[Propertalk] Fwd: GoodPreacher.com Preaching Matthew 16:21-28

Wed Aug 24 09:14:35 EDT 2011

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Preaching                        Matthew 16:21-28

>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. 

Notice the verb: show.                  Not "tell." Not "teach." Show. That makes a                  huge difference.

If he tells us, we can                  forget. Jerusalem? Who said anything about                    Jerusalem?! I don’t remember that; was I out sick                    that day, or something?

If he teaches us, we can                  misunderstand. Suffer and die?! Oh, okay: you                    mean metaphorically, right? This is a parable,                    right? Sure; we’re with you, Lord.

But if he shows                  us...well, that’s different. Then we have to look.                  Then we have to see.

This is a strange                  passage. It contains some of the most beautiful and                  soaring language in all scripture, yet the words                  themselves are achingly mysterious: "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." Then, just as                  mysteriously, Matthew seems to invert his own poetry                  by pointing out the limits of what language can                  accomplish. 

The limits are these.                  Jesus told his disciples who he was. He taught                  them the doctrine. Listen, he said: I am the Messiah,                  the Son of God. I am the victor and the suffering                  servant. I am the one who conquers death by laying                  down my life. If you want to be my follower, take up                  your cross and follow me, because I must 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. 

Do you hear?—Jesus said.                  Do you understand? No?

Well, I guess I’ll have                  to show you. From that time on, Jesus began to                    show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem. 

How do you think he did                  it? How did he begin to show them?

I suppose it happened in                  hundreds of ways. Calling a child to stand in the                  middle of them, and talking about who is greatest in                  the kingdom of heaven. Telling a story about the                  tenants of a vineyard who kill the vineyard owner’s                  son. Talking about a cup that they must drink, just as                  he will drink it.

I suppose Jesus tried to                  show his disciples in every way a teacher can                  think of. But how do you show them, without the cross?

You can’t.

Maybe this is precisely                  what is missing in our churches. We have shown one                  another a lot of resurrection triumph, but not a lot                  of suffering. We don’t have much encouragement for                  showing one another our own paths to Jerusalem, and                  how we have had to take up our own crosses and follow                  him. 

Fred Gaiser, an Old                  Testament scholar at Luther Seminary in St. Paul,                  Minnesota, tells a story about how he recently did an                  impromptu survey of church mission statements. He                  looked at websites and old bulletins to see what                  churches were saying about themselves, and how they                  presented themselves to the world. What he found, he                  says, astonished him. The churches generally described                  their mission in terms of being warm and welcoming                  communities. They wrote of their commitment to serve                  Jesus by ministering to the needs of the community.                  They described their efforts to provide excellent                  educational programs, fellowship opportunities, and                  weekly worship. They declared themselves committed to                  inspiring, biblical preaching. But not a church                    he surveyed mentioned the call to suffer in Jesus’                    name. What was missing from practically every                  mission statement was the cross—at least, the cross                  Jesus is trying to show us in this passage. 

Gaiser is a wise and                  loving scholar. He understands that it is hard for any                  of us to look at the cross. But how do we even begin                  to look if we are afraid to show it? 

>From that time on,                    Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to                    Jerusalem. 

I guess it takes a long                  time for him to show us, because it takes a long time                  for us to get up the courage to look. Or to name that                  what is really happening in our lives is not the                  victory story the world tells, but the resurrection                  story the church tells. Going to Jerusalem is about                  the hardest thing a human being can do. Showing                  someone else the nail prints in our palms is even                  harder.

How is this happening,                  where you are? How do you and your people show one                  another the cross? How do you show the world?

Do you find it easier to                  talk about the cross, or to preach about it, than to                  show it?

What do you wish could                  change?

Let him begin to show                  us. He knows the best way to do it. Perhaps we can                  hold one another's hands, take a deep breath, and                  look. 

Anna Carter Florence

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