Wednesday night I had the opportunity to preach from Mark 8:31-38, the passage where Peter rebukes Jesus for his talk of suffering and dying, and Jesus, in turn, rebukes Peter, saying, “Get behind me, Satan!”
Though we have, by the grace of God, been given eyes to see, our vision is often blurred. That is what happened with Peter and that is the message that stands behind Jesus’ healing of the blind man at Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-26) just before this passage.
The reason we often suffer from this condition is quite simply, we fail to focus on God. Jesus puts it this way in verse 33, "You are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."
The Things of God are Counter-intuitive (vv. 31-33)
In all fairness to Peter (and at the risk of making excuses for ourselves), it is somewhat understandable (though not acceptable) that we would fail to focus on the things of God. After all, the things of God are counter-intuitive.
Jesus was the Messiah, the One who (in the expectations of the disciples) was supposed to come in power and glory, defeating Israel’s enemies and providing true freedom and lasting peace. Yet here was Jesus talking instead about how he was going to suffer and be rejected and die.
This made no sense to the disciples who had a plan that was altogether different. But having heard Peter’s accurate confession of him as the Christ (Mark 8:29), Jesus is now going to correct the inaccuracies of Peter’s expectations and plans for the Messiah.
This prompts me to consider this: How often do I need to have my expectations adjusted by God and how often do I insist on my plan instead of trusting in his plans? I saw the movie Adjustment Bureau last night, and at the heart of the plot is a couple who are trying to change the destiny that has been assigned to them by God, referred to in the movie as a mysterious character called “The Chairman.”
It occurred to me that I understand (and all too often share) their desire to want what they want and to think they know better than God what’s best for them. But the Christian’s view of God ought to be so much different.
Whereas in the movie, God was mysterious and unknowable, our God has made himself (and his love) known in the person of Jesus Christ. And unlike the characters in the movie, not only can we know God, we can also know, “that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28), even when our finite minds can’t understand what that purpose might be.
The Things of God are Costly (vv. 34-37)
Jesus not only was altering their expectations of what would happen to him, he was also re-shaping their expectations of what would happen to them. In an interesting and creative use of wordplay, having told Satan through Peter to “get behind me,” in verse 33, he goes on in verse 34 to set the terms for anyone who would “come after me,” the language in the original Greek being identical.
Christ’s prescription for his followers is that they must deny themselves and take up their cross. I fear that we miss the weight of what Christ is saying here. We speak of slight inconveniences as “our cross to bear,” missing the reality that the cross was not an inconvenience, but rather an instrument of torture and death.
Similarly, when we think of “denying ourselves,” what usually comes to mind is refraining from some pleasure we enjoy. But as R.T. France points out, this is to fall terribly short of what Jesus is saying.
“What Jesus calls for here is a radical abandonement of one’s own identity and self-determination, and a call to join the march to the place of execution follows appropriately from this. Such ‘self-denial’ is on a different level altogether from giving up chocolates for Lent. It is not the denial of something to the self, but the denial of the self itself."
It is only when we deny ourselves in this way that we will truly be able to take up our cross and follow Jesus, willing to live, or die, for him and him alone. This is counter-intuitive and it is costly. Why then would anyone choose this life as opposed to some other?
The Things of God are Compulsory (v. 38)
It is because the things of God are compulsory. The Scriptures tell us in Acts 4:12 “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." And Jesus himself says in John 14:6 "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
This is quite exclusive language. And such exclusion might seem offesive to our "enlightened" ears. But Jesus is coming again. John speaks of a vision of such in Revelation 19:11-12 where he says, “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems…”
And Jesus it very clear in verse 38 how he feels about those who are ashamed of or offended by his words: “For whoever is ashamed of me and of 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."
Let us not exhibit such shame by our failure to accept and to live according to his word. Let us find shame only in our sin, and let us then turn to the grace and mercy and steadfast love of Christ! Let us proclaim with Paul, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…” (Romans 1:16), and therefore, “let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us," (Hebrews 12:1) and when we fail, let us look to the cleansing and atoning work of "Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).
This is an excerpt from a sermon delivered at Calvary Presbyterian Church on October 16, 2016 entitled, "The Power of Christ."
