Jesus’ Biggest Surprise! Get Behind Me Satan: Matthew 16:21-28
Chapter Five
Sermon Title: “Jesus’ Biggest Surprise”
Matthew 16:21–28
Scripture and Sermon
We have come to the final message on “A Day in the Life of Jesus”. It is my intention to put all of the sermons on a digital book that you can access on our Facebook page, much like we did for the summer series, “What Is God Like”. Sometimes a certain message will speak to your heart and this is an opportunity to be reminded of that biblical truth. Hear the word of the Lord from Matthew chapter 16 beginning in verse 21 and reading to verse 28. The Word of the Lord.
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 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.”
Andrew here for one last time! Let me say how much I have enjoyed these weeks together. I hope they have been a blessing to you as well. This morning, we are going to pick up where we left off last Sunday. Jesus had asked us, “Who do you say that I am?” And of course, my brother Peter said, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God”. Then Jesus made this bold statement that we were going to be the ones with the keys to the kingdom. We were going to be responsible for opening the doors of salvation for others.
But after saying this, Jesus’ tone changed. We were all excited. We couldn’t wait for Him to tell us how we were going to organize an army, rush the Romans and establish the nation of Israel. But that’s when Jesus gave us the biggest surprise of our lives.
Instead of talking about armies and strategies, He started talking about how He had to go to Jerusalem to suffer many things at the hand of the religious leaders. And how he must be killed and raised to life three days later.
Honestly, what He said that night went in one ear and out the other. I couldn’t stop thinking about how Jesus was the Messiah. He is going to restore the fortunes of Israel. And we were going to be a part of it.
Needless to say, we went to bed that night still so excited about Jesus’ revelation. As I laid in bed, my thoughts wondered about maybe I could be the head over all the armies in Jesus’ new kingdom. I knew that my brother was expecting to be second in command. And I also knew that James and John were vying for that position as well. The only one I was worried about being in charge of the armies was Simon the Zealot. But with his checkered past and me being one of the first disciples called, I figured the job should be mine. After a while of dreaming about the possibilities of this new kingdom, I fell off to sleep, excited about what the future held.
The next morning, when I awoke, Jesus was already off to spend time with God which was his regular routine. The conversation with the other disciples was all about what transpired the previous night. We were so excited that Jesus had acknowledged that He was the Messiah. Everyone’s minds were racing about what this meant for us. We were going to be famous. History books would be written about us. And considering how popular Jesus was, it would take much to build an army and overthrow the Romans. We had momentum. We had the leader. We had it all.
And then, everything changed! Jesus returned midmorning from his personal private time with God and immediately asked us to meet together again. For a solid two hours, Jesus reiterated that He must go to Jerusalem and be killed and three days later be raised to life. Jesus began explaining it again. He helped us see that suffering wasn’t contrary to God’s plan. It was part of God’s plan.
But you couldn’t convince us. This wasn’t what we thought the Messiah was supposed to do. Since we were children, we had been taught that the Messiah was going to restore the kingdom of Israel like it was in the time of David. The Romans would be defeated and we would once again be a world power.
As we were getting ready to take a break for lunch that was when my brother decided he had heard enough about this suicide mission. And to be honest, when he asked to speak to Jesus privately we knew he would speak for all of us. This idea of going to Jerusalem to give up his life had to change. It would ruin everything.
And while they took just a few steps away from us, everyone was listening as Peter began to rebuke the Lord about this plan. I had never heard my brother talk this way to Jesus. But he was emotional. We all had a lot to lose. We had left everything to follow Him. Everyone knew we were his followers. If He was put to death, what would they do to us?
We all heard Peter’s voice, he didn’t know how to whisper. “Lord, this cannot be! I won’t allow it! The Messiah is to restore Israel. We are to overthrow the Romans!” Then he went somewhere he shouldn’t have to the Scriptures. “Your throne is to endure forever! It can’t if You allow the religious leaders to have their way with You.”
But now we could see that Jesus was getting frustrated. He shook his head side to side and waited for Peter to finish his rant. When Peter finally quit, Jesus looked him in the eyes and using the same volume that Peter had used said, “Get behind my Satan. You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” And as you can imagine, there was an awkward silence.
Jesus just called my brother “Satan”. Not only that, He had changed his name from Peter the rock on which I will build my church to Peter the scoundrel or the stumbling block. And these weren’t human concerns my brother was voicing, these were our concerns. Our Savior can’t die. Things are so good. It would ruin everything.
I think Jesus could tell that this remark had rattled us. But instead of apologizing to my brother, Jesus double downs on his statement. He now extends His plan to us. He addressed us and said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
This made no sense. I mean we totally got the part about denying ourselves. We were willing to do that. Over these last couple of years, we were willing to go wherever Jesus asked us to go and do whatever Jesus asked us to do. We had given up everything to follow Him. But this part about the cross scared us. The cross in our day was a vile symbol of death and shame. All of us had witnessed the Romans making criminals and political enemies of the state carry their cross to the place of execution. They would often beat them on the way if they didn’t walk fast enough. People often would join in the mocking and torture. The cross was to be avoided and not willingly taken up.
Then Jesus said, “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” The implication was clear. We were the ones trying to save our lives by telling Jesus this couldn’t be the plan. Jesus was saying that unless we were willing to die to our own desires and wishes, we would never find true life. But if we died to ourselves, then we would find true life. I don’t have to tell you, this was heavy stuff. And I wasn’t for sure if I completely understood it.
Then Jesus added, “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?” This statement took Jesus’ previous commands to a new level. Was He now saying that unless we denied ourselves and took up the cross we would forfeit our soul? Does this mean we would be cast into the lake of fire?
Now I am completely scared. Jesus had said some difficult sayings before now, but this was his hardest by far. If I understood him correctly, “this denying of ourselves and picking up our cross and following him” would determine our eternal destiny.
His next statement made sure that I wasn’t mistaken. Jesus said, ”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.” This is where it gets really complicated and somewhat confusing. Jesus had spoken over and over again about eternal life being a gift that none of us could earn. And yet now it seems that making it to heaven required total consecration on our part. Which is it? A gift or total surrender? Or maybe it is both. We can’t earn our salvation, but once we accept this gift from God it requires complete dedication to God. Either way, this was a powerful and difficult teaching.
Then Jesus concluded this teaching by stating that some of us here will not taste death before they see the coming of the Son of Man in his kingdom. This too seemed impossible. If Jesus was going to give up his life and if we had to take up our cross, I don’t think any of us will survive.
After saying these things, Jesus went off to talk to our Heavenly Father while we tried to come to grips with what He had said. Most of us didn’t completely understand what had just happened. How did we go from “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God” to “I will be killed by the religious leaders and raised three days later”? And then what are we to do with “if you want to be my disciple, you must deny yourself, take up the cross and follow me”? Needless to say, we had a lot to think about that day.
Looking back now, I understand what I couldn’t understand that day. Jesus wasn’t trying to take life away from us. He was trying to give us a life worth giving away. We thought following Jesus was going to make us important. Jesus wanted to make us faithful. We thought the kingdom meant thrones. Jesus told us it meant crosses. We thought victory meant defeating our enemies. Jesus showed us that victory meant surrendering ourselves.
So after spending these weeks walking with Jesus through these days of His ministry, perhaps there is only one question left. Not, ‘Who do you say Jesus is?’ We answered that last week. The question now is: If He really is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, what are you willing to surrender to follow Him?
But one thing for sure, we would never forget what He said. While salvation is a free gift, once we receive it, it demands full surrender to our Savior. Let’s stand.
For Reflection and Discussion
- The disciples correctly believed Jesus was the Messiah, but they had a very different idea of what the Messiah should do. Have you ever been disappointed with Jesus because He did not do what you expected?
- Peter rebuked Jesus because the cross did not fit his understanding of God’s plan. Are there times when we resist God because His direction interferes with our plans?
- What have Christians sometimes called a “cross to bear” that really is not what Jesus meant? What might genuinely taking up your cross look like in your life?
- Andrew wrestled with an important question: Is salvation a free gift, or does following Jesus require total surrender? How would you explain the relationship between grace and surrender?
- Which is easier for you to desire—being successful, recognized and important, or simply being faithful? Why?
- Is there something you are presently trying to hold onto that may be keeping you from following Jesus completely?
- Looking across Andrew’s journey—provision, struggle, great faith, discovering who Jesus is, and surrender—where do you see yourself right now?
One Question to Carry With You
If Jesus really is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, what am I willing to surrender to follow Him?
Behind the Sermon
This final sermon demonstrates what can happen when you stay with one character long enough for him to grow.
My picture of the disciples dreaming about power and prominence came less from historical reconstruction than from the rest of Scripture. These men repeatedly argued about greatness and positions. They did not understand the cross all the way to the cross. Let the rest of Scripture help you know your character.
Being in the person means thinking like they thought. Andrew does not know Good Friday and Easter yet. When Peter pulls Jesus aside, Andrew is probably relieved that somebody is going to straighten this out. Peter is not the lone villain; he says aloud what the others are thinking.
First person also made “take up your cross” frightening again. For Andrew, the cross was not jewelry or a mild inconvenience. It was Roman humiliation and execution. Cross-bearing is not coping with a grumpy coworker. It may mean risking something precious because faithfulness to Jesus requires it.
I also wanted Andrew to voice the dilemma many Christians feel but cannot articulate: Is salvation a gift, or does following Jesus require total surrender? It is okay to let the congregation wrestle before resolving the tension. Salvation is a gift we cannot earn; surrender is our response to the One who saved us.
Finally, I did not plan Andrew’s five-sermon journey. I stayed faithful to Scripture, listened to the Spirit, and kept walking with the character. The stories began building upon one another. We grew with Andrew toward a conclusion.
Give It a Try
Do not begin with a sermon. Begin with a person.
Choose a biblical character who appears in more than one story and trace that person through Scripture. Ask who they are when you first meet them, what they believe, what they misunderstand, what they fear, and what they want.
Keep reading. Where do they fail? What surprises them? What does God have to tell them more than once? What do they understand later that they could not understand earlier?
Do not manufacture the change. Let Scripture show it to you.
Sometimes the best character arc is not the one you create. It is the one you discover.
