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THE FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST August 30, 2026 Pastor Tom Steers Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto Our Bible Readings: Old Testament – Jeremiah 15:15-21 Psalm 26 Epistle – Romans 12:9-21 Gospel – Matthew 16:21-28 Our Hymn of the Day from Lutheran Service Book is LSB 425, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URU6Mo_531g&list=RDURU6Mo_531g&start_radio=1 The Sermon – “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” These words mark a turning point in Jesus’ ministry. The disciples have confessed that He is “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Peter has made the good confession. But now Jesus begins to teach them what being the Christ actually means. The Messiah must suffer. The Messiah must be rejected. The Messiah must die. And on the third day, rise again. Peter can’t accept this. “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” Jesus responds with words that must have shocked Peter and may shock us: “Get behind me, Satan!” Peter had just confessed Jesus as Christ, but now he’s become an obstacle to Jesus’ saving work. Why? Because this disciple was setting his mind on the concerns of man rather than the things of God. Peter wanted a Christ without the cross. But there is no such Saviour. The cross is not an unfortunate interruption in Christ’s mission. The cross is the mission. Jesus came into the world precisely to bear our sins and give His life as the ransom for many. A Christ without the Cross – Something very important is also at stake here concerning Peter himself. Just a few verses earlier, Christ had said to Peter: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.” That verse, at times, has been wrongly interpreted as Jesus establishing Peter as the supreme head of the Church, the first pope, whose authority would be passed down through succeeding bishops of Rome. But Peter’s own words immediately following his confession provide powerful evidence against that misunderstanding. The man supposedly established as the infallible head of the Church is immediately rebuked by Jesus with the words: “Get behind me, Satan!” Peter is not the foundation of the Church because of some inherent authority belonging to him. The Church has one foundation: Jesus Christ. It is built upon the apostolic confession that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Peter proclaimed that confession. But even Peter’s confession was not yet complete or mature. Peter knew who Jesus was. But he did not yet fully understand what Jesus had come to do. He confessed the Christ, but could not yet accept the Christ who must suffer, die, and rise again. Christ is the incarnate only Son of God. We are saved by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. And this faith must cling to the Christ of the cross. The Offence of the Cross – The cross remains offensive to our human way of thinking. The world wants glory without suffering. Victory without struggle. And salvation without sacrifice. We want a God who will make our lives comfortable and successful. But Jesus says: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” The Christian life is not a promise that we will avoid suffering. It is the promise that Christ will be with us while we endure it. The crosses we bear are not instruments by which we earn salvation. Neither do our ‘good works’ buy us redemption. Only the good work of Christ at Calvary does that. Our crosses are the sufferings and sacrifices that come to us as we follow Christ in faith and serve our neighbour in love. This is the life described in Romans, Chapter 12: “Let love be genuine.” “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” “Bless those who persecute you.” “Repay no one evil for evil.” These are not instructions for earning God’s favour. They are the fruits of faith in those who have already received God’s mercy in Jesus. The Christian bears his cross while trusting that his sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake. Jeremiah understood something of this. He cried out to God in the midst of suffering and opposition: “O LORD, you know; remember me and visit me.” God did not abandon him. The Lord answered: “If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me.” Through the cross of Christ, death will not have the last word in the lives of believers. The Risen Saviour has promised us a resurrection and eternal life. The Cross Is Not the End – Jesus concludes this teaching with a remarkable promise: “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” This statement must be understood carefully. Jesus is not saying that some of the disciples would still be alive when He returned in glory at the end of the world. That is the second, final coming described in verse 27: “For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father.” But verse 28 speaks of something different: “the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” The disciples would see Christ’s kingdom unveiled in the events that followed the resurrection. Many followers would see the risen Jesus. They would see the victory accomplished through the cross. The Holy Spirit would descend upon the apostles on Pentecost. Peter would stand before the crowds and proclaim the crucified and risen Christ. Three thousand people would be brought into the kingdom by the power of the Spirit working through the preached Gospel. That Good News continues to spread throughout the world. This is the kingdom of Christ coming among sinners through the Church using God’s means of grace: His Word and Sacraments. Jesus makes clear that the end of the age would not come before the Gospel had been proclaimed throughout the world. The disciples were therefore not to despair as Jesus went to Jerusalem. The cross was coming, but it was not the end. The Kingdom Comes Through the Gospel – This is an important word for Christians today. We live in a world where the Church may sometimes appear weak. The Gospel may be rejected. Faithfulness to Christ can bring opposition. But Jesus tells us to look beyond these trials. Christ has already conquered sin, death, and the devil. His kingdom is already among us. Whenever the Gospel is preached, Christ is building His Church. Whenever sinners hear that Christ died for their sins and trust that promise, the kingdom is being revealed. Whenever Baptism brings a child or adult into Christ’s death and resurrection, the kingdom is advancing. Whenever the Lord gives His true body and blood for the forgiveness of sins at the altar rail, Christ is sustaining His people as they journey beneath the cross toward eternal life. Therefore, do not despise the size of the Church. Do not measure Christ’s kingdom by worldly standards. The kingdom comes through the Gospel. It comes quietly, through the Word, through Christ crucified and risen. And we have the privilege of participating in its proclamation. We proclaim Christ not because we must somehow establish His kingdom by our own strength. We proclaim Him because His kingdom has already come to us. Now we speak of that treasure to others. Following Christ – Peter’s faith was strengthened and matured after the resurrection. The apostles who abandoned Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane went on to spend their own lives spreading the Gospel and suffering martyrdom. What changed them? Not human wisdom nor ‘decision-making.’ Not ecclesiastical power. It was Christ’s resurrection and the Holy Spirit’s gift of faith. That same Gospel continues to sustain the Church today. When Jesus tells us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him, He isn’t calling us to a hopeless life of suffering. He is calling us to follow the One whose cross has already accomplished our salvation. “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” The world says: Save yourself. Jesus says: Trust Me. The world says: Seek glory now. Jesus says: Follow Me beneath the cross. The world says: Death is the end. Jesus says: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” Therefore, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, take courage. Jesus has gone before you. He has borne the cross, and conquered the grave. His kingdom has come. One day, the kingdom will be unveiled in all its glory. Until then, we live beneath the cross, trusting in Christ, loving our neighbour, proclaiming His Gospel, and waiting in hope. For the One who went to the cross for us is the One who rose again for us. And that One will bring you at last into His eternal kingdom. Amen.