Father in heaven, we do give you thanks and praise for the Lord Jesus for his life, that he came and that he lived a righteous life in our place and for his death, that he died in our place, in our stead. And as we'll celebrate later this weekend, that he was raised victoriously from the grave, over the grave, and is now seated at your right hand over his people and us. As Peter wrote, for Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous that he might bring us to God. And by your spirit and through your son's work, you have brought us to yourself. And we thank you for that this evening. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. You may be seated. Christianity is the only major religion at whose center is the humiliation of its God. Christianity is the only major religion at whose center is the humiliation of its God. That's how Bruce Shelley begins his church history. I love that perceptive line. It is my joy to be with you this weekend. It is my special joy to begin my ministry of the word among you with two sermons, one on the cross and one on the resurrection. In the West, the cross is something we've all grown up with. If you didn't go to church like me growing up, you still grew up with the cross. They're just everywhere. And you may not know what they mean. You may grow up wondering what they mean. Jesus died on the cross and it's important to Christianity. That's clear to everybody from an early age if you grew up in the West. I can remember an early response to the cross once I started to grasp it. Wait, Jesus died on the cross. That's a good thing? Why do Christians celebrate Jesus dying? I couldn't get my mind around it. And even as we focus tonight on the tragic death of Jesus and our hands, nevertheless, for Christians, the cross is a good thing. And it was even for the joy set before our Lord that he endured. yet to purchase us. Well at that time it didn't make sense to me. In this evening's passage we witness a first reaction to the cross. If my first reaction was, what does that mean? We witness tonight a first reaction to the cross, a first response on the part of one who would become one of the cross's boldest preachers. A reaction that gets both Christ wrong and the cross wrong, even as it gets both right, in part. A reaction that can't put them together in the same spot. So with that, let's open our Bibles together to Matthew 16, 21 through 23. Matthew 16, verses 21 through 23. We'll see here a first reaction of somebody who could not bear the humiliation of his Lord. From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be killed and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside to rebuke him saying, far be it from you, Lord, this shall never happen to you. But he turned and said to Peter, get behind me, Satan. You're a hindrance to me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man. And there we must have one of the sharpest exchanges in the Bible. Maybe one of the sharpest exchanges between any two men in all of history. Here is one mere man telling the Lord of Glory that his plan from before the foundation of the world is a mistake. And here we have the Lord of Glory telling a man, get behind me, Satan. Two conflicting perspectives for razor sharp words. It's an exchange whose pressure crystallizes the stakes that are involved in Jesus' long journey to Jerusalem. And whatever your first reaction to the cross may have been, what is your reaction to the cross now? Because that's what matters. Thankfully, Peter's first reaction was not the only one he got, and it would not be his last. But what's your reaction to the cross? Maybe you'd say the cross is outrageous, no solution to any human problem, let alone the human problem. Most of those at church or a Good Friday service don't react to the cross that way. But that's how we might react to the cross if we think about it long enough and we don't believe. Well, there's an opposite problem that can be equally endangerous. And you may find that the cross is obvious. Obvious in the boring sense. Been there, done that. Old news. The cross. Uninteresting. You don't react against the cross, you just don't really react to the cross at all. And I can relate to that one from time to time. It needs God's grace. Well this evening we're going to watch Jesus point the way forward to Jerusalem. We're gonna watch Peter pull Jesus aside for a talk. And then we're gonna watch Jesus put Peter behind him. It's like an after-school fight that we're looking in on. But there's more than intrigue to draw us in. There is insight. Insight into who Jesus is and to the strength of his determination to stick with his plan. And insight into us and our weak perception of our need for him to do just that. And as we watch this exchange, let us learn together about our Savior's mission. Let's learn about our Savior's temptation. And let's learn about our Savior's determination. That's your outline. Three parts to the exchange on the page in front of us for three parts of the sermon tonight. Verse 21, Jesus' mission. Here Jesus points the way ahead. I'll read it again. From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and raised on the third day. From that time, he begins. Earlier in Matthew's gospel, these words, from that time, mark the pivot from Jesus's preparation to his public ministry. And here, these words, at a different pivot in the gospel, these words mark the pivot from Jesus's public ministry to his public humiliation, his passion, his suffering, which will be the subject of his teaching for himself and his disciples, and the target of his walk. To this point, Jesus has only alluded to his coming sufferings, beginning here, his sufferings, and what it means for his disciples are the focus of his teaching and the direction of his travels. In the more immediate context, there's a beautiful high point of Mark's gospel and Peter's life that we will have just witnessed where we're reading it. Jesus famously asked his disciples, who do you say I am? To which Peter famously answered, the Christ. the million dollar question, and the mic was put to him, and he got it right. What a great moment. Maybe one of the best moments of a human besides Christ on the earth. Nailing that one. And there it is in the pages of scripture for us to read. And so playing with the meaning of Peter's name, which means rock, Jesus says to him, on this rock, I'll build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Nothing can touch my people built on the foundation of this confession out of the mouth of this man, Peter the Rock. And now Jesus reveals his mission in our text. So what is it that Jesus must do? Well, he must do what the scriptures say. He must do his father's will and he must do that which is joy commands in seeking his people for salvation. What must he do? Well, there's a place he must go. Beginning of verse 21, he began to show them that he must go to Jerusalem. And what's he going to do there? He's going to take his throne, of course, to be coronated as king. This is what the prophets promised. Jerusalem is, after all, the city of David, the city of the great king, the center of all of God's plans on earth to this point, where he'd bring salvation. If Israel's king must do anything, he must go to Jerusalem. But that's not what he says. At least, that's not all he says. He says he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things and be killed. There's pain to suffer in addition to a place to go. And that doesn't sound exactly like what God promised, on an uncareful reading at least. Peter and the whole Jewish world were right to anticipate a coming glorious. A glorious king. A king whose reign would flourish as Psalm 72 says, until the moon ends. Of course, it's without end, it's eternal. A king whose reign would stretch from sea to sea, which means this thing's going universal. There will be no spot on this planet where this king's reign does not reach. And that's the king they're looking forward to. A king whose glory would fill the whole earth. that apparently, before he takes his throne, there's something else that Jesus must take on. This is no surprise. In its specifics, it will be surprising. But that the Savior would suffer, that suffering would be required on the part of one to save the people of God, was not a surprise. For a careful reading of scripture, Isaiah 53, which we've meditated on already this morning, reads this way. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. And upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace. And with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. And the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all. This is why Jesus must go to Jerusalem. What an incredible answer to the problem of sin. A mystery indeed. Who would this be? And how would this happen? Even as the prophets wrote with one hand, they scratched their head. They did not know. Hear Peter's own words concerning this salvation. The prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours, they searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. Now it wasn't obvious or clear as to how all of this would come together. The careful readers of the Old Testament would be looking out for something to make sense of it all. At this point of rebuke, Peter had only heard part of but not all of God's Word. He wasn't trying to connect the dots. This is a temptation for all of us. He'd either ignored some of the dots or he was minimizing them in his imagination and in his expectation. Just like Peter heard part and not all of what Jesus said, he heard only part and not all of what God's word had said. You see, Jesus in this exchange had said that he would rise from the dead, but that's not the point of emphasis in Peter's mind. He is taken by the sufferings. A better question response may have been, you speak of this resurrection, tell me how great it is. And where does the suffering fit? But he assumes some things and lays in to Jesus. As soon as Jesus points the way ahead, you see Peter pulls Jesus aside. So now verse 22, Jesus's temptation. Jesus's temptation. Here's the rebuke. Far be it from you, Lord. This shall never happen to you. Never say never. Far be it from you, Lord, if Peter only knew what we knew. No room for learning in that rebuke, full-throated confidence. Have you ever addressed someone in the wrong only to find out you were wrong? Ah, it's so bad. Well, you can relate with Peter maybe a little bit for what he's got coming. That's the worst. Well, Peter better be right if he's going to talk like this to the Lord. He lacks no confidence. He pulls Jesus aside as if to save Jesus some embarrassment and to save the movement, a private moment between the two men, man to man, speaking frankly, making a correction. And yet here we are, listening in. It was no private moment in the end. Far be it from you, Lord, he says. Listen, you're the Lord, you're the Messiah. You're above being killed. Don't you know the promises of God? It doesn't end that way, Jesus. You said something about a resurrection, but all this stuff about death, I don't think so. You're reading the wrong Bible, Jesus. Don't talk like that or the whole thing is coming off the rails. And what is a rebuke? But words to correct the person who is speaking or doing wrong. And to bring light to their mind and imagination so that they would turn from what they have said. To bring them to reality. Peter is, with Jesus, trying to give him a reality check. Imagine joining a hot political campaign when the candidate pulls you aside and in with his inner circle and says, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to take this thing and I'm going to lose. You think, I'm going to say the thing everyone wants to say. You're our boss, but don't do that. Now in politics, I can imagine a sneaky way someone might do that on purpose according to some scheme. But in this case, no way, it doesn't end in death. Peter speaks to rebuke and to save Jesus and the whole movement. But his words don't save. His words actually tempt. His words offer a temptation. Consider this, perfectly matched to the nature of who Jesus was. For there's no one actually above the cross more than Jesus. His words sound mighty like what Satan said to Jesus in his wilderness years earlier. Jesus longed for the glory that he had with his father before the foundation of the world and before he came. And he was eagerly looking forward to that glory again, we know from his prayer in John 17. And we know that he trembled at the cross and its shame. Jesus, you can have glory apart from suffering, Peter says. Jesus, you can bring salvation without substitution, Peter says, although he's not that precise in his mind. Jesus, you can be coronated without a cross, Jesus will hear on his words. With these words, the gates of hell seek to prevail against the church before she even gets her start. But the church will be fine because Christ will prevail in this temptation as he has to this point and as he will facing down the cross itself. So third, verse 23, Jesus's determination. We see Jesus's determination. And may we praise Christ as we watch him rebuke Peter for his perfect and full obedience to his father. Jesus pointed the way ahead. Peter pulled Jesus aside. And now Jesus puts Peter behind. But he turned to Peter and said, Peter, get behind me, Satan. You're a hindrance to me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man. Friends, nothing was going to stop Jesus from going to the cross. Peter heard part and not all of God's word, but Jesus not only speaks all of God's word, he obeys every word from his father's mouth, even to the point of death on a cross. Three statements he makes to Peter and three statements that we need to ponder. First, to get behind me Satan. It was not that Peter was possessed by Satan, or that he was Satan, but that his words were doing the work of Satan. And so Jesus steamrolls him in obedience to his father. My friends, we should not speak in such sharp terms like this just because Jesus spoke in sharp terms like this, at least about most things. This is the nuclear option. But rest assured, Jesus isn't having a bad day or being prickly. Jesus' words match perfectly the threat on the lips of Peter. They match perfectly the threat. If Jesus obeys Peter instead of his father, none are saved from hell. You see, Peter misunderstands our great problem, which is condemnation before God. Peter isn't apparently at the moment seeking a solution for that kind of an incredible problem. Ever since we were banished from Eden after sinning against God in Adam, there has been no way safely back into the presence of God for full access as his children. And Peter forgets our problem of condemnation. He also misunderstands the extent of God's gracious promises. And that great promise in Isaiah 53, which is calling out for an answer in a who. Who will be the one on whom the Lord lays the iniquities of the people and takes them away? Where is he going to come from? And who could possibly even take away our sins but the Lord himself? And here's the Lord. Peter misunderstands our great problem and God's gracious promises. And that's why he tried to stop Jesus from dying as a Savior. Well, what was his plan? He imagined he could have a Savior without a cross. And my friends, it's possible to imagine we can have a Savior without a cross. We may even be tempted to take Jesus as our Savior, but to leave the cross and all that it means and implies. Certainly the world is full of religions that take on Jesus and leave his cross. And it's possible in subtle other ways to find ourselves associated with Jesus and with Jesus on our lips and to forget. His cross, not even to accept it. There's no way of salvation apart from a Savior who has a cross. Peter's rejecting the only antidote to humanity's problem. Jesus understands this perfectly, and His sharp words are in this way, saving words. This is Peter's salvation for Jesus to steamroll him like this. And so Jesus is quite literally willing to die on this hill in this relationship. And so should we all. It's why Paul could write to the Galatian church, let them be accursed, those are strong words, to those who would add anything to Jesus' work as a requirement for favor with God. No, there's no other gospel. Any other gospel? Let them be accursed. There's a place for strong words like this. Shocking words on reserve for moments when we need them. You don't usually yell stop at the top of your lungs, but you will if your kid is running into the road. That's also why you don't yell stop at the top of your lungs at everything they might do. As hard as it is not to yell stop at the top of my lungs at everything my kids do. Cut it out! Save those words as Jesus had for moments like this, when everything is on the line. And yes, eternity is on the line in Peter's words. It's not a moment for polite response, but a sharp rebuke. And that's what Peter gets. A lesson for church life. Second, Jesus says, you're a hindrance to me. Ouch, again. or differently translated, you're a stumbling stone to me. You get it? Another play on words. On this rock, I will build my church. Peter, you're a stumbling stone in my way, in Jesus' way of his mission. Friends, imagine hearing those words from the lips of Jesus. If you care about Jesus at all, you don't want to hear those words. Imagine hearing those words the rest of your life. Now imagine this. Imagine that after Jesus's resurrection, those words actually didn't present Peter with any difficulty in his soul any longer. They presented him with no anguish. Regret, yes, but no anguish. And how can that be so? Was he heartless that he would not have anguish over what he said to his Lord or anguish over what his Lord said to him? Regret, yes, but anguish? No, it's because of God's grace in his life. The first sign of which is a vision of Jesus' own transfigured glory, which we're going to look at on Sunday morning, which happens only moments later. Jesus gave Peter a prime spot for the revelation of his shining, brilliant beauty. Peter would deny Christ still, but after his resurrection, Jesus would reconcile himself to Peter. And so because of his grace on the cross, Peter would not be ashamed as he looked to Jesus' suffering. And that's because on the cross, that's precisely what Jesus was taking from all of those who trust in him. Yes, this Peter, the one whom Jesus calls Satan, would remember Jesus and look to Jesus without anguish in his heart over even his greatest sins against him. For Jesus was taking our shame on the cross in that moment when he called Peter Satan was actually an indication of how determined Jesus was to take that shame. He was dying for the sins of people like you and me who don't know how bad we need that kind of Savior. And so you then can be forgiven if you have not turned in faith to Jesus. And having been forgiven, you can be free from the anguish of all of your terrible sins. For it was Peter who said, Jesus suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous to bring us to God. And when you wonder about your own disobedience, remember the steamrolling obedience of Christ. Nothing would stop him from making sin's payment, not even the truth that he was above the cross, which he was. Because of the glory to come, which Peter could not fathom, and which is so easy for each of us to forget, awaits us, Jesus' cross was worth his pain. It is so easy to forget that the glory that will be revealed eclipses the suffering that we know in this life. But for Jesus, his mind and his heart was fixed on the glory that one day would be revealed. And so he could bear the sufferings. And as we look to Jesus who bears his sufferings by staring at the glory to be revealed, we too can suffer the same. In a passage later, we'll see Jesus instructing his own disciples in the cross that they are to bear, and it will be his own transfigured glory that pulls them through it. Here's a third thing Jesus gives Peter and us today, a simple explanation of what's going on here in Peter's heart. Why does Peter say what he says in this moment? Why do any of us presume we don't need a Christ? Why do any of us forget the cross? For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man, Jesus says. That's why. There are two ways to look at the cross, and they both make perfect sense. It just depends on whose mind you have on at the moment. Jesus and Peter are looking at the same hill, Jerusalem, the cross, but two different horizons. They're seeing two different things. On that hill, Peter can see a plan that can't save, and Jesus sees the only plan that can. For while Peter looks to Jerusalem, he expects a coronation instead of a crucifixion. But as Jesus looks to Jerusalem, he sees a coronation as well, but he sees a coronation through crucifixion. Maybe for you the cross is outrageous. It can't possibly save, and maybe you have your own reasons, different than Peter's, whatever they are. You may think that you need a savior, just one not like this, and you don't like it when someone gets the door for you, let alone the door for heaven, which is precisely what Jesus was doing on the cross. The cross says to us, we have that much to be done to be acceptable to God. Or maybe your reaction is that of the opposite kind, the cross is obvious. It's a great idea, a pious thing for Jesus to have done. Create a religious achievement and it seems right. Maybe it's boring to you because you aren't carrying yours. For as I said and as we read on, Jesus is speaking to those with words like this, carry your cross. lose your life to save it. He is in describing his own sufferings, preparing his own disciples for the suffering that they'll know in this life. And when we are bearing our crosses and suffering, as we share the sufferings of Christ, all of a sudden his cross takes on that much more beauty and depth and meaning. And it is anything but boring for it is our life. It's true that no earthly king has ever come to power like that. Peter was right to be shocked and even outraged. This is crazy. But this plan is not from the mind of God, but from the mind of man, sorry, but from the mind of God himself. And that outrageous cross is the only way that any of us can be brought to him. For there is no other way for man to stand before heaven's king and live without his sins first being removed. And there is no way for our sins to be removed unless somebody takes our guilt for us. And there is no one that can take our guilt for us except the Lord, innocent himself. And in Jesus, the Lord takes our guilt for us. In Jesus, the cross is both, in the humiliation of our God, the cross is both outrageous and at the same time, it is obvious. And that's why Jesus puts Peter behind him. So that he could die before him and for him. And for you, if you'll trust a cross like that. For there is salvation in no other name. Well, thankfully, Peter's first reaction was not his last reaction. Peter was indeed a bold, bold preacher. I'd like to read for you some words from an early sermon of his. In fact, his first sermon, the first Christian sermon after the establishment of the church, where Peter says these words to those who crucified Jesus himself. Men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, the man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know, this Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. This Jesus God raised up and of that we are all witnesses. repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And so here we have a bold man who is confident as ever with sharp words for those who are in the wrong and an offer of forgiveness and the grace of God that Peter knows himself very well. Praise God for his grace in this man and praise God for his grace available to each of us. Or as Peter wrote, reflecting on Psalm 53 in his own letter, he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree. So he got it that we might die to sin and live to righteousness by his wounds. You have been healed. May we never forget it. Well, one of the ways that Jesus has designed that we would never forget his cross is through the regular sharing in the Lord's table, which is one of the things that we're here to do this evening. Jesus would institute this meal for his disciples the evening of his arrest. He did it to strengthen, we could say, their ongoing reaction to the cross, that it may never lose its potency. And it's to this symbol that we turn now. This symbol has two parts, by way of reminder, or for those of you who are new, to this symbol. The symbol of the bread, which represents the broken body of Jesus, and the symbol of the cup, which represents his blood, which was poured out for us. And together they represent the only way that any sinner may be saved. For Jesus obeyed his father fully and nothing would stop him. He was determined that his body would be broken and his blood would be shed. The Lord's table, as we call it, is for those who belong to the Lord. So if you are trusting in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you've identified yourself, with his life, death, and resurrection, and you're a Christian bought by his blood, then you are welcome to partake. If you do not know the Lord, if in hearing the gospel this evening, you've concluded that you're not with him, if the cross is outrageous to you, but not at the same time obvious to you, if you aren't a Christian, what the Lord would love for you to do, what the Lord commands you to do, is to watch and to observe. And Jesus gave us this symbol, not just for us, but for you to watch as we proclaim the Lord's death until he returns. In Christ's death, we have salvation in it alone. Father, we give you thanks for this gracious symbol of your new covenant work through your son, Christ. We thank you for breaking his body on the cross, that he willingly and with great determination went to his death in obedience to you, and that you accepted his death as payment for our sins. Help us as we take of this symbol to be strengthened in our trust in his death alone for the forgiveness of our sins. It's in Christ's name we pray, amen.