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction” rule of mutual influence is true in the physical world and in science, but it is also true in relationships like friendships or marriage or even with people we dislike. Any action we take in a relationship, whether it's showing affection, deciding, or expressing a feeling, will provoke a reaction from the other person. That person reacts and then those behaviors prompt responses from us. Our words, actions, and emotions affect the other person and vice versa.

In the passage we just read, the initial action was Jesus asking the question in verse 13: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” The reaction was the disciples shared with Him everything they had heard about Him from the crowds in verse 14. Jesus then reacts and asks: “But who do you say that I am?” in verse 15 which then prompts Peter’s confession in verse 16. There is action and reaction and reaction to the reaction. All of those reactions bring us to Matthew 16:21-23. I want to read the verses again briefly so you can see the build up of the actions and reactions. Verse 21 frames our passage because it says: “from that time,” meaning… from the time of Simon Peter’s very important confession. The confession of Simon Peter “You are the Christ the Son of the Living God” is the reaction that frames our whole passage.

READ MATTHEW 16:21-23 (ESV)

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. 22 And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” 23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get 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.”

TRANSITION

Our passage has Jesus reacting to the good confession of Simon Peter (Matthew 16:13-20) and beginning to help the disciples understand that His purpose is not to just teach some good things or do some miracles, but that His predetermined purpose was to die for sins. His purpose is bound up in salvation and deliverance and forgiveness and grace. In verse 21, Jesus reacts to Peter’s reaction of His action.

Jesus’ arrest, mistreatment, scorn, pain, bleeding, and death did not take Him by surprise. Jesus knew what awaited Him at the end of His earthly ministry. After the good confession of Simon Peter (Matthew 16:13-20), Jesus tried to prepare His disciples that He would suffer and die. We can read in Matthew 26-27, Mark 14-15, Luke 22-23, and John 18-19 all about what happened to Jesus. What do we find in verse 21?

VERSE 21: HE MUST SUFFER

RE-READ MATTHEW 16:21 (ESV)

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.

Jesus says He will die, yet Jesus was not the first One to say that He would die. The Old Testament points forward to His suffering and to His death. His suffering would include beatings, being spat upon, mocked by people, tears, and betrayal by those He trusted.

BEATING AND BEING SPAT UPON