Prayer For the Day (Methodist Prayer Manual).
Spirit of God, come as the wind to move us forward; come as the dove to launch us heavenward; come as the fire to purge our dross. Amen.
Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)
Bible Study.
Matthew 16:21-28. New International Version. Jesus Predicts His Death
21 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.
22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23 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.”
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 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? 27 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.
28 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Comment
Last week we followed Jesus and the disciples to Caesarea Philippi (Matthew 16:13-20), where Jesus memorably asked them who they thought he was. You may remember that it was Peter who ‘hit the nail on the head’ with his answer, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’
In this weeks passage from Matthew 16:21-28, Jesus explained in more detail just what being the Messiah was going to mean to him. “I 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 same Peter who expressed so much insight and faith last week was now completely flummoxed, and we might say was, “now not on the same page” as Jesus. His understanding and expectations for the Messiah were completely different from those of his master. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
Sometimes, it seems, our simple explanations and expectations of events actually fail to “see the whole picture”. Peter's limited and selective understanding here clearly failed to do justice to all of the hopes and expectations that were loaded into 'the Messiah' from centuries of prophecy and promise.
And rather ominously the implication of Jesus’ rather stern rebuke to Peter was that in seeking to select the “sunny sided the street” only of messianic calling, Peter was effectively aiding the devil's work of impeding the redemption of humanity through the sacrificial and substitutionary death of the Messiah. “Jesus 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.”
Perhaps, you, like me, might feel a certain sympathy towards Peter here. The “ happy Hollywood ending” replete with its sunsets, contented, completed, pain free stories, and rousing crescendos of music seem by far to be the most preferable option for the all powerful Creator God to surely choose as a suitable climactic ending for his beloved and only begotten Sons mission to earth. However, for God to have taken that route would, sadly, not have remedied the deep scarring wound caused by humanity's poor choices of Sin, disobedience and rebellion. God, we know, loved the world more than that and ‘point blank’ refused to go down the easy “sticking plaster” application route. Instead, John 3 v16 was God’s sacrificial solution, “ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life”.
Jesus then went on to explain that living sacrificially is part of the deal for those who follow him. “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?
“27 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”.
There is the clear hint of hope and resurrection in Jesus’ words. As Jesus approaches the cross and rises from the grave, he is coming into his kingdom. Jesus Kingship then is born of suffering, and it’s glory is seen in that suffering on behalf of a world that needs a story more powerful than one of a conqueror on a white charger! It needs the story of one who liberates and overcomes through suffering, through the cross. There is a saying that the trouble with living sacrifices is that they tend to crawl off the altar of sacrifice. If that is us, then in Christ’s mercy, there is a way back through repentance and prayer. To all who walk Christ’s way there is the peace and the promise of His Spirit living within us.
Linked to this reading in the church lectionary is that from the epistle Romans 21. For those who take up the challenge of living sacrificially with God as a close friend, it explains that it is love that is the key to effective Christian living. Romans 12:9-21 is rather like a handbook or ‘user’s guide’ to life as a Christian.
These are good words to end our study today as they deal with the nitty gritty of Christian living.
Romans 12:9-21. New International Version. Love in Action
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[a] Do not be conceited.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[b] says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”[c]
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good..
Footnotes
a.Romans 12:16 Or willing to do menial work
b.Romans 12:19 Deut. 32:35
c.Romans 12:20 Prov. 25:21,22
A Final Prayer (Methodist Prayer Manual)
Gracious God, in a world where corruption, deceit, suspicion and ‘fake news’ regularly fill the headlines, we are full of gratitude for the gospel of Christ, which brings light, hope, truth and ‘good news’ into our lives.
May the confidence that we have new life in Christ make a difference to how we respond to the people and circumstances we encounter, so that our words and actions become ‘good news’ for others. In the name of Christ, Amen.
Gill Newton, Sheffield District Chair
A Song To Sum Up.
Hallelujah My Father For Giving Us Your Son. https://youtu.be/rhq-hV0i-90
Amen
Blessings
Colin