Jesus's Road Trip to Jerusalem
Notes
Transcript
Call to Worship
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his hosts!
Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!
Let them praise the name of the Lord!
For he commanded and they were created.
And he established them forever and ever;
he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.
Praise the Lord from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and mist,
stormy wind fulfilling his word!
Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
Beasts and all livestock,
creeping things and flying birds!
Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and maidens together,
old men and children!
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his majesty is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his saints,
for the people of Israel who are near to him.
Praise the Lord!
This week is the last one before Palm Sunday, and Holy Week, which takes place in Jerusalem. All of the other passages that we’ve looked at so far, have been a part of Jesus’s ministry in Galilee, so this week we will be looking at Jesus’s roadtrip from Galilee to Jerusalem.
What’s the longest walk you’ve ever taken? I’ll be honest, mine isn’t that long, I’ve hiked Cape Split a handful of times, and I’ve done a number of other hikes about the same disctance as Cape Split but that’s about the longest I’ve done.
Because I was interested I looked up some of the longest hiking trails near us, and what I found was this. The longest one in Nova Scotia is the Liberty Lake Trail at Kejimkujik National Park which is just over 60km. My sister went on a trip last year, where they hiked the Fundy Footpath in NB, that one was about 50km. One that blew my mind was the Trans Canada hiking trail, also known as the Great Trail, which is actually now the longest hiking trail in the world, it connects to every single province of Canada, and it is over 27,000 km, which is just insane.
In the passages we’re going to look at today, Jesus also walked a really long distance. Not 27,000 km, but his route from Galilee to Jerusalem was likely about 145km, and would have taken Him, His disciples, and the others He travelled with, several days.
One of the things that I’ve really enjoyed even on the short hikes I’ve been on, is the conversations that I had with the people I was walking with. I find that some of my best, and also some of my hardest conversations have happened while I was walking with people. And the same is true with Jesus.
The gospel of Mark covers this trip in chapters 8-10, and so this morning we’re going to look at Jesus’s trip and some of the events and conversations that Jesus had on the way from Galilee to Jerusalem.
During this trip, Jesus had four distinct conversations with the disciples. We’re only going to look at the first one, but it sets the template for the rest.
And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.
And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? 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.”
So like we’ve seen from the past couple of weeks, Jesus’s fame has grown and people are starting to formulate ideas about who Jesus is. So he asks disciples a question.
We’re not told why he asks the question, but I think it could have been one of a couple different things. First, it’s definitely possible that Jesus asked because the disciples had heard rumours that He hadn’t yet, but I think more likely than not he was asking them to make them think about it for themselves, and this is furthered because he asks them right after what they think.
And their response is interesting. They respond “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” If you remember back when we talked about Herod, there were several people who wondered if Jesus was some how John the Baptist raised from the dead. He obviously wasn’t but this was a rumour that had been spread around.
All of them were important teachers
To any other person, these comparisons would be high praise.
And All of them, in some way, parallel Jesus’s ministry
Like Jesus, John was a preacher who proclaimed repentance, who taught people moral truths, and who declared that the kingdom of heaven was at hand
Like Jesus, Elijah was a miraculous physician who healed many people, he raised a child from the dead, as did Jesus, he multiplied food to feed hungry people like Jesus, it makes sense that the surrounding people would think this. There was also a prophecy that Elijah would return before the day of the Lord, and because Jesus and John the Baptist were preaching that the day of the Lord had come, it made sense that they would think maybe Jesus is the second Elijah.
Like Jesus, the Prophets shared messages from God, and helped to bring God to the people, and the people to God.
But Jesus was not merely a preacher, a physician or a prophet. And Peter recognizes this. He says: “You are the Christ”
It’s important for us to pause here and understand this claim. We use the term Jesus Christ as if it’s his name, but Christ was not actually a name, it was a title. And the word Christ actually comes from the same root as the word Messiah. The bible was originally written in two languages Hebrew and Greek, and in Hebrew the word messiah, and in Greek the word Christ are basically the same.
And they mean: “one who is anointed”
What does anointed mean? Anointed literally means to pour oil on someone’s head. Which seems kind of weird to us, but anointing was a big part of religious ceremony for the Jewish people. They would anoint people who were set apart to enter God’s presence and to go between God and the people.
And in the Old Testament there are three major groups of people that get anointed. And these are Kings, Priests and Prophets.
When Samuel chose David to be king, he poured oil on his head to symbolize the spirit of God coming and being with David so that he could lead the nation of Israel and help them to be holy.
When Moses has led the people into the wilderness and they’re at Mount Sinaii and he comes down with the instructions and commandments from God. One of the first things that he puts into practice is he anoints his brother Aaron to be the first priest, and to lead the people of Israel in becoming holy and presenting themselves before God.
And third when Elijah the prophet is finishing his ministry and passing on the baton to his helper Elisha, he anoints him preparing him to be the spiritual leader in Israel.
And there were prophecies in the Old Testament that there would be one who would come who would be THE ANOINTED ONE. And He would save the people, and give them freedom. And He would fulfil the duties of the ultimate King, Priest, and Prophet. And we know now, that Jesus was the one who came and He became the ultimate King, Priest, and Prophet. These are what is known as the offices of Christ.
And so Peter gets it, he sees that Jesus is this anointed one that has been prophecied about, that Jesus is the prophecying priestly king.
But Jesus teaches the disciples that he isn’t the Messiah in the way that they think He is. Their thoughts about the Messiah came from several passages in Psalms and Daniel, and they think the Messiah is going to come and win a military victory for their people, over the nations oppressing them.
But Jesus teaches something different, he said this Mark 8:31 “the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.”
Jesus knew that his role as the anointed one, as the fulfilment of the prophets, the priests and the kings, was ultimately based in bringing God’s presence to people, and in bringing them into the presence of God. But not through the same way as the prophets, priests, and kings, Jesus knew, and taught, that for people to be truly made right with God, an innocent man without sin would need to suffer and die for the sins of the world.
And Peter’s response to this is really interesting; because his claim that Jesus is the final anointed one was not one that Jews were supposed to make.
They had laws against what they called blasphemy, essentially, if anyone claimed to be God, or claimed that someone else was God, then the person who made that claim would be punished by death.
So Peter making this claim is insane, he shows in his claim that he is so certain that Jesus is the anointed one, God in human form, that he is willing to stake his life on it.
And yet, in his actions, he shows that he isn’t actually ready to do that …
Peter makes a claim that he isn’t really ready to support with his actions, and he shows this by the fact that he rebukes Jesus.
Why did Peter rebuke Jesus?
There are a couple of possible reasons Peter rebuked Jesus
Did he just really love Jesus, and didn’t want Jesus to die? Maybe… but that doesn’t seem to be all of it.
Some think that Peter was focusing on the earthly kingdom, that he still thought that Jesus was going to gain military might and would conquer the Romans. Which falls in line with what he likely understood the title Christ or Messiah to mean… it could be this nationalistic approach that caused him to rebuke Jesus, but I think there might be something else fueling Peter’s motives…
We know that Peter had both a wife and mother-in-law in his care, and according to church history, Peter also had at least a daughter, if not several children. We’re not told whether or not Peter had kids at the time that he was following Jesus, but what if he did?... Jesus’s prediction that He was going to suffer and die meant that Peter and the other disciples would likely also suffer and die, and we know that each and every one of them were martyred in the end, so what if Peter takes Jesus aside and rebukes him because he’s scared… not even scared for his own life or for Jesus’s but for his wife and kids… if Jesus is killed then Peter likely will be as well, and what if that traces back to Peter’s family…
What if Peter’s rebuke isn’t only that of an ignorant disciple, but of a distraught husband and father…
I would propose that Peter’s feeling a mix of all three, he’s afraid for his family, but maybe that isn’t something new, the Romans have been in charge his whole life; in the gospels, he doesn’t come across as some innocent guy that hasn’t seen the world, Peter’s probably seen things, and so he doesn’t want to see Jesus die, he doesn’t want to die himself, he doesn’t want his family to die. He wants Jesus to wipe out the Romans, but from a really human motive, if the Jews are self-ruling, then his family will be safer; if Jesus is the king, then he’ll have an in with the highest authority, and he and his family will be safe.
But we know that that’s not the kind of king that Jesus came to be, and as much as Peter might have a semi-pure motive for what he wants Jesus to do and be, he’s got the whole thing wrong.
Why did Jesus rebuke Peter? This part of the story was always weird to me, Jesus calls Peter Satan and it made me really uncomfortable, and to be honest it still does, but I’ve begun to understand it.
Peter was too focused on earthly things, independence for the Jews, protection for his family, and these things are noble. But they fall short. If we’re going to follow Jesus we need to give Him everything, our family, our heritage, our freedom, our very souls need to be surrendered to Him.
Jesus knows Peter’s intentions which is why despite His harsh criticism, He says, “get behind me”, not “I cast you out! Depart from me”. Jesus’s rebuke is corrective, not cruel.
Jesus is reminding Peter that his thoughts are on earthly things, while Jesus’s are on heavenly things, and Peter needs to remember to follow God in humility, instead of asking God to follow him.
He is saying: Peter, you’ve got this wrong, but keep following me. You’re thoughts are on earthly things, but set your mind on me and on our heavenly mission and you can still follow me and be my disciple.
And then Jesus teaches Peter and the other disciples and says this:
Mark 8:34-38 “And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? 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.””
Jesus not only taught that He would die, but that He must die for the sins of the world. And as He corrects Peter, He uses him as an example. If people are going to follow Christ they need to be prepared to sacrifice everything, even their very lives for him, if we’re not ready to lay down everything for Jesus, if we’re ashamed of him and don’t make him the single most important part of our entire lives, then he will be ashamed of us. And we will not be with him in the end.
And Peter was not the only one who didn’t get it right away. Over the course of the rest of their trip there are two more times that a conversation breaks out and the disciples don’t understand what Jesus has come to do.
Peter’s rebuke is the first time that the disciples show they don’t understand what it means for Jesus to be the Christ yet.
The second is a conversation the disciples have about which one of them will be the greatest, they know that they are associated with Jesus, and in their mind if Jesus comes as a great military leader than they will be important in the kingdom of heaven, and one of them may be the greatest person second to Jesus.
But Jesus teaches them,
Mark 9:35 “And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.””
And so Jesus makes it really obvious that He did not come to earth to gain earthly power and influence, and his followers also shouldn’t seek this, instead we need to be a servant to all just as he is.
The third conversation is one he has with James and John, the other fishermen who were called with Peter. And they ask if they can be on Jesus’s right and left in his glory. Essentially they are asking again if they can be important with Jesus, and Jesus once again corrects them and says,
Mark 10:42-45 “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
As I mentioned with the first time, each of these conversations is paired in Mark’s gospel with Jesus predicting his death. He also does this three times. And both in his death predictions and in his corrections in his conversations with his disciples, Jesus makes one thing very clear. He is the Christ, but not the way they thought. He is the King of Kings, but not one that has come to wipe out the Romans. He is the ultimate Prophet, Priest, and King come in glory, but his glory and fame is not based in earthly power or importance, instead he has come to serve and to suffer for the sake of all.
He came to get rid of sin, and to sacrificially suffer and die in our place. And this is the message that the disciples needed to hear, and we need to hear too:
We don’t get to decide who Jesus is. We often want a nice neat religious Jesus that solves all of our problems and makes our lives easy.
The disciples wanted Jesus to be a great military leader who would give them freedom, and take away their problems, and make them important.
But Jesus wasn’t who they thought he would be. He wasn’t the messiah they thought they wanted, but He was the messiah they needed.
Often times we delude ourselves and think we can fix our own problems. We can make enough money, we can use enough will power, we can do enough of the right things, we can, we can, we can…
But the truth is, we can’t. We can’t do anything on our own. Least of all we can’t save ourselves, and if Jesus was the person that the disciples wanted him to be, then he wouldn’t have died and taken away the sins of the world, and every last one of us would all still be on a one way road to hell.
But Jesus knows better than us. He’s known what we need from before we were even created, and he fulfilled that himself. He is the perfect anointed one, our Christ, our Messiah, our King. But He proved that not by becoming a great military or government leader, He proved it by being perfect in suffering.
And if we are to follow him then we don’t seek our own fame and importance and glory, instead we choose to live rightly and proclaim love, mercy, truth and Justice even when it means that we’ll suffer for it.
Like Christ said, to follow Him is to daily deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him, even in suffering.
Our goal must be to seek His glory. And yet He promises something incredible, do you remember what he said in the beatitudes:
Matthew 5:11-12 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Christ did not come to make us important, or to get rid of all of our problems. Christ came to suffer and die on our behalf, and if we are to be like Christ we must be willing to also suffer and die for the sake of Righteousness. And yet even in our suffering there is hope, we are joined by a long legacy of others who have suffered with Christ, and if we remain faithful in suffering then there is a reward of perfect peace and joy with Christ in heaven.
It’s a hard call, because Jesus makes it abundantly clear. If we follow Him, our lives will be hard. There will be trials, tribulations and suffering. If we are actually practicing our faith there will be times when we don’t fit in with the rest of the world around us and it hurts.
We will have to give up everything, our own desires, our own dreams, our own reputations, even our own lives.
Following Jesus will cost us everything, the only thing that will cost us more is not following Him.
Benediction
King Jesus,
May we seek to follow you where you lead, not where we want to go. Show us how to lay our own desires behind and chase after your heart. Remind us to be humble, and lead us to serve, not be served. May yours be the power and the kingdom and the glory forever and ever
Amen.