Rebuking Jesus

This Sunday, churches that follow the Revised Common Lectionary will read Matthew 16:21-28. It’s in that reading that Peter rebukes Jesus for saying that he’s about to go to Jerusalem to suffer, be killed, and (!) be raised. Right before this, Peter had confessed that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” But now, as Jesus begins to show what kind of Christ he is, Peter takes him aside and rebukes him: “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.”

My question: Does this same thing still happen? My answer: yes, in two ways. First, the church rebukes Jesus whenever she proclaims not the crucified Christ, but some other Christ who makes us successful or secure. Today’s preachers are descended from the original twelve apostles, and they have the same temptation into which Peter fell. That is, the ongoing temptation is to say that Jesus is the Christ, but then to prevent him from defining what kind of Christ he is.

The real Christ is the One who patiently bears the burdens of others and calls his followers to do the same. He’s the King whose Kingdom is not of this world and whose throne is the cross. If and when a preacher proclaims some other Christ, he is essentially taking Jesus aside, out of the sight of the people, and rebuking him. I’ve heard this done in a number of ways, but they all seem to have something in common: a false Christ who endorses our self-chosen plans and supports our self-chosen causes.

That’s the first way Jesus continues to be rebuked. The second is more hidden, for it happens within the private life of the individual. It happens whenever we refuse Jesus’ call to drop worldly security and cling only to him. It happens whenever we don’t love one another – even and especially our enemies – with patience and kindness. And finally, it happens when we live with a smugness that refuses to confess its sin and looks down on others with arrogance. What makes it worse is that we do it – just like Peter – while saying with our lips that Jesus is the Christ.

Jesus’ response to all of this: “Get behind me, Satan!” Those aren’t nice words, but they can be saving words to the one who heeds them. Insofar as those who have sinned by rebuking Jesus will admit their error, they can fall in behind the true Christ. The confession of sin – not just in words, but also in spirit and in truth – is the core of Christian self-denial and suffering, and it's absolutely necessary to following Jesus.

This might seem like bad news, but it’s bad news only to the old Adam of the flesh. To the new Spirit of Christ living within, self-denial and suffering for the sake of Jesus is in fact good news. It’s good news (“gospel”) because the crucified Christ is also the risen Christ. Peter, when he rebuked Jesus, didn’t even seem to notice that Jesus said he would “on the third day be raised.” Peter was so taken aback by the suffering part that he couldn’t even hear the promise of new life that followed. He was “setting (his) mind not on divine things but on human things.” (Matthew 16:23)

So yes, there is bad news for the old Adam, but there is also good news for the new Spirit of Christ. We don’t get one bit of news without the other, since we are just like Peter: the Christ has come among us, but the old Adam is still alive and we're still tempted to be “Christian” only in name. Our flesh is tempted to rebuke Jesus for not being the kind of Christ we want him to be, but the Spirit knows that he's the only Christ worth having. We’re a twofold people, and so Jesus’ message for us is twofold: “Those who want to save their soul will lose it, and those who lose their soul for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:25)