Matthew: Suffering and Sacrifice (16:21-28)

This sermon was preached to Grace Church Guildford on 15 October 2023. The audio recording of the sermon can be found below along with the transcript.

Sometimes first impressions can be misleading. You book a holiday, the photos of your hotel look amazing online: it has great beach access, modern spacious rooms, plenty of poolside loungers and lots of restaurants to dine in. Well, at least, that is what you are led to believe. Because when you get there, you realise they haven’t finished building it all yet, and your dream holiday turns into a bit of a nightmare. Or perhaps you buy a house: it has a great location, you can walk to a nearby school and train station, its opposite a lovely park and it has four bedrooms and a large back garden. What more could you want? It seems like your dream home has finally become a reality. That is, until you discover the asbestos in the attic, the noisy neighbours next door and the planning restrictions that prevent you from any further refurbishments. Sometimes first impressions can be misleading. That is true for holidays and houses, and tonight we shall see that it can also sometimes be true when it comes to following Jesus.

Our passage this evening in Matthew 16, picks up halfway through this story of Jesus at Caesarea Philippi. If you remember last week, in 16:13, after arriving in the region, Jesus asked his disciples who people thought he was. And in 16:14 the disciples explained that many of them perceived Jesus to be some kind of prophet, a messenger from heaven. And yet, the disciples saw very him differently, for they identified Jesus not as God’s messenger, but as God’s Messiah, the Christ, the King coming to save his people. That is what Peter means there in 16:16, when he says: ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.’ And because Peter identified Jesus as the king, we heard last week that Jesus promises to use Peter to build his kingdom. For in 16:18-19, Jesus gives Peter authority to build his church, this kingdom of heaven, against which even the gates of Hell will not stand. After 16 chapters, it seems that the disciples have finally realised Jesus is a king and that he has a kingdom. Which is actually the title for our sermon series, as this idea of ‘The King and his Kingdom’, is what I think the whole book is all about.

And yet, as we continue the story from 16:21 tonight, we will see that the disciples’ first impressions about this king and his kingdom may actually be a little bit misleading. Our passage is a little like that moment when you get off the bus, and see your hotel is actually a building site, or you get that report from the surveyor and discover there is asbestos in the roof. For in our passage, the disciples realise that they have misunderstood much about this king and his kingdom. And this it is this misunderstanding that I think explains Jesus’ strange instruction in 16:20. Did you notice that last week? After Peter finally proclaims Jesus to be the Messiah, comes to this great conclusion about who Jesus is, what does Jesus say to his disciples? Well, in 16:20 we read: [READ].

Does that not sound strange to you? Why does Jesus not want the nation to know who he is? Surely his disciples should be rushing off across the country to announce that the king has come! And yet instead, Jesus silences them. And our text tonight tells us why. For we see that while the disciples have identified Jesus, their first impressions of this king and his kingdom are misleading ones. And so, before the disciples can tell anyone who he is and what he has come to do, Jesus needs to correct their first impressions, deepen their initital understanding. Jesus realised that a half-truth is often more dangerous than a complete lie. And so, he immediately starts to show his disciples the whole truth, teaching them that: (1) The Suffering King (16:21-23); (2) The Sacrificial Kingdom (16:24-28).

1.     THE SUFFERING KING (16:21-23)

I’ve said that our passage tonight picks up halfway through this scene at Caesarea Philippi. And yet, it also marks the halfway point in the plot of Matthew. If you remember back to the beginning of the book, after telling us about his birth and baptism, Matthew announced the start of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, by explaining in 4:17 that, ‘From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”’ That single sentence sums up all that Jesus has said and done from chapter 4 until here in chapter 16. However, in our passage tonight, Matthew tells us that this message now begins to change, that Jesus’ ministry takes on a new emphasis, for in 16:21 he explains that, ‘From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem....’ Having spent the first half of the book in Galilee, Jesus now explains he must go to Jerusalem. And the rest of the book tells us the story of this journey to Jerusalem and what happens when he gets there.

This region of Caesarea Philippi is the most northernly point of Jesus ministry in Matthew, the high-water mark of his activity in Galilee. In our passage, Jesus is standing as far away from Jerusalem as he will ever get. But now he tells his disciples that the time has come for him to start on that long road heading south, time for him to begin his journey to Jerusalem.

And in our passage, he begins to prepare his disciples for what will happen when he gets there. Thanks to Peter last week, his disciples now know who Jesus is. But the next step in their training is to understand what Jesus has come to do. Having learnt about his person, they must learn about his work. Having confessed him as the Messiah, they now need to know about his mission. And so in 16:21, he tells them: ‘that he must go...[READ].’ Do you notice there that Matthew really emphasises the necessity of this mission: Jesus ‘must’ go, ‘must’ die.

 Have you ever wondered why that is the case? Why did Jesus have to go to Jerusalem? Why did he have to die? We see here that long before he arrived in Jerusalem, indeed before he even started his journey, Jesus knew what would happen, he knew it would lead to his death. The crucifixion was not an unfortunate accident, it was a deliberate choice. Jesus knew it would happen, and here he says it needed to happen. He must go. He must die. Why? Why did this king need to suffer? Why did Jesus have to die?

Sometimes the story of Jesus’ death can become so familiar to us, that it doesn’t seem that strange or curious. And yet, we see here in our passage that it certainly was for the disciples. If you have never asked yourself ‘Why did Jesus have to die?’, see here that that was exactly what the disciples were wondering that day. For when Jesus says that his suffering must happen in 16:21, Peter insists that it will never happen in 16:22. The doctrine of Jesus death was so nonsensical and unsettling for Peter, that he even goes as far as to correct the one he has just called the Christ. Peter didn’t see why Jesus had to die. It made no sense to him. And I think if we slow down and take a step back, we can understand why. Afterall, think back to the coronation of our new king here last year. When Queen Elizabeth died, and Charles was proclaimed king, there was no need for him to suffer like this. In order for Charles to take up his crown, he didn’t need to go to a cross. Charles came to his capitol city for his coronation. Why was it so different with Jesus? Why did Jesus have to go to the capitol not for a coronation, but a crucifixion? After all, his disciples have just proclaimed him to be King. They have realised that he is the Messiah, the monarch sent to rule over God’s people. The one who had come to set up the kingdom of heaven on earth. Surely the next step for Jesus is to gather his forces, go to Jerusalem and seize power. And yet, instead he says that he must go to Jerusalem to suffer. Not to overcome the ruling authorities, but to be overcome by them. Not to sit on a throne, but to be nailed to a cross. Why? What explains this strange strategy? Why is it that this king must suffer and die?

Well, the rest of the Bible, leaves us in no doubt when it comes to answering this dilemma. For it tells us that we not only need a ruler, but we also need a redeemer. We not only need a king to reign over us, but someone to pay our ransom for us. As we read earlier in Isaiah 53, we need someone to be pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, if we are to experience peace, someone must be punished in our place, if we are to be healed, someone else must be wounded. And here in Matthew 16 we see that is why Jesus must suffer, why he must die. Our king had to die, because we all deserve to die. The Bible teaches that all of us have turned away from God, lived according to our own desires and ideas, like sheep we have gone astray and such sin must be punished. There is a price to be paid. And that is why Jesus had to go to Jerusalem. Not to save his people from religious authorities. Not to save his people from Roman legions. No, this king went to Jerusalem to save his people from their sins. As we sang earlier this evening, ‘There was no other good enough, willing to pay the price of sin...’ Or to use the analogies Jesus himself used last week, it was because his church was imprisoned by the gates of Hell, shut in by the doors of death, that this king suffered death himself, and rose again, to save his people and set up his kingdom.

If you are here tonight and are not following this king, see here that you need someone to suffer for you, someone to save you from your sin. That is why Jesus had to die! If we could make ourselves right with God, why did God’s Son need to go to the cross? If our sin isn’t such a big deal, why would the King of Heaven have to die in our place? Jesus needed to suffer, because you deserve to suffer for your sins. Jesus had to overcome the gates of Hell, because without him you will never escape from death, and you will never enter into the kingdom of Heaven. Whoever you are this evening, whatever you have done, see here that there is a sentence to be served for your sin, and that Jesus serves it for you, if you repent and believe in him, turn from your sin and trust in him. Will you do that this evening? As Jesus begins this journey to Jerusalem, as the king goes to suffer for the sins of his people, will you come into his kingdom? Be part of his people? Enjoy the salvation that he is going to buy with his blood?

2.     THE SACRIFICIAL KINGDOM (16:24-28)

We’ve already heard about Peter’s reaction to this suffering king in 16:22, where he insists that what Jesus says must happen will in fact never happen. And by this, we see that his first impressions of the Messiah are misleading. While Peter did so well last week, he falls flat on his face this week. Last week, he spoke on behalf of Heaven, this week he seems to be speaking on behalf of Hell. Last week, Jesus called Peter the rock on which he will build his church, whereas this week he calls him a stumbling stone.

How did it all go so wrong for Peter? What caused him to try to correct Christ? Well, in 16:23, Jesus explains that Peter is considering it from a worldly perspective, rather than a godly perspective. And this is exactly what Jesus addresses in the second half of our passage. For in 16:24-28, he teaches his disciples how to properly process such suffering and sacrifice. How to adopt a heavenly mindset, rather than an earthly one. And we see here that it is crucial that the disciples understand this, for Jesus is very clear that not only is he going to suffer, but Peter and all of his other disciples will suffer as well. As he starts this journey to Jerusalem, Jesus explains that not only must he go to his death, but so must all who follow him. Not only is Jesus a suffering king, but his kingdom will be a sacrificial kingdom. In 16:24, we read: [READ].

Just as with the idea Jesus’ death, this idea of ‘taking up your cross’ has perhaps been normalised by our familiarity with the phrase. It is even used today as a general idiom for bearing a burden, or undergoing some suffering. And yet, at time, when Jesus coined this phrase, it would have brought a very particular, and indeed disturbing, image to mind. Perhaps the disciples even took a step back in shock when he said it to them, for it would have instantly reminded them of the condemned criminals they would have seen, being marched off for execution carrying their own crosses on their backs. Indeed, that is what we are told later happens to Jesus in chapter 27, when soldiers try to make him carry his cross through the crowds to a hill outside Jerusalem, where he was nailed to it and left to die. And that was standard practice throughout the Roman Empire. When you saw someone walking with a cross on their back, you knew what was about to happen, where they were going. For they were walking to their death, marching to their own execution. And that is what Jesus declares here all his disciples must do. As he started this long journey south, towards his own death in Jerusalem, he declares that all who follow him must walk that same road, face that same fate. Not only must Jesus die on a cross, but his disciples must be prepared to do so as well.

Earlier we heard how first impressions can be misleading, and yet do you see here that Jesus does everything he can to make sure that that isn’t the case. Jesus isn’t some kind of estate agent, trying to sell you a house they know has major problems. Jesus isn’t some kind of travel agent, luring you to book a hotel that hasn’t yet been built. No, Jesus is totally honest, entirely upfront about the consequences of choosing to be a Christian. Before he begins his journey to Jerusalem, Jesus tells his disciples what they should expect if they decide to follow him there. And the same is true for all who choose to follow him today. Brothers and sisters, see here the Christian life is not portrayed as a picnic in the park, a relaxing hike across green hills on a sunny day. No, following Jesus is likened to a death march, is similar to someone who is forced to carry a cross to the place of their excruciating execution.

If you are a Christian here tonight, I wonder if your faith ever feels like that? Here we see that to be a Christian comes at a great cost. Have you experienced that in your own life? What has following Jesus cost you? What have you had to give up for Jesus? Each of us will be challenged to carry different crosses, to deny ourselves in different ways. For some here tonight, following Jesus will cost you a certain relationship. Your interactions with a parent, your spouse or your children would just be so much easier if you weren’t a Christian. For others, following Jesus may mean you never marry. You’ve always wanted to get married, but a suitable Christian spouse never appears, and so you have to deny yourself that dream in order to be faithful to Jesus. Or perhaps you are a couple struggling with infertility, and only the treatments being made available to you are ones that you consider to be unethical. And so, for you, following Jesus may mean denying that good God-given desire for children. Of course, all of us must deny sinful desires that we might have, put to death the deeds of our flesh such as lust and pride, the desire for wealth and status. Maybe you are here tonight, and you experience same-sex attraction. Our culture today cries out, ‘Go for it, give into that desire.’ But you know God calls us all to purity. And so, for you, following Jesus may mean carrying that particular cross, denying that sinful desire, all the days of your life. Brothers and sisters, see here that following Jesus is not a comfortable life. It is a costly life. I wonder what it is currently costing you? What sacrifice are you having to make? Where do you feel the weight of the cross in your life right now? For see here that you will feel it, indeed, for we are all called to deny ourselves. As a German pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, famously put it, ‘The cross is laid on every Christian...When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.’

Brothers and sisters, if you are tempted to shirk back from such sacrifices tonight. If you are saying in your heart tonight with Peter, I can’t keep suffering like this, I could never sacrifice that. If you are tired of taking up your cross, find yourself drawing back from this death, then see here in 16:25-27 how you can move your mindset from the concerns of earth to those of heaven, how you can stop seeing your sacrifices and sufferings from a worldly perspective, and start seeing them from an eternal perspective. That is what Jesus is doing here in 16:25-27. Having called his disciples to come and die, he now gives them three reasons why they would make such a decision, three arguments for why they, and why we today, should join Jesus on this death march to Jerusalem.

If following Jesus, being a Christian, is so costly, why would you ever choose to do it? You wouldn’t book that holiday if you knew the hotel wasn’t built yet. You wouldn’t buy that house if you knew about the problems beforehand. Why then would you go with Jesus, if you know it will mean denying yourself and dying with him? Well here Jesus gives us three reasons why we should go and do just that. First, in 16:25, he points out the promise of life. He says: [READ].

There is a wonderful moment, at the end of John 6, when we are told of a point in Jesus ministry where he has just told the crowd some difficult truths, made such radical claims that many were offended by him and decided to follow him no longer. And in that moment, John tells us that Jesus turns to his disciples and asks, ‘Are you all going to leave me as well?’ And Peter, who fails so badly here in Matthew 16, responds so brilliantly there in John 6, for he simply says to Jesus, ‘To whom shall we go, you have the words of eternal life?’

Brothers and sisters, if you find yourself shirking back from the sacrifices, counting the cost of being a Christian, that is a good question to ask yourself: ‘Where else can I go? What else can I believe? What other option is there that leads to life?’ Yes, denying myself and following Jesus into death is difficult, but what other option is there? There is no one else that can give me eternal life! There is nowhere else I can go to find forgiveness and adoption into God’s family! Yes, this cross is heavy, but unless I die with Jesus, I will never live with him, unless I am crucified with Christ, I will never walk out of that tomb like him. Here in 16:25, Jesus reminds us that the only way we can save our lives, is by surrendering, sacrificing them. That’s the first motive for making such a sacrifice.

Second, is the profit of eternity. In 16:26, we read, ‘For... [READ].’ If you have ever sold something secondhand, whether a car on Autotrader or something on Facebook marketplace, you will have experienced the dilemma of trying to work out how much to sell it for. What would a good price be for this used bike? How much would I be willing to take for this old garden shed? Well, here Jesus is pushing us to consider a similar question. However, this time it is not considering how much you will sell random junk for, but how much will you sell your soul for? We’ve already heard that denying yourself and dying with Jesus is the only way to eternal life. And so, here Jesus asks us to consider what we would swap that for. What would be a good bargain if you were to trade your soul?

Brothers and sisters, have you ever thought about your decisions from that perspective? Exchanging eternal life for a flirty relationship with that colleague at work? Trade eternal joy for a few fleeting minutes of feeling good? What about selling your soul for a more secure job or more comfortable home? Or trading eternal peace with God for a more peaceful relationship with your spouse or child? Friends, I trust you see that those kinds of trades would make no sense at all. None of those are good bargains to make. You would be a fool to sell your soul for anything! Indeed, as Jesus puts it here, what good would it be if even you gained the whole world (all the wealth you could want, all the power and knowledge that is possible, all the pleasure that you could pack into 70 or 80 years), what good would it be to get all of that in exchange for your soul? For in the end, we all know that only a fool exchanges the things of eternity for the things of earth. And here Jesus reminds us of that, reminds us of the profit of eternity. As the missionary, Jim Elliot, famously put it, when deciding to give up comfort and security, home and health, to take the gospel to tribes of Ecuador: ‘He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.’

Finally, the third and final motive for making such a sacrifice, is the prospect of judgement in 16:27. There Jesus says: [READ]. Jesus urges his disciples, urges us all, to make decisions in this life with the next life in mind. To remember that one day the king who hung on a cross will sit on a throne, and all who risk themselves for him in this life will be rewarded in the next. Oh yes, we follow a suffering king, are called into a sacrificial kingdom, but one day our king will come to establish his kingdom, and everything we are called to deny ourselves and die to in following him now will be eclipsed by all the glory and joy we will enter into then.

Brothers and sisters, if you are finding your faith hard going at the moment, if the weight of the cross is weighing you down, if you feel like staying faithful is a burden you just can’t bear, see here three motives Jesus gives you for pressing on, for staying in his sacrificial kingdom. […]

And so, tonight, the question our passage leaves us with is not whether we can afford to follow Jesus, but whether we can afford not to follow him? Here you are pressed to consider, not how much will it cost you to be a Christian, but how much it would cost you to walk away from him?