Untitled Sermon

Faithful Followers in Suffering

Many of us follow and members of something. Being a follower means a level of commitment to the cause. Loyalty to the group. Persevering when it gets tough. I remember taking my Canadian nephew to a Red Sox game at Fenway Park. Fun times. Wearing Red Sox shirts and blending in with all the other baseball fans. It was Red Sox vs. the Toronto Blue Jays. I forgot that Fenway plays both national anthems before the game started. I looked at my nephew trying to sing the Canadian Anthem as Red Sox fans threw shade at Canada and the Blue Jays. I admired how my nephew stuck it out. His decision to sing is a testimony to his faith towards his country. What do you follow? It could be anything from following a political party to your high school football team. How much are you willing to sacrifice and suffer for it? Considering we are at church right now, do you feel like it is like suffering or it is worth it?

Some of us here are followers of Jesus. We go to church. Read the Bible. But how much do we live like Jesus outside of church? It is hard and challenging. We do suffer for it sometimes. But what we have seen in this sermon series so far is that suffering is a part of the Christian faith. Jesus said in Mark 8:35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.[1] The mark of Christian witness is by their willingness to suffer for the gospel. We are going to look at God calls Christians to 1) be visible followers of Jesus; 2) lose our life like Jesus; 3) Return to Jesus in repentance.

53 And they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. 54 And Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire. 55 Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. 56 For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree. 57 And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’ ” 59 Yet even about this their testimony did not agree. 60 And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” 61 But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” 63 And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? 64 You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death. 65 And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him with blows.

66 And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, 67 and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” 68 But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed. 69 And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” 70 But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.” 71 But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.” 72 And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept. [2]

Point #1 – God calls Christians to be visible followers of Jesus

We can see here from the narrative that Mark is pointing out how Peter refuses to give up on Jesus but still very scared. He followed Jesus from a distance so it will be harder for people to recognize him. Mark’s narrative doesn’t tell us how Peter was able to enter the courtyard through the main gate. He warms himself by the fire and try to get in close enough to see if he can hear what’s going on like the others in the courtyard. Peter’s boldness has left him. Just earlier that night when Jesus predicted his arrest and death, Peter emphatically said “Even though they all fall away, I will not.”[3] He is scared. While we are not likely in America to face persecution, we are either too timid or scared to live out the gospel. We are scared of being embarrassed or shunned by our friends. We don’t want to get judged by others unfairly. God calls Christians to be like Christ in the world, to be light in the darkness, to demonstrate the hope in Christ to people who are putting their hope in themselves, to hear the gospel message. Instead because of negative peer pressure, inconvenience, or possible suffering we end up blending in with the crowd. No one really knows we are followers of Christ. The possibility of suffering shouldn’t make us timid or fearful of others. A few decades ago, I was leaving church to get ready for the Super Bowl game. It was the Patriots versus the Seattle Seahawks. As I was waiting to cross the street, I something like “Go Seahawks!!! Patriots are losers!!!” I was like who is embarrassing themselves Patriot territory??? Then I saw one of my friends who lived in Seattle wave at me. Wow. She was definitely a die hard Seahawks fan. She did not care if she was screaming that taunt in downtown Boston. So again, God calls Christians to be visible followers of Jesus. Christians are able to do this because Jesus is the suffering servant we are to model ourselves after.

Point #2: God calls us to lose our life like Jesus

1. Jesus suffered shame

a. They screamed prophesy to mock Jesus

b. They slapped and beat him

c. Spitting on shows humiliation and contempt

2. We don’t like to lose this way

a. We are naturally defensive in nature

b. We don’t want to alienate friendships and show disrespect

c. We want to be accepting of others as a way to care

d. In Peter’s case, he doesn’t want to lose his life

Jesus modeled for Christians how to witness the gospel under shame and suffering. We can see from the passage how the religious rulers stacked the court against Jesus. There were multiple witnesses who twisted Jesus’s words and teaching. Jesus remained silent. It wasn’t until the chief priest all flustered and frustrated said, And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” 61 But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” This is the equivalent of someone saying, “What are you doing? Why aren’t you defending yourself?” Jesus only responds when the high priest asks are you the Christ the Son of the Blessed? How ironic that the high priest brought in all these people to falsely testify against Jesus and then have him speak the truth he doesn’t believe in. The priest is saying are you the messiah prophesied in the Old Testament, the one who is God?

Jesus declares that he is the messiah, son of God prophesied in the Old Testament. The equivalent to a mic drop if it existed back then. Jesus in one sentence that he is equal to God and has authority over the religious rulers. They shouted blasphemy.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mk 8:35. [2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mk 14:53–72. [3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mk 14:27–29.