“Get Behind Me”
Pastor David Moore
Old Testament reading: Isaiah 53:1‐10
Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account.
Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people. They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the Lord shall prosper.
Jesus explains the coming events to the disciples and prepares them for troubling events ahead that will grow them into active believers.
New Testament reading: Matthew 16:21‐27
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. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” 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.”
Then Jesus told His disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. 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?
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.
The disciples do not understand that Jesus is a different Messiah, Jesus is and will become a servant Messiah who is spoken about in Isaiah. ~D. Moore
Jesus will share with the disciples the vision that God has for Him as a servant to the world. ~D. Moore
But Jesus knows my need to grow in faith, in the knowledge and love of Him, so He puts me, time and again, into situations that require me to have more faith. It isn’t easy, but Jesus knows how I grow. And how Peter isn’t growing if he is going to lead the church and beyond Jesus’ death and resurrection. These events will show us and Peter how much faith he has to grow in truly trusting Jesus with everything he is. Peter and we are being called on the water again. ~D. Moore
What do I really want in life: the success of God’s agenda of grace or the fulfillment of my catalog of desires? ~Paul David Tripp
It is easy for me, and maybe for you, to set my mind on worldly concerns rather than work towards God’s agenda. ~D. Moore
An interesting moment with Jesus and Peter. Peter is “called the rock” and He would build His church on that foundation. And a moment later, Peter is a stumbling block, who has the capacity to bless others and God, or to be used by Satan to cause others to stumble. Let’s make sure our lives are in a place where God can build from, rather than something people stumble over. ~D. Moore
The five verses on discipleship are the distilled water of the sermon on the mount. Here is what Jesus is saying: discipleship is risking one’s life on the dare, the belief that Jesus is it—God, savior, protector, provider, our sacrifice. If Jesus is it, this is the logical choice: to follow Him, no matter what the cost, no matter what the task. ~D. Moore
There are two different understandings of what it looks like to take up one’s cross.
1) Passive understanding to endure trial, and temptations that come into your life.
2) The more active view of picking up your cross is counter to the cultural norm and an example would be going against our culture of abortion.
Matthew 16:25: For if you want to save your own life you will lose it; but if you lose your life for my sake, you will find it.
This week: Pray for the strength to pick up one’s cross. Pray for the courage and perseverance to go through the challenge as we grow in our faith and trust in Jesus.
Have a good week!