A Theology of the Opposite
Scripture Reading: Matt. 16:21-28
It’s been off the air for 25 years, but to this day Seinfeld remains one of my all-time favorite TV shows. The show about nothing, as it was often described, featured entire episodes in which the primary “action” involved the characters waiting for a table at a Chinese restaurant, returning overdue library books, or searching for a parking spot. Of course, the show wasn’t actually about nothing. These dull backdrops allowed space for the characters’ idiosyncrasies and imperfections to come forward.
My favorite episode is titled “The Opposite.” In it, George, Jerry’s best friend, comes to the conclusion that his life has turned out the complete opposite of what he had wanted. He’s unemployed, unattached, and living with his parents whom he can’t stand. Awash in self-pity, he concludes that every instinct he’s ever had and every decision he’s ever made—from what to eat to what to wear—has been wrong.
He’s explaining all this to his friends, Jerry and Elaine, at a diner booth when an attractive woman eyes him from across the room. George is naturally reluctant to speak to her. But Jerry, in a moment of inspired genius, encourages him to go up to her by saying, “If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right.” With nothing to lose, George introduces himself to the woman with complete honesty—resisting his instinct to lie about his situation—and much to his surprise, it works.
Encouraged, George begins doing the opposite of his natural instinct in other areas of life, and soon finds that his life takes several turns for the better. He has a steady girlfriend, he finds a great apartment, and he lands his dream job in the front office of the New York Yankees. With the newfound faith of a convert, George tells his friends that doing the opposite is now his religion.
For a show about nothing, there is definitely something to this episode of Seinfeld, especially when viewed in light of today’s Gospel reading. In essence, Jesus tells Peter that his notion of a triumphant Messiah who would lead Israel to victory is the complete opposite of what Jesus has actually come to do. He goes to Jerusalem not to be crowned but to be crucified. Furthermore, those who wish to follow Jesus must do the opposite of every instinct toward self-interest and instead deny themselves and take up their own cross.
Last week’s reading ended with verse 20, so we pick up today exactly where we left off. Earlier, when Jesus had asked the disciples who they thought he was, we heard Peter proclaim that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Jesus celebrated Peter’s divine insight, proclaiming him the rock upon which Jesus would build his church. The passage ended with Jesus rather curiously commanding the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Now in this passage we get some indication of why Jesus didn’t want word to get out that he was the Messiah, as he explains to his disciples just what kind of Messiah he intends to be. Israel at the time of Jesus was under Roman rule. Many Jews in occupied Israel hoped for an heir of King David to arise from among them and deliver them from the Romans.
With his miracles of healing the sick and feeding thousands, and with the large crowds that he is drawing everywhere he goes, Jesus looks like he could be the one. That’s certainly what Peter thinks, and it’s why Peter gets so upset when Jesus tells him that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer at the hands of the religious authorities and be killed and on the third day be raised.
Peter’s reaction is swift and severe. Whoa! Wait a minute! (This is not a direct quote.) This was not part of the plan. At all. This is not why I left my family, friends, and fishing boat behind to follow you, Jesus. Stop with this crazy talk about suffering, dying, and rising again. You’re the Messiah!
As per the official account, Matthew writes, “And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” It’s such a subtle detail, but I love the fact that Matthew writes that Peter took Jesus aside to rebuke him. Maybe Peter doesn’t want to embarrass Jesus in front of the other disciples. Or maybe Peter finds Jesus’s words so unsettling that he pulls him aside before anyone else hears this outrageous talk of a Messiah who suffers.
But Jesus’s response to Peter is equally swift, severe, and sharply pointed: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” Poor Peter! One minute Jesus pronounces him the rock upon which he will build the church, then the next minute he’s a stumbling block. From the rock to a stumbling block in just a few verses! That has to be some kind of record.
I don’t know about you, but I find Peter to be such a compelling figure, in part because of his flaws. He is quick to speak but slow to understand. I said last week that when Peter proclaimed Jesus to be the Messiah, he didn’t fully appreciate what he was saying, and Jesus’s rebuke here proves that to be the case. But it’s not as if Peter is intentionally being obtuse. Isn’t Jesus overreacting just a bit? I mean, “Get behind me, Satan?” Is what Peter says all that bad? He just doesn’t want to see Jesus suffer.
To understand why Jesus reacts so strongly we need to go back to his time in the wilderness, after he was baptized by John but before he began his public ministry. As recounted in Matthew chapter 4, Jesus faces a series of three temptations from the devil. First the devil tempts Jesus, who is fasting, to turn stones into loaves of bread. Why go hungry when food is readily available?
To understand why Jesus reacts so strongly we need to go back to his time in the wilderness, after he was baptized by John but before he began his public ministry.
Having failed, the devil then tempts Jesus to perform a public sign to prove that he is the Son of God. If Jesus were to, say, throw himself from the pinnacle of the temple, God would send his angels to save him. Surely that would prove to the people, including the religious authorities who are always questioning him, that Jesus is truly the Son of God.
The third and final temptation is the most insidious: earthly power. The devil shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor, which he offers to give him. The heir of David, the Son of God, deserves a throne worthy of the title. Not to mention, imagine all the good that Jesus could do as an earthly king! As a wandering rabbi he can heal and feed only so many, but as king his power would be limited only by his imagination. Why, he could even bring Rome to heel and restore the glory of Israel!
This third temptation is the most sinister because if Jesus were to sit upon a royal throne, he would not be raised upon a wooden cross. There are two roads before Jesus: the road of glory or the road of humiliation, the way of the crown or the way of the cross. Peter would have Jesus avoid the cross, just as Satan had tried to do. Peter has set his mind not on divine things but on human things. On power. On glory. On self-interest.
Peter would have Jesus avoid the cross, just as Satan had tried to do. Peter has set his mind not on divine things but on human things. On power. On glory. On self-interest.
Lest there be any doubt about which road Jesus would take, he makes it clear to his disciples, saying, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”
What Jesus is articulating is a theology that is the opposite of every instinct we have as human beings. Our natural instinct runs toward self-interest, self-promotion, and self-preservation. We don’t want to be last, we want to be first. We don’t want humiliation, we want glory. We want to be perceived as winners, as successful, however we define success, be it in terms of money, relationships, reputation, what have you.
But in the eyes of the world, the cross represents failure. A crucified Messiah is a scandal, an outrage, unthinkable! Crucifixion was reserved for violent criminals and enemies of the state. And yet this is the route that Jesus takes. He even goes willingly. He hands himself over to be put to death.
Now, as followers of Jesus Christ, the question hovering in the air is, what does it mean for us to take up our cross? Because that’s what Jesus says that his followers must do. So, how do we do that? What are the steps?
Well, first you have to…. No! I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to preach this text as law. I’m not going to tell you that, if you want to follow Jesus (and I know you do), well, then you must practice self-denial, humility, and living to serve others.
No! No! No! Let’s not get back on that treadmill of thinking that we have to prove ourselves worthy to God! The whole point of what Jesus tells the disciples is that humanity is such a mess that God must die for each and every one of us. No exceptions. Therefore, taking up your cross isn’t about doing righteous deeds that make God happy and earn you extra credit. Quite the opposite! Taking up your cross means dying to any attempt to save yourself through righteous deeds. The truth, the Gospel truth, is that all our righteous deeds count for exactly nothing. They earn us no points. They check no boxes.
Therefore, taking up your cross isn’t about doing righteous deeds that make God happy and earn you extra credit. Quite the opposite! Taking up your cross means dying to any attempt to save yourself through righteous deeds.
Let me tell you why that’s good news. It’s good news because if the cross represents failure, then it means that God works through the places where we have failed. It means that the place where you feel that God has abandoned you is actually the place where God is at work.