The importance of sacrifice

Devotions

Reading: NLT Matthew 16:21 From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that he had to go to Jerusalem, and he told them what would happen to him there. He would suffer at the hands of the leaders and the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, and he would be raised on the third day. 22 But Peter took him aside and corrected him. "Heaven forbid, Lord," he said. "This will never happen to you!" 23 Jesus turned to Peter and said, "Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, and not from God's." 24 Then Jesus said to the disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. 25 If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. 26 And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul? 27 For I, the Son of Man, will come in the glory of my Father with his angels and will judge all people according to their deeds.


Meditation:

Literal: The Holy Spirit has just revealed to Peter that Jesus is the Christ the son of the living God. Jesus has assured the disciples that the Messianic community that he called “the Church” would be victorious in smashing the gates of hell and that they had true spiritual authority to bind or loose on earth.

Then in the midst of this optimistic and upbeat message, Jesus puts forward a dark cloud. He will go to Jerusalem and be killed. He adds that he will be raised on the third day but this seems to not be heard by Peter or the others. They get emotionally stuck on the fact that Jesus just said that he would be killed which seems to wipe out all the optimistic dreams which had just be spoken.

Peter, then takes Jesus aside privately to correct his theology. “Lord, you are the Messiah, the Messiah cannot die!” Jesus strongly rebukes Peter for this. He calls him an adversary or “Satan” since at this point he is speaking merely from the perspective of a friend and human wisdom, not inspired by the Holy Spirit. Jesus knows that suffering is part of the price of establishing God’s kingdom. Suffering is part of God’s plan.

Jesus then warns the disciples to understand that even though the gates of hell will not stand against them, this does not mean they will not suffer. No instead they must understand that their victory will come through suffering, sacrifice, and pain. Only where people are willing to suffer for the sake of God’s kingdom will the will of God be done on the earth as in heaven. The defeat of hell depends upon the sacrifice of heaven. Only by dying to earthly perspectives, pleasures, and purposes can the disciple become a source of life.

Jesus stresses that the eternal must be valued more than the temporal. The soul must be seen of greater value than the body. While His sacrifice for our sins alone the basis of our acceptance by God we must never believe that “faith” does not include turning away form immoral pleasures and purposes. To believe means to take up one’s cross and follow Jesus. We must never think to use grace and promise as an excuse for not striving to follow. Jesus will judge everything one day and He will not be mocked by people who try to “spiritually con” their way into heaven. The sincerity and reality of our faith will be tested on that day. It is therefore important that we have a faith that accepts sacrifice.

Christocentric: Jesus is Lord. He will be the final judge. He is 100% God and 100% man. His evaluation of our lives is all that matters. He will be the one that ultimately determines our eternal fate and evaluates the validity of our faith. This one person is the most important person in the entire universe. All authority and power rests in Him.

Moral: Jesus urges us to deny ourselves the comfort of false beliefs, immoral passions and uncontrolled appetites by abstinence and the acceptance of pain or discomfort from persecution and loss of ungodly pleasures as necessary elements of our discipleship.

Eternal: Every decision we make should be one that we will be proud of on the Day of Judgment when Jesus examines all our deeds. Judge everything in light of judgment day.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me have the grace and strength to take up my cross today and follow you.

Contemplation: Follow me!

Action: Let me look for ways to die to worldly perspectives and pleasures today. Help me seek the “my cross” where my will has to die in order to do the will of God. Lord, give me the grace to take up my cross today!