Matthew 16:21-28
Jesus Predicts His Death
21From 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, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"
23Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 27For 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 he has done. 28I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."
Following Jesus is hard, because He is a Perfect Man...He never sinned or never sins...He is our Great Example of how to live our lives...
Jesus tells the Twelve that He must go to Jerusalem...Jerusalem had for centuries been an important city and location for the Hebrews and God's people...He tells His disciples that He would suffer many things in the hands of the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the law... He tells them that He would be killed and rise on the third day...
Peter, upset with hearing this, takes Jesus aside and rebukes Him and tells Jesus this will never happen to Him...Jesus them calls Peter , Satan...He tells Peter that he (Peter) is a stumbling block and does not know the plans of God, let alone understand them (God's plan)...
Jesus knows losing His life and flesh on earth is a small sacrifice, when He knows He will be spending an eternity with the Father...It takes faith to get to the Father...It takes death to get to the Father...The cross is the way to the Father, and Jesus understood this...His death would bring Him back to the Father...Death and death on the cross seems so cruel, so much suffering, sad, and final...But it is the way...The cross is the way...Jesus is the way to the Father...The only way to have eternal life is death and through the cross and Jesus...
Jesus tells us in the end, even if you have and own the whole world, what good is it, if you have forfeited your soul...If one has everything in the whole world, and he has no one to share it with, what good is that...God will reward us for what we have done...Humanity often gets regimented in life and go about doing the same things daily over and over...We get into routines...Believers and nonbelievers do similar things in life out of being to busy, out of habit, or out of routine...Being so close to Jesus the Twelve disciples, become true disciples (except Judas, who is later replaced by Mathias) they would grow to understand this...They would have to deny themselves, and take up the cross and follow Him...They would follow the teachings and work of their Master, the Messiah..
Jesus knows the value of us and the value of our souls...That is why He died...He died knowing the importance of our souls...He died for all man, and all of the world...We are the world, which He died...He was with God in the beginning...Through Him all things are made...Through Him the world was created...Therefore, He knew the price...He paid the price...We, too, need to follow the work and life of the Master...