Derailed from Our Purpose

Matthew 16:21-28

²¹From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. ²²And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” ²³But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” ²⁴Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ²⁶For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? ²⁷For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. ²⁸Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

With Matthew 16:21, the story takes a turn into the final chapter of Jesus' life. He has instructed the Disciples, shown Himself to be sovereign over sickness, death, the demonic, and nature and displayed His great compassion for all people. Now it is time to turn His face toward the reason He came to earth – the salvation of our fallen race. It's time to teach the Disciples what lay ahead for Him and the news isn't good. He has come to suffer and die, and that information is startling for the Disciples to take in and process. Peter, being the spokesman for the group, steps up again and tells Jesus that His death just isn't going to happen! Peter won't allow it! That's bold.

But Jesus answer is equally bold. He tells Satan (who is apparently speaking through Peter) to back off because he doesn't have the plans of God in mind. So Peter goes from being commended for his bold confession of faith in the previous few verses to being rebuked as a tool of Satan in the next. (Fortunately, that bold confidence and intrepid willingness to speak up become one of Peter's greatest strengths as he fulfills Jesus command to grow the church.) For me, this interaction displays the determination of Satan to undermine the purpose of Jesus in the world.

If Satan is willing to attack Jesus Himself, he is certainly willing to take on a puny human. But, just as Jesus demanded that Satan step away from Him, so we too are able to do the same. If you will remember, Jesus His handed authority and power over to the Disciples in Matthew 16:19, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Jesus, of course, never lost sight of His power over evil. But we do. We become Satan's victims when we get confused about  the power structure that God has set up. Jesus' victory over sin, death, and evil has become ours as His children. When harassed by Satan, we too can turn to him and say "get behind me." (I prefer "get away from me in the name of Jesus" but that's just me.)

Now we come to Jesus oft quoted verse about "taking up your cross". It's a tough concept and one that is frequently used to justify negative experiences in a person's life or to try and make someone feel good as they walk through a struggle. Both of these are probably a misapplication of the verse.

Sometimes, the ". . . disciple [strives] to personally appropriate the insistence that God work in humanly powerful ways, so that the disciple desires to exercise power over others, especially over fellow disciples, so that he can accomplish what he believes should be done. Living in each disciple is the dark conviction that can destroy unity and do untold damage to the cause and name of Christ: “put me in charge, and I’ll set things aright.” This conviction can take the form of ambition, a disguise considered good, even in the church. It readily sprouts forth as criticism, competition, and one-upmanship. Quiet, prideful comparison in which one doesn’t actually do anything, but merely demeans a brother or sister, is the way that the more introverted sinners might choose to worship Lord Self and to think 'the things of men' over against 'the things of God.' Ambition, comparison, and criticism are all ways of embracing and exalting oneself, rather than denying oneself. The way of Jesus, however, is the way of humble obedience and submission to the will of Another. When first confronted by the voice of Satan, Jesus set aside his own power as well as the presumption that his Father’s powerful provision would rescue him from reckless independence. Instead, Jesus chose the way of service and obedience and suffering for the sake of Israel and the world. Now he calls every disciple—every Christian—to look at the darkness within, at the desire for power over others, and to deny that desire whenever and wherever it shows itself. If any of us wants to come after him, let us deny ourselves!

Gibbs, J. ©2006. Concordia Commentary Series: Matthew. (p. 842). CPH.

Put in proper perspective, we find that taking up our cross is not about our own personal suffering (for Christ already did that for us) but instead it is about living humbly before others and The Lord. These words are written down here with the full realization that this is easier said than done. But the Holy Spirit can enable humble attitudes and actions in each of His people.