God’s grace, peace
and mercy be with you. … My sermon is entitled Christ, Cross and Christians,
and my focus is our Gospel (Mark 8:27-38). Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the
psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’”[1] Now that our feet are
within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit
enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we
pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.
I divide my sermon on the Gospel into three parts. First,
the Christ (verses 27-32a); next, the Cross (32b-34); and finally, the
Christian (35-38).
Undoubtedly, the Passion prediction narratives are the crux
of the synoptic gospels – Matthew, Mark and Luke. And while each of them varies
slightly, they convey the same message. Jesus asks his disciples who others
think he is before asking them. Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ and a
moment later the two of them exchange rebukes. The conditions of discipleship
are laid out before Jesus takes Peter, James and John with him to the mountain
where he is transfigured. While this passage in Mark is indeed the gospel’s
crux, I go to my first point, Christ before speaking of Cross and Christian.
Jesus did not suffer from an identity crisis. His identity
was absorbed into and defined by his mission. He was quite sure of who he was.
Unfortunately, no one else was.[2]
Yet, he still asked his disciples what others were saying. And it’s interesting
to note that Jesus asked this question in Caesarea Philippi, the center of the
Canaanite Baal cult and pagan religions. Amidst all these false gods, the true
God revealed Himself.
In this setting, the first question was comfortable enough,
but the disciples’ answers as to what others were saying showed that people
were blind to who Jesus was. Humans never considered Jesus as Messiah, and the
disciples’ answers were identical to those offered by the audience of Herod’s court
after he executed John the Baptist (6:14f). Those answers made sense since 1st
century Jewish expectations varied widely on how the agent of God would usher
in His Kingdom. Hence, people saw Jesus as a prophet, messiah, teacher or charismatic
holy man.[3]
Because the disciples’ responses were no more insightful than those offered by Herod’s
court, Jesus asked the disciples a more troubling question.[4]
Now, Peter is the spokesperson of the Twelve, representing
both insight and blindness. That he blurted out, “You are the Christ!”
is an amazing answer because Christ was not a title used by Jews during Jesus’
time. His answer was like that of the blind man (8:22-26) to whom Jesus
restored sight in that he partially saw people that looked like trees; and so, Jesus
had to fully cure his blindness and that of his disciples.[5]
Folks, everything in the Church, including its mission then
and today depends on who Jesus is. For the disciples, everything, including
following him on the way, depended on their recognition of his identity.[6]
We don’t know why Jesus ordered his disciples not to tell
anyone about himself at this point in the gospel. It seems strange to command
this after he went around Galilee announcing the Kingdom of God, expelling
demons, curing the sick and feeding the hungry. This is not the type of
behavior expected of someone who did not want anyone to know about him.[7]
There was no or little expectation in early Judaism that the
Messiah would come and suffer. Hence, Jesus’ first prediction of
the Passion which included the idea that the Messiah was to suffer was in
complete contrast to Jewish expectations.[8]
When Jesus spoke of his Passion, he referred to himself not
as Christ or Messiah, but Son of Man. A most confusing title, it meant that
Jesus saw himself either as a typical human or the figure in Daniel (7:13-14). While
Son of Man expressed both suffering and glory, Jesus used it in a paradoxical
way to refer to himself as the lowly, disreputable, rejected messenger of the
powerful kingdom of God assured vindication in the future.[9]
Jesus used this phrase earlier in Mark when he healed the
paralytic. In the presence of the scribes and others, Jesus said, “‘That
you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’— he
said to the paralytic — ‘I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home’” (Mk
2:10-11). He also used it when he and his disciples walked through fields
picking grain (2:28).
To better understand Jesus as Son of Man, we look to
Philippians (Phil 2:6-11). Paul wrote that when Adam rejected his role as
co-creator and grasped for immortality, he could no longer claim full humanity
as God intended. Jesus reestablished full humanity by accepting the most basic
human limitations, which is to suffer and die.[10]
All of Jesus’ references to his own suffering and death reflect not only the
particular manner of death and his acceptance of it, but also his understanding
that He would serve as a ransom for us (Mk 10:46).
Jesus was very clear about his message, and made three
predictions. If you have read Mark, you know that there are indications that Jesus’
life would end with passion. The Pharisees and Herodians plotted to destroy him
(3:6), and those conflicts continued not only with them but also with scribes
and demons (3:23; 7:1-13; 8:11-13)[11]
So, his announcement was not a prediction in the common sense,
but a pastoral teaching to open his disciples’ eyes because while they accepted
Jesus as the Christ, they did not accept his Passion and Resurrection as Son of
Man. In short, there was a serious problem with their attitude, and he planned
to open their eyes as well as their minds and hearts. In short, Jesus accepted
the title of Christ but did not want it announced because his identity could be
grasped only by true disciples. That said, we move from Christ to Cross.
In the ancient world, crucifixion on a cross was the
cruelest form of capital punishment. It was reserved for slaves, rebels and
violent criminals, and carried out in public to serve as a powerful deterrent.
The condemned person was forced to carry a crossbeam (picture an 8x8) to the
site of the execution, where it would be fastened to the upright beam. Then the
victim would be nailed or tied to the cross and left to die, which sometimes
occurred only after days of torment.[12]
When Jesus spoke about the cross, he did so frankly and
clearly. He is Christ and Son of Man. He is eternal God and mortal man. He
accepted his mortality, and gave his life for others. In turn, the disciples would
be called to do the same.
Unwittingly, Peter, serving as Satan’s tool, did not want
Jesus to continue teaching this way for the sake of the disciples. When he took
Jesus aside, he did not think that he was tempting the Lord but protecting the
disciples. Peter rejected what the Passion implied not only for Jesus, but also
for the disciples.
And when he took Jesus aside, he literally turned Jesus’
body away from the disciples so that Jesus’ back was towards them when he
turned around and fixed his eyes on them. Bluntly, he warned the disciples not
to be tempted by Peter.[13]
Jesus’ command has two meanings. He could be saying “Get out
of my sight!” or “Get in line behind me!” His rebuke is severe because the
temptation is profound. Jesus knew where God’s path for him led – suffering,
rejection, death and resurrection – and he was sorely tempted to follow Peter
in departing from this path and taking with him these disciples, but He
persevered through the straight and narrow in spite of this temptation.[14]
The next words were directed not to those who did or did not
confess Christ, but to those who followed and those who did not. The cost of
the cross to followers was shame that was great and public. And, that, my
friends, brings me to my third point, Christians.
Before we were known as Lutherans, we called ourselves Evangelicals,
a Greek word meaning good news. It was John Eck who labeled people who
identified with Martin Luther’s theology as Lutherans. He meant it as an
insult. We wear it as a badge of honor. Before we were called Christians, we
were known as Nazarenes or People of the Way, while many Church members
referred to themselves as saints, meaning people dedicated to God. It seems to
me that People of the Way took root in Mark’s Gospel because he used the phrase
“on the way” multiple times. Today, as Christians, we are still people on the
Way, following behind Jesus carrying our crosses as well.
Now, before we determine why the cost of the cross is so
extravagant, we must determine what it is and what it is not. Here, Jesus is
not talking about ordinary, or even extraordinary, human burdens that we
sometimes bear, yet have no direct connection with discipleship to Him. I
thought that when I was the primary care-giver of my mother during the last
year of her life that this was my cross to bear. I was gravely mistaken. An
illness may be a thorn in the flesh, but it is not our cross to bear. A
difficult relative or a troublesome friend may be a problem, but it is not our
cross to bear. Cross-bearing as a follower of Jesus means nothing less than
giving your whole life over to following him. And here comes another surprise.
This is the way to total freedom.
Keep in mind that Mark strengthened the faithful in times of
suffering. He reminded Christians that Jesus did not insist that followers lose
their lives but did insist that they deny themselves and be prepared to die if
that meant remaining true to Him. So, what does it mean for me to follow
Christ?
First, deny yourself. Place yourself totally at the disposal
of Jesus Christ. Second, take up your cross. Join Jesus in offering your life
for others. Third, follow Christ. Commit yourself to be with Jesus on a life
journey characterized by self-renunciation.
To see this in a teaching lived out by a Lutheran martyr, I
quote a few words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor known for his
staunch opposition to the Nazi dictatorship, Hitler's euthanasia program and the
genocidal persecution of the Jews.
Bonhoeffer once wrote, “Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the
cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.
Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake
of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to
buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of
Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to
stumble;
Such grace is costly because it
calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ.
It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives
a man … true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it
justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of
his Son: ‘ye were bought at a price,’ and what has cost God much cannot be
cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too
dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is
the Incarnation of God.”[15]
Folks, if the words of a Christian martyr and Jesus do not
persuade you, here is a final reason for denying yourself, taking up the cross
and following Christ. Jesus ended His teaching with this: “Whoever is
ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him
will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father
with the holy angels.”[16]
Friends, there are persecutions more overt and covert than
those of ancient Rome, Nazi Germany or Communist China, but no less a threat to
Christian discipleship. How often are we pressured to tailor our words and
behavior to win approval and avoid derision from our cancel culture? How often
are you tempted to soft-pedal Law and Gospel in order to conform with today’s
political correctness? The danger of refashioning Christ and Christianity into
something safer and securer is summed up in Jesus’ rebuke of Peter. Over the
centuries, millions of believers were martyred for their faith, and yet, the
famous axiom holds true: “The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians.”
(Tertullian, Apology 50.13)[17]
Jesus did not insist that you embrace martyrdom but He did
insist that you accept His cross. Recognize Jesus as your messiah and master,
your glorious Lord and humble servant. Embrace and lift high the cross. Follow
Christ daily, and wherever you find yourself on the way, know that the peace of
God that surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and
minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
[1] Psalm 122
[2]
Meier, JBC, 1323.
[3] Ibid.
[4]
Witherington, 240.
[5] Ibid.
[6]
LaVerdiere, 26.
[7] Ibid.
[8]
RSV fn 8:31-32, 1225
[9]
Meier, 1325.
[10]
LaVerdiere, 28.
[11]
LaVerdiere, 27.
[12]
Healy, 168.
[13]
LaVerdiere, 33.
[14]
Witherington, 241f.
[15]
Healy, 172.
[16]
Mark 8:38.
[17]
Healy, 171f.
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