“What?”

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon by Rev. Dr. Mary Alice Mulligan

The passage in your bulletin starts at verse 21 of chapter 16 with the words: “From that time on,” so clearly this section is linked to the previous scene, which is often referred to as “Peter’s declaration of the Christ.” For many Christians, this is one of the key moments in the entire Gospel, so it makes sense to hear the earlier verses in order to know “from what time on.” Jesus and the inner circle are on the road, having what might seem like a casual conversation. He asks, “What are people saying about me? Who do they think I am?” But then the crucial moment. “Who do you think I am?” And Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ, the long expected, Chosen One of God.

So that is the time from which Jesus makes a shift in his teaching, focusing more on the inner circle and less on the crowd, because the teachings get more difficult. Jesus chooses to create a crisis moment by showing up in Jerusalem, but the teachings along the way are crucial, too. Take time to read this entire section, listening for the word of God.

Matthew 16:13-28                  

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? “For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

We understand some of Jesus’ teachings. Our participation in church through the years results in our learning lots of Jesus’ big ideas. Many of us learned the stories of Jesus as children. We knew the Christmas story; and how Jesus loved the little children, all the children of the world. Then as time went on, we started paying more attention to the Bible or what is said in worship, which helped us sense the presence of God and work to figure out who we think Jesus is. When a prayer refers to Jesus as Christ, we probably have some idea of what that means. We know “Christ” isn’t Jesus’ last name. There are lots of ways we are invited to grow in our understanding of who Jesus is.

Sometimes a person can even go to their minister with questions. Like the person who asked their preacher for a copy of her sermon one Sunday after worship. She was happy to hand it over to them on the spot. The next day, the parishioner showed up at her office, saying, “I’ve brought back your sermon. Thank you. I underlined everything I didn’t understand.”

Most preachers are eager to share thoughts about any questions people may ask, although most preachers try not to overwhelm anyone with answers. But the truth is most Christians want to keep growing in the faith. We hope to understand more about God and who Jesus is. Like Peter, we want to get to a place where we actually sense we know who Jesus is.

But then it seems Jesus goes too far. His teachings sound outrageous. Jesus affirms Peter’s declaration that Jesus is the Christ, which means he is God’s chosen representative, so Peter assumes that means nothing bad should ever happen to them. This is the Christ! But then Jesus says something to flip the world’s power structure on its head. God’s Chosen One is heading to Jerusalem where he will experience great suffering and be killed, and on the third day be raised. What?? Seriously? How could such ideas even be comprehended. What is Jesus talking about? No wonder Peter’s response is to tell Jesus that could never happen. The disciples have had enough trouble accepting Jesus’ treatment of outsiders, his acceptance of the lowliest, and his claim that to be the best, they have to be last in line. And now this over the edge statement?

But we know the whole story: Bethlehem, Galilee, Jerusalem, and the mount of the Ascension. And Matthew put the Gospel together wanting us to realize that if Peter accepts Jesus as messiah, Jesus would know the time has come to move into even more demanding teachings. When Jesus spoke to the crowds, he shared God’s vision of the world and what people should be doing to help bring it about. Once they are heading towards Jerusalem however, Jesus shifts into high gear. Here is what the inner circle needs to learn. If you are going to be one of his followers, a disciple, then the lessons are going to get more pointed. If Jesus is the Christ, he gives himself for the world. And so must his followers. Sounds like he is saying those who want to find life in God must embrace death. Such teachings sound crazy.

Nevertheless, we follow him. Those who believe in Christ, do as he asks. We choose to walk with him. There are lots of things about the faith we don’t understand, like why theologians argue over how many angels can dance on the head of a pin; or more importantly how can we more fully understand the relationship between God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit; and perhaps even more importantly how do any of us find faith in the first place?

There are so many issues we cannot solve perfectly. Like the people discussing the faith and one says, “I don’t believe, but sometimes I do.” And the other responds, “That’s funny because I believe, but sometimes I don’t.” Christian faith is bigger than our brains can grasp, but Jesus invites us to come along with him, because he figures if the verbal teachings are too difficult, maybe we can learn from doing what he does. In fact, if we stop to think about the meaning of the words themselves, if we claim to be “followers of Jesus” we need to “follow” Jesus. Jesus calls us to learn by imitating him. Maybe he figures the words will make sense later if we follow first. Sounds similar to the method taught in various twelve-step groups: “If you want the program to work, you have to work the program.” If you want real life in Christ, you have to follow Jesus Christ.

So what does that mean? It means as individuals and as a congregation, even when we aren’t sure why we should do what Jesus directs, we try to follow his directions, because we trust him. Even when we have budget concerns, we pay attention to Jesus’ call to take care of others, especially the socially invisible people who are so precious to God. St. Andrew doesn’t cut outreach giving; we follow Jesus, even when it is difficult. Jesus modeled love for others, showing compassion on all those who were confused, hungry, or spiritually adrift. Then he calls us to follow him by trusting his guidance and doing the same kinds of things. He wants us to know there is something to be learned (even gained) in denying our old ways (by which he means denying our old striving to get ahead), and instead following the Way of Jesus.

Taking up a cross, especially remembering it was the death of him, is not very attractive. But even so, if we are Christians, we need to get serious about following Christ, because he says to. The stories of Jesus we can tell so easily usually show him spending his most cherished hours out among society’s untouchable misfits, and then he calls us, as a congregation, to join him, as if he’s saying: “Come be a congregation of oddballs.” His teachings sound outrageous. His actions sound even stranger, yet if we want to be his followers, we follow him.