Last week, talked about the identity of Jesus – back in Matt.16:15, “Who do you say I am?” And Peter’s confession in V16, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God” was the identity of Jesus revealed to Peter by God (V17) – the result of Peter’s response was Jesus speaking identity over Peter – (V18) – His name was changed from Simon to Peter (rock), and he is told that as he lives in a new and future identity, he will be a part of founding the movement called “the church”, and (V19) he will be given the keys to opening the door to the Kingdom of Heaven, and will reinterpret scripture through the lens of Jesus – then in V20, Jesus instructed his disciples to tell no one that he is the promised Messiah – WHY? Because everyone who was looking for the Messiah was looking for him through the agenda of their own needs – The Messiah they were looking for was a military leader to rescue them from Roman occupation, a great king to come a restore Israel to its former glory – Jesus knew that no one in the current culture could see that his mission was not political but spiritual, because they were viewing Messiah through the lens of their own suffering – why was understanding the mission of Jesus important? Why is it still important today?

Contextually, the Jews were miserable – they were not only oppressed politically by the Romans, but also oppressed spiritually by the Jewish religious leaders – imagine 248 commands and 365 prohibitions – people were wilting under the weight of failure to live up to the law – Enter Jesus – Matthew 5:17, didn’t come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it – He embodied the law, he was the completion – and his mission was to die as the perfect picture of the law, defeat death, and through the Holy Spirit, enter into every person who will receive him and, as Jeremiah 31:33 says, “write my law on their hearts” – Ezekiel 36:27 – “I will put my Spirit in you to follow my decrees” – remember last week, the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven are the confession that Jesus is the ETERNAL KING, infused by the POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT – Jesus came because keeping the law was impossible, and was simply a placeholder for him – in short, you can’t fix yourself by simply following the rules – Galatians 2:21, if you could be made right by following the rules, the Christ died for nothing - you need a change of heart, a different motivation, and you’ll never get there without Jesus - Matthew 16:21-28

V21 – This is the first of four times in Matthew that Jesus very clearly lays out future events for the disciples – Matthew 17:22-23, Matthew 20:17-19, Matthew 26:2 – remember, this is Matthew, one of the 12 disciples, who in his own way was saying, “Jesus tried to tell us, but we didn’t get it” – again, this supports V20, the reason Jesus told them to tell no one that he was the Messiah – his mission was not to be an earthly conqueror to bring political freedom, but a heavenly conqueror, one who would bring spiritual freedom by becoming the perfect sacrifice for all sin for all time, and then conquering death, sin and hell by coming back to life after 3 days

I love that Jesus always plays the long game – he is not into quick fixes – Matthew 9:1-8 – the mission of Jesus was to usher in forgiveness of sin, which has eternal value, as opposed to physical healing which has temporary physical value – not knocking physical healing, but Jesus is always after something bigger than physical circumstances – he is ultimately interested in the spiritual condition of the heart

V22-23 – In just a few verses, we see the contrast of future Peter and current Peter – It is clear, that Peter didn’t understand the mission of Jesus, because he REBUKED Jesus – Peter actually made that moment about himself - “Jesus, if they want you, they’ll have to go through me!” It’s ironically funny, because he has already seen Jesus do the miraculous, yet he thinks Jesus needs defending – Jesus calls it out in Peter: “Get behind me, Satan! You are not thinking about the mission of God, but the mission of man!” But Peter is dense and determined - Matthew 26:50-56, cuts off ear – this is in 3 of the gospel accounts, only John identifies that it’s Peter, but we already knew, right?

How does this relate to you and me? First, if you don’t understand that the mission of Jesus is first and foremost spiritual, then you will likely look for Jesus to make the quick fix in your life – it’s actually spiritual narcissism to make the mission of Jesus all about you, meeting your needs, following your agenda – Second, Jesus doesn’t need your defending – the reason people misunderstand the mission of Jesus today is largely because of his followers, known more for what we are against than what we’re for – in many scenarios, we are more Peter than Jesus, and Jesus is saying, “Stand down, get behind me. You’re doing more harm than good.” We don’t argue people into the Kingdom – in fact, intellect and arguing are not fruit of the spirit, but patience, kindness and gentleness are – remember from last week, God, through the Holy Spirit, reveals who Jesus is – you are simply called to give him a good reputation by the product of your life

V24 – Now Jesus is making his mission their mission – this is a true picture of empowerment – He gives a powerful word-picture here: die to your will, and take on God’s will – this is another reminder that Jesus is not asking to be a part of your life; he is asking for your whole life – again, he has just told them he is going to die, and now he is telling them how: by a brutal, horrifying Roman crucifixion – and he is telling them that the way to live is through DEATH – Paul talks about this concept in Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that lives, but Christ in me” – When you say yes to Jesus, you are giving up your rights to your life – you are under new ownership – Jesus modeled this in the Garden of Gethsemane in Matthew 26:39 – “I don’t want to do this, but not my will but yours be done” – contextually, if you identified with Jesus, it would literally cost you your life – In America today, it may look different, but the cost has not changed – The American church has dumbed down the requirements of following Jesus: “just pray a prayer and you get to go to heaven when you die” – based on this passage, Jesus has something more robust in mind

V25 – What does it mean to “lose your life?” Our natural instinct is self-preservation – I know for most of my life, I lived to fight another day – I lied and manipulated to keep my standing, always making sure I got what I wanted, and stayed one step ahead of everyone else – AND… I LOST IT ALL – Know this: when your life is all about you, about getting what you think deserve, gaining what looks like success in the world’s eyes, seeking to preserve your image and reputation at all cost, YOU WILL LOSE – however, Jesus says, “Give me your life, let your agenda die, I HAVE SOMETHING SO MUCH BETTER FOR YOU!” The way of Jesus may not have the trappings of what the world calls success, but Jesus offers PEACE and FREEDOM, because what the world offers you comes at a great price – your PEACE and FREEDOM

V26 – You will never meet anyone on their deathbed who will say, “I wish I worked more, made more money, accumulated more stuff – I wish I spent less time with my family” – you can gain the whole world and lose your soul in the process – This is where the mission of Jesus comes into sharp focus – It is the upside down Kingdom of God – I surrender my life, my will, my pursuits, my need for validation, my reputation, and Jesus, in turn, fills the deepest desires of my heart, and uses me to accomplish HIS mission

V27 – The reward for following Jesus is ETERNAL – I love accolades, I love being the center of attention, hitting the game-winning shot, but in the Kingdom, Jesus is the HERO OF THE STORY – the reward is I get to play a part of seeing the Kingdom of God advance right here, right now

Illus – Brandon Smith – visited last November – grew up religious, kind of, but he would say he was definitely living for himself – had lunch with him this week – EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED – since men’s advance, he has been following Jesus, and his pursuits are rapidly shifting from himself to the agenda of Jesus – I could tell story after story of people whose lives are being turned upside-down by Jesus