Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
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Scripture |
Matthew 16:21-28 21 From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” 24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? 27“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. 28 Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
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Devotional |
“From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” Jesus is accepting the role of prophet. The prophets before him had suffered at the hands of the religious leaders in Jerusalem . Jesus expects the same treatment. This does not meet Peter’s expectation. Peter’s response, “God forbid it, Lord! This must not happen to you.” Because of Peter’s concern, he becomes a “stumbling block.” This is a big change for Peter. Just a few verses before, he had aced the test on answering the question but Peter loses all the points he had gained a short time before. Is this the process of discipleship? Moving from an exalted position to the bottom, when testing comes. What did the role of a prophet look like to Jesus? What makes Peter think that Jesus did not need to go through suffering and death? Verses 24-28 describe the cost of discipleship for Matthew’s church. Some members may have discovered what Jesus meant by taking up their cross and following. Has taking up the cross, losing one’s life for the sake of Jesus changed for our day and time? Eugene Boring describes the situation with the disciples. The meaning of discipleship is learned along the way. The disciples in this story have been disciples for some time, called personally by Jesus, sent by him to preach and heal. They now learn the meaning and cost of discipleship, which cannot be explained in advance but must be learned en route. Many sensitive Christians may have wondered about the integrity of their own Christian life, since they “didn’t know what they were doing” when they “joined the church.” Neither did the Matthean disciples, who only learn in 16:21 -28 what following Christ means, and who will yet falter and fail before the story is over. There is encouragement here for Christians who are concerned about past lapses (with more sure to come) and who are sure they do not understand as much as they should about the Christian life, just as there is warning for Christians who are sure that they do understand and have no need to change their present conceptions of the way things are. 1 Does your experience of discipleship relate to how Boring describes the experiences of Matthew’s church? The meaning of discipleship is a learning process which we learn along the way. I find many times that I do not know what I am doing? This continues to be true many years after I joined the church. 1 M. Eugene Boring, Gospel of Matthew in NIB.vol.8. p.352-353
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