3.22.2026 Following the Suffering Savior

Because Jesus, even if he makes the world right and rules without the cross, you know what still happens when people die? Because they've rejected God? Satan takes you again at the end anyways. Because you still haven't fixed the thing that separates humanity and God because there's still a debt to be paid and that is a separation we cannot fix. Jesus knows there's one way, only one, because someone perfect has to take on the debt of sin. [00:12:23] (29 seconds)  #OneWaySalvation

It doesn't hide away from the fact that Peter, the one that Jesus will build the church on, is now called Satan. A saint can become Satan in mere seconds. Now, this doesn't mean Peter's demon -possessed, but he is thinking from this perspective of man that excludes the cross. And that is the human tendency to not want suffering, to not go through the cross. Satan can actually use your good desires, your good intentions, your desire for greatness and success and make it sinful. [00:09:58] (36 seconds)  #IntentionsCanDeceive

I think we ought to be very cognizant of the fact that your best desires actually may very well be Satanic in nature. Especially if they're around the center of the gospel, the cross. Peter thought he was doing his best. I think this cultural expectation that we assume the best of people isn't generally true. But think about our flesh and how much we avoid certain things. This desire for success and this desire to do our best. All those things Satan can use to trip us up, to take us away from the very thing that makes us Christians. [00:14:06] (39 seconds)  #DesiresCanDeceive

But what we find here is that you can know that factual understanding and still struggle to truly understand who he is. That you can understand certain facts about Jesus and still lack what it means in your life to follow him according to how he calls us to follow him. So what does it mean to follow Christ? If you want a passage to look to answer this question, this is one of those core passages from the words of Jesus himself. And this theme of this passage centers on the cross. The cross is the heart of the answer to what it means to be a Christian. [00:02:00] (41 seconds)  #CrossIsCentral

second take up your cross now when we first read this we read this as kind of another way of saying denying yourself because we read this metaphorically but first we have to understand when Jesus is saying this to his disciples and he's saying it to us in the modern time this first and foremost is not a metaphor it's take up your cross it's being willing to go public with Jesus to the point where you will actually be subject to shame public death and humiliation by the hands of the Roman Empire and this happened to everyone but one of the twelve apostles they died many of them by crucifixion it's legend we're not entirely sure until we get to heaven to affirm that Peter actually said this but he said I cannot be crucified like Jesus because I'm not worthy of it and so he was crucified upside down he's saying this to his disciples take up your cross it's not first metaphorical it's literal [00:29:30] (66 seconds)  #TakeUpYourCrossNow

And here's what I love about the Bible. In our day and age, everyone tries whenever, people don't apologize when they do wrong things. You notice that? People, even when they're caught, they try and like make it sound better or they try and avoid responsibility. No one wants to be held responsible anymore. But I love the Bible. It just, it doesn't hide from how bad things are. It's honest about Peter, one of the most famous, revered disciples. He's called the rock in one moment and immediately, he's Satan. [00:09:26] (32 seconds)  #BibleCallsOut

You can have what God promised you, which is that you are the king. You will have everyone bow to you. You can do it without the cross. That's what Satan was offering him. It's a real temptation. Jesus feels this. That's why he prays in the Garden of Gethsemane. Is there any other way? Because he doesn't want to go to the cross, but he understands if there is no cross, there is no salvation for man. [00:11:16] (27 seconds)  #NoCrossNoSalvation

Satan will always try and get us to go up, up, up, but the way of Jesus is the way down. What Peter is doing here is very similar to what Satan tried to do in the temptation of Jesus back in the wilderness in chapter four. Satan tried to stop Jesus from going to the cross and dying for the sins of man and in that last temptation, Satan takes Jesus to a very high mountain and shows him all the kingdoms of the world and says, if you just bow to me, all of this will be yours. [00:10:42] (31 seconds)  #JesusWayIsDown

We too often let the world's way of doing things dictate our decisions and we assume, we baptize it into Christ and we assume that it's the right way where it actually may be influenced by the evil one. Let me give you some examples. Just a couple and hopefully the Holy Spirit will bring to mind the very things that you struggle with and maybe bring those things to mind. It may very well be satanic and not God's plan to give you that promotion. More money, more position does not always mean better and God blessing. [00:14:45] (33 seconds)  #DontBaptizeTheWorld

Peter is offended by this claim that Jesus would suffer, that he would go to a cross. On the surface, this is Peter loving Jesus. He doesn't want him to suffer and die. On the surface, he's responding as many of us would. What are you talking about, Jesus? You are the king. You are from God. You are going to win. Don't say stuff like that. But he's seeing things through human eyes, human expectations. [00:05:36] (27 seconds)  #OffendedByTheCross

It may be that that promotion and the responsibilities from it and the more money you have may distract you from their commitment to the Lord. It may very well be from Satan even though it from the world's perspective is seen as a blessing. It's not automatically that it's a blessing. It may very well be something that Satan is using to take your heart away, take your attention away, take your time away from the things that God wants you to be committed to. I've seen this kind of satanic comment often in my years of ministry. [00:15:17] (37 seconds)  #BlessingsOrDistractions

The second one I thought of was I've seen many people oppose their child's desire to serve the Lord in various ways because they want their child to be successful and to be safe. It very well be that you as a parent well -intentioned to love and protect your child stopping them from going on missions in their life. It very well be Satan stopping this child who is committing to follow Jesus in the way of the cross. There have been very many satanic statements from parents who well -intentioned wanting to love and protect their children are doing the will of not the Lord but the evil one. [00:15:54] (41 seconds)  #ProtectingCanHinderCalling

From this time means that there's a transitional moment in the identity of Jesus according to how the disciples understand him. And it's a pivotal moment in the shift of the story as well. Because now he's going to go quickly towards Jerusalem where the climax of this gospel is going. It's a major transitional moment. From this time, they know that he's the Christ. But what they need to learn is what kind of Christ he is. He's not the kind of Christ that they have in their minds in their cultural, political understanding. [00:03:16] (29 seconds)  #WhatKindOfChrist

What does it mean to be a Christian? Or to put it another way, what does it mean for someone to say that they follow Jesus or they're a disciple of Jesus? I watched a street interview video where they interviewed random people asking that question, what is a Christian? And some of the various responses were quite interesting. These are just random people that they were encountering and someone said it's someone who's in touch with their belief in God. Another person said, it's a definition that is ever so changing to the question, what does it mean to be a Christian? [00:00:05] (34 seconds)  #WhatIsAChristian

what that means is the things that he wants to do that are bent towards himself he learns to turn away from those he knows how to turn that inwards focus away because the spirit is making him more aware of it it is giving him power to turn away from it he knows that's why Paul he can say I am the worst of sinners he's not just saying those words think about who Paul is like how do you get to a point where you later and more he's done all these amazing things for Christ and he can still say I am the worst sinner ever because the more he's denied himself the more he's aware of his own sin and the more aware he is of his own need for Christ you want to know someone who's been following Jesus for a long time they are deeply aware of how broken they are and whenever you spend time with them they spent the entire time caring for you because they've spent their whole life now learning how to turn that heart bent inwards and they're turning outwards towards other people deny yourself [00:28:17] (73 seconds)  #DenySelfTurnOutward

Satan has offered Jesus a tempting way without the cross, a crown without sacrifice. Satan's offering a crossless, counterfeit kingdom. One that will only be momentary and Jesus understands and Peter's thinking in the same way. Right? He wants a king without sacrifice. He wants Jesus to take the throne without the cross. And here's some key lessons about the cross of Christ that we need to learn. Key lessons for what it means to be a Christian. Couple thoughts when it comes to our discipleship. [00:12:52] (40 seconds)  #CrownWithoutSacrifice

but if you were to follow Jesus by taking up your cross it means in such a way like the world you will actually be seen as and you're going down not up like the world like Jesus you go down you will put yourself at risk take up your cross it's a public following of Jesus that can lead to shame because you are aligning yourself to a crucified king and the world thinks that is crazy still he says follow me that's the last thing deny yourself take up your cross follow me he says another way to put this is be my apprentice that image is of a teacher and people following you would join that teacher school you would live life with them and the goal wasn't just information transfer you would actually begin to embody the life habits of this teacher that's why you live with them it's how people learn skills of being in trades or learn anything is by apprenticeship you would just follow them [00:32:53] (66 seconds)  #ApprenticeOfChrist

the last will actually be first Jesus is explaining the reality of what it actually means to find life he he's not commanding something here in verses 25 to 27 he's making a statement of what actually is real in life you ever try to answer the question of life like what's the purpose how do you truly become human how do you find purpose how do you find satisfaction and peace in life you can find the answer to that question in verses 25 to 27 if you want to find life you have to lose it for the sake of Jesus if you want to gain everything you actually have to give up everything in the world if you want the truest life it's not found when trying to save yourself it's when you lose yourself for the sake of Jesus now [00:36:42] (55 seconds)  #LastWillBeFirst

here's what it looks like on the surface you follow Jesus even to everyone there Jesus it looks like he loses he goes to a cross he's betrayed by the very people his own people he's trying to come to he's crucified the worst way to die a public criminal's death everything on the surface looks like he loses and we know because of scriptures and because of the gospel and because of missionaries who brought it to various places in the world that actually means victory because what he does on the cross may look like death and humiliation but it means our salvation and life and he's saying it's the same for you if you want to find life you don't find it by trying everything you can do to save yourself you ever notice how the billionaires of the world are all trying to extend their lives indefinitely as long as they can why do you think they're all trying to build bunkers [00:37:37] (59 seconds)  #ApparentLossTrueVictory

You ask every average person out there who no familiarity with Christianity no nothing most people don't have problems with Jesus and that's because they don't have this understanding of Jesus with the cross that they think of as a good teacher he helped some people like those things no one disagrees with but do you follow a Jesus without a cross? Peter had the truth disciples understand right he is the Christ but what they don't get is this Christ goes to a cross he is a suffering Christ and they did not want anything to do with that at first [00:18:40] (37 seconds)  #JesusWithoutACross