Jesus talks to his disciples about his passion

It is now the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time and today’s gospel reading talks about the Passion of Jesus and about discipleship. In today’s gospel, Jesus informs his disciples of his impending death, that he would be killed and on the third day rise up again. You can find this gospel in Matt.16: 21-27.

“21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

“22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” 23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

“24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.”

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Few Catholics or Christians who don’t read the Bible realize that today’s gospel reading follows last Sunday’s gospel reading on the Confession of Peter (Matt.16: 13-20). Talking about last week’s gospel tells us that Peter said that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. For which Jesus tells him that flesh and blood did not reveal this information to him, but it was given by his Father in heaven.

It was the time Jesus created his church upon the rock called Peter and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. He added giving Peter the power to forgive or not to forgive sins.

Just then when Peter was given the keys of the kingdom of heaven, we continue with today’s gospel when Jesus told his disciples, “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

With Peter still basking in his new role in the Church of Jesus, when he heard this he immediately rebuked the Lord saying, “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” 23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

During my years as a practicing apologetic I never encountered our evangelical friends accepting the reality that our Lord Jesus Christ founded his church in Matt.16: 18. But certainly they could never forget that when Peter was given the role to lead the Church Jesus calls him a “Satan” for trying to block the salvific plan of God which would lead to the eventual passion and death of our Lord where he would be raised up after three days.

So finally on the conditions of discipleship, he informs his disciples while they are still in Caesarea Philippi, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”

Noticed that our Lord tells his disciples to take their cross and follow him. When Jesus said this no one ever thought that the cross would be of great importance to the Lord. In those days the cross was used to execute criminals and no one ever thought that the cross would someday be the way to eternal salvation of mankind.