“The Necessity of Death”

(Matthew 16:21-28)

Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

January 12, 2020

The Passage

Matthew 16:21-28

21 From then on Jesus began to point out to his disciples that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and be raised the third day. 22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, “Oh no, Lord! This will never happen to you!”

23 Jesus turned and told Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns.”

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. 26 For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each according to what he has done. 28 Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Introductory Comments:

Have you ever had a moment of great triumph only to have it followed up with a moment of great failure? At one moment you’re on top of the clouds; the next moment you’re down in the dumps. 

We’re going to see that this was the case for Peter in today’s passage. 

We’re going to see that Jesus had some harsh words for Peter because Peter and the other apostles didn’t understand what it meant for Jesus to be Messiah.

Jesus is going to teach us about what it means for Him to be Messiah and what it means for us to follow Him as Messiah. 

Let’s pray together and ask God to speak to us as we study this passage. 

(prayer)

We see from last week’s passage that Peter and the other apostles understood that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God. However, they didn’t know what all of that meant. 

As Jesus started to explain to Peter what it meant for Him to be Messiah, Peter has a negative reaction. Jesus meets that with a more negative reaction. 

Then, Jesus offers clarity for His disciples. These words help them understand what kind of Messiah He is and they help us understand more about Him as our Messiah and Lord. 

As we learn from God’s Word, we will discover two necessities in this passage. 

First, . . .

I. The necessity of Jesus’ death. (vv. 21-23) [on screen]

Remember, the common thought was that Jesus would come as a conquering king Messiah. However, Jesus came instead as a suffering servant Messiah. 

He points His apostles to that reality here in this passage. Let’s take a look. 

Look at verse 21:

21 From then on Jesus began to point out to his disciples that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and be raised the third day. 

Jesus was getting more detailed in His predictions about what would happen to Him at His arrest, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. In fact, Jesus gets real specific here:

Jesus says He will go to Jerusalem. 

Jesus says He will suffer many things from the religious leaders. 

Jesus says He will be killed. 

Finally, Jesus says He will rise from the dead on the third day. 

This is very detailed and specific and the disciples are starting to realize what is going on. 

However, they don’t necessarily like what they are hearing!

Listen to how Peter responds. Listen to verse 22:

22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, “Oh no, Lord! This will never happen to you!”

Peter said, “Never! Never, Lord!” We see later in the Gospels that Peter even takes measures to try and prevent Jesus from being arrested. 

Jesus is their teacher, friend, master, and more. He is their Messiah, the Son of the living God. 

Peter and