September 28, 2025; Sunday Evening Worship

Order of Service

• Hymn — All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name (#374)
• Call to Worship — Philippians 2:5-11
• Hymn — All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name (#37)
• Prayer of Invocation
• Catechism Reading — Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day 28 (Q&A 75–77)
• Psalm — Psalm 106A (stanzas 5–8)
• Pastoral Prayer
• Sermon
• Hymn — When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (#338)
• Benediction — 2 Corinthians 13:14

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Sermon Title: The Mind of Christ Set on His Mission

Scripture: Matthew 16:21-23

I. The Direction of Christ's Mind Set on His Mission

A. The phrase "from that time" marks a turning point in Matthew's gospel

1. First occurrence in Matthew 4:17 introduces Jesus's proclamation of repentance
2. Chapters 4–16 focus on the question: Who is this? — answered in Matthew 16:13-20
3. Second occurrence in Matthew 16:21 marks a new section: Jesus turns toward his mission and the cross

B. Matthew uniquely uses the language of showing rather than teaching

1. Jesus is walking his disciples through the Old Testament scriptures as they point forward to his suffering, death, and resurrection
2. His words make such an impression as to affect all of the disciples' senses — a vivid, embodied teaching experience

C. The Old Testament passages Christ likely opened to his disciples

1. Isaiah 52:13–53:12 — the suffering servant, despised and rejected, pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities
2. The entire Old Testament sacrificial system — all the offerings pointing to him as the ultimate sacrifice
3. Hosea 6:2 — "on the third day he will raise us up"
4. Psalm 16:10 — "you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor let your holy one see corruption"

D. Christ's mind is soaked in and directed upon the Word of God

1. After the resurrection, Jesus opened the Scriptures on the Emmaus road — Luke 24:27
2. He opened his disciples' minds to understand the Scriptures — Luke 24:44-46
3. He desires his people to have their eyes trained on him in all the Scriptures

II. The Difficulty to Christ's Mind Set on His Mission

A. Peter, having just confessed Jesus as the Christ, now rebukes him

1. He takes Jesus aside and says, "Far be it from you, Lord. This shall never happen to you."
2. Peter is bold and zealous — speaking representatively for all the disciples, just as he did in Matthew 16:16

B. The disciples had no category for a suffering Messiah

1. They understood Messiah only as conqueror — how could the Christ be killed before he conquered?
2. J.C. Ryle: "His eyes were blinded to the necessity of our Lord's death"

C. First lesson: There are those who name the name of Christ but reject his mission

1. They may embrace Jesus as a social reformer but recoil from the bloody cross
2. They resist the substitutionary, atoning death as the way of reconciliation with God
3. Paul: "I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified" — 1 Corinthians 2:2
4. J.C. Ryle: "Error on many points is only a skin disease. Error about Christ's death is a disease at the heart."

D. Second lesson: There may be much spiritual ignorance even in a true disciple

1. Peter is a genuine believer, yet deeply mistaken here
2. True believers may still lack full understanding of Christ's active obedience, imputed righteousness, or the two natures in one person
3. We must be patient and gracious with one another in these things
4. The right posture: "I believe; help my unbelief" — Mark 9:24

III. The Determination of Christ's Mind Set on His Mission

A. Jesus turns and rebukes Peter — not rashly, but with love and resolve

1. There is no impulsive anger — he is patient, long-suffering, slow to anger
2. He rebukes Peter out of love for him

B. "Get behind me, Satan" — understanding the rebuke

1. Jesus is not calling Peter himself Satan or suggesting demonic possession
2. Jesus recognizes the purposes of Satan lying behind Peter's words
3. Calvin: Peter is unknowingly acting the part of Satan
4. Satan knows the Scriptures and knows his time is up if Christ completes his mission
5. Peter's words echo Satan's wilderness temptation — offering an easier path, avoiding the cross — Matthew 4:8-10
6. Peter is "setting his mind on the things of man, not the things of God"

C. Jesus declares his absolute determination to reach the cross

1. "You are a hindrance to me" — a stumbling block placed in his path
2. Peter, proclaimed the rock in Matthew 16:18, now becomes in this moment a stumbling stone
3. As Joseph fled Potiphar's wife in faithfulness to God, so Christ with far greater resolve turns from this temptation toward the cross

D. Love drives his determination

1. His love for the Father drives him on to do the will of God
2. His love for his people drives him all the way to the nails of the cross
3. Nothing — not Peter's words, not his own human will — could stand between Jesus and the completion of his mission