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Transition to the Cross - Matthew 16:21

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From that time Jesus began telling his followers that he must go to Jerusalem. Jesus explained that the older Jewish leaders, the leading priests, and the teachers of the law would make him suffer many things. And Jesus told his followers that he must be killed. Then, on the third day, he would be raised from death. (ERV)   Full Text

Key Thought

As Jesus' disciples, our lives are a series of transitions strung together with prayer. The quality and impact of our lives is dependent upon God's blessing and our successful use of the resources and opportunities he places before us.
Jesus' ministry is very much the same. He now faces the greatest transition of his ministry as he moves toward the awful and yet glorious "opportunity" that lies ahead, the Cross. Only now is he ready to let folks call him Son of God, Son of the Righteous One, because he will forever redefine what it means to be Messiah, Christ, Son of God, and Savior.
In the process of redefining what people thought the role of Messiah, Jesus will also define what it means to be his disciple. His is the way of the cross -- service and salvation at great cost. As he journeys down this road, he looks over his shoulder to his disciples, to us, and says, "Follow me."

Today's Prayer

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Holy and loving God, I still marvel that you would subject yourself to the limitation of human flesh and the way of the cross. Please help me to be more willing to follow in the way of the cross and serve others redemptively, even if the price is high. lease give me courage for the journey and a heart more like Jesus so that I can see the eternal stakes in the lives of those I serve just as he did. In the name of my Savior and Sacrifice, Jesus, I pray. Amen.
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Today's Verses in Context

From that time Jesus began telling his followers that he must go to Jerusalem. Jesus explained that the older Jewish leaders, the leading priests, and the teachers of the law would make him suffer many things. And Jesus told his followers that he must be killed. Then, on the third day, he would be raised from death. Peter spoke to Jesus alone. Peter began to criticize Jesus. Peter said, "God save you from those things, Lord! Those things will never happen to you!" Then Jesus said to Peter, "Go away from me, Satan ! You are not helping me! You don't care about the things of God. You only care about things that people think are important." Then Jesus said to his followers, "If any person wants to follow me, he must say 'No' to the things he wants. That person must accept the cross (suffering) that is given to him, and he must follow me. The person that wants to save his life will lose it. And every person that gives his life for me will save it. It is worth nothing for a person to have the whole world, if he loses his soul. A person could never pay enough to buy back his soul. The Son of Man will come again with his Father's glory and with his angels. At that time, the Son of Man will reward each person for the things he has done. I tell you the truth. There are some people standing here that will see the Son of Man coming with his kingdom before they die."

— Matthew 16:21-28 (ERV)

 

Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. All rights reserved.
 
What Jesus Did
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In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus. Christ himself was like God in everything. Christ was equal with God. But Christ did not think that being equal with God was something that he must keep. He gave up his place with God and agreed to be like a servant. He was born to be a man and became like a servant. And when he was living as a man, he humbled himself by being fully obedient to God. He obeyed even when that caused him to die. And he died on a cross.
Philippians 2:5-8 (ERV)

Later, the followers met together in Galilee. Jesus said to the followers, "The Son of Man will be given into the control of men. Those men will kill the Son of Man. But on the third day the Son of Man will be raised from death." The followers were very sad {to hear that Jesus would be killed}.
Matthew 17:22-23 (ERV)

Jesus was going to Jerusalem. His twelve followers were with him. While they were walking, Jesus gathered the followers together and spoke to them privately. Jesus said to them, "We are going to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be given to the leading priests and the teachers of the law. The priests and teachers of the law will say that the Son of Man must die. They will give the Son of Man to the non-Jewish people. Those people will laugh at him and beat him with whips, and then they will kill him on a cross. But on the third day after his death, he will be raised to life again."
Matthew 20:17-19 (ERV)


 
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