The Cross of Discipleship

Join us as Pastor Tyler continues in the sermon series on Being a Disciple-Making Church - The Cross of Discipleship - Matthew 16:13-28

Transcript

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We are in Disciples Making Disciples here at Wesney in our new our new sermon series. And today we're drawn to the cross or the cost of discipleship. What this means for us. Today's passage focusing on our own commitment to fulfilling Christ in the plan of God and what he has for us as a church. You know, to be a Christian is to be a follower of Jesus. We know this. We wouldn't necessarily argue with that. If you're here and you're a Christian, you understand that. But even as Christians, we can get distracted from what this means. Even just think about the world that we live in, the culture that we live in today. Our culture is arranged in such a way that it is full of distractions. And we even see in today's passage, Peter gets distracted. And Jesus rebukes him as acting as if he's Satan. So today in our culture, I mean, there's distractions that come from all over, whether it's finances, whether it's wealth, whether it's trying to find our satisfaction and fulfillment in accolades or in others or whatever it might be. We can have even good things, may not necessarily be bad and evil in and of themselves. Even good things can distract us from being a disciple as the way God has called us to. What I love to about this passage is what Jesus does here is he focuses the disciples' attention on what is truly at stake. The eternity of souls. And then he graciously helps us, helps his disciples realign our kingdom priorities. And he doesn't sugarcoat things in this passage, as Mateus just read. There's a commitment. There will be pain, there's difficulty. But Christ's words here in Matthew, although they are a serious reflection, they're also full of grace and they're full of hope. Because that's who our Savior is. So we will look at this morning how the cross of discipleship includes first knowing who Jesus is and leaning into his plans. Then we're going to talk about how the cross of discipleship includes staying focused on Jesus' eternal work. And then the cross of discipleship includes willingness to die for the cause of Christ. So the first thing we see is knowing who Jesus is and leaning into his plans. And this comes out in the first section of verses, verses 13 through to 20. And what's interesting too about the whole passage we're going to look at today, you might be wondering why we've grouped all these things together. Now, when you when you study it from the Greek in the understanding from the original languages, we get this sense that these three stories are intricately connected. And I think one of the most powerful ways of seeing this is how they're connected. See how Peter is involved. See how he's involved in this first section, Peter's confession of the Messiah, and then Jesus' response to Peter. And then we see in the next section, Jesus' prediction of his own death and resurrection, where he exhorts Peter, and then we see Jesus' call for his disciples to take up their cross and follow him. So really, the best way to understand what's happening in any one of these sections is to think of this as a whole, looking at and understanding the context. So that's why we're diving into all three sections here this morning. So beginning in verse 13, when Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, Who do people say that the Son of Man is? And they replied, Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still, others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. But you, Jesus says, You, he asked, Who do you say that I am? And Simon Peter answered, You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. What are people saying about me? Jesus says. Others see Jesus and the things that he's doing with his miracles, and he's raising people from the dead. And obviously, they start thinking about some Old Testament figures who were doing similar things. And Elijah comes to mind. And so they say, well, others they think maybe you're Elijah that has come back to life. And then they say, some say Jeremiah or one of the prophets. You see, as they would hear Jesus preach, and they would hear Jesus teach, they would notice that this guy is something different. He's something else. He is powerful in his words. He's able to persuade crowds. He taught like no one had ever heard anyone teach before, much like the prophets of old, Jeremiah and others. But then Jesus says, But listen, but what do you say who I am? But you, who do you say I am? Jesus says. And here we get this plural you. So we know he's addressing all of the disciples. He says, You disciples, together, who do you say that I am? And Peter jumps in like Peter does, doesn't he? He answers on behalf of all the disciples, and he says, You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Of course it's Peter answering, right? Think of Peter. He's the one who boldly stepped out in the water in Matthew 14. And now he's boldly stepping out again to confess the truth about Jesus. And his answer is in the emphatic, meaning when you look at the again, the Greek in the original, it's very, very positive. It's very emphatic, it's very sure and certain. And he's saying, You, you are the Messiah. You're the Son of the Living God. You know, some translations use Christ here, but a more accurate uh translation, more literal translation, uh is probably Messiah, as it seems to be the intent of the passage, because listen, this is important. We are talking about this over our time in uh Easter, over Easter, but it seems to be that when Peter is saying Messiah, what he's doing is he's drawing our attention to the Old Testament. He calls Jesus something that the Old Testament calls Jesus. And so at this moment, the Messiah or the anointed one, Peter is emphatically declaring, you are the anointed one, you're the one that the entire Old Testament was about. We talked about that a few weeks ago. You see, by Paul or Peter using these words, he attributes everything in the Old Testament that it says about the Messiah to Jesus. All the promises, all the prophecies, all the hopes is about you, Peter is saying. Jesus, you are unmistakably the anointed one, the eternal son of God, God in the flesh. And if you remember a few weeks ago, we're looking at Luke chapter 24. This is exactly what Jesus taught the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Remember that? Not only that, but this is exactly what he helped the disciples understand when he appeared to them after his resurrection, before his ascension. This is exactly his point of that conversation with those disciples on the road to Emmaus and his disciples to help them see and fully understand that all that was written in the Old Testament was pointing to him. And Peter gets it. The first time any of his disciples declare this kind of understanding. And it's the one that the as we work through the gospels, it becomes one of the most significant understandings of Jesus Christ because it gives us the resounding message that God has brought the Redeemer. Sin and death no longer have a hold. But the Redeemer has come to redeem his people. The whole point of human history. Jesus as our Redeemer, saving a people to himself. And then it goes on, verses 17 to 20. Jesus gives these um this response to Peter. Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah. Because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my father in heaven did. God's revealed this. This isn't something you've created on your own, but this is the revelation of God to your soul and to your mind and to your heart. When we understand the gospel, it is the work of God revealing that understanding to us. And then he goes on to say, And I also, in verse 18, say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. And then he gave the disciples orders not to tell anyone that he was, in fact, the Messiah. Now these are important verses. Um and we don't have the time to completely unpack how these verses have been applied over church history. And some of us here know what I'm talking about. Um but there's something bigger that I think Jesus is trying to get across here in the text that I want us to focus on. And this is it. And we see that in these words when he says to Peter in verse 18, on this rock I will build my church to you, Peter. I'll use you, Peter. And we know this throughout church history and the early church. I mean, even just think about what takes place in the book of Acts. And as the as the apostles are holding the keys to the kingdom or the knowledge of the kingdom of God, and they're spreading the gospel, and people are getting saved, they're being baptized, they're being added to the church. Uh, as Pastor Bob talked about last week, 3,000 in one day from one sermon came to know Jesus Christ, and they were baptized and added to the church. And so we understand and we see that in a very unique way, God used the apostles not just to plant and establish the church, but if you think about it, they wrote the rest of the New Testament for us. And so today, their influence and their impact and the way that they were used was so, so unique that today we're gathering together to study the Word of God, to worship our God on high, because of how Jesus used these men so long ago. And so he's emphasizing for them here with his response that he's going to use the apostles in a unique way to build his church. Then he says, um, uh the second thing that is important to understand, when he says, on this rock, contextually, and again, when you dig into the original language, the most likely explanation of this kind of what he refers to as the rock is himself as Jesus. On this rock, Jesus, on this rock solid truth, that Peter declares, you are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Jesus is saying, on that rock solid truth, what does he say? I will build my church. See, the lesson is simple. Jesus builds his church. And he does it his way. He chooses to use who he chooses to use. He does it at the pace, the tone, the way that he chooses. Because he is the one who is the ultimate Messiah and the Son of God. And the third thing that I think is important to notice here, as he goes on, verse eight to verse 18, on this rock, I'll build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. And here's the message: nothing can, nothing will stop Jesus. Nothing. No culture, no bill, no law, no civilization, no tower built in Babel. Nothing can stop Jesus. The gates of Hades will not prevail. Some translations translate this word as hell, but the CSB here goes with a little more of a literal translation, and it literally translates from the uh the Greek as Hades. And the idea of Hades was more of a general understanding of death, that death is coming. And it's likely what Jesus is doing here is he's emphasizing death. And what he's saying is this he's not, he's not, and he could be referencing the powers of hell trying to come up against the church, but it's more likely what he's referencing is is um is the fact that death itself can't stop him from building his church. And we see this as he talks about his resurrection in a few verses. Nothing can stop Jesus. Nothing ever will. He is the founder and the foundation of the church. He built his church on the faithfulness of those in the past and tomorrow's church, just think about this way, if Jesus built that on the faithfulness of those in the past, we talked about the apostles and their faithfulness and those that have gone before us. But ask ourselves about our about our own situation. If tomorrow's church, if tomorrow's church was relying on our faithfulness today, how's our faithfulness? How's our faithfulness? Who do you say Jesus is? Are we leaning into his plans? Are we trusting his way that he will succeed, believing he'll do it in the way that he says he will? Are we committed to making disciples as disciples ourselves? How are we doing with this faithfulness? And then he uh pivots. Verse 21 is is very, very it's it's it's a very important section of scripture. And in here in this section, verse 21 to 23, uh, we see the cross of discipleship includes staying focused on Jesus' eternal work. See what happens here in verse 21 is that it it starts to it signals this shift where things begin to change. And the entire message of Matthew, things begin to change in the message of Christ to his disciples. Look what it says in verse 21. This is a pivotal verse in the book of Matthew. If you're into underlining, it's a good one to underline, good one to make mention. It's a pivotal verse in the book of Matthew. From then on, from then on, Jesus began to point out to his disciples that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem and to suffer many things from the elders, the chief priests, and scribes, be killed and be raised the third day. From then on, things are different. And here is what is um is is is is kind of a shock, I think, for the disciples. So they they go from Jesus talking about not even death, not even death can stop us, not even death can stop me and building my church, as Jesus says. And then he says, I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. And uh they're likely a little blindsided by this. As he just finished talking about the Messiah, they're blindsided by this talk of this of this uh Messiah who would who had overcome death and and who had built his church regardless of anything and everything, and then now he's saying, I'm gonna suffer and die. But what's interesting too is suffering wasn't necessarily a foreign concept to them when it came to the Messiah. See, Peter just declared all of the Old Testament is all about you, the Messiah. I mean, you read those passages, Isaiah 53, about the Messiah, it's the suffering servant. So, I mean, this wouldn't have been a foreign concept if they truly understood Jesus as the Messiah, the one who would suffer. So, how does Peter respond? Well, he pulls him aside. And the verse says, Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. Oh no, Lord, this will never happen to you. Just imagine this. Pulling Jesus aside, rebuking Jesus. Literally, um, in the original text, it means may God have mercy on you, Peter is saying. May God have mercy on you. It's another way of saying this. God forbid that this would happen. God forbid it. But you see, the problem was that God bidded it. God bidded it. Planned it. And God would call Jesus, the Son of God, to suffer. And Peter's rash attempt at heroism didn't just fall flat, but it was a direct defiance of God's plan. It was emotionally charged, and it was blasphemous. God forbid that that happens to you. Jesus needed to die. God had planned it. The righteousness for the unrighteousness. And neither Peter nor the disciples or Satan himself could stop it. Because nothing can separate us from the love of God, Romans 8, 38 to 39. And for love to pour out the perfect Lamb of God, the Messiah, the anointed one, the Christ, needed to die. And this force and movement of love could not be stopped. So Jesus says, Get behind me, Satan. Forceful words. Peter gave in the temptation in this moment. But Jesus wasn't gonna let it happen. Jesus tells him, you're a hindrance to me. The one he just promised would build the church on. Peter, you're a hindrance to me. Peter was in the way. And as Jesus explains in verse 23, you're a hindrance to me. Because you're not thinking about God's concerns. But you're thinking about humans' concerns. Peter was in the way because of his elevation of human concerns over God's concerns. Let that sink in just for a moment. What are your concerns? Are they God's concerns? Are they human concerns? See, Peter wanted deliverance without death. Salvation without sacrifice. God forbid, he says. He wanted freedom without the fiery trial, comfort without the cross. But the problem is, deliverance demands death. Salvation requires sacrifice. Freedom is in the fiery trial, and comfort flows from the cross as the blood of the innocent lamb would be spilled on behalf of the guilty, and we would be saved from our sins and trespasses. Peter lost focus. He lost focus on the grand tapestry, the eternal grand tapestry of redemption, and he was fixated on a thread. He was focused on the here and now, and not on the eternal. He cared about what he cared about and not about what God cared about, and Jesus calls him out for it. What would Jesus say about the Canadian church today? Charles Spurgeon, the prince of preachers, and I know I quote Spurgeon. I have a few of his books. He says this. Peter looked at things from the point of view of human honor and success, and not from the grand standpoint in which the glory of God swallows up everything. Where has your focus been? Are we making the same mistake as Peter? And this is what makes the next uh few verses so significant as we see the cross of discipleship includes a willingness to die for the cause of Christ. And I hope you see how important it is for us to group these three significant portions of the story together as they are intricately linked. The cross of discipleship includes willingness to die for the cause of Christ. So track with me here. Peter confesses Jesus as the Messiah, and Jesus says, You got it. I will build my church. Death will not prevail, I'm going to die. And so should you. That's what he says. In verses 24 to 25, then Jesus said to his disciples, if anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me, for whatever whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. A follower of Christ, a disciple of Christ does these three things. Giving us the three things. First one, denies himself. Denies himself. This is when we come with the attitude: it is not about me. It's not about my will be done, my comfort, my bank account. It's about Christ. All that I am, from the time I wake up to go to sleep. It's about Christ. And you know, it's not easy to deny ourselves, right? I mean, we'll struggle with this this afternoon on the way home with family. We'll struggle to deny ourselves, put others before ourselves. It's not easy, but it's what a disciple does. Because Jesus, as our Savior and our Redeemer, He strengthens us to do so and He calls us to deny. A disciple denies himself. Second thing, he says, take up his cross. The disciple takes up their cross. To take up your cross. Just think about how Jesus had to take up his cross. For you and I to take up our cross is to carry our instrument of death off to our public execution. That's what he means in the context. And that's why I say he's not sugarcoating this, but he's saying this: that the ultimate act of denying ourselves is the willingness to die as a martyr, as so many brothers and sisters in the Lord in the past have gone before us and done. And some even today are going and doing, becoming martyrs for the cause of Christ. Lord, my life is not about me. It's not about my comfort, my wealth, my finance, whatever it is. My days are about building the kingdom of God, taking up my cross, bearing the challenges of what it means to be a Christian in 2026 and beyond. But here's the thing: He doesn't leave us alone to bear it on our own. Look what he says. He says, the third thing, follow me. See that? Follow me. He is with us in the cross bearing. He goes and he dies before us in our cross bearing. And so we carry our cross, clinging to him as he shows us the way. He's our direction, he's our hope. And he says, follow me. It's beautiful. And he says this because of, and he goes on to explain it in verse 25. Deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Some translations, his soul. Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life? You see, true value is only in human life and the destiny of our souls compared to anything and everything else that this world has to offer, the real value is in the soul. This is a disciple of Christ. We see and know the value of our own souls and our own following of Jesus. And so we we call others to do the same because nothing in this world or in this life compares to following Jesus. In the book, The Trellis and the Vine by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne. I would recommend this book for anyone to read. We do have a copy of it in the library. But the trellis and the vine, the book says this there are not two classes of disciples. We are all both disciples and disciple makers. All Christians are called to deny themselves, to take up their cross, and follow Jesus to death, to give up their lives to his honor and service. It's more like a football team where each person does all that they can do to advance the ball down the field. There are leaders and captains, but fundamentally and above all else, every one of us is a player. Jesus then not just leaves it there. You're a player in this. Take up your cross, deny yourself, follow me. But he gives us the inspiration and the motivation for all of this in verses 27 and 28 when he says, For the Son of Man, for the Son of Man is going to come with his angels and the glory of his father, and then he will reward each according to what he has done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming. Jesus' promise, and what he wants us to be focused on is this He will return to carry out the will of the Father by bringing a reward of eternal life to his church, those who follow him, but also bringing to the unrighteous judgment, those who reject following him. And what he what he says in verse 28 as he as he closes this teaching with them, he's simply saying this you'll be around when I rise from the dead. So he's assuring his disciples that he's gonna go to the cross, he's going to die, he's gonna rise from the dead, they're surely gonna see him before they themselves die. You're gonna see me alive again, he says. I mean, even just think about beyond the story of what we see here in the text, and we think about the grander story of each one of these disciples and the others that would come after them. What carrying their cross would lead them to. James, the son of Zebedee, would die by the sword in Acts 12. Stephen would be stoned, Acts 7. James, the brother of Jesus, according to a tradition, he'd be stoned to death. Peter crucified upside down. Andrew crucified with an X-shaped cross, Philip crucified or martyred, and Hereopolis, Bartholomew, believed to have been flayed, beheaded, or crucified, Thomas speared to death, Matthew, martyred, Paul beheaded. And for what? Why? Because they denied themselves. They took up their cross. They followed Jesus, and Jesus built his church. And death did not and will not prevail. And you just think, us here today, because of their faithfulness and the cross of discipleship, the church exists through Jesus moving and working and prevailing through them and others. So how do we bring all this together? Well, we ourselves, denying ourselves, we commit to picking up our cross, to following our Savior, willing to go, willing to do what he calls us to. Not relying on the offers of this world by concerning ourselves, but instead concerning ourselves with what God is concerned about as we make disciples and look for his glorious return.