Matthew 16 Pt.3 – The-Way Of The Cross!

by Michael Robson

We see in this section the words ‘From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples‘ (Matt.16:21) what ‘must‘ take place, which included going up to Jerusalem, suffering at the hands of the religious leaders there, being killed, and that He would be raised again on the third day. But of course this was not the course that Peter and the rest of the disciples had envisioned for the Messiah. They now believed wholeheartedly that Jesus was The Messiah, The Christ, but they just had never factored in a suffering Messiah. And so Peter, took Jesus to one side to give Him some advice and the tell Him that there was no way that these things would ever happen to Him, that God would never allow it. In fact one translation says, “God forbid that any such thing would happen to You, Lord.”

This was Peter, the rock, that moments before had shown that he was good building material, that he was a rock that Jesus would build His church upon. But that rock was already beginning to crumble. And Jesus had to rebuke him for getting in the way of God and God’s plans.

There was no way to avoid the suffering, and that this was the way that Jesus was going, and that this was the way that followers of Christ can expect to experience themselves. So, to be a follower of Jesus you need to count the cost. Will you be a disciple of Jesus. Then you need to deny yourself, take up the cross, and follow Him.

To watch the video of this sermon, click on this link!

Michael Robson