Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

 Sermon Text: Matthew 16:21-26

 Other Readings: Jeremiah 15:15-21 and Romans 8:18-25


 

  1. Who were the chief priests, teachers of the law, and elders back in Jesus’ day?
     
  2. Generally speaking, what is a Christian’s cross?
     
  3. What does Jesus mean when he says that Christians “must deny themselves” (v. 24)?
     
  4. What was Jeremiah’s “cross,” so to speak? How was he handling it?
     
  5. In our Second Reading, St. Paul guarantees that there will be “glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18 NIV). How can he be so sure? Use our Gospel Reading to back up your answer.

 

  1. The chief priests are exactly what they sound like; they were the leading priests. It’s helpful to remember, though, that God had selected only one of the twelve tribes of Judah to be priests, that is, the Levites. Their job was to represent the people before God and lead worship. So, this was a very exclusive position. The teachers of the law were those “scholars” who were esports in the Old Testament, especially the first five books of the Old Testament. They were primary teachers of the people; so, they held lots of sway. The elders were most likely influential lay leaders who had connections to the chief priests and teachers of the law.
     
  2. Generally speaking, a Christian’s cross is whatever that Christian suffers as a result of that person’s faith. It could be the realization that we must suffer through temptation or undergo persecution for our faith.
     
  3. We must say no to those things that our sinful desires that are contrary to the fruits of the Spirit and that would lead us from Christ. It does not mean that we need to “rough it” in life like the monks mistakenly tried to do in the Middle Ages.
     
  4. Jeremiah “suffer[ed] reproach for [God’s] sake” (Jeremiah 15:15) and often had to separate himself from his own people because they were indulging their sinful flesh (v. 17).
     
  5. Jesus predicted that he would be raised from the dead and into glory again. Since we are connected to Christ through baptism, we, too, will be raised from the dead to enter the glory of heaven.