Christ Foretells of His Death and Resurrection

["Click here for Matthew's account"]
["Click here for Mark's account"]
["Click here for Luke's account"]

We will use Matthew's account, as there is very little difference in the three. They are still in the region of Caesarea Philippi. Peter had just confessed that he believed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus had charged them to tell no one. Then Jesus began to tell the Disciples what laid ahead for Him. The outline was simply this:

1. He must go to Jerusalem.
2. There He must suffer many things from the Elders, Chief Priests and Scribes.
3. He would then be killed.
4. He would rise from the dead on the third day.

Jesus attempted one other time to tell someone of this. It was Nicodemus, he didn't understand either.

Notice it is Peter again who speaks without thinking. This time he also speaks without hearing. He appears to have heard the first three but either did not hear or did not understand the fourth. It is an established fact that after a "mountain top" experience, the Devil will go to work. Peter had had a mountaintop experience. The Holy Spirit had worked thru him and he shouted with all the boldness that only Peter could muster, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Here, only a short time later, he who had been called "blessed" was called "Satan". Why did Jesus call Peter Satan? Peter had demonstrated, by his words, that he would allow his feelings for Jesus to get in the way of God's plan. Anything that gets in the way of God's plan is of Satan. We do not read of anything done or said by any of the Disciples at any time that displeased Jesus as much as this. Peter had now been spoken to by the Holy Spirit and by the Devil and apparently he did not know one from the other. Matthew Henry in his commentary says that we should know the Devil's voice when he speaks thru a Saint as well as thru a serpent.

In thus speaking, Peter's protectiveness and compassion became an obstacle to Christ's mission. No one should get in the way of God's plan for man's salvation. Secondly, it showed how Peter still did not understand the things that Jesus had been teaching him. Many things in this world interfere with our understanding.

Then Jesus turns from his own suffering to the suffering that they must endure. Here are the terms of discipleship:

1. We must follow Him in duty, suffering, walking in His way and seeking to emulate His life.
2. We must deny ourselves. This is the opposite of what Peter wanted Jesus to do. We must not admire ourselves or the comforts of this world nor should we "humor" ourselves. We must not seek to satisfy our appetites.
3. We must take up His cross. This will undoubtedly bring suffering, persecutions and troubles, but the cross should provide Grace sufficient for all of this. (A word of warning, do not make crosses for yourself, there is no merit in self persecution)

Then He defines discipleship as anyone who would deny himself and take up the cross of Christ and follow Him. A disciple who gives up his "life" for Christ shall find it. Any one who would save his "life", will loose it. The R.S.V. translates it as I have written it. The K.J. replaces the word "life" with the word "soul". The Living Bible uses the words "eternal life". "For whoever would save his life, soul or eternal life, will loose it, and whoever looses his life, soul or eternal life, for my sake, shall find it." For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and looses his life, soul or eternal life. As Calvinists we can only accept the word "life" as the proper translation, as we believe in the doctrines of Justification by faith, apart from works, and the doctrine of the Eternal Security of the believer.

To many, this is a difficult scripture. A study of the Greek does not help much. The Greek word in the original scripture is "psuche", a derivative of the word "psucho". Psuche means "spirit" and not to be confused with "pneuma" which is the immortal soul or "zoe" which is physical vitality. It translates better into the Hebrew word "nephesh" which means breath of life. So it would appear that the best translation would be, "Whoever would save his breath of life will loose it and whoever will loose his breath of life for my sake, will find it."

Matthew Henry says, "This alludes to the common principal that whatever a man gets, if it costs him his life to get it, will be of no good to him", which seems to be referring to the "breath of life".

Then Christ tells us to look beyond the sufferings of this world to the ultimate Glory of His Second Coming. He gives us assurance that we will share in that Glory. If looking at the cross and the humiliation of it discourages us, then look at the ultimate conquest and know that we will share in the ultimate victory and them we will know that nothing is too hard to do or too much to suffer for Him.

Verse 28 is sometimes mis-understood. "Some standing here will not taste death until they see the Son of Man come in His Kingdom." The resurrection of Christ was the beginning of His Kingdom of Grace. Only one of the Disciples died before that occurred. The disciples were to be the instruments for the setting up of His Kingdom. Thus we see here, in the last year of His ministry, Jesus playing down His humanity and emphasizing His divine nature and plan.

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