INTRODUCTION
- Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do the people say I am?"
- The disciples gave the answered they gave Jesus the answers they had heard from various people.
- The next thing Jesus does is make it personal when He asks, "Who do you say I am?"
- Let's get personal: who do you say Jesus is?
- What are the implications of your answer?
- Today, we will begin a new series within Core 52 entitled "Bottom Line.:
- Matthew was an accountant—he brokered in bottom lines.
- He, of all people, snapped to attention when Jesus threw down the gauntlet of his identity, our position, ultimate realities, and global mission.
- Bottom line: If you want to follow Jesus, you have to settle accounts here.
- Imagine a Marine Corps recruiting advertisement that says, "Sign up now, travel to exotic locations.
- Get plenty of physical exercise.
- Enjoy the company of other young people and free medical benefits"?
- We all know that's only part of the story.
- But that's exactly what the American church has done with the Good News.
- We stress only the pleasant aspects of salvation.
- I don't hear many altar calls like this: "Help wanted: long hours and low pay. Difficult work conditions and likely pain and suffering. Excellent retirement benefits. Call Now!" (Dan Raymond Core 52 Sermon).
- Jesus makes it clear that He was not using the mock Marine recruiting poster.
- In our passage, He lays out what is expected if you want to follow Jesus.
- Jesus does not offer a flowery picture of beaches and sunshine, He shares to with the disciples the implications for all who want to follow Him.
- Undoubtedly, following Jesus is the greatest blessing we will ever experience, but those blessings do not always come easy.
- Who do you say Jesus is?
- Your answer has expectations and consequences to come along with your answer.
- If you do not believe that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah), the only Son of God who died and was raised for us to have the opportunity to have our sins forgiven so we can have eternal life, you will live according to that thought, and you will receive the reward you lived for.
- If you truly believe that Jesus is who He, God, the Holy Spirit, and the Bible say He is, you will, according to that thought, receive the reward you lived for.
- For some reason, many Christians have watered down the work, the walk, and the call of Jesus.
- We have traded what we want a walk with Jesus for what Jesus said the walk would look like.
- The call to follow Jesus will cost us something; however, if you believe He is the Son of God, the cost is worth it!
- Let's turn to Matthew 16:24-26.
Matthew 16:24 (NET 2nd ed.)
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
SERMON
I. The path.
- The context of our passage is wrapped in the earlier verses of chapter 16.
- It starts with religious leaders demanding a sign from Jesus to prove who He was in verses 1-4.
- As you move to verses 5-12, Jesus warns the disciples to be careful not to allow the teachings of the religious leaders to poison them.
- Next, we move to the famous verses in verses 13-20, where Jesus asks His disciples who the people say He is, and then He asks who do YOU say I am.
- Peter answers.
Matthew 16:16 (NET 2nd ed.)
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
- Jesus affirms that response.
- In the next part of the chapter, verses 21-28, Jesus tells the disciples that He will die and be resurrected.
- This is where it gets interesting.
- It is vital for us not to miss the context of the statement.
- Peter was a follower of Jesus, at this point in the journey, Jesus is close to the halfway point in His ministry, about a year and a half into it.
- Peter had been walking with and ministering with Jesus the entire time.
- It is safe to say that Peter was gladly following Jesus.
- Now Jesus taught the group something that was not going to be pleasant and fun, Jesus was going to be killed by the religious leaders and would rise from the dead.
- Now here is Peter, oh NO, you ARE NOT going to do that!
- Peter steps in and tries to rebuke Jesus!
Matthew 16:22–23 (NET 2nd ed.)
22 So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him: “God forbid, Lord! This must not happen to you!”
23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.”
- That leads us to our passage in verses 24-26.
- Jesus lays out the path for anyone who wants to follow Him.
Matthew 16:24 (NET 2nd ed.)
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
- Jesus tells Peter, you will not follow Me on YOUR terms, but rather MY terms.
- In other words, I set the rules, not you!
- Doing the things Jesus lays out is not optional for those who want to follow Jesus.
- To follow means to accompany someone who takes the lead in determining the direction and route of movement.
- We are called to follow Jesus, not for Him to follow us!
- We are called to deny self.
- Denying oneself is some temporary self-denial of luxuries or pleasures but a denial of one's plans, goals, interests, and motives.
- Everything must be centered on the Lord Jesus Christ, whom we would follow.
- This is what it means to become a disciple or follower of Christ.
- Once we do that, we take up our cross.
- To any first-century resident of Israel, crucifixion was a well-known form of Roman execution.
- The hearers would have understood Jesus to mean that becoming a follower of Him involved recognizing that He was going to His death, and His followers risked the same.
- Jesus did not want to enlist followers under false pretenses.
- His cause would bring death to Him and possibly the same for His followers.
- This is what denying self is dying to self and living for Jesus entails.
Galatians 2:20 (NET 2nd ed.)
20 I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
- If one is unwilling to walk the path of denying self and carrying their cross, they are not following Jesus; Jesus makes that clear.
- Following Jesus requires us to choose and sacrifice our lives to Him.
- Let's look at verses 24-25 for our next thought.
Matthew 16:24–25 (NET 2nd ed.)
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it.
II. The paradox.
- A paradox is defined as a statement or proposition that, despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory.
- We have to understand the paradox here.
- At first, it may not make sense; hence, the paradox!
- We see a couple of paradoxes from Jesus in our passage.
- The first one we will cover is if you want to save your life, you will lose it.
- The word lose mean to suffer out-and-out destruction.
- When Jesus speaks of life, He is talking about this life and the life after.
- When we live for self, we will destroy both this life the life to come.
- When you follow Jesus, you could lose this life; however, the life to come will be pure joy!
- When we look to save this life, we will forsake the life to come.
- Think about all the things we sell out our life for.
- The things we sell out our life for becomes our life.
- Jesus also states the one who loses his life because of Me will find it.
- This goes back to taking up your cross and following Jesus.
- Yes, you will lose your life as you knew in Christ, but in doing so, you will have saved your life!
- When you go all in with Jesus, you will enjoy this life and the life to come!
- Your life in Christ has an eternal purpose, and your life in Christ can have an eternal impact on others!
- The other paradox we should not miss is that we are called to take up our cross.
- Jesus says if we lose our life because of Him, we will find it.
- Well, the cross is an instrument of death.
- I would imagine the disciple's ears perked up when Jesus spoke of carrying their cross daily!
- The statement had to confuse them because how can an instrument of death be a source of life?
- Dying to self and living for Jesus gives us life!
Colossians 3:1–3 (NET 2nd ed.)
1 Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
2 Keep thinking about things above, not things on the earth,
3 for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
- Paul tells us that we are raised with Christ in baptism (Romans 6), that our new life is about seeking Christ and the things from above!
2 Timothy 2:11 NET 2nd ed.
11 This saying is trustworthy: If we died with him, we will also live with him.
- If we do not die with Him, we will not have life in Him.
Romans 6:1–6 (NET 2nd ed.)
1 What shall we say then? Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase?
2 Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
3 Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life.
5 For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection.
6 We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
- Let's move to verse 26.
Matthew 16:26 (NET 2nd ed.)
26 For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life?
III. The prize.
- Jesus says you can choose who you will follow.
- You have two basic choices.
- You can choose to take up your cross and follow Jesus, or you can follow the world.
- Jesus offers the question for the one who chooses not to take up their cross and follow Him.
- For what does it benefit a man to gain the whole world yet lose his life?
- The word GAIN denotes to receive as a result of one's activities to make a profit.
- If you gain the whole world by your total investment in the world, what good is that when you lose your life or your eternal life?
- I have yet to see a moving truck pull into the graveyard.
- And if it did, what good would it do? Look at the tombs of the Egyptians.
- All the stuff that was buried with the dead has either been looted or remains in the tomb!
- Jesus asks what will a person give in exchange for their life?
- What will you place as being more important than following Jesus?
- If this is all there is to life, then chase the world and invest your whole portfolio in this world because that is all there is.
- He who dies with the most toys wins!
- However, once one grasps the realization that there is more to this life than living and dying, it will change you.
- What are you looking for in this life and the next?
- The decisions you make in this life will have and do have eternal consequences.
CONCLUSION
- Who will you follow?
- You must choose your path—the path Jesus laid out for you or the path the world offers.
- Do you want peace, God's blessings, and eternal life?
- Do you want your life to count for something more than just dying with stuff?
- Follow Jesus!
