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?