This lesson continues to the end of Matthew 16 (verses 21-28). This is how it begins. “From that time forward Jesus began to tell His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and high priests and scribes, and be killed, then on the third day be raised from death. Then Peter took Him aside, as it were, privately and began to rebuke Him, saying, Lord, God forbid, this must never happen to You! Then Jesus pulled away from him and said, ‘Get behind Me Satan! You’re a hindrance to Me. You mind only the things of men, not the things of God.” Here is another example of double reference. Jesus is speaking directly to Peter, but someone else is named, in this case, Satan. What He says applies equally to both. (Verses 21-23).
And this exchange shows how quickly things can turn. A few moments earlier (verse 17) Jesus was commending Peter, because he recognized the Lord as the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Now, all of a sudden, Peter is being rebuked! But we can’t be critical of Peter, his heart is in the right place. Jesus is pointing out the fact that our human emotions get in the way and sometimes fail to conform to the will and purpose of God. And as we follow the red letters, the closer we get to the time of Jesus’ crucifixion the more we see the fact that Jesus developed a singular focus, to complete the will and purpose of the Father through the sacrifice of Himself on the cross! And make no mistake, Jesus knew exactly the pain and mistreatment He was about suffer.
The harshness of Jesus’ rebuke only emphasizes the somber nature of what was ahead. Peter’s statement was centered on his love for Jesus. And there is no doubt Jesus knew that. But His focus would not allow for any human emotion. I have no doubt the relationship between Jesus and His disciples changed over time. In the beginning (almost four years earlier) there were light-hearted, even humorous, moments. There is absolutely no reason to think that Jesus didn’t enjoy many fun times with the disciples. They loved Him and He loved them. But as His sacrifice grew nearer you can sense a change. His statements were more serious, even somber, centering more and more on His impending sacrifice.
Rather than spend the time and space by breaking down the specific language of verse 24 I’ll save a little of both and just give my translation and maybe a few short comments. “Then Jesus said this to His disciples, “If anyone wants to be My disciple, he must deny himself (disregard his own interests life goals, plans), take up his cross (be willing to suffer the things I might suffer), and follow My example (in full and complete dedication to the will and purpose of the Father).” For many today, following Jesus is saying His name once in a while and participating in group activities where His name is spoken. Jesus never describes following Him as being easy or convenient. It was difficult and required dedication.
Let’s expand a couple of those points. When He says “deny himself”, the verb is aparneomai, to deny, remove or put away. Here in the context of following Jesus it means to put away any self-interests, self-pursuits or dependence on self that would be contrary to the will and purpose of God. The difficulty and dedication required is apparent.
“Take up his cross” is certainly no different today for some where persecution of Christian believers is so prevalent and acceptable. In some countries believers are routinely killed for their faith. Certainly, there are many anti-God forces at work in this country, trying to erode or even deny our religious freedom. Then the last part is “follow Me.” This is not “follow Me today, but not tomorrow.” It’s not “follow Me for a few weeks, then take some time off.” It’s not even “follow Me for a couple of years, then get offended with someone in the church and quit until you get over it, or until you find another church.”
“For whoever is determined to protect his life of safety and comfort now will lose eternal life, but whoever is willing to lose his comfort and safety in serving Me, will find eternal life.” (Verse 25) Jesus’ point is the obvious conclusion to verse 24. Serving Jesus is neither easy or convenient, it’s accompanied with many possible hurtful, disappointing things. The problem many people have is that they want it to be easy. They forget Who they’re supposed to be serving. So, when something negative or hurtful happens, it usually involves another person, they take their attention away from Him and wrongly focus on the supposed source of the offense. In that instant they have just put their attention on their own comfort and their dedication to the Lord becomes a matter of on-again, off-again convenience.
“What benefit would it be if a man gains all the world has to offer, but fails to gain a blessed life in God’s eternal kingdom, or what could a man give in exchange for that blessed life?” (Verse 26) Of course this is a rhetorical question, the answer is both assumed and obvious. To any right-thinking man or woman, there is nothing more valuable in this life than looking forward to an eternity with God in the next. Yet there are millions who are born, live their lives and die without even a thought given to this matter. To them life is the opportunity for gaining what the world has to offer, and to gain as much of it as they can. Sadly, to others, it’s a situation where they must struggle to gain just enough to survive. Either way, the things of the world, or the lack of them, becomes the distraction that keeps them from serving God.
“For the Son of Man is coming in the splendor and majesty of His Father with
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His holy angels, then He will reward every man according to what he has done.” (Verse 27) This is a reference to the judgment of the nations that takes place at the Lord’s second coming. The complete description of it is found in Matthew 25:31-46 and it tells us how the Lord decides who will enter His earthly kingdom and who will not. No enemy of Israel will be allowed to hinder their elevation to prominence and majesty that will take place during the Lord’s earthly kingdom.
“Truly I’m telling you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming into His kingdom.” (Verse 28) A complete description of the transfiguration follows in Matthew 17:1-9. This is the Father’s very public endorsement of His Son. Jesus face was bright as the sun and His coat was white as light (17:2). The comment about some not tasting death until they see the Son of man coming into His kingdom is a reference to Peter, James and John who were there to personally witness the event. These three would all eventually die a natural death, but they had all experienced a preview of the Lord’s second coming.