Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26, Cycle A

Sunday between September 25 and October 1 inclusive

Every adequate message based on the texts selected for this coming weekend will address in some way the question of individual accountability to God for our sins and for all our actions and attitudes, as well as the issue of the damage caused by our sins that may harm and hinder our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Such a message will give ample evidence of our struggles with these issues. Such a message will recognize that changes in human perspectives of God and of human conditions occurred among the People of God during and within the biblical period and changes in human perspectives of God and of human conditions occur today within the living, dynamic Word of God, both written and oral.

Exodus 17:1-7
As in the Exodus 16:1-6, 37-45 text considered this past weekend, here also the pre-Israelites in the desolate areas in the Sinai region are depicted as murmuring against the Lord and against Moses. In this instance the Lord instructs Moses, giving directions regarding how and where to strike the rock at Horeb so that fresh water will spring from it. These texts and the texts following them are indications that there were consequences of the sins of the people. Their generation would not enter the land the Lord had promised to provide for them. Instead, they would wander for forty years in the desolate areas.

Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16
Although only nine verses of this psalm have been chosen for use in our worship services this coming weekend, we should prepare for the service by reading the entire psalm. In this psalm it is amply stated that although the Lord provided food and water in response to the complaints of the people, there were serious negative consequences for the complaining actions and attitudes of the people.

Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32
As we use this Ezekiel 18 text in the message this weekend, we can share within the worshiping congregation something about how this Ezekiel 18 text demonstrates that in spite of much resistance by many people theological insights from God do change, grow, and are developed in part in relation to changing political, social, and cultural conditions. Many of the congregations in which we serve, especially many of the older and more mature ones, will be able to see this from their own experiences and in the light of their own theological insights and development. They will be able to see that there is validity in both observations made in Ezekiel 18, that “When the fathers eat sour grapes, the children’s teeth are set on edge,” and that “The person who sins shall die!”

The methodology that Ezekiel and the editors and redactors of the Ezekiel traditions used was excellent and provides a model for us to use when changes are necessary within the Church and within the congregations in which we serve. The model in Ezekiel was not to say that “We and our rules and lifestyles were wrong in the past and we must reject them and make changes now.” Instead of attempting to persuade the people that the older ways were wrong, they condensed the older rules into a proverb, “The fathers ate sour grapes and the children’s teeth were set on edge” and placed alongside it another proverb in which it was said that the “The person who sins shall die.” Instead of saying we were wrong, they said essentially that from now on within our changed situation we understand it in this way.

Psalm 25:1-9
Ezekiel and the editors and redactors of the Ezekiel traditions were obviously aware that changes were necessary in the perceptions of God and of themselves after they had been deported to Babylon and their corporate existence as a nation had ended. These changes in perspectives put more emphasis on the belief that God holds individuals accountable as individuals instead of corporate accountability. This explains why the persons who selected the texts for the lectionary we are using chose Psalm 25 materials with their emphasis on the sins and the disobedience of individuals and on the obedience of individuals to be used with Ezekiel 18.

Matthew 21:23-32
This Matthean parable about a man who had two sons and asked each of them to work in his vineyard expresses the emphasis this week about holding individual persons accountable by using a parable rather than a proverb. The son who with all honesty said to his father, “I do not want to go to work in the vineyard,” but later changed his attitude and actions and went to work in the vineyard is presented as having been obedient to his father. The son who said, “I shall go, sir!” but did not do what he had promised and did not actually work in the vineyard is presented as being disobedient to his father. The application of the parable in the latter portions of the text (21:31b-32) was probably affected by experiences and observations made by early inspired followers of Jesus. Unlike Lukan parables that are similar to this one, such as the Lukan parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32, the son mentioned first here is the one who is said to have acted correctly by changing his attitude and actions and is not allegorically symbolic of Israel and the son mentioned second is not allegorically symbolic of early followers of Jesus. It is interesting to note that the writers of some later manuscripts of the Greek text of Matthew reversed the depictions of the sons in order to make this Matthean parable correspond more closely to the Lukan parables.

Philippians 2:1-13
In the Matthean parable about the man who sent his two sons to work in his vineyard, the test of accountability of the sons is tied to their actions, not to the answer that they each had given to the request made by the father. In Philippians 2:1-5 the Apostle Paul urged that in their actions, and in their attitudes as well, the Philippians should follow the example set by Jesus, the man who did not selfishly grasp for divinity as people characteristically do, but who emptied himself (heauton ekenosen) by being obedient to God, even to the point of death on the cross and is now highly acclaimed above the earth, on the earth, and under the earth.

Sunday between September 18 and September 24 inclusive

The goodness of God is the dominant theme in these texts. Because of the goodness of God, the Apostle Paul was able to write that it would actually be better for him personally to die and to be with Christ, although he was willing to continue to endure the trials and tribulations of his present existence for the sake of his fellow believers in Philippi. We can effectively utilize the Philippians text, therefore, as an expression of our confident response to the amazing goodness of God. Because God is so good (particularly from the Christian perspective of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus as the Christ), we can be free and confident either to live or to die, free and confident both to live and to die. Therefore, all of these texts are gospel for us — God’s grace to be accepted by faith.

Exodus 16:2-15
What is most amazing about the goodness of God as depicted in this text is that God miraculously provided food for the pre-Israelites in the wilderness even though they were murmuring and grumbling against the Lord. Even though they were not able to escape from their condition of slavery in Egypt without the many miraculous interventions that the Lord had provided for them, now that they were safely away from the Egyptian armies, they said they would have preferred to have been killed by the Lord while they were still slaves in Egypt rather than to die from starvation in the wilderness, because at least in Egypt they had ample food to eat when they had been slaves. After all those miracles the Lord had provided for them, instead of respectfully asking the Lord for help, they were complaining bitterly to the Lord.

Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45
The psalmist urges the people of Israel to remember the goodness of God, the wondrous mighty acts of God that made it possible for them to survive and to become a nation within the land the Lord had provided for them. The link to the Exodus 16:2-15 account is the mention in Psalm 105:40 of the Lord providing quails and bread from heaven to sustain them in the wilderness.

Jonah 3:10–4:11
The goodness of the Lord in this conclusion to the Jonah story is even more amazing than the goodness of the Lord in providing manna and quail for the pre-Israelites who complained ungratefully to the Lord that the Lord was killing them in the wilderness from starvation and lack of water. God is presented in the Jonah story as being so good and merciful that when the notoriously cruel people of Nineveh who had caused so much horrible suffering for the people of Israel repented of their sins, God spared them. In addition, God is portrayed in the Jonah story as being patient with God’s most wayward prophet Jonah who was so displeased God had spared the Ninevites that Jonah’s repeated refrain was it would be better for him to die than to live. God is depicted in this story as far more merciful and good than any human being could ever be.

Psalm 145:1-8
Many positive statements are made about the Lord in the portions of this psalm that have been selected for our use here. The Lord is said to be great, gracious, merciful, patient, kind, good, compassionate, just, and accessible to all who call upon the Lord in truth. Verse 9 should be included with verses 1-8 since verses 8 and 9 are obviously paired in thought and in structure.

Philippians 1:21-30
This text is evidence of the close relationship Paul enjoyed with the followers of Jesus in Philippi. Paul was concerned here, as always in his letters, about the lifestyle appropriate for followers of Jesus during the time before the coming of the Day of the Lord. In this instance, however, Paul was also writing about appropriate “deathstyle.” Paul wrote about how he perceived his own death, an event that would almost certainly occur soon if Paul would defiantly proclaim during his trial to the zealous advocates of Roman Civil Religion who held him in prison and who would accuse him that “Jesus the Christ raised from the dead — not Caesar — is Lord!” as Paul was bold enough to write in Philippians 2:10-11 and as he had previously written in Romans 14:11. For Paul, because of the gracious goodness of God, Paul’s death would merely be a “graduation” to a new and better life with Christ. The style in which he would die, however, was of great importance to Paul. He wanted to die in “Christ-style,” and he wanted the followers of Jesus in Philippi also to die in “Christ-style.”

Matthew 20:1-16
This parable about the Laborers in the Vineyard occurs in the Newer Testament only in Matthew. Regardless of whether it was told by the Jesus of history within a Palestinian Jewish setting or whether it was developed within the Matthean tradition as a polemic against the Jews (who had been first but now after the Jewish revolt in 66 CE had been crushed were last), the parable is a beautiful expression of the goodness and grace of God. The sense of the key verse 20:15 is basically, “Do I not have the same right to do what I wish with what belongs to me that you have to do what you wish with what belongs to you? Are you going to continue to look at me with evil intent simply because I am doing something good for someone else?”

Goodness and grace, rather than generosity, are the crucial divine qualities here. Presumably the laborers who had begun their work late in the afternoon needed a day’s wage just as much as those who had labored all day, and because of God’s goodness and grace they received it. If God’s generosity had been the factor to be emphasized, the story could have provided for the laborers who had toiled throughout the day a generous bonus for their efforts.

Any message we share based on these texts, whether the message is expressed in story form, in three parts that develop a theme, or otherwise, should emphasize the goodness and grace of God rather than God’s generosity. Does not God through God’s goodness and grace supply that which we need in order that we may live, die, and live again? Each of us, through faith in what we believe God has done for us and does for us in Jesus as the Christ, can accept the goodness and the grace of God for ourselves if we wish to do so. On the other hand, there is little or no evidence God lavishly showers riches on us simply because we believe in God, or because we toil long and hard through the burden and heat of the day.

Sunday between September 11 and September 17 inclusive

With their celebration of rejoicing over the mighty acts of the Lord in drowning the men in the armies of the Egyptian Pharaoh in the waters of the sea while parting the waters in Egypt and of the River Jordan to make it possible for the Israelites to pass over easily and safely on dry land, the Exodus 14:19-31, Psalm 114, and the Exodus 15:1b-11, 20-21 texts stand widely apart from the other texts selected for our use this coming weekend. All of the other texts selected are dominated by thoughts about God’s forgiveness of us and our forgiveness of others. In Romans 14:1-12, the emphasis is on ways in which we try to honor God whether we continue to live here for a long period of time or whether we die soon. We shall consider the Romans 14 text last, therefore, since it can be seen as a response to the other texts about forgiveness.

Exodus 14:19-31
The positive factors in this text are that the Lord rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and because the Israelites saw the miracles performed by the Lord they feared the Lord and believed in the Lord. The negative factors are that the Lord is presented as destroying the lives of Egyptian soldiers who were doing what they were ordered to do, with no consideration for the lives of the Egyptian soldiers and for the lives and sufferings of their parents, wives, and children. It is a text in which the Lord is entirely a military partisan, a text in which the Lord is a God of war, a weapon of war. Without that weapon, the Israelites would not have been victorious.

Exodus 15:1b-11, 20-21
What is expressed in prose form in Exodus 14 above is expressed in poetry in Exodus 15. The shorter Song of Miriam in 15:20-21 is expanded upon considerably in the Song of Moses and of the people of Israel in 15:1-18. Miriam and the women, with timbrel and dance, celebrated the destruction of the Egyptian armies and the triumph over them that the Lord had accomplished. While it is important that we are aware of these texts, we should analyze and study them critically in biblical study contexts rather than to read them, often without comment, within our worship services.

Psalm 114
In another poetic expression of the triumph of the Lord in bringing the Israelite people out of Egypt and across the Jordan River into the land ruled by the Lord, the entire earth is told to tremble and to worship the Lord God of Israel.

Genesis 50:15-21
In this short portion near the conclusion of the Joseph story we have a beautiful gem of forgiveness. Joseph refuses to be vindictive even after his father’s death, implying that only God has the right to judge Joseph’s brothers. Joseph’s brothers had intended evil to come to Joseph, but God intended everything that happened to Joseph to be for the good of many people who survived the seven years of famine because Joseph had been sent to Egypt. In the light of God’s action in bringing good out of what the brothers of Joseph had intended for evil, not only does Joseph refuse to punish his brothers, but he also provides for them and for their families. By means of this gracious act, Joseph demonstrates the nature of God and at the same time provides an excellent example and role model for young men and women to follow. This wisdom motif of an excellent role model for young people to follow is one of the primary purposes of the Joseph story in its canonical form. Also contained within the Joseph story are large amounts of Israelite tribal history and life experiences to which we have no other comparable access.

In the Joseph story, the hand of God is shown here in Genesis 50:15-21 and in Genesis 45:5-15 in the repeated refrain, “God sent me before you to preserve life.” That refrain has provided a model of hope for Jewish leaders during conditions of extreme suffering for them throughout their history, including the pogroms in Eastern Europe and in the Holocaust.

We should not leave this text without the comment that this text — as well as the Psalm 103 account chosen to be used with it — has not a trace of legalism regarding forgiveness. These Older Testament texts are satisfied to provide exemplary models of forgiveness by Joseph (Genesis 50:15-21) and by the Lord (Psalm 103:1-13). In contrast, the Matthew 18:21-35 text ends with a legalistic threat of God-ordered imprisonment until the last coin of debt is paid for all of the followers of Jesus who do not forgive their fellow believers from their hearts.

Psalm 103:(1-7) 8-13
Within this individual hymn of praise, the gracious forgiveness of the Lord is acclaimed joyfully and repeatedly. The examples given are general enough that they can be used basically as they are even today. An unrehearsed responsive reading of this psalm during the worship service is hardly adequate for this occasion when God’s forgiveness of us and our forgiveness of others will be highlighted. Hundreds of years prior to God’s splendid act of forgiveness of sins by means of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ, the often-repeated Israelite description of the Lord as “merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” was expanded with line after line of acclamation and analogy in this Psalm 103. Therefore, we should use this psalm heavily within our worship services this coming weekend in our message and in our songs.

Matthew 18:21-35
Because this Matthew 18:23-35 parable of judgment is known so well by most of the people within our worshiping congregations, perhaps we could use the parable best as a basis for a children’s sermon message told in our own words. The “gospel” in the parable is seen in the mercy that the lord of the servant showed in 18:27 by releasing the servant and canceling the huge debt owed to the lord. The parenesis is seen in the requirement that we forgive the sins and debts other people have incurred, just as God in Christ has forgiven our sins. Both for the children and for the adults we should note the similarity between this parable and the petition in the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our sins as we have forgiven the sins of those who have sinned against us.” Finally, the importance of forgiveness can be summarized by a reference to the saying about how often we should forgive that we have in Matthew 18:21-22.

Romans 14:1-12
Our understanding of this text is greatly increased when we realize that Paul was emphasizing that Jesus Christ is Lord of all, of the dead as well as of the living, as he wrote to followers of Jesus who were living in Rome itself, where Caesar was being acclaimed increasingly as lord of all. In spite of the risks to Paul and to those to whom he was writing, Paul wrote that “If we live, we live in a close relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord, and if we die, we die in a close relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord.” As in Philippians 2:10-11, Paul wrote here that soon every knee shall bend to the Lord Jesus Christ and every tongue shall confess him. Implied in this is the assertion that soon even Caesar himself and those who acclaim Caesar as lord will bend their knees at the name of Jesus Christ and confess that he is their Lord. In order to provide a biblical base for this, Paul quoted Isaiah 45:23, and implied that where Adonai was acclaimed as Lord in the Isaiah text Jesus Christ raised from the dead is now Lord.

Sunday between September 4 and September 10 inclusive

When we study these texts in their context, it becomes apparent they share the theme that “God is concerned about every individual within the community of faith.” Beyond this theme each of these texts has its own nuances.

Exodus 12:1-14
This text in which the Feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread are institutionalized is clearly a statement that God is concerned about every Israelite. Placing some of the blood of the animal sacrificed on the doorpost of each home is to be an immunization of all of the Israelites, to separate them from the oppressive Egyptians who are to be punished and weakened by the death of the first-born of all of the oppressors’ people and animals. That this Festival is a reminder of God’s love and concern for one’s own people while punishing and weakening the oppressors is a contrast with the encouragement of Jesus and of Paul to “kill one’s oppressors with acts of kindness,” giving them food and drink. It is a reminder to us of the diverse opinions expressed within our biblical texts, and we should not merely choose an opinion from among these that corresponds to our own opinion and then condemn others among our fellow believers who choose a different biblical opinion as their own.

Psalm 149
The distinction between God’s concern for the People of Israel and God’s concern for other persons is clearly made also in this psalm. Every Israelite is urged to praise the Lord with joyous song and dance but with a two-edged sword in their hands or at least within quick and easy reach. The timbrel and lyre are to be used to make music for the Lord, and the two-edged sword to destroy their enemies.

Ezekiel 33:7-11
The Ezekiel traditions are noteworthy for the transition within them from corporate responsibility and accountability to individual responsibility and accountability. This transition can be seen in this Ezekiel 33:7-11 segment.

As a result of the fall of Jerusalem and the end of the nation, those who survived and maintained the Israelite traditions as exiles in Babylon were perceived as surviving as individuals. The prophet Ezekiel was called and commissioned, therefore, to speak words of judgment and of hope not so much to the entire nation as to individuals within “Israel.” This emphasis on individual responsibility and on individual accountability and on the judgment by God of each individual became important in Israelite apocalyptic thought and was carried over into Christian thought with emphasis on individual salvation. The individual may survive even though the nation is no longer in existence. Although God was certainly perceived as being concerned about every individual person prior to the time of the development of the Ezekiel traditions, from that time on there has been much more concern for each person. In Ezekiel 33:8 this emphasis on each person is so great that it is written the prophet will be held responsible for the death of any individual person among the Israelite people to whom God’s word of warning was not relayed by the prophet.

Psalm 119:33-40
Within this portion of the extensive Psalm 119, as well as throughout the entire Psalm with the exception of verses 1-4 in which all individuals are considered, the psalmist speaks as an individual. Even in verses 1-4 it is those who are individuals who live in accordance with the commandments of the Torah who are said to be blessed. For example in verse 94 we read, “I belong to you. Save me!” It is not “We are your people. Save us!”

In verses 33-40 the psalmist wrote “Teach me… Give me understanding… Lead me… Give me life.” There is no reference to the nation. Since for most of their years since 586 BCE the Israelites-Jews have had no nation, their primary perceptions of God have been on an individual basis. During the first four centuries of the development of the Church, followers of Jesus had no nation, and their perceptions of God were primarily individual also. After Constantine made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire and within the nations that were formed after the collapse of the Roman Empire, Christians have added a national component to their religion so strong that in many instances in the USA being American is more significant for some persons than is being Christian, and some want to insist that to be an American a person must be a Christian.

Romans 13:8-14
Within the first seven verses in Romans 13 the Apostle Paul indicated that, in his opinion, each person among the followers of Jesus who was living within the Roman Empire would fare best by being subject to the Roman authorities by paying the required taxes and showing respect and appropriate honor to those authorities. While doing this, however, Paul carefully placed Caesar and the officials who governed under Caesar into positions that were definitely subordinate to God. He wrote that such officials have no authority except the authority given to them by God and that God has appointed them.

In Romans 13:8-14 Paul wrote that followers of Jesus should have no obligations to anyone except to love each other. Paul wrote that each person is to follow the summary commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself.” Each person is to “Put on the garment of the Lord Jesus Christ and not be thinking about the use of physical resources for evil purposes.”

Matthew 18:15-20
Within its context in Matthew 18, this text is also an expression of God’s concern for every human being. It follows immediately after the Matthean account of the one lost sheep that has gone astray, and it is followed by the saying about unlimited interpersonal forgiveness. Whatever can be done, such as a personal visit of concern for every individual person, should be done. There are no civil courts, no ecclesial courts such as were developed much later in the history of the Church, to be involved here.

Sunday between August 28 and September 3 inclusive

In these texts persons who are trying to serve God are depicted as engaging in intense struggles with the world. Within the Jeremiah 15:15-21 and the Psalm 26 texts, the prophet and the psalmist speak boldly to the Lord asking for support in their struggles. In the very important “Burning Bush” theophany in Exodus 3:1-15 we have the “gospel” in these texts, the good news that the Lord God has seen the affliction of God’s people and has come to deliver them from slavery and oppression. The gospel is expressed in the Matthew 16:21-28 text in that the deliverance from affliction that God accomplished in the death and resurrection of Jesus are already perceived as having occurred as expressed in the passion predictions. The Apostle Paul provides most of the parenesis (guidelines for how we should live in response to the gospel proclaimed) here.

Jeremiah 15:15-21
This segment of the personal prayers of Jeremiah and of the response to these prayers by the Lord is one of the most helpful biblical examples of the difficulties faced by the prophetic figure, the truly inspired individual of any time and place. The inspired individual is frequently alone, alone with God and rejected by the world, rejected even by most of the people of the community of faith. The inspired individual is driven by God to say and to do what the inspired individual must do. The inspired individual is controlled by God, but the inspired individual can never control God. Nevertheless, we see in this text that the Lord is basically supportive of Jeremiah. We, too, believe when we are driven by God to become inspired individuals, God is basically supportive of us. Like Jeremiah, however, we sometimes must wait a long time for evidence of God’s support.

Psalm 26:1-8
This individual lament is similar to the lament in Jeremiah 15:15-21, except that the psalmist is much more closely associated with the cult (the worshiping community) than Jeremiah and his disciples were. Unlike the Jeremiah 15:15-21 tradition, this psalm provides no response by the Lord. Perhaps it is assumed that no immediate response was needed since the psalmist was surrounded by the supportive congregation. The psalmist was primarily a righteous individual; the prophet Jeremiah was primarily an inspired individual. Which of these roles describes each of us? Do we at some times function as one and at other times as the other? We believe that God uses both in this world.

Exodus 3:1-15
This highly significant call of Moses story is one of the most important theophanies in our biblical texts. Moses is curious about the burning bush and is initially receptive to God’s call. The Lord God then reveals something about the Lord God’s identity, and Moses is overwhelmed and hides his face because of his fear of God and his respect for God. Moses is pleased to hear that God will deliver the pre-Israelites from bondage in Egypt and bring them to the “land flowing with milk and honey,” but apprehensive when God tells him that he must go to the Pharaoh and demand the release from slavery. God provides a symbol of God’s name for Moses and gives explicit directions for Moses as Moses is to address the Pharaoh and the pre-Israelite slaves.

Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c
The anxiety and fear the people to whom this psalm is addressed once had as wandering sheep and goat herders without a nation, subjected to drought and famine, and severely oppressed as slaves in Egypt are remembered as they are called upon to worship the Lord God of Israel. Now, however, these thoughts of anxiety and fear no longer restrain them as they praise and acclaim the Lord God for the mighty acts of deliverance of the heavily oppressed people that has resulted in their nation Israel.

Romans 12:9-21
This text is ample evidence of the major contribution that the Apostle Paul has made in his seven letters of guidelines regarding how followers of Jesus should respond to the proclamation of the gospel. We are to be “boiling over” with the Spirit of God, rejoicing in the hope that God provides for us, as we endure patiently whatever affliction comes to us, while we persist in prayer, participating in meeting the needs of all who are consecrated to God, and seeking to be as helpful as possible to strangers. We should even with acts of kindness provide food and drink for our enemies, conquering evil with good.

Matthew 16:21-28
The additions in Matthew to the Mark 8:31–9:1 text, especially the words to explain the way in which Peter was reported in Mark to have started to reprove Jesus for talking about being crucified (“May God spare you this, Lord! This will never happen to you!”), are reminders to us that these passion predictions in the Synoptic Gospels are almost entirely ex eventu. They are told from the vantage point of belief that God had raised Jesus from the dead, Jesus as the Risen Christ was now with God, and Jesus’ death, as well as his resurrection, had been necessary in order that his followers would have salvation. Our own natural inclinations may be to say that if we had been with Jesus before Jesus went up to Jerusalem to be crucified and if Jesus had told us what is reported in this text, we would probably have said the same thing that Peter is reported in Matthew 16:22 to have said.

Why, then, is Jesus reported to have rebuked Peter when Peter only wanted to spare Jesus from Jesus’ horrendous suffering and death? When we recognize that this is an ex eventu account, we can begin to realize that from the perspective of followers of Jesus late in the first century, if Jesus had not been crucified they would not have been saved from their sins. Satan (evil personified, perhaps in the person of Caesar, under whose jurisdiction Jesus had been crucified) would have been victorious had not Jesus been crucified and had not Jesus been raised from the dead as the Savior by the power of God. To be opposed to Jesus’ suffering and death, therefore, is to be opposed to God and to God’s plan of redemption and to be on the side of Satan.

The message of the Jesus of history that God rather than Caesar is Lord and is coming soon to rescue Jesus’ fellow oppressed Jews led to the sacrifice of Jesus’ life. For followers of Jesus later during the first century to proclaim that Jesus the Risen Christ, rather than Caesar who ruled over them on the earth, is Lord was for them to be willing to “take up their cross to follow Jesus” to an end by torture and crucifixion like that of Jesus. They were exhorted to be willing to do that here in Matthew 16:24-26.