What Matters Most (Feb. 25, 2024) Mark 8.31-38

Today’s text is a hinge point in the Gospel of Mark. Up to this point Jesus is healing, performing miracles and other mighty acts. After this text, he does more teaching and speaking about his coming death and resurrection. Therefore, what comes with this text is a crucial midpoint in the Gospel, from doing to teaching. And how this teaching is received is critical to this second part of the Gospel because there are three sections where Jesus gives a teaching about his suffering and dying. Plus how these teachings are received tells us a lot about his disciples and by extension us as well.

The story we read today is only part of a select section of the Gospel. It really should begin in verse 27. Allow me to read that to you and you will understand why it is so important to the text for today: “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?” 28 And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 29 He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” 30 And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.”[1]Jesus is asking his disciples what the people, and by extension them, think about Jesus. As the text states some think he is John the Baptist raised from the dead, while others think he is Elijah who is to come before the coming of God, others think that he is one of the prophets, not that he is aprophet, but one of the prophets, the ones who have writings in the scriptures. The people saw what Jesus did and realized that here was someone greater than anyone that they knew of, and they were full of rumor and possibility.

But the disciples, who do they believe that Jesus is? Peter, who seems to always be the spokesman for the group, pipes up and says that he is the Messiah, or Christ, both terms meaning the same thing, “Anointed One.” This question-and-answer session is away from the crowds because Jesus tells the disciples to keep this on the down low. They are to keep this quiet and not tell anyone. In fact, this is so imperative that Jesus tells them this “sternly.”

Jesus then turns a corner and begins teaching the disciples that he must suffer and be rejected by the ruling class and those who were teachers of the faith. This would be the priests, the Sanhedrin, and teachers of the Law which probably included the Pharisees. These are the people who should be delighted to see the coming one, the Messiah. All their hopes and dreams would be fulfilled. Or would they? The priests and the Sanhedrin were known to be collaborators with the Romans. One coming who was to lead a revolt against the occupiers would upset the apple cart and cause them to lose the privilege, status, and power that they enjoyed. For the Pharisees, there would be great disappointment as will be seen shortly. See, the one who claimed to be the Messiah is stating that he must be killed and them rise three days later. This is not an option, but an imperative. This was a new teaching and one that was a bit confusing. The disciples were probably quite confused by this teaching. And Jesus was teaching openly, not wrapped in a parable where they were to try to find the meaning.

Peter, apparently mystified and taken aback from this open teaching, after being told to keep quiet about Jesus being the Messiah, takes Jesus aside and begins to rebuke him. This is a term that is used for when Jesus calls out and exorcises demons. We do not know what Peter said to Jesus, but it must have been difficult for him to hear that the Messiah was to suffer and die. Peter has apparently good intentions because what good is a dead Messiah in leading his people to overthrow their oppressors. It is even thought that he might have thought that Jesus was under a satanic assault, was out of his mind and needed an exorcism! One can imagine Peter taking Jesus aside and saying something along the lines of “Jesus, about this suffering. Um…do you really mean this? Are you feeling ok? Things have been a bit intense and maybe the stress is getting to you. You might even have a demon who is saying all these things through you. I know a guy who can take care of this for you. All you need to do is say the word. Really, dying? What good is it if you, the Messiah, are dead? I mean, the uprising would not even get started if that happened. So, what do you say about taking this teaching and maybe leaving it aside?” This is a private scene which shows the misunderstanding of Jesus’ mission by the disciples, especially Peter. It also shows the boldness of Peter in taking aside his teacher, which should have never occurred. One does not take one who is above one (a disciple taking a teacher) aside and rebuke them. It is unheard of and looks bad for all involved.

Jesus then turns and rebukes Peter in front of the other disciples. This shows that Jesus will not be pulled to the side, so to speak, and talked to privately away from the other disciples. No, he involves them all in a rebuke that is specifically aimed at Peter. And he uses the words that he used in calling Peter, but with a slightly less positive meaning. After me, or follow me, is what Jesus said to Peter when he called him. Now he tells Peter to “get behind me” or after me Satan. Is he calling Peter the leader of evil spirits or indicating that he is possessed by Satan? Most likely not. The implication here could be that Peter is playing the role that Satan plays in the Old Testament, that of an adversary who is telling Jesus that this teaching of suffering and dying is flat out wrong. This would be reminiscent of Jesus’ testing in the wilderness by Satan. In that, Jesus is offered everything that would make it clear that he was the Messiah, the one that was expected. Instead, here is one saying that he is not like the expected one. Jesus tells Peter that he has set his mind on things of men rather than things of God. This would be a shock to Peter. He was thinking of divine things, of a Messiah coming from God who would end the oppression of Rome and bring Israel back to prominence. Thinking of human things is what Jesus is teaching: suffering and dying. We would be doing the same thing as Peter which many do today. They believe that if Christians are in power, then all will be right with the world. They do not take the teaching of Jesus that he must suffer and die without holding any power seriously. They also do not take the next teaching seriously.

Jesus then turns to the crowd gathered and says, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.”[2]Whoa! What kind of teaching is this? People knew what it was to take up a cross. It meant that one carried one’s own crossbeam that would make up the cross upon which one would be crucified. Rome made good use of crucifixion. It was public and humiliating as one died naked and exposed over several days. It was meant to send the message to those watching, “Don’t mess with Rome.” It did not mean what we say when saying, “This is the cross I have to bear” when we have a problem or issue that makes us uncomfortable. It is a literal cross. It means to die for what Christ is teaching.

And what does it mean to deny oneself? It means that one is to look at oneself and see what it is that hinders following Christ. Deny is better translated as renounce or disown. We are to renounce the self. This does not mean that we are to take part in self-hatred, but that we are to disown our self-centeredness for the sake of manifesting the world that God desires.

And losing one’s life for the Gospel is to say that we are to do as stated before, that we are to deny self and take up the cross. This would be even more difficult than literally dying. It is one thing to die. When one is dead, suffering and pain are finished. When one dies to oneself, it is to continually die to self-interest for the good of one’s family, friends, neighbors, strangers and even (gasp!) one’s enemies. But when one loses their life for the sake of the Gospel, one saves their life.

“For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?”[3] We have all seen those who we think “have it all.” It may be money, fame, success, whatever we think is to “have it all”. And we have seen those who we watch in envy flame out. They have public breakdowns or they fall away from the spotlight. They realize and ask the question “Is this all there is?” They have gained the world and all it has to offer and feel the emptiness in their life. They have lost their life. Jesus asks what they can give in return for their life. Nothing.

Finally, Jesus states that those who are ashamed of him in this world, he will be ashamed of in the next. One wonders if the disciples thought of this when they fled from the authorities and when Peter denied Jesus three times. But Jesus shows grace to those who are humble and repent as they did. It is those who are continually ashamed that are ones of whom he will be ashamed. The ones who downplay their Christianity when a questionable deal comes to them. The ones who will not stand up for the oppressed (whether it be immigrants, those of different color, LGBTQA persons) and will instead shrink into the background and hope that “things will get better with time.” These are the ones of whom Jesus will be ashamed.

There is quite a bit that can be seen in this text for today. First, Jesus is still asking who people say he is, and they are answering in many forms. A sage, a prophet, a really nice guy, but few answer as Peter did, that he is the Messiah. Second, many disciples of today do not understand who he is or what must be done to follow him. Many of us like to have nice things, be around nice people and not get dirty. And yet, if we take Jesus’ words seriously, we must disown ourselves and turn our backs on what we have always wanted or would want. Third, many have mixed life and soul together, sometimes even making it a more philosophical point. But life is what Jesus came to bring and what we need to embrace, even if it means giving up physical life. Finally, it seems that we have lost the notion of shame. We seem to not realize that we are ashamed of Jesus in how we live our lives. We live as we want and those around us find it difficult to know if we are Christians. For this, Jesus will be ashamed of us when he comes in his glory. Our world needs us to be serious disciples, to be ones who renounce self and are willing to lay down our lives for the Gospel. Calvin states it this way: “We are not our own: let not our reason nor our will, therefore, sway our plans and deeds. We are not our own: let us therefore not set it as our goal to seek what is expedient for us according to the flesh. We are not our own: in so far as we can, let us therefore forget ourselves and all that is ours.

Conversely, we are God’s: let us therefore live for him and die for him. We are God’s: let his wisdom and will therefore rule all our actions. We are God’s: let all the parts of our life accordingly strive toward him as our only lawful goal.”[4]

We need to see and accomplish what matters most if only we open our minds and our hearts to listen well. Amen.

[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print. [2] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print. [3] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print. [4] Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion & 2. Ed. John T. McNeill. Trans. Ford Lewis Battles. Vol. 1. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011. Print. The Library of Christian Classics.