August 30, 2020

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

The theme last week was “We Are Peter.” We are Peter when we confess our faith like Peter did; when we confess that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Our faith is built upon the solid rock foundation of Jesus Christ. The name “Peter” means “Rock,” and with Peter we become stones, building blocks in the church of Jesus Christ.

Today we become like Peter in a different way. This is when we become a hindrance, a stumbling block to the Gospel.

Last week Jesus asked his disciples “Who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” The trouble is that Peter had the common idea of what the Messiah/Christ would be like. People were waiting for a Savior who would deliver their country from the occupation by Rome. They were not necessarily waiting for a religious leader. They wanted a strong political and military leader who would bring freedom and peace. He would fight gloriously and victoriously. The country of Israel would again be powerful and rich as in the days of Kings David and Solomon. And so Peter was disappointed when Jesus told him that his mission would be different. It sounded to Peter that Jesus was going to be a failure. We read, “Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” To Peter, that did not sound like the work of the Messiah. And so, Peter wanted to give advice to his teacher. “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.”

Peter had it all wrong. Jesus wanted to stop this mistake right there and then. Jesus said, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, it was the temptation to give up the road of suffering and weakness. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was tempted to run away from the suffering and the cross. And so, like Satan, Peter was also suggesting that Jesus give up the suffering, the trial, and the cross. The trouble is that that would also prevent the forgiveness of sin and the resurrection on the third day. It would mean that Jesus would not be our Savior.

We become Peter when we become a hindrance to the Gospel. This can happen when in our pride we refuse to confess our sin and accept the forgiveness of our sins. This is a type of unfaith. Or perhaps like Peter, we are embarrassed by the cross. We might be ashamed that our wonderful Jesus had to suffer so badly and be crucified. This makes evangelism and sharing our faith difficult because it is hard to explain to others what is hard for us to understand ourselves. It is hard to see how death can bring life, that condemnation can bring freedom, that pain can bring healing. Peter could not understand it, and we are like Peter. And we also become a hindrance to Jesus when we prevent the Gospel from being power in our lives and in the lives of others. The power of the Gospel is what Jesus did on the cross. The power of the Gospel is the forgiveness of sin. That forgiveness is shown in our love and kindness and mercy towards others, which is the same love and kindness and mercy that God shows to us.

Jesus said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!” He did not condemn Peter. He did tell him to go away. He said, “Get behind me.” “Follow me.” Jesus tells us the same thing. “Get behind me.” When we follow Jesus we see what it means to be a Christian. Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” I think Peter was surprised to hear these words. He did not want to take up his cross. He did not want to die. He denied Jesus three times. He did not want to lose his life. But after the Resurrection, Peter learned that Jesus did have the power to give life. As recorded in the Book of Acts, Peter learned how to break down the walls of hindrance. He preached the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles. On Pentecost he proclaimed the power of the Holy Spirit. He proclaimed baptism and the forgiveness of sin.

And so we are Peter. We are like him in our confession of faith, in our fear of persecution and suffering, in our following the way of the Lord, and in our living as a Christian.

Let us pray the Prayer of the Day.

“Almighty God, Your Son willingly endured the agony and shame of the cross for our redemption. Grant us courage to take up our cross daily and follow Him wherever He leads; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.”

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church

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マイケル・ニアフッド、牧師
沖縄ルーテル教会

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