40,000+ People Can't Be Wrong, Right? (Matthew 16:24-28)

SCRIPTURE

Matthew 16:24-28
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

LANGUAGE

Vs 24  come - accompany
Vs 24  after - follow
Vs 25  save - protect
Vs 25  lose - destroy
Vs 25  find - find, get, obtain, perceive, see

BACKGROUND

Jesus had just foretold His death to the disciples. Peter rebukes Him, because Peter is thinking the way a man thinks. But Jesus rebukes Peter for not setting his mind on the things of God.

COMMENT

Jesus is continuing His thoughts after rebuking Peter for telling Him that He should not have to die. I think Peter might have easily be taken in by someone like Joel Osteen and his "Your Best Life Now" philosophy. But now Jesus is speaking to everyone, and it is not about your best life now. In fact, it is just the opposite. This is a hard truth. But if we interpret this teaching in light of the idea that repentance is the change of life one experiences after really understanding and knowing Jesus, and not just a matter of wanting to get to heaven or avoid hell, then it makes perfect sense.

To save or protect your life is to destroy it. Again, in light of the Corona Virus, I cannot help but think of people who are putting their own survival (or just even comfort) in front of everyone else. I just watched a video from Germany where a woman was struggling to carry more toilet paper than she was probably able, while others in the background were also stock piling supplies. How are some of these people going to live with themselves when this is over? And in their effort to protect themselves, are they not already losing some of themselves in the process? But we do tend to live in the moment, don't we?

I keep thinking of Jesus's teaching about the narrow road. I also think about how many people think they are on that road. People who believe that God owes them something, that they can get on God's good side by flashing their sacrifice (which Isaiah calls "filthy rags) before Him. All that travel just to get to a road whose end is not their desired destination. Wake up, people.