Jesus’ Disciples Must: Deny. Carry. Follow. - Matthew 16:21-26

Today we have before us Matthew 16:21-26. There is a lot packed into these five verses. It has been said “The whole of the Old Testament is a preparation and a promise of these verses. And the whole of the New Testament is a commentary on the accomplishment and the fruit of them.” There is so much in these verses that I want to talk about with you that honestly, I was overwhelmed. I didn’t know where to focus our attention.

Should we talk about the necessity of Jesus’ suffering and death? Poor Chris Schroeder was in the office trying to track down some legal documents that will allow us to put a sign on our preschool and I kept pestering him about the necessity of Jesus’ suffering and death. Jesus explains to his disciples 21 “that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things… and that he must be killed.” He must. I think that “must” is so profound. Why must Jesus do anything? As true God, Jesus is all that Jesus needs. He wants for nothing and needs no one. Yet Jesus freely chooses to make His own suffering and death necessary. Jesus decides that He must suffer and die simply because Jesus loves you. We simply call that God’s grace, but I bet it would be fun to spend a few more minutes unpacking the necessity of Jesus’ suffering and death.

Or, I could focus our attention on Peter’s rebuke. Talk about drama! After Jesus finishes explaining the necessity of His suffering and death, Peter takes it upon himself to rebuke Jesus, 22 “Never Lord! This shall never happen to you!”. In response Jesus rebukes Peter, 23 “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me.” That is drama with a capital D. It makes for exciting preaching. But what I find fascinating about this exchange is even though Peter was attempting to undermine God’s plan of salvation in the same way Satan had tried to do in the wilderness, Jesus doesn’t call fire and brimstone down upon Peter’s head nor does Jesus kick Peter out of the band. Jesus takes the time to pointedly but patiently rebuke Peter so that Peter can repent. I think it is also fascinating that Peter doesn’t get all huffy puffy and take his ball and go home. Peter was just compared to Satan. That is about as harsh as it gets. Yet Peter stays and takes the rebuke because the power of the gospel allows him to see a rebuke from the Christ the son of the living God as an act of love. I personally thought about that for a while, and I am sure we could spend good time talking about the loving nature of a Christian rebuke.

I was talking about sermon stuff with my son Jacob, and I was telling him about all these things cool I wanted to talk with you about this Sunday and Jacob said, “Dad, it sounds like you are planning to go hunting with a shotgun. Don’t you always say a pastor should hunt with a riffle?” That was his redneck way of telling me to focus. I knew he was right, but I still couldn’t decide what I wanted to focus on. So, I did what all wise men do when they need help deciding. I asked my wife. I told her about the necessity of suffering and death. I told her about the loving nature of the Christian rebuke. I told her about all the cool things in this text and asked her to pick one. And what she picked is what I am going to focus our attention on now.

After Jesus explains the necessity of His suffering and death, after Jesus gives Peter a loving rebuke, Jesus talks to His followers, He talks to us, about discipleship. Through the working of the Holy Spirit in word and sacrament we are disciples of Jesus. Which is why I think you will be interested in hearing what Jesus says in verse 24. There we read, “24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Jesus tells us there are three things we, as His disciples must do. Jesus’ disciples must: deny, carry, and follow.

The first thing the disciples of Jesus must do is deny him-or-herself. I can’t help but imagining Jesus glancing at Peter as He says these words. Peter has recently professed his preference for self-preservation. I am sure Peter was mostly thinking he didn’t want his friend to suffer and die, but I imagine at least a small part of Peter was thinking about what was going to happen to him if Jesus wasn’t around to establish the new kingdom of which Peter was hoping to be an important part.

Peter isn’t the only disciple of Jesus who is interested in self-preservation. We got a room full of people who may not profess it as obnoxiously as Peter did, but every one of us here battles the desires of self-preservation. We want to protect our time, our treasures, and our creature comforts. We want the freedom to live the way we want to live, do what we want to do, and say what we want to say. And if following Jesus means we must sacrifice some of our time, treasures or comforts; if following Jesus means we give up the freedom to live, do, or say whatever we want, then we start counting the costs of discipleship and saying things like “Never Lord, this should never happen to me…. I mean to you”

Like Peter we have a strong desire for self-preservation. We want to follow Jesus. We want His love. We want His mercy. We want His forgiveness. But we would prefer if those things did not come at a cost to us. But Jesus does not say be my disciple when you have the time or when it doesn’t cost you some treasure or when it is comfortable for you; Jesus doesn’t say be my disciple as long as it doesn’t infringe on your freedom to live, do, or say whatever you want. Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself”.

Jesus doesn’t ask His disciples to do anything He Himself is unwilling to do. Jesus was not focused on self-preservation, He was focused on your preservation. That is why, Jesus denied Himself. He willingly left His home in heaven. He was willing to be born in a barn. He willingly set out for Jerusalem, He willingly allowed the soldiers to arrest Him, He willingly endured the cross, and He willingly gave up His breath. Jesus denied Himself to save you. He gave Himself for all the times you have put yourself first, protected your own interests, and refused to deny yourself. And because He did, you are forgiven. Therefore, my fellow disciples of Jesus let us deny ourselves.

The second thing the disciples of Jesus must do is carry a cross. The disciples gathered around Jesus may not have fully understood what Jesus meant when He said His disciples would carry a cross, but they knew it didn’t sound fun. And truth be told it’s not.

First let’s make sure we understand what it means for us to carry a cross. First, thankfully Jesus isn’t asking us to literally carry a wooden beam to which we will eventually be nailed as payment for the worlds sins. Thankfully Jesus has already been there and done that. And because Jesus was literally nailed to a wood beam in our place and announced that all our sins have been paid for when he declared “it is finished”, you and I will never have to carry that kind of a cross. It is entirely possible that we could be executed on a cross but that would be a persecution not a payment. I’ll come back to that in a moment but before I do let me also explain that the cross we disciples must carry is not any and all hardship that we endure this side of heaven. Getting stung by a mosquito is unpleasant, but it’s not a cross. Getting in a car accident is frustrating, but it’s not a cross. Getting diagnosed with cancer is devastating, but it’s not a cross. A cross is something that can only be carried by a disciple of Jesus. Unbelievers get bit by mosquitos, experience car crashes, and are diagnosed with cancer. Such things are a result of living in a sinful world, but they are not a cross.

The cross that the disciples of Jesus must carry is the persecution and pain that comes as a result of being a Christian. When a coach benches a player because they missed practice so that they could go to church, that player is carrying a cross. When a young person is laughed at because they are still a virgin, that young person is carrying a cross. When a worker is ostracized by their coworkers because they refuse to participate in office gossip, that worker is carrying a cross. When a parent or grandparent is yelled at by a child or grandchild because they pointed out a sinful behavior, that parent or grandparent is carrying a cross. Whenever a Christian is mocked or ridiculed or persecuted in any way because they are living their faith, that Christian is carrying a cross. It’s not fun. Which is why it is so tempting for us to take this little light of mine and perhaps not let it shine so brightly, at least not out in public around other people. But Jesus doesn’t calls you to be a secret disciples so that the unbelievers aren’t upset by your confession of faith. Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, he must carry a cross”.

Again, Jesus doesn’t ask His disciples to endure anything He Himself is unwilling to endure. Jesus endured the insults and accusations of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Jesus endured the insolence of the High Priest. Jesus endured the arrogance of Pilate. Jesus endured the mocking of the crowds. Jesus endured the abuse of the soldiers. Long before Jesus was nailed to a wooden beam, Jesus carried a cross. Jesus perfectly carried His cross in your place. Which means, for all the times you have given in to the temptation to hide your faith or compromise your confession so that you could avoid carrying a cross, you are forgiven. Therefore, my fellow disciples of Jesus let us carry our cross.

The third thing the disciples of Jesus must do is follow Jesus. The people that were gathered around Jesus were people to whom Jesus had said, “follow me”. They were mostly a group of ordinary men and women. Humanly speaking there was nothing special or exceptional about any of them. Later a future follower of Jesus would describe His disciples by writing, “Not many of you (us) were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.” Yet Jesus called every one of them to follow Him.

We are mostly a group of ordinary men and women. Humanly speaking there is nothing special or exceptional about any of us. Yet through word and sacrament Jesus has called every single one of us to follow Him. Today, we follow Him by following His teachings. Jesus spent three years teaching His disciples what it meant to be one of His followers. The Holy Spirit inspired those disciples to write down those teachings so that even 2,000 years after Jesus ascended into heaven, we could still follow Him.

Some of, ach! Let’s be honest, most of His teachings are hard to follow. Denying yourself and carrying a cross are not easy teachings to follow. There are easier voices to follow. The world is full of voices that will tell you there is an easier path to take. There is a voice inside of each one of us that is trying to convince us to stray from the path Jesus has placed before us. And sometimes, in moments of weakness, we listen to those voices. But Jesus doesn’t say His disciples are free to wander wherever the wind blows them. No. Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, he must follow me”.

One more time, Jesus doesn’t ask any of His disciples to go where He Himself has not gone. In faith, we strive to follow Jesus because we know where Jesus is leading us. Jesus is leading us away from sin that separates us from our Creator. Jesus is leading us to the cross where our sins have been forgiven. Jesus is leading us from the cross to our home in heaven. In heaven ordinary men and women like you and me will be clothed in robes of His righteousness, seated with the saints at the banquet table, and celebrated as the sons and daughters of the heavenly King. Still today through word and sacrament Jesus is leading His disciples to heaven. Therefore, my fellow disciples let us follow Him.

There are so many cool things in this section of Scripture we could talk about. I encourage you to spend a little time this week meditating on the necessity of Jesus’ suffering and death and the loving nature of the Christian rebuke. I assure you it will be time well spent. But I am grateful we took the time today to talk about discipleship. Through the working of the Holy Spirit in word and sacrament we are disciples of Jesus. Therefore, may God give us the strength to deny ourselves, carry our crosses, and follow Jesus. Amen