Jesus did not turn away from the cross, he embraced it

God’s “ways” are not man’s “ways”. God says so Himself: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts; neither are your ways my ways…!” (Isaiah 55:8) Nowhere was this more plainly seen than when I read it recently in Matthew 16:24, in which Jesus Christ said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Who wants to take up a cross? Not me! Crosses are more than just uncomfortable; they are for dying on!
A natural human outlook upon life looks for glory, while God points us to the cross. St. Peter, in the verses leading up this passage, had heard Jesus predict His upcoming suffering and death. What a shocking statement! After all, Peter had an idea about what Israel’s Messiah (or Christ) would be and do, and it was all about glory! For Peter, this idea of a suffering Messiah (or Christ) was unthinkable! Surely Jesus was mistaken! And Peter told Him so. It was then that Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” (Matthew 16:23) In God’s ways, as opposed to our ways, God had sent His Son to suffer and die for our sins and to rise from death! But it didn’t make sense to Peter, or any other human mind!
Dr. Martin Luther liked to expound upon the differences between the ‘theology of the cross’ and the ‘theology of glory.’ At heart, we are all theologians of glory. Now, don’t let that word “theologian” scare you! We are ALL theologians, for we all have thinking about God in our hearts and minds! (Even if you think there is no God, you have a ‘theology.’) The challenge is to be good and faithful theologians, with God’s Word as the straight edge, the guide for our thinking about God!
The Bible declares us each to be sinners from the moment of conception, destined to never ‘outgrow’ this condition. But God had a rescue plan in motion to atone for our sins through the death of Jesus His Son, our substitute.
To be a theologian of glory is to exalt man from the wretched helpless sinner that we are, to consider that somehow we merit God’s favor; that we contribute to the well-being of our souls and to our future destinies! But the glory-thinking goes still further: God only wants good for us, and good is all we should expect! This is glory-theology thinking.

You can even support this notion by cherry-picking certain passages of the Bible – I have done it myself, I am ashamed to say: but it will always be imbalanced with both the whole counsel of God and with the general experience of Christians throughout the ages. At heart, though, we are all inclined, like Peter, to be theologians of glory.
Jesus, however, made it clear that as His way must be the way of the cross; OUR way must also be the way of the cross! “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
Peter only did what was most natural: he recoiled from the idea of the Son of God being horribly mistreated! Shall we turn from the way of the cross –the way of following Christ, the way of a Christian disciple- because it is a hard word? What if taking up our cross demands that we reexamine our priorities, and make hard choices about some of the most cherished things in life? (It surely will!) What then? Shall we retreat from the call to follow because it does not promise all gladness and good feelings? You know better than that! The words of St. Peter from another context will serve for us: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You [alone] have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68)
Jesus did not turn from the hard work of the cross that lay ahead of Him; no, He embraced it fully and met it head-on, bringing forgiveness of sins and eternal life to all who trust Him. And the Holy Spirit He gives will empower you and me to hear and embrace these words and this kind of life: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
Rev. Dr. Paul R. Winningham is pastor of Grace Lutheran and Zion Lutheran Churches in Uniontown and Longtown.