From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
“Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” (Matthew 16:21-28 NIV)
Peter finally got it. At least, he thought he did. He finally got Jesus. It’s one of the most powerful moments in the Bible. After years together, Jesus asked his disciples point-blank, “Who do you say I am?” Remember what Peter said? Without hesitating, he declared, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:15-16). Yes! I hope you know that too. Jesus is not some famous teacher or prophet. Jesus is the Savior of the world. He’s God himself who walked on earth. Peter finally got who Jesus is. Jesus is the Messiah! You’d think they’d have a party.
But Jesus didn’t throw a party. Instead, he started to say strange things: “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” The moment Peter and the disciples understood who Jesus is—the Messiah, the Son of God—Jesus immediately told them what being the Messiah meant: Death! And not just death someday after a happy life. Death soon after suffering many things.
That was not what Peter expected. In fact, it sounded down-right wrong. Suffering? Death? No! He took Jesus “aside and began to rebuke him. ‘Never, Lord!’ he said. ‘This shall never happen to you!’” How often do you tell God what to do? Like a parent scolding a little child, Peter pulled Jesus aside and said, “Now Jesus, don’t talk like that. That’s never going to happen to you.” You can guess what Peter wanted to happen. Jesus was going to bring victory to Israel. Jesus was going to bring success to his followers. Suffering and dying had no place in Peter’s expectations for the Messiah. Think of what Jesus could accomplish if he just would stop talking about dying!
Except, did you hear how Jesus responded? “Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.’” Can you imagine hearing Jesus call you “Satan”? He didn’t know it, but that’s who Peter was speaking for—the devil! Satan wanted nothing more than to keep Jesus from dying for the sins of the world. Here was Peter’s problem: “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Peter thought that he got Jesus. He was dead wrong. He was a disciple of Jesus, but he had completely false expectations for following Jesus.
Do you? What do you think it means to follow Jesus? That sounds like an easy question, doesn’t it? But if Peter could get it wrong, could we too? I’m really concerned about this. It seems to me like Christians are losing what it means to follow Jesus. To some, following Jesus seems to mean promoting a certain political party. To others, following Jesus means love and tolerance of whatever lifestyle you choose. To some, following Jesus means wealth and success. To others, following Jesus means an hour—once a week or once a month or when you have the time. See what I mean? Confusion. Like Peter. What should we expect if we’re going to follow Jesus?
Jesus tells us! “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” That’s what we should expect if we follow Jesus. Not political victories. Not wealth or success or acceptance. A cross. We hear that a lot, don’t we? “Take up your cross!” But what does that mean? Jesus explains it like this: “Deny yourself.” He didn’t mean, “Deny yourself chocolate.” It’s not about giving up an hour here or there. Jesus says, “Deny yourself.” If you want to follow Jesus, know who needs to get out of the way? You. Me! “Deny yourself.”
How? The Bible says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” (Philippians 2:3-4). Deny yourselves. Jesus once said, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:43-45). Deny yourselves. Paul wrote, “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22). Later, he added, “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things” (Philippians 3:8). Deny yourselves. Can you understand?
Denying yourself means you move yourself and your interests out of the way, so you can follow Jesus and serve others no matter the cost. This doesn’t mean you become a pushover. I love what God said to the prophet Jeremiah, “I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue and save you…” (Jeremiah 15:20). A bronze wall. When was the last time you asked God to make you that? Do you want a foundation for your life? Do you want strength in even the most difficult trials? Move yourself and your opinions and desires out of the way and trust in Jesus.
You could say that denying yourself means saying “you first” to God over and over again. “You first.” “You first” to everything God says in his Word. “You first” to God’s plans that are so different than ours. “You first” when we’re called on to suffer for Jesus name. “You first, God. You’re first!” Isn’t it amazing how hard that is to do? We have the incredible ability to make the whole world revolve around us. Somehow the pandemic has become all about me—what I think! Societal problems get us all upset—they should listen to me! And Jesus turns to us and says, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
How important is all of this? Well, “whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” It sounds upside-down, doesn’t it? By striving to save your life, by focusing your attention on you, you will destroy yourself. I do this all the time. I live for me. I think about me. You’d think the result would be good, right? Except, when you focus on yourself, what happens? You get eaten up from the inside out. You’re in danger of forfeiting your soul. This is a big deal! But if you die to yourself and live for Jesus, you find life. Real life!
You hear all that, and it sounds like a no-brainer, doesn’t it? It’s pretty simple. We’re going to deny ourselves, carry our crosses, and live for Jesus! Who’s with me? Who are we kidding? This is so hard! Jesus’ words hit at the heart of our sinful natures. The last thing I want to give up is me. When you disagree with me, I don’t want to put your interests over mine. I want to pound your ideas into the dirt! Carry my cross? I want to avoid conflict. I want to keep my mouth shut. I don’t want to suffer. I, I, I…. This is hard—so hard. Put up with everything for the sake of Jesus? Deny yourself and take up your cross? Choose to suffer? Who on earth would do that?
He did. Jesus did. Remember where this all started? “Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” The last thing we want to do is deny ourselves. So here’s what Jesus did: He denied himself. He looked at you and me and every other person in the world and said, “You first.” Then he took up his cross—a real cross—and died for us. So that you’re forgiven. No matter how selfish you’ve been. You’re loved. You’re saved. When you see that cross of Jesus, when you see his love for you, you realize you can deny yourself, because Jesus has everything good for you in mind.
In fact, there’s an important little phrase that Peter missed in Jesus’ words. Jesus said, “and on the third day be raised to life.” Those crosses for Jesus and for us aren’t the end of the story. Jesus would rise again! Peter was so caught up in the trouble part that he missed the gospel part. Jesus would rise again! We get so caught up in the crosses and suffering, we forget the promises too. You will rise again. In heaven, there’s no hurricanes. In heaven, there’s no shootings or riots. In heaven, there are no mean people. In heaven, nobody gets sick. In heaven, you get to see Jesus. There is hope even in the midst of the crosses. After the cross, there’s a crown.
Because one day, “The Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.” Jesus is going to come back, and finally everything will make sense. Everything that’s upside-down about our world will be reversed. On Judgment Day, Jesus will come not to suffer and die again, but with his glory and his angels. Those who seem to have gained the whole world but forfeited their souls will be sent to hell, and those who seem to have lost everything but Jesus will gain heaven. First the cross, then the crown. Have you heard that phrase? First the cross, then the crown. It’s true.
This is what it means to follow Jesus. It has nothing to do with what political party you promote. It certainly isn’t about having the loudest voice or getting your way. It’s the opposite. It’s denying yourself, like Jesus did, and putting God’s Word and others first in your life. It’s saying, “You first” over and over again with a heart of faith in Jesus. “You first.” Can you say that with me? “You first!” If that sounds hard, it is! If Christianity seems like a daily struggle, you’re right! That’s what Jesus promised. Just know that when you don’t understand, Jesus does. When this life seems so unfair, the true Judge is coming. When you sin, Jesus has forgiven you. When it feels like you’ve sacrificed so much, Jesus sacrificed all. When death feels close, life is near.
In Florence, Italy stands the famous statue of David carved by Michelangelo. It’s one of the most amazing pieces of art in the world, carved out of a single piece of marble. When Michelangelo was asked how he carved it, he said, “I just took a block of marble and cut away everything that wasn’t the masterpiece.” Simple right? He just cut and cut until only the masterpiece was left. Isn’t that what God’s doing with us? Life isn’t about us adding things. Life is about cutting away. That’s what God’s doing right now. Cutting away our human concerns and our selfish thoughts, just as God cut away our sins on the cross. So that what’s left is God’s masterpiece: A soul that by God’s grace believes in Jesus. That’s beautiful. Let’s deny ourselves and follow him.
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