I can't expect the kingdom without the cross

In preparing for yesterday's Sunday school lesson, I just ran across Matthew 16:21-26 again. It's the passage in which Jesus--right after Peter has spoken aloud the truth that Jesus is the Messiah of Israel--explains the part of the Messiah prophecies He has come to carry out: He has not come to rule but to die. That doesn't line up with Peter's expectations for the Messiah, no sir! It's at this point in the story that Matthew 4:8-10 comes to mind for me; Jesus was offered a short-cut to gaining the kingdom He has been promised by God the Father . . . & He refuses to take the easy way. He chooses the part of suffering; He chooses the cross & all the shame & indignity & misery & defeat that comes with it. That choice is what He explains to the incredulous disciples in chapter 16. The way of the cross seems an unlikely path to  greatness, to power, to influence--to any of the things we long for down deep inside. But according to Christ, this death is the only way to the life I truly want.