In the evening service, Pastor Bulawa continued the study of Matthew 16, picking up at verse 21 after a brief review of the morning message. Jesus had just received Peter’s clear confession that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and had declared that He would build His church. Immediately afterward, Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, be killed, and be raised again the third day. This announcement brought confusion, because the disciples had expected a different path. The message focused on the call to discipleship rather than the matter of salvation. Jesus already bore the cross for salvation. The invitation in these verses is a gracious call for every child of God to draw closer, become more like Christ, and follow Him in full surrender.
The Shock of the Announcement After the Confession
The earlier portion of the chapter presented a developing controversy about Jesus’ identity. People held high opinions of Him, yet they did not recognise Him as God and Saviour. When Jesus asked the disciples, “But whom say ye that I am?” Peter answered, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus responded by speaking of the church He would build. Then, in verse 21, the direction changed sharply: “From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.”
Those who heard Him had just affirmed His identity. Now they heard of suffering and death. The rest of the story is known today, including the mock trial, the cross, the burial, and the resurrection. For Peter and the others, the story was still unfolding. The announcement created a genuine twist. Believers can declare that Jesus is the Christ, the Saviour, the Son of God, and the Lord, then encounter something He does or asks that does not match their own plans. Peter would illustrate both a right response earlier in the chapter and a wrong response in the verses that followed.
A Disturbing Contradiction
Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee” (Matthew 16:22). The action was intense. Peter had just confessed that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God. Only a few verses later he treated the Lord as if He needed correction. In effect, Peter was saying that the Messiah should establish the kingdom, remove the Romans, and rule, and that the plan of suffering and death could not be right.
The picture is clear: the same man who called Jesus God now tried to set the direction. This is the disturbing contradiction. Believers can affirm the identity of Jesus and still attempt to lead Him according to their own map for the future.
A Devastating Condemnation
Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men” (Matthew 16:23). This stands among the strongest words Jesus spoke to one of His followers. Peter did not become Satan. By opposing the plans and purposes of God, he aligned himself with the wrong side.
In the wilderness temptation recorded in Matthew 4, Satan sought to persuade Jesus to bypass the cross. Peter’s words carried the same direction. Jesus had already taught that he who is not with Him is against Him. There are only two sides. When a believer fights the will of God, that person joins the opposing team. The attitude may not be spoken in the same words, yet it appears whenever someone pulls God aside and insists that a particular plan or circumstance is wrong. Jesus dealt with Peter and then turned to the other disciples so that all would hear what following Him truly requires.
A Divine Calling to Come After Him
Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). The word “after” means to come behind, to follow. Jesus is the leader who goes ahead and forges the path. Peter had tried to lead. Jesus made plain that no one can call Him God and attempt to direct Him at the same time.
The cross in this context is not a physical cross. Jesus already bore that for salvation. Here the cross represents the will of God for the believer’s life. It is not primarily a symbol of pain or burden. Jesus delighted to do the will of the Father. Psalm 40:8 states, “I delight to do thy will, O my God,” and the writer of Hebrews confirms that this is a messianic passage. In the garden Jesus prayed that the cup might pass, yet added, “nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” The cross is the Father’s will for the Son, and the Son found joy in it. Believers are called to delight in carrying the cross of His will rather than argue with Him in the details of life.
Jesus offered a choice: “If any man will.” Peter had walked with Him and confessed Him as God. The question was whether Jesus would be God only for salvation or God in the whole of life.
Defining Contrasts: Self or Christ
Jesus set clear contrasts in verses 24 and 25. The first is whether a person will live for self or live for Him. “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 16:25). The word “life” is the Greek psuche, the same term translated “soul” in verse 26. In this context it refers to the feelings, desires, affections, and identity of the heart. Proverbs 23:7 declares, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Jesus was asking whose road map will be followed.
Jesus came that people might have life and have it more abundantly. Personal plans, however honourable, remain small beside what He designs. Pastor Bulawa recalled his own early ambition while working for the State of Connecticut in the Department of Correction. He rose through the ranks and once imagined becoming commissioner. That dream would have kept him inside the system for a lifetime. Outside the will of God, even a noble goal holds no eternal value. Ephesians 3:20 states that God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that is asked or thought. The choice is between what a person can imagine and what Christ can accomplish.
The second contrast is complete surrender. Taking up the cross means total surrender. For Jesus the cross involved solitude, shame, and suffering beyond human comprehension. For the disciple there is no solitude, because Jesus promised, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” There is no shame, because following Him is a high calling and privilege. Suffering may come, yet never to the measure Jesus endured to purchase salvation. Primarily the cross speaks of surrender. The one who bears it does not set the route; directions come from another.
Pastor Bulawa illustrated the struggle with personal experience as a missionary. After serving in Quebec and seeing a church planted, the Lord directed the family to Arizona. For eleven months he resisted, convinced that the language and culture already learned made him necessary in Quebec. While preparing to preach Romans 12:1-2, the Holy Spirit confronted him with the inconsistency of calling others to present themselves as living sacrifices while refusing the same. Surrender must include readiness to stay until the Lord says otherwise, and then to move. An employer directs the workplace; the Lord directs the believer. Total surrender is the only consistent response.
The third contrast is whether a person will serve self or serve Christ. It is difficult to follow Jesus while chasing personal dreams and a private road map.
A Deliberate Consideration of Profit and Reward
Jesus asked, “For 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?” (Matthew 16:26). This is not a warning about losing salvation. The same word psuche appears, referring to identity and purpose rather than the eternal soul alone. Jesus would never tell people to take no thought for their eternal soul if that were the meaning, as seen in Matthew 6:25. The question concerns gaining the aggregate of earthly goods, riches, advantages, and pleasures while missing what God designed the believer to be.
Missionary Jim Elliott expressed the same truth: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Verse 27 speaks of reward when the Son of man comes in the glory of His Father with His angels and rewards every man according to his works. Crowns given to believers are not worn in heaven; they are cast at the feet of the only King. No earthly achievement, whether a high position or a long-desired possession, outweighs the reward of faithful service.
Pastor Bulawa closed the point with a memory of high-school friends who longed for expensive Polk speakers. One purchased a pair from a man in a white van for a fraction of the real price. When the cabinets were opened, the speakers were counterfeit. The fear is trading a cheap imitation of personal dreams for the good works God prepared beforehand in Ephesians 2:10. Complete, full surrender is the purest form of worship.
Conclusion
The lesson Jesus taught Peter is one every believer must learn repeatedly. Surrender does not grow easier, yet it always grows better. As Gospel Advancement Week began, the challenge was clear: come to the Lord who is already Saviour and respond to whatever He shows as the God He is. He is worthy of unconditional following. Those who have never received Him may still do so, because He bore the cross in their place so that eternal life might be given to all who believe. His love is matchless and His grace is magnificent. The reasonable response of every child of God is full surrender, not only for missionaries or church planters, but for all who name the name of Christ.
