Exposition of Matthew (Matthew 16:24-27)

August 13, 2021

(Jesus’ last days of earthly ministry)

Questions to be answered in this study

1. What were God’s interests in sending His Son to earth?
2. Think about it: What is the greatest gift of all?
3. In what way does death set us free?
4. What is God’s purpose for us being on this earth?
5. What is the requirement Jesus gives for following Him?
6. What does it mean to take up your cross and follow Jesus?
7. What is the secret to living the life that glorifies God?
8. How can we have victory over the battle between the spirit and the flesh?
9. How does sanctification work in our life?
10. Scripturally, what does it mean to save or life?
11. In the context of what Jesus is teaching in today’s study, what does it mean to lose your soul?
12. What was Peter’s big mistake when he rebuked the Lord for saying He was going to Jerusalem to be put to death?

Introduction

In our previous study, we talked about not putting our interests above those of God. What are God’s interests? God’s interest was to send His only begotten Son to die on the cross to pay the sin debt and provide atonement for those who would trust in Him. Peter vehemently objected to Jesus, saying that He would go to Jerusalem to be put to death. Peter thought he was protecting Jesus from suffering and death and did not understand how this was against God. Jesus rebuked Peter for this and called him Satan. The reason for calling Peter Satan was because he was upholding the work of Satan instead of that of God. God intended to bless the world through the death of His Son, providing eternal life for all who would believe in Him. As horrible as dying on a cross would be, it was the greatest gift the world would ever know.

How can we avoid Peter’s mistake of putting his interests before God’s or doing the works of the devil instead of the works of God? First, we must realize that God is different from us. He does not think as we do, nor is His ways like ours. Jesus explains how in our study of Matthew today:

Matthew 16:24-27, “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me, 25or will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 27For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.”

The underlying mistake Peter made was thinking that God’s ultimate priority was preserving life. Man is preoccupied with death and has a natural fear of it; we all know that death is inevitable, but we don’t know precisely when it will happen. However, people live sometimes as it will never happen to them. So, Peter said to Jesus, “God forbid that you should die.” He did not want Jesus to even talk about death.

God did not create Adam and Eve to die, but when they sinned against God, death by sin entered the human race. God said that Adam’s body came from the dust, and now, because of his sin, his body would eventually return to dust. God’s plan now includes restoring man to his original state with eternal life through the death of Jesus, His Son. That is the same prospect for every person on earth today. There is a positive side of death, and that is the evil person will surely die. It is good that men like Adolf Hitler and other evil persons do not hang around for long. Each person’s time and sinful existence is limited: “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment,” Hebrews 9:27 (KJV). Any wise person will realize that judgment lies ahead and seek salvation in Christ Jesus while there is life. The Bible says, “That they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us,” Acts 17:27 (KJV), The thought of death should drive everyone to Jesus in search for salvation. Still, many ignore the idea and die to face God in judgment without any hope and are cast into hell to be separated from God forever. Across the world, there are 2.9 billion people who never have heard the name of Jesus.

When a person comes to Jesus in faith, they have a different outlook; there is a change in their understanding of life and death. Life has a new purpose, and death has no hold on them any longer. Also, no longer need there to be a fear of death because Jesus has removed the penalty of sin, and heaven is our home for all eternity. Physical death is no longer a problem; it has become our entry into God’s heaven and separation from the body of sin. Death makes way for something indescribably better.

As longs we are in the physical body, there will be a struggle as Pual describes in Romans 7:22-25 (KJV): “For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25I thank God through Jesus Christ our LORD. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”

Physical death sets us free from the struggles of life thanks be to Jesus our Lord and savior. With this knowledge, we are encouraged to abide in Jesus and live our lives to glorify His name daily; one day and very soon we will escape this body of sin and this evil world to be with Christ forever: “But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: 10Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us,” 2 Corinthians 1:9-10 (LKV).

Time is running out for each of us. Each day we are a little closer to the end of this life, but thanks be to God, we no longer need to fear, for death is our incarnation day into God’s eternal heaven. We need not trust in ourselves, our strength, or anything else but only in God from whence we receive our purpose and power. As our life fades slowly away, we need to trust in Jesus more each day to carry us through to the very end when we shall be with Him forever. We can say with the Apostle Paul, “For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day,” 2 Timothy 1:12 (KJV).

What would make you happier, living in this broken-down body or getting a brand new one that lasts forever? Our Lord will give us that brand new body in the day to come when we go there to be with Him. God determined in eternity past when you can turn in your old worn-out body and receive the new eternal one, which God has prepared for you. So, why not quit fussing over the present body with all its aches and pains and concentrate on the new glorified one God has prepared for you. Our present life is not the highest priority. Our purpose for being on this earth is to do the work of the Lord. John said, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work,” John 9:4 (KJV). There will never be the opportunity again to do God’s will on earth; it is now or never.

God’s perspective on life and death is different from what ours might be. His purpose for us being on this earth is to complete the mission He has assigned us. Every believer has a purpose; even though many may not have discovered that purpose; that purpose serves Jesus well while we have life and before it is too late. Peter’s perspective on life at the moment was not God’s. He was not alone because we also struggle to keep the right attitude in our lives. Jesus is clear on His perspective for each of us and His requirement for following Him. He says in verse 24, anyone who wishes to come after Him must deny himself and take up his cross. Taking up our cross means we are to walk with Him bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit daily, which is walking in His ways, being His representatives, and serving Him sacrificially. Sadly, this is not the case for many Christians today who are too busy with their own trivial pursuits and are distracted from their very purpose of serving the savior.

Jesus is addressing the attitude of the believer in these verses. Jesus expects our sacrifice as we serve Him. Not all believers are willing to serve the Lord sacrificially or even at all. You can be assured, according to Scripture, they are forfeiting their heavenly rewards. Heavenly rewards are eternal, while earthly rewards are temporal. We are in a struggle with the flesh’s sinful desires in contrast to God’s calling on our life. Our time on earth is minimal, motivating us to work for the Lord while we have the time. There is a learning curve involved in encouraging ourselves to deny self and follow Jesus. We must learn to reject the sinful desires of the flesh, which oppose God and our spirit constantly. 

What is it in your life that keeps you from surrendering all to Christ and denying yourself to follow Him? We may not realize it, but we are powerful in our spirit. When Jesus entered our life, we received a new powerful and perfect spirit, which is the residence of Jesus. The Apostle Paul gives the secret to living the life that glorifies God in Galatians 2:20 (KJV): “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

According to Paul, we have a new spirit that hungers after God and wants to please Him. We have been crucified with Christ and are dead to the old self and alive with Christ who lives through us. What a blessing that is to know that Jesus is active within us and living through us. Nevertheless, the flesh is still at work trying to pull us away from the will of God. There is a raging battle between the spirit and the flesh, at least for the time being. Paul experienced this and declared that victory would only come through God. We also can have that victory when we entirely depend on God.

We are taking up our cross because of our crucifixion with Christ and our wiliness to allow Him to now live through us. By this, we are submitting ourselves to God’s plan of sanctification. Through sanctification, we deny the flesh and yield ourselves to God’s plan to make us into the person He created us to be while leading us by the power of His indwelling Holy Spirit. Our part is to yield to the leadership of the Holy Spirit while denying the desires of the flesh. Every minute of every day, we choose to walk with Jesus or follow our passions, leading us astray into degradation. We decide to determine if we are in or out with Jesus. Which way are you going? Only you can evaluate, and only you can choose to make the needed changes. We are either serving the desires of the flesh or those of the Holy Spirit. It can’t be both. We are either saving our life or losing it for Christ. Saving our life means doing those things we want to do rather than submitting ourselves to God’s will. We are serving someone, either self or Christ.

Jesus asked the question, “what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” It is not a matter of being saved or lost. We who have trusted Jesus are safe in Him. It is a matter of exchanging our worldly desires for our eternal rewards and our purpose in life. The question is, which is the most important to you? If you were to gain the whole world and lose that which is the very purpose of your soul, what good is it? What a loss is to it to trade eternal rewards and purpose for that which is temporal. We have two lives, the spiritual and the fleshly. The more we seek one, the less we have of the other. The more we serve Jesus now, the more we sacrifice for Him now, and the more eternal rewards we have in the kingdom to come.

Now, in verse 27, Jesus reminds us the day will come when those who serve Him will receive their rewards: “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.” The rewards will occur when Jesus returns to earth to set up His kingdom. Here is the thing: Work as hard for our Lord, but it will all be over very soon, and Jesus will set up His kingdom and reward those who have been faithful to the kingdom work. At the second coming, believers will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and be judged by the Lord, not cast out but awarded for their work. On the other hand, at that time, there will also be the Great White Throne judgment of those who rejected Christ, and they will receive their just reward and be cast into hell for all eternity. 

There is a reminder in what Jesus said, to gain the whole world comes at the cost of losing one’s soul, that is, losing the true purpose for being on earth and enjoying the peace and joy of believers. All we accomplish and accumulate on this earth will come to an end at death, and all that remains is what we have done in Jesus’ name. That is a reminder that death means leaving all that is accomplished outside of God’s will behind. The right decision is to deny self and the desires of the flesh and center our attention on serving Jesus, for that is what we take with us at death and nothing else. Someone said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep gaining what he cannot lose.”

That was Peter’s mistake trying to hang on to something he could not keep rather than accepting what God had determined, which would have a lasting result. It is easy to do as Peter and search after the temporal desires of the flesh and miss what God has for us, which lasts all eternity. God gave us His Holy Spirit to guide us through life. Listen to His counsel as you study God’s Word and choose God’s eternal rewards over the temporal things of the world. When we set our minds toward eternity, even death becomes our hope for the rewards laid up for us in heaven.