Lectionary Readings: Year A – Proper 17

Sometimes the way the lectionary splits things up is a bit odd. The readings we have today are a direct continuation of the conversation between Jesus and the disciples that we heard last week. And, instead of keeping the conversation in one reading, it was split into two. Now, granted, there are things that we can learn from both of these readings – and, in some cases, need to learn – which is why these two readings may have been split up.

Last week, Jesus was talking with his disciples, and he asked them “Who do the people say I am?” He gets a response that shows that people are confused about his identity. Then he point blank asks the disciples the most important question: “Who do you say I am?” And Peter, the excitable disciple, jumps up to give an answer. We cannot find salvation, we cannot find the peace that passes understanding, we cannot experience that “with Christ joy is constantly born anew”¹ unless we know that Jesus is the Son of God, and the one who is to reconcile the world to God. And so for Peter to say that he now understands that Jesus is not just a good teacher, a moral and upright man in the world, but the Son of God and the Messiah brings us joy, just as it brought joy to Jesus. After all, Jesus told him, “Blessed are you Peter, for flesh and blood did not reveal that to you. Instead, my Father in heaven revealed that to you.” What’s interesting about last week’s passage, however, is that line about Jesus commanding them not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. And, because it ends with that line, we are left to wonder why on earth Jesus would have said that.

Today’s Gospel reading gives us an understanding about why Jesus told the disciples not to say anything about his identity, about who he was. Understanding who Jesus is – that Jesus is the Son of God – and the source of all life, and the source of our reconciliation with God is only the first step. Recognizing that Jesus is the King, and that we are not the king is part of that step; or, to put it differently, we must recognize that Jesus is God, and that we are not. And that’s what Peter did. He recognized that Jesus was the son of God, the Messiah. And that he, Peter, was neither of those two things. All well and good. So – again – why did Jesus tell them not to say anything to anyone that he was, in fact, the Messiah? 

Well, it’s because Jesus knows that while the disciples now identify him as the Messiah, the Son of God, they still have in their minds a different kind of Messiah than the one God intends. They were still expecting a warrior king, one who would save them from the occupying forces, from those foreign kings and emperors who were oppressing them. And so, the most natural next step after everyone got excited about the fact that Jesus is the Messiah is that they would gather their forces, train people with sword and spear, march on Jerusalem, and take on the evil that was occupying their land. They would have been excited to recruit everyone they knew, because now the Messiah was here! Let’s get on with it! Let’s take on this evil! Let’s bring back the glory of Israel!

But that is not who Jesus is. And that is exactly why Jesus had to tell the disciples not to tell anyone. They would have been misrepresenting Jesus. They would have been sharing a false image of Christ. A perversion of who he was, a mere caricature of what he was to accomplish on this earth – and how he was to do it. Understanding how Christ will reconcile the world, and following that model, is the second step, once we recognize Christ as the Son of God, the Messiah.

And we know that this is what the disciples were thinking, because Jesus tells them, essentially, ‘Look, we are going to go to Jerusalem, just like you want. We are going to confront the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and all those who lord it over us. But, we are not going to do it with violence. Instead, they will torture me, they will beat me, they will ridicule me, and they will call me weak for turning the other cheek.² But it will be this suffering that will accomplish the salvation of Israel, and of the whole world. It will be this suffering that will bring about the reconciliation of all people to God, and be the salvation of all humanity. That’s how I will bring the Kingdom of God to earth.”

And Peter’s response to this is not, “Okay, Lord. You’re the Messiah after all, we’ll watch you be tortured, beaten, ridiculed and killed.” No. Peter’s response was to tell Jesus that this could never happen. That this could not be. This Peter, who had just realized that Jesus is God, and that he, Peter, is not God, is now turning to Jesus and saying, “Do as I say. Do what I want. Listen to me, and do as I command.” Peter and the other disciples had grown up with the idea of a warrior king as the Messiah, and so for Jesus to flip that idea into the reality that the Messiah must suffer and die was not one they could quite grasp – let alone want to accept. A stumbling block, if you will.³

Just like thinking of Jesus as nothing more than a moral teacher, or merely a prophet, this idea of a warrior king is also not so unique. This type of Jesus, this type of Messiah that the disciples were thinking about is the same view of the Messiah that allowed Christian mobs to destroy prominent religious sites and murder the followers of other religions in the 4th Century after Constantine made the Christian faith the state religion. It was this same view of the Messiah that allowed the emperor Charlemagne to give the Saxons a choice between converting to Christianity or being beheaded in the 8th century. It’s this same view of the Messiah that allowed the Crusades shortly after the turn of the first millennium and which saw the death of countless people after Christian nations said that “godless pagans” had “stolen” the Holy Land. It’s this  view of the Messiah that allowed the Spanish inquisition, which saw bands of roving investigators punishing people who were suspected of not toeing the line with the state mandated Catholic faith. It was this same caricature of a Messiah that allowed people in 1930s Germany to proclaim themselves Storm Troopers for Christ, and to beat people, or stick them in detention camps because those people did not believe the same things that these self-professed warriors of God themselves did. 

This type of Jesus pops us from time to time in history – and I’ve only named the biggest most recognizable events. Each time this view of the Messiah pops up in history, it looks the same as the type of Messiah that Peter wanted Jesus to be. A type of Messiah that elevates a certain group of people; elevates the rich and the influential while ignoring the poor and marginalized – or worse, deliberately causing harm “to the least of these.”⁴ This type of Messiah aligns himself with the political power of the nation, wraps himself in a national flag, and carries a cross that screams death, rather than life. And faith in this type of Messiah creates people who desire to make everyone think, act, and behave like them. These people make laws that enforce morality – even when they don’t live according to those laws themselves. They extol the virtues of violence, and justify its use in making others live according to their Faith. They see this type of a Messiah as a means to power and control, rather than the freedom that comes to all people when lives are transformed by the grace of God, and by the blood shed by the real Jesus at Golgotha. In short, they honor God with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him.⁵

This type of Messiah, this Messiah that Peter wanted Jesus to be, and which shows up in history over and over again, always looks the same, because it’s not Jesus at all. It’s someone else, entirely.

“Get behind me Satan! You are setting your mind on human goals, and not the will of God.”

The only other place this rebuke shows up in Matthew is when Jesus was being tempted by Satan in the desert while he is fasting for forty days. And the words he used to rebuke Satan in the desert are almost identical to this rebuke of Peter. The only difference is the added words, “behind me.” It’s “Begone Satan!” in the desert, and, when talking to Peter, it is “Begone, behind me, Satan!” Jesus was reminding Peter of his place. “Become my follower again, Peter. Don’t assume too much; don’t try and take my position!” Here is a man – Peter – who had recognized that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, but then allowed his own desires, his own dreams and aspirations, to get the better of him. 

The word Satan means “adversary” and anything that stands in opposition of Jesus and God’s will in this world can be called an adversary. So it can refer to the one we call the Great Adversary, and it can refer to Peter, or even to you, and to me. When we allow this Great Adversary to rile up our own desires and our own agendas, and place them ahead of God’s will on this earth, we become the adversary of God: we look, and we act, like Satan. 

This rebuke of Peter, even though it seems harsh, is still just an invitation by Christ that says, “Don’t make this about what you want on this earth, Peter. If you want to, then follow me. But truly follow me and my example of how to change the world. Remember your place, and follow me.”

Following Christ means sacrifice. It doesn’t mean comfort, or wealth, or power, or influence.

Following Christ means denying ourselves. It doesn’t mean getting everything we want; it doesn’t mean fighting tooth and nail to get what we want, or fighting tooth and nail to make sure other people do what we want.

Following Christ means picking up our cross. It doesn’t mean finding new ways to crucify others.

Jesus says, “Get behind me. Don’t try and stand in front of me to lead me. Instead, know who I am, and know who you are. Follow me.”

It’s an invitation to see the world changed for the better, to see the glory of God revealed, to see our own lives transformed into the image of God. Following Christ means offering an invitation for others to experience the incarnate, the crucified, and the resurrected Jesus – without the threat of losing their heads or even just their freedoms.

Following Christ means remembering who is God – and who is not.

And it is upon that rock of faith that the gates of hell will not prevail.⁶

[This sermon was delivered at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Wickenburg, AZ on August 30, 2026.]

1. Evangelii Gaudium 1 ↩︎
2. Calling Jesus Weak ↩︎
3. 1 Corinthians 1:23 ↩︎
4. Matthew 25:39-41 ↩︎
5. Matthew 15:8 ↩︎
6. Matthew 16:18 ↩︎