22nd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (A)

Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me

Mt 16:21-27

v. 21. From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.

“From that time on” marks a new phase in the Gospel; from now until the end of the book there will be a new emphasis on the death and resurrection of Jesus and on his teaching on this (cf. 17:9. 12. 22f; 20:18f. 28; 21:38f; 26:2).

“He must go to Jerusalem”: Behind this necessity (must) is the will of God ex-pressed in Scriptures. See 3:15 and 26:54.

“The elders, the chief priests, and the scribes”: They constitute the Sanhedrin, the supreme court of the Jews in Jerusalem.

“On the third day”: Matthew is more precise that Mark’s “after three days” (Mk 8:31).

v. 22. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.”

Peter, who acted as spokesman of the disciples in the previous paragraph, in which he had declared Jesus’ Messiaship, now acts as spokesman in declaring he does not believe in the necessity for the Messiah’s death and resurrection.

v. 23. He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

Matthew has softened Mark’s “he rebuked Peter” (Mk 8:33).

“Get behind me, Satan”: The same expression is found at the end of the Temptation in the wilderness (Mt 4:10). To oppose God’s will is to be an agent of Satan.

Obstacle is “skandalon” (stumbling-block). It is he who cause others to sin, that is, a teacher of wickedness. (13:41).

“You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”: The literal translation is “You are not intent upon God’s affairs, but upon men’s.” And therefore, a more accurate paraphrase would be: “For you are not on the side of God but of men.”
To be on the side of men is to be opposed to God and that would be the same as being on the side of Satan. See 12:30.

v. 24. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

“Whoever wishes to come after me”: The meaning is “whoever desires to” or “whoever wants to”.

“Deny himself”: The same word is used of Peter denying Jesus (26:34f. 75). A similar word is used in 10:33; 26:70ff.

It is clear that the word means “to disown somebody” or “to disclaim any connection with somebody”.
The cost of discipleship is therefore, the breaking of every link which ties a man to himself. See 1Cor 6:19.

“Take up his cross and follow me.”: The Romans crucified rebels and the world will execute those who go over to the other side (see v. 23).

The first mention of taking up the cross is found in 10:38. There worthiness of Jesus involves willingness to give up honor and life.

v. 25. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it.”:There is no possibility of be-ing both a disciple and preserving one’s life. Those who want to save their lives will not enter the kingdom, but will be condemned at the judgment.

“Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”: The disciple who follows Je-sus will lose his life for his sake but will have it restored at the resurrection and judgment.
For many disciples this meant martyrdom.

v. 26. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?

Gaining the whole world may also be found in the last temptation of Jesus (4:8f). Regarding the blessings of poverty, see 5:3.

Gain in this age; loss in the age to come. Poverty in this age; riches in the age to come.

“What can one give in exchange for his life?”: This is a proverb and it means “a man’s life is more valuable to him than anything else. Therefore, it is worth his while to lose anything, if by this means he gains his life; and the paradox is that he must lose his life in order to gain it.

v. 27. For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct.

The reason why the disciple must act in this way is because Jesus, who speaks of himself here as the Son of Man, is coming in glory, with his angels, to repay every man for what he has done (an allusion to Ps 62:12).
See also 13:41ff.