IF ANYONE WOULD COME AFTER MEPRIVATE 

Matthew 16:13-28

Key Verse 16:24

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.'"

This passage teaches us the blessedness of the life that follows Jesus.

1. Read vs. 13-16. How is the people's understanding of Jesus different from that of Simon Peter's? What was responsible for the difference?

** People then (and now) were not sure about who Jesus really was. Their understanding fell short of who Jesus really was. But Simon Peter hit the nail on the head. He gave an accurate answer as to who Jesus really was and is.

** The crowd did not commit themselves to following Jesus. But Simon did. It has been said, "Commitment often precedes revelation." So if you truly want to know Jesus better, then fully commit yourself to him.

2. Read v. 16 again. What does "the Christ" mean? What does "the Son of the 'Living' God" suggest to us about how Jesus struck Simon Peter? 

** "The Christ" literally means "the Anointed One." It refers to the one the Lord God appointed to save all peoples on earth from the power of sin and death, and thus bring them into his kingdom. In Hebrew "the Christ" is translated as "the Messiah." In Jewish thought "the Messiah" is the one who will restore what we have lost due to the sin of Adam and all of his descendants.  [Technically, in Jewish thought, the Messiah is the one who will rescue the nation of Israel from its enemies and bring world peace.  But as believers in Jesus the Messiah, we must first recognize that the Messiah rescued us from our "spiritual" enemies, e.g., sin and death, and brought peace internally, inside each of us; however, when he returns, he will bring all of this about externally. In other words, Jesus the Messiah first saves us internally and later, when he comes again, externally as well.]

** Jesus struck him as the son of the God who is not dead but alive, or living. By the word "living" Simon meant what is truly living, like live fish moving really fast in the Sea of Galilee. He understood what was living and what was dead. He saw daily God working powerfully, giving otherwise dead and dying men life in and of and for God! He saw Jesus full of life and vigor! 

3. Read vs. 17-20. Who revealed this knowledge to Simon? What vision did Jesus see in Peter's confession of faith? 

** The Living God. 

** Jesus saw this faith (consisting of the knowledge of Jesus and the purpose of his coming) spreading among many. Furthermore, he saw the kingdom of the devil being reduced to nothing and the kingdom of God expanding powerfully, with the result that the power of the kingdom of hell will eventually be defeated by the power of the kingdom of God. This vision is being fulfilled among us even today.

4. Read vs. 21-23. What does Jesus' teaching in v. 21 and his rebuke of Simon Peter suggest to us about the kind of "Christ" God had in mind, and the kind of "Christ" Simon Peter had in mind? What was the problem with the kind of Christ Simon (and certainly many others) had in mind? What can we learn from Jesus' rebuke of Simon? 

** The kind of Christ God has in mind is the spiritual Christ who will work salvation in a person's life from the inside-out, that is, by first solving a person's internal sin problems, and then transforming that person into a child of God. The point is God desires to save souls through the grace of our Lord Jesus' self-sacrifice. 

The kind of Christ Peter had in mind was a political Christ who would defeat the Roman Empire by force and build a messianic kingdom. 

** Simon's version does not solve man's fundamental problem, that is, his sin problem. It only touches upon superficialities, such as a change in the political regime, without actually changing each person first. 

** We must remember that God's idea is far better than our own (cf. Isa 55:8-9). Thus we must discipline ourselves so that we would always be mindful of what God says in the Bible and go by what he says in the Bible, even if we do not necessarily understand all that is written in the Bible.

5. Read v. 24 and think about the three requirements: 1) "deny himself"; 2) "take up his cross"; and 3) "follow me." How are they related to one another? They all seem unpleasant. Yet how will they help us to come after Jesus? 

** They are related to one another in two ways: 1) They are progressive; each can only occur after the other, in sequential order. The first must occur first, then the second, and finally the third. 

2) They are all necessary; if any one is missing, then all is pretty much lost. For example, the first two are necessary for the third to occur. Also, even after we have done the first two, we must still do the third. Actually, the first two are only needed in order for us to do the third one better. 

** They will help us to come after Jesus in three ways: 1) If we deny ourselves, then Jesus is willing to reveal himself to us. 

2) If we take up our cross - like the cross of waking up early in the morning and doing daily bread, or the cross of studying hard, or the cross of teaching the Bible to others - all for Jesus' glory alone, then we can practically experience the power of the resurrection, for Jesus supplies us with the power and strength to do his will. 

3) If we follow Jesus, Jesus then helps us to do everything very well, for Jesus' way is the perfect way to do everything very well. 

6. Read vs. 25-26. What does this passage suggest to us about: 1) our inability to save ourselves; 2) the world as a stumbling block to the salvation of a soul; and 3) the condition that must first be satisfied within a man before Jesus is able to save him? 

** We are flawed in many ways. Of course, there is the doctrine of original sin. It is obvious that we are not God. God is perfect. We are imperfect. God is the Creator. We are his creation. So just as a computer cannot take care of itself, so too we are unable to remain self-sufficient as far as supplying ourselves with that which is eternal (cf. Romans 7:7-24). 

** Like man, whom God created, so too is everything in the world (e.g., money) God's creation. What is created cannot create. So the world cannot give life to man. But those who do not know God, the real source of life, are condemned to follow after the world. This is therefore a great stumbling block to a person's salvation. 

** We must of our own volition surrender ourselves to Jesus Christ, asking for his help, for unlike the dictators of this world, Jesus never violates our free will. He respects our will to run our own lives as we see fit, doing whatever we want to do with our lives. This is what Jesus really meant when he said that we must lose our lives for him.

7. Read vs. 27-28 and describe the blessedness of a life that follows Jesus in the way taught here in the passage. 

** Two blessings are here: 1) the reward Jesus will give us at the time of his second coming and 2) a taste of his eternal kingdom, such as a taste of his infinite, unlimited joy. 

** Write a Bible testimony on one thing you learned from the passage.  

 

 

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