There Is No Path to Glory That Bypasses the Cross

After Peter’s confession, Jesus made a shocking statement: “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

The word “must” is key. Jesus was not describing a tragic detour. He was describing the center of God’s plan. Suffering, rejection, and death were not unfortunate setbacks on the way to glory. They were necessary. There was no other road.

Even Peter, who had just confessed Jesus as the Christ, could not accept this. He tried to correct Jesus. Jesus responded with one of the strongest rebukes in the Gospels: “Get behind me, Satan! You are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

This reveals something we often miss. The cross was not Plan B. It was the plan. If even Jesus, the Son of God, had to go through suffering and death to reach glory, then we should not be surprised that the same pattern marks the lives of those who follow Him.

Any Christianity that promises glory while avoiding the cross is not the Christianity of Jesus.