The cross is the crux.

Matthew 16:21-29

 To really get the full impact of today’s scripture, we need to review the road Matthew’s taken us down. * Let’s begin with the first thirteen chapters.  They answer these questions: Who is Jesus? What did he do and say? Why did he come? The answers revolve around Jesus being the Jewish Messiah and establish his fame. This was beginning to look like the Old Testament come true.

 * Then Matthew puts on the brakes and skids through a sharp curve. There’s a problem. We’ve had hints of opposition from the religious leaders but nothing has really happened. Now he mentions the U-word for the first time [Read 13:58] unbelief. The opposition is getting dangerous.

  * It was actually Code Red! Some wanted to destroy him.  * Some were skeptical and rejected him. Jesus’ fame isn’t the end of the story. We have to keep reading to see how he handles it.

 * The next three chapters answer some of the same questions as the first thirteen. Jesus’ power and wisdom are linked to his divine identity as the Son of God but . . . Son of God isn’t a Jewish concept.  Hmmm! Also his power and wisdom do not flow through exclusively Jewish conductors. And he then drops a bomb; he is going to build his church.

  * The first two sections of the outline look like this. In Matthew 15:24 Jesus said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Notice the past tense. That’s what was going on in the first 13 chapters. In Matthew 16:18 Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Notice the future tense. In the next three chapters Jesus set the stage for his church and Christianity

 But he had a formidable task. It isn’t easy to replace one spiritual worldview with another. The old way was in the hands of an evil and adulterous generation who didn’t know God.  They wouldn’t be any help.  Jesus‘ task would take a lot of oomph.

 To illustrate how powerful and dramatic that task would have to be think of the space shuttle

When the shuttle blasts off it’s powered by two solid rocket boosters and by three main shuttle engines. The boosters are used only for the first stage while the three main engines burn for both stages and establish the shuttle in its orbit. The Old Testament (law, sacrifices, priests) was just the first stage of God’s plan.  Jesus had to separate from them old way to get Christianity into orbit.

 That brings us to the crux of the matter. How did he do it? How did he separate from the old?

  Matthew 16:21-23.  Page 1156.

  * 21 From that time on Jesus began to say plainly to his disciples, “I must go to Jerusalem and suffer much from the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. I will be put to death, but three days later I will be raised to life.” 22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “God forbid it, Lord!” he said. “That must never happen to you!” 23 Jesus turned around and said to Peter, “Get away from me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my way, because these thoughts of yours don’t come from God, but from human nature.” 

* So how did he plan to do it?  How was he going to shift from law to grace, bring an end to sacrifices and shift from Jewish temple worship to build his church?

* He did it by dying on the cross and rising on the third day. The cross was the crux. Wiktionary (/en.wiktionary.org) says crux is the critical or transitional moment, a turning point. The cross was the transitional moment between:

· The Old and New Testaments

· The law and grace

· The written code and the Holy Spirit  

· Judaism and Christianity

* God ordained the old system but on its own it couldn’t save anyone.  It was only affective for those who looked forward in faith to the Messiah.  

The old way with its written code wasn’t bad it was just incomplete. It pointed the way to salvation through Christ.  

His fame wasn’t enough by itself. He had to die and the Jewish religious leaders who had veered away from God were the instruments God used to put Jesus on the cross.

That old hymn, There’s Power in the Blood, had it right.  * Jesus talked to his disciples about this at the last supper when he told them: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you (Luke 22:20).

* The New Testament writers knew Jesus’ blood was the crux. One said: By calling this covenant “new,” Jesus has made the first one obsolete (Hebrews 8:13).  Jesus’ blood shed on the cross was the power that ended stage one of God’s shuttle.

* Paul said Christ has sent him to preach the gospel – not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1Corinthians 1:17-18).

Peter was as wrong as he could be when he tried to persuade Jesus that dying was a bad idea. He was so off that Jesus called him Satan. Moments before Peter had identified Jesus as the Messiah and Jesus had called him a rock. Then with his bungled thinking, Jesus called him a stumbling block. Since then people have continued to have trouble with the power of Jesus’ blood.

How do we not make the same mistake? How do we apply this to our lives? Jesus gives us the answer.

Matthew 16:24-28. Page 1156.  

* 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me.  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. 26 Will you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life? Of course not! There is nothing you can give to regain your life. 27 For the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will reward each one according to his deeds. 28 I assure you that there are some here who will not die until they have seen the Son of Man come as King.”

After Jesus had established his fame, remember what he did. He called his disciples and sent them out to do what he’d been doing with his own power.

* Now he’s doing the same thing but he explains that for us to have the same power we also will have to carry our cross. We die to self. We humble ourselves and put other people’s interests ahead of our own. God gives us to others for their salvation. We give up control of our little world.

Following Jesus and taking up our own crosses is the crux for a powerful Christian life.

This talk about power isn’t just poetic, it’s real. * God calls us to follow Jesus and he gives us power to do it (Acts 1:8, 1Timothy 1:7). Scriptures tie our power to suffering and dying to self. It’s power to labor in the harvest:

Jesus was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him to serve you (2Corinthians 13:4).

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death (Philippians 3:10).

Do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God (2Timothy 1:8).

 * Hebrews 7:16 says that Jesus achieved what he did on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. That’s what Jesus had in mind when he said that if we lose our life for Christ’s sake we’ll find it. You and I can share his power of an indestructible life. No more fear.

  * So we have more answers. Where did Jesus get his wisdom and miraculous powers? How did he break with tradition to lay the foundation for his church? By being obedient unto death. By the power of his blood. By dying and rising. The cross is the crux. The incomparably great power that raised him from the dead is also for us who believe (Ephesians 1:19-20). What more do we need?

 Youth Message

Blood Power

Did you ever get cut and start to bleed? It’s kind of scary, isn’t it? When we bleed we try to get it to stop. Right?

Children your size have about this much blood so every drop is important. [Show jar containing a little more than half a gallon of red water.]

The Bible says that the life of a creature is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11.) We lose that blood and we die. 

But blood is important for another reason. The Bible also says that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews (9:22). That’s why Jesus had to die on the cross and bleed.

How may of you have ever taken communion. Before we drink the juice do you know what I say? I hold up the cup and I quote Jesus words. He said: This cup is the new covenant in my blood shed for the forgiveness of sins (Luke 22:20 and Matthew 26:28).

Blood is powerful stuff. It keeps us alive and Jesus’ blood enables us to be forgiven. His blood also gives us the power to forgive other people when they hurt us. His blood gives us power to be obedient.