John 14:6-7
Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
Matthew 16:21-28
The Cost of taking Up Your Cross and Following Jesus
21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
28 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Matthew 16:13-20
Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Matthew 20:20-28
A Mother’s Request
20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
21 “What is it you want?” he asked.
She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”
22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”
“We can,” they answered.
23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus ask His Disciples this question, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”...They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”...“But what about you?” ...Jesus ask...“Who do you say I AM?”...Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”...
The Disciples were starting to understand who He was and what He could do...The had seen many miracles done by Him...They continued to be learning more and more about their Messiah...Most people in Israel thought the Messiah would be a great military leader, a great general, or maybe a great king or great politician of their time...So when the mother of Zebedee's sons comes and ask Jesus to ask her favor, she wanted them to share in this Greatness, and to share in His Glory...After all all the people of Israel, knew the Messiah would be great in so many respects...They assumed Jesus, the Messiah, would be one thing, and they would eventually find out He came to be a servant and serve His Father, and to save mankind of his sins and die on a cross...
And we as men, I think, would like to sit at the right or left of Jesus' throne and share in all the greatness of His glory...But the way to Jesus is the way of the cross...There is a cost in following Him...Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me...For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will find it...What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?...Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?...For the Son of Man is going to come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will reward each person according to what they have done...“Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”...Jesus makes them realize that there is a cost of following Him, but they would not realize the cost until He dies on the cross...The cost for Him was His death...And He had told them about this...Jesus began to explain to His disciples many things and He told them He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and on the third day and then be raised back to life...So they should have known the Messiah would die and suffer at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law -and be killed by them...But some things do not sink in, as we wish for other things to happen...But nonetheless, the way to Jesus and the Jesus Way seems to be a suffering way, a Way of sacrifice -which He did do on the cross...
And in the end, the Disciples learned that following Him is not a way to success or riches, but was a way to suffering, as they spread His world to Israel and the world...Many of His Disciples were persecuted and did die...Suffering was a cost for many of His earliest followers...Yet, suffering and serving seems to be the Way to the Truth, and the Only way to Life, and the Only Way to His Father...