Download Sermons from Risen Savior Lutheran Church, Orlando Florida

Pastor Steven Blumer
Risen Savior Lutheran Church
Orlando, Florida
15th Sunday after Pentecost
24 August 2008
The Cross Turns Things Upside Down
Matthew 16:21-26
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus,
Now that school has started, I have to ask: How many 5th graders are here today? Now for all
the rest: Are you smarter than a fifth grader? You probably know, that’s the name of a TV
game show in which adults see how they would do if they were in a fifth grade classroom. Are
you smarter than a fifth grader? I figured most of you would probably say, “Yes.” So I thought
it would be fun to test yourselves with some sample questions from the game show. So, I have
five sample 5th grade questions to see how you really stack up.
1. What is plural of moose? (moose, mooses, meese)
2. A bottlenose dolphin is a fish. (true or false)
3. What do Entomologists study? (volcanoes, energy or insects)
4. The island of Corsica is part of what country? (Spain, France, Italy)
5. How long must a US president be resident of the US? (10, 14 years, his whole life)
Now the last one, which is not from the game show:
6. Who is Jesus? (a great teacher, a prophet, the Messiah)
As we heard last week, Peter got the last question right. He was smarter than a 5th grader, and
since there weren’t grade schools back then, Peter felt he was smarter than almost all the other
adults too. But Peter wasn’t ready for the next thing that Jesus was going to teach his disciples.
He wasn’t ready for the cross. And the cross turned all his wisdom upside down. That’s true to
this very day.
The Cross Turns Things Upside Down
The first thing that the cross turned upside down was Peter. Remember how Peter had confessed
his faith so accurately? He knew the right answer, that Jesus was the Christ, the son of the living
God, but he didn’t fully understand what that meant. Last week, we heard how Jesus had
complimented Peter, and called him a rock, one of the foundation stones of his church, built on
Jesus, the big rock. But now we see how:
1. Peter goes from Building Block to Stumbling Block
We continue where we left off last week in the Gospel of Matthew: 21 From that time on
Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things
at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed
and on the third day be raised to life. To the disciples, this didn't make any sense at all.
There was shocked silence from all of them, except for Peter. But instead of blurting our his
comments like usual, even he decided to talk to Jesus privately. 22 Peter took him aside and
began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!" “No way!
How can you say such things? You're the Son of God, the promised Messiah, They can't do this
to you! Execution on a cross, like a criminal? You have the power to stop anyone dead in their
tracks!" The part about rising on the third day didn’t register – in one ear and out the other. The
idea of a cross was just so horrific. The cross had turned Peter upside down.
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to
me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." Does that sound a
little harsh to you? After all, Peter was concerned, he cared a lot for Jesus, and that’s what love
is. Peter was sincere, but he was also wrong, devilishly wrong. Jesus had to point out: Peter,
you're just like Satan himself, trying to tempt me, and deceive me, trying to get me to think I can
be the Messiah, the Savior of the world, without suffering and dying. The devil had tried to
sidetrack Jesus before, and now Peter was trying to do the same.
That’s where he went from being a building block of the church to a stumbling block for Jesus.
The idea of a stumbling block, is this: it’s a stone that’s in your path, and if you don’t watch out
for it, you will stumble and fall. Peter’s admonition was doing the devil’s work in trying to get
Jesus to stumble and fall.
The word also means a trap, like an animal trap. You know how a mouse trap works. When that
little furry creature grabs the bait, the spring loaded iron bar snaps shut right on the animal.
That’s what Satan had in mind for Jesus if he could just get him to forget about the cross.
And it’s not only Jesus, that is what Satan had in mind for Peter too. Peter was a stumbling block
for Jesus, and he became a stumbling block for himself. He couldn’t take the cross seriously.
Jesus, this will never happen to you. Why should he have to die? It didn’t make sense.
Perhaps that’s because God having to pay for sin didn’t make sense. Peter thought the animal
sacrifices at the temple were enough. He didn’t understand just how serious sin was.
That’s why St. Paul said: We preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and
foolishness to Gentiles. 1 Cor. 1:13 Why would this message of a crucified Savior be a trap for
people like Peter or you or me? Satan would like to trap us in thinking that sin is not so bad.
Everybody does it. People lie, they cheat, they lust, they get greedy. Everyone in school or
work uses bad language, they curse, they are lazy on purpose and spend their time gossiping. No
big deal. Just do a few good things for God, make a couple of sacrifices of time and money and
do you duty once in awhile by going to church, and everything will be fine with God. What do
you need a Savior for? We would like to forget about God’s awful decree: The soul that sins
will die. And there is no escape, except for Jesus.
There’s a Lenten hymn which says:
Stricken, smitten and afflicted, See him dying on the tree.
“Tis the Christ, by man rejected; Yes, my soul, ‘tis he, ‘tis he.
If you think of sin but lightly nor suppose the evil great,
Here you see its nature rightly, Here it’s guilt may estimate.
That’s the cross, as it turns the world’s wisdom upside down. Jesus had to die, to take death for
us. And don’t forget that part that Peter skipped over. On the third day he rose again. So Jesus
said: Because I live, you also will live!.
And that, my friends, changes everything. Jesus’ death and resurrection turns our lives upside
down.
2. Our lives go from Self-Seeking to Cross-Bearing
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. [25] For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but
whoever loses his life for me will find it. [26] What good will it be for a man if he gains the
whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
Think again of what Jesus means by a cross. For Jesus' original disciples, this talk about taking
up a cross was graphic language. When a man picked up a cross, he did not come home again.
Our Lord is asking for total dedication, even to the point of death. This is a call to discipleship
that’s radical. It turns our thinking upside down. We would like live like the rest of the world,
and Jesus is saying: that’s not going to cut it.
The world says: Indulge yourself. Jesus says. Deny yourself. The world says, Assert yourself,
show 'em whose boss. Jesus says: Humble yourself, like me and take up your cross. The world
encourages: You gotta find yourself and be good to yourself. Jesus says: Lose yourself for my
sake, live for me, and you will find life!! The world says: Go for everything you can get. Jesus
says: What good will that be if you lose your soul?
Let me make it perfectly clear. Our council has been wrestling with what we need to do in these
hard economic times. It’s a fact that just about every church has felt a crunch on offerings
because of rising prices and loss of jobs, and we’re no different. But why exactly do we have a
problem? We still have been blessed with so much in the way of material goods, in the richest
country on earth. But it’s a fact that many of us just don’t take our church and its needs as
seriously as our own comfort. How many are willing to drive an older car so that offerings can
increase? How many are willing to do without the latest toys and computer gizmos and games,
or a simpler wardrobe, because the work of the Gospel needs it. How many cherish our
fellowship more than going to the latest movie? How many of us are helping our brothers and
sisters who have lost jobs or homes, and need some assistance themselves? How many would
rather go to a Bible study and make a plan to grow in faith rather than sit on the couch and watch
some more TV?
But Jesus’ cross turns our lives upside down, from self-seeking to cross-bearing. Think of little
Janie is singing a Christian song she learned in Bible Camp, and she keeps singing even when
the neighborhood kids make fun of her. Think of the Christian teenager who gets taunted about
all the fun he is missing when he decides to obey his parents and the law. Think of the Christian
collegiate who is ridiculed in the classroom for sticking with that "stuff from the Dark ages in the
Bible." Outside of the classroom, there's more ridicule for trying to remain morally pure until
marriage. Think of the Christian at work, who speaks up when Christ’s name is taken in vain,
and doesn’t care if the others think she’s a fanatic. Think of the Christian who faces the loss of a
job or misses a promotion because "you just don't seem to be willing to give enough to your job -with all your commitments for your family and your church." That’s cross bearing during the
week, giving ourselves to the Lord who gave himself for us.
The cross turns things upside down. But that’s mostly about the cross of Christ, not ours.
With our crosses, we may suffer ridicule for him. With his cross, he suffered hell for us. With
our crosses, we lose some earthly advantages. With his cross, we gain the eternal advantage in
heaven. Jesus took the heavy cross, and then told us: Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is
easy and my burden is light.
BTW, I’ll have to admit that I’m not smarter than a fifth grader. I thought Corsica was part of
Italy. But no matter what age or education, when you have Christ crucified, you have the
wisdom of God and that’s enough. Amen.