The sermon emphasizes the importance of obeying Jesus' teachings, despite potential hardships, in order to experience God's presence and provision.
Hello Church! I have an important “would you rather” question to ask you today, but since it’s kind of a deep question I don’t want to dive right into it. Let’s work up to it. Let’s spend a minute getting warmed up with some easier “would you rather” questions…(These are meant to be light-hearted, pick one or two).
Would you rather have the power of invisibility or flight? Would you rather have the ability to speak and understand all languages or have the ability to communicate with animals? Would you rather live in a world without technology or in a world without nature and greenery? Would you rather have a personal theme song that plays every time you enter a room or a laugh track accompany everything you say?
Ok good, now we’re warmed up! Here is the more serious question: Would you rather live a life of incredible comfort and security but when you die you are immediately forgotten because you made no lasting impact, or would you rather live a life of hardship and suffering but when you die you’re remembered for generations because of the impact you made? (There’s no right or wrong answer to this question).
Unfortunately, there’s no option in the middle to live a super-comfortable, secure life AND be remembered for generation upon generation! At least that’s not an option in this particular quiz!
Two things are true when we follow Jesus: we will encounter hardship and suffering AND we will experience God’s presence and provision. They often go hand-in-hand. We typically opt-in and ask for God’s presence and provision only, and want to avoid the hardship and suffering. Who wouldn’t want to opt-out of that? We’re human! No one chooses hardship and suffering.
Two things are true when we follow Jesus: we will encounter hardship and suffering AND we will experience God’s presence and provision.
Read Matthew 16:21-28
1. Jesus faced suffering head-on Jesus introduces the idea of his upcoming suffering, death, and resurrection. Jesus already taught that his disciples would be insulted, persecuted, and falsely accused of all kinds of evil (see Matthew 5:11) because of their association with him. This applies to both his disciples then and to those of us who follow him now.
Jesus takes it to a whole new level, explaining he Himself will suffer and be killed. Jesus did not avoid any of this, but faced it head-on.
“Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life” (16:21).
Peter could not get his mind around this. This was unthinkable. His mindset was, “The Messiah could not suffer. The Son of the living God would not be killed. This is not what happens to God Almighty. If anything, this is what God Almighty does to us. God is never on the receiving end of suffering and death, He only dishes it out as He sees fit to those who have turned their backs on Him….right?”
That Jesus would suffer and be killed was mind-blowing to Peter.
Jesus reveals a cruciform God What Jesus is starting to do in these verses, which culminate with his death on the cross and subsequent resurrection, is reveal the character and nature of God. The early church described God as “cruciform,” which meant that God’s core nature and character are revealed in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. The word “cruciform” comes from the Latin word “crux,” which means cross, and “form” meaning shape or nature.
What does Jesus’ suffering and crucifixion reveal to us about God?
The cross reveals God’s self-giving, sacrificial love towards humanity. The cross reveals God’s identification with suffering and hardship. The cross reveals that God’s suffering is redemptive. The cross reveals that God is humble. He is a perfect example of humility.
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