28 Aug 2005

"Get Behind Me"

Matthew 16:21-28

Martin Albanese wrote, "A woman bought an extravagant dress, and the husband asked why did it have to be so extravagant, She said the devil made me buy it, The husband asked, why didn't you say 'get behind me Satan'? The woman said, I did and he said it looked as good in the front as it did in the back, so I bought it."

I do not think that was response her husband was waiting for. "Get behind me Satan," has to do more with "get away from me," than "look to see if my dress looks as good in back as it does in the front."

Nonetheless, this story reflects our society's general sentiments about Satan. We have trivialized the one who tempted our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the wilderness. We have named our college and professional teams after him. Whether we are talking about hockey, soccer or basketball, Satan is no more than a team's name or the team's mascot.

The same thing can be said about our national holidays. Whether we are talking about Halloween or the "Day of the dead" (El Dia de los Muertos), the devil is no more than a costume to be worn by children and adults alike.

We hardly see what is the big deal or what is wrong with dressing little children as devils. In fact, our society in general does not believe Satan really exists. For many people, Satan is as real as the Easter Bunny.

Yet, when we read Jesus telling Peter, "Get behind me Satan," we know something is seriously wrong. Let me remind us that even though our society does not believe in the existence of Satan, during Jesus time Satan was as real as the Roman Emperor. Nothing could have been worse than calling someone Satan.

Let us also be reminded that Satan or "Sat·n" in the Hebrew (!j"þF') or "Zatanas" in the Greek Satana/j, we are talking about God's adversary, the Tempter; the one who stands in opposition to God's plans. Satan is not Hades, the Greek god that rules over the underworld as we talked about last week. Satan, the devil, is a beautiful fallen angel. Satan is not an ugly red creature with horns, a long tail with a leg of a bull and another of a rooster holding a long fork-like object. Satan is perhaps better depicted in the movie The Passion of Christ.

Here Satan is a young good-looking male that sneaks into Jesus' life and tempts him.

No, when Jesus said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things" (16: 23a), we know something is seriously wrong. Moments earlier Peter is the Rock, Petros! "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven..." said Jesus (v. 18, 19a). He is the one who will lead Jesus' church away from the false teachings of the day into the future. Now, this great church leader is no more than God's own adversary.

Rev. Bryan Findlayson, of the Pumpkin Cottage Ministry Resources writes, "Peter, who was just described as the "fortress rock" (the believing man) upon whom Christ will build his church, is now described as a rock of stumbling, a rock to trip Christ up... Peter, who had just declared a truth revealed by the Father, is now identified as a source of mere human thoughts, and corrupted at that."

But, what is wrong with wanting Jesus to live? What is wrong with wanting your master, your teaching, to have a long and wonderful life? What is wrong with wanting to have a Messiah that does not die, but brings forth the Kingdom of Israel? What is wrong with a triumphant political Messiah?... There is nothing wrong with wanting your teacher, your Lord, to have a long and wonderful life. The problem is not with the well-intended wishes. The problem resides with wanting to do things our way versus God's way.

Jesus told his disciples that he "must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised" (v. 21b). This is what Jesus believed was his destiny. He knew that he was to be the suffering Messiah who can not gain the kingdom of God without suffering. He knew that his triumph was not in the killing of Roman soldiers, or the assassination of a political leader, or the destruction of the corrupt religious system, but in the overcoming of Death and Sin, of the evils that kill us all.

Satan, as you recall, tempted Jesus into gaining power, gaining all the kingdoms of the world, without suffering. He tempted Jesus into renouncing suffering and taking the easy road, like turning stones into bread. Jesus refused to give-in instead he followed his painful journey to Jerusalem.

When Peter rebuked Jesus he reminded Jesus of the temptations of Satan in the wilderness. The kingdom of God, the liberation of the oppressed, the end of evil, the triumph of life, was not going to be gained without suffering, without death.

This is why I believe that Jesus said to his disciples, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it" (v. 24, 25). Jesus' followers are called to take the same journey he took. Jesus' followers are called to get behind him and follow his footsteps. They are called to find the kingdom of God not in power and might, but in weakness. They are called to pray for their enemies, not kill them. They are called to trust in God rather than take vengeance into their own hands. They are called to serve others, not to be served. They are called to be peacemakers not warmongers. They are called to love their neighbors, not build walls to keep them away. They are called to surrender their lives not to kill in order to save it. They are called to be light to the world, not darkness. They are called to follow God's way, not their own.

Finding life by dying seems to be impossible if not ridiculous. Yet we know that by surrendering our lives to the Almighty God we do find true life. How awful it is to keep gaining social prestige, fame, money and power and move ever so distant from God. Greenhardus Vos, a theologian wrote in the Journal of Biblical Theology, "The kingdom of God and God's righteousness are to be sought first. The Christian ought to wean himself from that pagan seeking after the things of this life which treats them as if they were the ultimate realities, which virtually puts them in the place of God." No, money, material things are not evil in it of themselves. However, the evilness comes when we choose to trust what we have rather than in God. The evilness comes when we falsely believe we have control over our lives and not God. The evilness comes when we falsely believe the things we have can actually satisfy us. The evilness comes when we falsely believe that what we have mattes more than our commitment to follow Jesus Christ. "For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?" said Jesus.

No, the gospel of Matthew reminds us that to stand in the way of God's plans is to stand in opposition to Him. No matter who we are, or how important we are to the church, if we stand in God's way we are no better than God's own adversary. We must, therefore, seek God. We must try to see the world through His eyes. We must try to live our lives according to His will; live our lives according to the principles of the Kingdom of God and not ours.

The gospel of Matthew also reminds is that to call ourselves His disciples means following Jesus; means getting behind him and follow his footsteps. The temptation to take the easy way out, the temptation to seek a comfortable life at the expense of our faith, is ever before us. In our affluent, materialistic, individualistic society, the temptation to do it our way versus God's way is much stronger. Therefore, we must fight the temptation to go after the things of this world. We must fight the temptation to blend in and be like everyone else. Rather, we must try to put God and His principles over everything else. We are, after all, called to find the kingdom of God not in power and might, but in weakness. We are called to follow God's way, not our own.

You know? I do not think we will necessarily lose our souls if we buy an extravagant dress. Perhaps we want to buy the extravagant dress to be donated and auctioned off at the Houston MCC Relief Sale to help the hurting in our world. However, I do think that we make a mistake if we do not take Satan seriously. If we trust the Scriptures, if we believe in Christ Jesus, we must also believe in God's adversary, in Jesus' Tempter. I dare not trivialize his existence. I have seen too many ugly things in my life to trivialize evil.

Therefore, let choose, instead, to know God better. Let us try to understand His ways. Let us try to understand, believe and embraces the principles of His Kingdom. Let us fight the temptation to blend in and be like everyone else. Let us find the kingdom of God not in power and might, but in weakness. Let us follow God's ways, not our own.

Amen.