JOURNEY TO THE CROSS PART 1: THE PROMISE OF THE CROSS
MATTHEW 16: 21 – 28
SUNDAY MARCH 30, 2003
INTRODUCTION: Salvation is free, ... but discipleship will cost you your life.
— Dietrich Bonhoeffer
He who lives only to benefit himself confers on the world a benefit when he dies.
-- Tertullian
The Italian freedom fighter Garibaldi offered his men only hunger and death to free Italy. Garibaldi had an incredibly committed volunteer army. He would appeal for recruits in these terms: “I offer neither pay, nor quarters, nor provisions; I offer hunger, thirst, forced marches, battles and death. Let him who loves his country with his heart and not with his lips only, follow me!”
Jesus invites you to discipleship. But He lets you know up front that it is a commitment that will cost you something. It’s not going to be easy. To paraphrase Garibaldi, “Let him who loves the Lord with his heart and not with his lips only, be Jesus’ disciple!”
Brett Blair, E-sermons, 2001
TRANSITION THOUGHT: Our text for today moves us into the heart of Lent. Jesus predicts his death and even points out clearly that a cross will be involved. He would soon transition for His disciples the truth that He had not come to establish a temporal earthly kingdom, but an eternal kingdom that would never pass away. However, this kingdom building would not be as in the past. This kingdom would come through sacrifice and it would be His life on a cross. This was disturbing news and yet Jesus promised the disciples, THE CROSS WILL COME!
THESIS SENTENCE: JESUS NOT ONLY PROMISED THE CROSS IN HIS JOURNEY, BUT IN OURS AS WELL!
I. THE PROMISE OF THE CROSS IS JESUS WOULD GO VV. 21
A. AN EXPLANATION GIVEN
1. Everything was going great. Peter had finally figured it all out. In three Gospel texts, Peter has identified Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” 2. Could life get any better? The Messiah had come to liberate His people. The Savior of the Jews had arrived and Peter was a ranking official in the Higherarchy! 3. Then Jesus seems to take on a strange tone and the explanation doesn’t sound right!
B. A DEATH PROMISED
1. Suffering? Can this be the language of a rising King?
2. Those that He had come to rule would cause Him to suffer: “The elders, chief priests and teachers of the law (vv. 21)!”
3. “He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life (vv. 21).”
4. This sounds so strange and as we will continue to read and learn of this King, a Cross will be His destination. The CROSS was in the Way of the Kingdom! 5. Do you think they heard the part, “and on the third day be raised to life”?
ILLUSTRATION: A young man was making poor grades in school, particularly in math. His parents tried various things, none of which seemed to produce the desired improvement. Finally, they decided to enroll him in a private school.
At the end of the first grading period, the young man came home and proudly presented his report card to his parents. They were shocked to find that all of his grades had improved significantly. Most noticeably, he had received his first-ever "A" in math.
His parents were overjoyed and began to question him to determine what it was that had finally produced the improvement they had sought. "Was it the non-traditional teaching methods in the private school?" No. "Was it the strict discipline?" No. "Was it the smaller class sizes and more individual attention?" No. "Well, what WAS it then that caused such a big turn around?" they asked.
"Well," the son replied, "when I walked into that school on the first day and the first thing I saw was that man nailed to that plus sign, I KNEW I’d better take math seriously here."
TRUTH: JESUS WOULD GO TO THE CROSS
II. THE PROMISE OF THE CROSS IS IT CANNOT BE DENIED VV. 22—23
A. Man’s Way!
1. Remember, Peter just got it right! Peter has just spoken on behalf of all the disciples and has proclaimed Jesus to be “the Christ, the Son of the living God (vv. 16)!”
2. How had he done this? Jesus proclaims, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven (vv. 17).”
3. Now what? “Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. ‘Never, Lord!’ he said. ‘This shall never happen to you!’”
4. What was Peter saying? Had he just broke stupid? Did he have a mind lapse? Let’s think this one through. First, he knew Jesus was the Son of the Living God, the Christ. To Peter this meant Power. He could not understand this language of suffering and death. On the other hand, he knew Jesus was the Son of the living God, the Christ. This meant for him obedience. If this is the one we are to follow, we must follow. It also meant this man meant more to him than just a leader; JESUS was “THE LEADER” of all Leaders. Let’s not be to quick to kick ole Peter around.
5. The real issue as Jesus addressed it was that Peter was seeing things through the eyes of man and not through the eyes of God.
6. Man’s way is the way of least resistance. Man’s way is the way of least pain. Man’s way is what comes natural. Man’s way leads to an empty existence.
B. God’s Way!
1. Notice how strong Jesus response is to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men (vv. 23).”
2. Let’s pick this apart. “Get behind me Satan.” This is reminiscent of the 40 days of fasting in the wilderness where Satan came to tempt Jesus to abandon God. In the same way, Peter was asking Jesus to not go God’s way.
3. “You are a stumbling block to me…” Hear verse 18, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
4. First, Jesus calls Peter a Rock and upon that Rock He will build His church. Now He calls Peter a Rock, one that causes Him to stumble. Interestingly enough, Peter remains a Rock, but the good Rock has become a troublesome Rock.
5. The bottom line here is that Peter could not see God’s agenda at work; he could only see his.
6. How many of us are just as guilty as Peter. How many of us have said, “Never Lord, this will never happen to you.” Yes, we know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and yes we will follow Him, but only as He goes our way.
7. To this Jesus says to us, “Get behind me Satan!”
ILLUSTRATION: Living dangerously. That was one of many themes in Brennan Manning’s superb book The Signature of Jesus. Manning presents a radical alternative to the normal everyday, ho-hum, “comfort zone” mentality lived out by so many “so-called Christians.” His final statement in the book:
The Signature of Jesus is offered to Christians who want to live by faith and not by mere “religion,” for those who recognize that many of the burning theological issues in the church today are neither burning nor theological, [for those] who see Christianity neither as a moral code or a belief system but a love affair, who have not forgotten that they are followers of a crucified Christ, who know that following Him means living dangerously, who want to live the gospel without compromise, who have no greater desire than to have His signature written on the pages of their lives. --Dru Ashwell
TRUTH: THE CROSS CANNOT BE DENIED
III. THE PROMISE OF THE CROSS IS WE MUST GO VV. 24—28
A. THE CROSS OUR JOURNEY 24
1. Just as the cross was the promise of Jesus Journey, the cross is the promise of our Journey.
2. Just as Jesus could not deny the cross, for it was God’s way, we cannot deny the cross for it is God’s way.
3. Jesus states that if we want to follow Him, we must deny himself take up his cross and follow him.
4. Did you hear that language, “Deny yourself”? This is being a good rock, not a bad rock. This is becoming a rock that the church can be build upon versus being a rock that causes the church to stumble.
5. What kind of rock are you? Do you deny yourself, your rights, your agenda, and follow, not in the ways of man, but in the ways of God?
ILLUSTRATION: The mark of a great leader is the demands he makes upon his followers. Winston Churchill told the British people that he had nothing to offer them but "blood, sweat, toil, and tears" in their fight against their enemies. Jesus spoke of the necessity of total commitment---even to the point of death. He conveyed this in no uncertain terms when he said to his disciples, “You must take up your cross and follow me.”
B. LIFE OUR REWARD VV. 25 – 28
1. “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”
2. Do you really want to live, or just merely have the appearance of life? “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”
3. For what would you give your soul away? Would you do it for a billion dollars? How about just being out of debt? Would you do it for a house at the lake, or one in the mountains? Would you do it for a happy spouse or for children who would always obey? For what would you give your soul away? This is the question Jesus is asking.
4. Remember, Satan asked Him the same question. “Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only (4: 8-10).”
5. How will you respond? Will you have in mind the things of men, or will you have in mind the things of God? Will you chose to go the way of the cross, or will the cross be in your way?
ILLUSTRATION: Jesus took a little child in his arms and said, in effect, "Here is your ministry. Give yourself to those who can bring you no status or clout. Just help people. You need this little child. You need to help this little child, not just for her sake, but more for your sake. For if you don’t, your whole life will be thrown away on an idiotic contest to see who is the greatest. But if you serve her often and well and cheerfully and out of the limelight, then the day may come when you do it without thinking, "What a wonderful thing I’ve done." Then you will begin serving naturally, effortlessly, for the joy of it. Then you will begin to understand how life in the kingdom works.
John Ortberg, The Life You’ve Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People, p. 109
TRUTH: WE MUST GO THE WAY OF THE CROSS
CONCLUSION: Rob Frazier, a contemporary Christian artist wrote a song titled, "He doesn’t want you better, He wants you deader"
Dead people don’t mind the pain, Don’t get offended so they never complain
They’re not concerned about personal gain, Does that sound like me or you?
The truth is rising from the mist and the word is this;
that when Jesus calls a man He calls him to come and die!
He doesn’t want you better, He wants you deader.
So the question of the day: IS the Cross in your way, or are you in the way of the Cross? Jesus was in the way of the Cross. He knew without it we would not be ransomed. Without it, we would have no hope. Will you embrace the Cross? Will you pick up your Cross and serve as Christ our example did? Or will the Cross just be in your way? Come to the Cross!
