turning point (Mt 16:21-28)

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Psalm 127; Matthew 16:21-28


"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."
(Matthew 16:24)


While talking about "the greatest ever," I mentioned that yesterday's reading (vs. 13-20) was a turning point passage. We say that because of the first verse in today's reading:

"From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the leaders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised."
(Matthew 16:21)

With Jesus' confirmation of the Father's revelation to Peter, that he is "the Christ, the son of the living God" (v. 16), comes Jesus' declaration of what that means for him. We have the first talk of his suffering, death, and resurrection. And then, of course, Peter goes from being a mouthpiece of God to a mouthpiece for Satan, from a prophetic helper to a demonic hindrance. Jesus is so emphatic, and shows no understanding at all - this is indeed what it means, it is the destiny and purpose of the Christ, the son of God, to suffer, die and be raised.

Tomorrow we begin our Lenten journey following Jesus to the cross. It is inevitable, he has to go there, for us and for our salvation. Sadly, it will be at the hands of religious people (like us).

Our passage doesn't end there. Jesus goes on to tell us what the revelation means for his disciples, too... what following him on this journey to the cross looks like:
"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."
(v. 24)

Lent is a good time to renew our discipleship, particularly in areas of self-denial. Not for misery's sake, or even some heroic act loyalty. But to follow Jesus, to be with Jesus, to be closer to him, to know him - and to be delivered from all the self-oriented ways we tend to follow and pursue to avoid pain and discomfort (emotional as well as physical). To reword Robert's message from Sunday just a bit, some of us have some areas of self-denial we need to tend to; some areas to put to death out of love for him and our neighbor.

True, one cannot be a disciple without a fundamental decision to deny oneself, take up the cross and follow Jesus. But the nature of discipleship, of actually becoming Christ-like, of this transformation, is that the initial turning point decision must be followed up with daily acts of denying oneself, joining Jesus in carrying the cross (one of these sayings in Luke includes the word "daily"), and following him.