Sermon # 42 Series: Matthew
Title: “Get Thee
Behind Me, Satan!”
Text: Matthew 16:21-28
Subject: Peter’s Rebuke of Christ and His
Rebuke From Christ
Readings: Office: Lindsey Campbell – Aud. Buddy Daugherty
Date: Tuesday Evening – May 2, 1995
Tape: R-33
Introduction:
In
this passage of Holy Scripture there are some deep mysteries and profound
spiritual truths that need to be both carefully studied and laid to heart. Here
we see the eternal God talking about a death he must die, a faithful disciple
of Christ rebuking his Master, the Lord Jesus calling one of his beloved
servants satan, the necessity of self-denial and commitment to Christ, the
incomparable value of our souls, the second advent of our Lord and the judgment
that shall accompany it, and the spiritual reign and kingdom of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Without question, in these verses there are some things hard to be
understood. May God the Holy Spirit, who inspired Matthew to write these things,
be our teacher as we study them. 7 Things.
I. First, In
verse 21, we see that As A Man, As Our Mediator
and Substitute, As Jehovah’s Servant, There Are Some Things That The Lord Jesus
Christ Must Do.
As
God, it could never be written, “He must.” But as the Surety of the Covenant,
in order to fulfil the terms of the covenant, because he is Jehovah’s voluntary
Servant, there are some things that the Scriptures declare the Lord Jesus
Christ must do.
A. He told
his parents that He Must be About His Father’s
Business (Lk.
2:49).
B. He told a
chosen sinner, at the appointed time of mercy, “I Must Abide
at Thy House” (Luke
19:5).
C. We read
in John 4:4 that “He Must Needs Go Through
Samaria.”
·
The
Must of Special Providence and Provenient Grace!
D. In our
text, He told his disciples that He Must Go Top Jerusalem,
Suffer, and Die, and Rise Again, The Third Day.
1.
The
Father Ordained It.
2.
The
Prophets Revealed It.
3.
The
Types Portrayed It.
4.
God’s
Justice Demanded It!
We cannot imagine how
shocking this was to the disciples. Like the rest of the Jews, they were not
anticipating a Messiah who would suffer and die. They looked for a political
Messiah. It seems that all of the disciples were confused about our Lord’s
teaching regarding his death until it actually happened, all except for the
woman who anointed him for his burial. This is what led to Peter’s error.
II. Secondly,
we are once again taught that A Man Can Be A True Disciple
and Yet Be A Weak Disciple, Ignorant About Many Things – (vv. 22-23).
Please
hear and understand what I am saying.
The issue is not what do you know, but who? It is not doctrine that
saves, but Christ. I do not suggest for a moment that a person can be saved
trusting a false Christ. But I do contend most heartily that a man or woman who
truly does trust Christ may be ignorant of many, many things.
A. Peter was, without a doubt, born again and a true believer – (vv. 16-19).
Who
can read the conversation between Christ and Peter in the preceding verses and
imagine that Peter was not yet converted? Such an idea is too ludicrous to
mention.
B. This faithful and gracious man behave very foolishly and ignorantly – (v. 22).
He
actually rebuked the Lord Jesus and sought, like satan, to hinder him from
doing what he did come to do!
This
man, who was so faithful in so many, many things, became an instrument of satan
in his time of weakness. Because he had
become an instrument of satan…
C. The Lord Jesus rebuked his disciple as satan (v. 23).
1.
He
spoke to Peter as though he were himself satan, because he had become satan’s
instrument.
2.
“Thou
art an offence unto me” – A Stumbling Block.
3.
“Thou
savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.”
Peter was looking at things,
judging things, and acting from a purely human, carnal, and emotional point of
view. His flesh was in the way. His flesh kept him from seeing, at the time,
the blessed necessity for our Savior’s death.
III.
Thirdly, this exchange between Peter and the Master teaches us that – There Is No Doctrine In The Bible So Deeply Important As The Doctrine
of Christ’s Sin-Atoning Death As Our Substitute.
That
man who denies the doctrine of Christ’s effectual atonement, who deny the merit
and efficacy of Christ’s death as our Substitute, no matter what else they say
that is true, do not savor “the things that be of God. “He knows not the taste,
the aroma, the essence of spiritual things; and however much he may honor Jesus
in words, he is an enemy, a real Satan towards the true Christ.” (C.H.
Spurgeon). Whatever you think about
the death of Christ, remember those four words I have so often given you to
describe and define it.
·
Sovereignty
– (John 10:17-18).
·
Substitution
– (II Cor. 5:21; John 10:11, 15).
·
Satisfaction
– (Isa. 53:10-11).
·
Success
– (Isa. 42:4; Gal. 3:13; Matt. 1:21).
The death of Christ is “the
central truth of Christianity. Right views of his vicarious death and the
benefits resulting from it, lie at the very foundation of Bible-religion. If we
are wrong here, we are ruined forever. Error on many points is only a skin
desease. Error about Christ’s death is of disease at the heart.” (J.C.
Ryle).
IV. Fourthly, the Lord Jesus teaches us that True, Saving Faith Involves Deliberate and Persevering, Self-Denial and
Consecration – (v. 24).
Matthew Henry once wrote, “The first lesson in Christ’s school is self-denial.”
Those
who deny themselves here for Christ shall enjoy themselves in Christ
forever. This is a requirement of
faith:
·
Initially!
·
Daily! } Christ never gives up his
claims as Lord!
·
Perseveringly!
V. Fifthly,
we are again taught that There Is Nothing So Precious
and Valuable As A Man’s Soul (v. 26).
Here
is a question so well known and so often repeated that I fear that few take it
to heart. It ought to sound in our ears like a trumpet, whenever we are tempted
to neglect our eternal interests. There is nothing the world can offer, nothing
many can buy, nothing a man can give, nothing to be named in comparison with
our souls.
A. We live
in a world where everything is Temporal.
B. We are
going to a world where everything is eternal.
C. Weigh
nothing here more valuable than you shall weigh it when you have to leave it
forever.
VI. Sixthly,
in verse 27, Our Savior, having declared the value of
our souls, Assures His Disciples That
Their Reward Is Yet To Come.
In the day of judgment, everyman will get
exactly the reward that he deserves, according to the books, the ledgers of
heaven.
A. The Wicked shall be Judged According to their Own Works.
B. The Righteous Shall be Judged According To Their Own Works Too – The Works of Christ
Imputed To Them.
VII. Lastly,
in verse 28, The Lord Jesus Shows The
Connection Between His Death, His Resurrection, And His Kingdom, or His
Spiritual Reign As King.
This
text has caused much controversy among those visionaries who think they can
predict or have figured out what they call God’s “prophetic time table.” This is not talking about…
·
The
Second Coming and a Millennial Reign.
·
The
Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
The only thing that this text can possibly refer to
is Christ’s Spiritual Kingdom into which he entered. When he ascended up to heaven – Signified by the outpouring of
the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.
·
Acts
2:32-36
·
Galatians
3:13-14
Application:
Have you entered into Christ’s Kingdom? Have
you come under the rule of the Son of God?