Pentecost 17 10/01/06 Text: Mark 8:27-33 Title: Who dod you say I am?
Pentecost 17
10/01/06
Text: Mark 8:27-33
Title: “Who do you say I am?”
In our Gospel reading for this morning we find Jesus asking his disciples, “Who do you say I am?” Peter, never the shy one, jumps right in with, “You are the Christ.” And we go right on Peter. You know who Jesus is, he is the Christ; which is the Greek translation for the Hebrew word Messiah.
Peter thinks he knows who Jesus is. We think Peter knows who Jesus is. After all, he called him Christ and we all know that means he knows who Jesus is. But as we see just a couple of verses further in our Gospel reading, he really does not know who he is. Peter, and the rest of the disciples, for that matter, have a false understanding of Jesus for they think that he came to earth to restore Israel to her former glory.
So when Jesus, told Peter and the disciples that he was going to have to suffer, be rejected by the religious authorities, be killed, and then in three days be raised again. It was more than Peter could stand.
No sir, that just is not going to work, not if Jesus is going to do what Peter is thinking he is going to do. The Messiah, cannot die. He has to be alive so that Israel will be restored back to its glory days, so that Peter and his disciples can have honored places in Jesus’ new government. No, that just will not work.
So we see Peter pull Jesus aside as he begins to rebuke him, to straighten him out. But Jesus stops him, as he tells Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
Well that did the trick. Peter stopped rebuking Jesus. He and the others are now intently listening to hi as he begins to teach them about what is going to happen to him. That is how powerful Jesus’ words are.
I must tell you though, that Peter and the other disciples still did not really know who Jesus is until the Day of Pentecost, when God the Father sent the Holy Spirit, to stand in for Jesus, as their teacher and defender.
On that day it all made sense. Jesus had risen from the dead, not only proving that he is God, but also showing, them and us, that our earthly bodies will also be raised from the dead on that day when Jesus comes back and makes the new heaven and earth. Self-denial, taking up the cross, and following Jesus, even to death, became the way his disciples lived, suffered and died.
But what about us? We who are 2000 years further away from Jesus’ words that day. What would Jesus say to us about what he expects from those who follow him? We ask that question, hoping for a more modern answer, one that is not so committed, or painful, all the while knowing, that even as we ask the question that Jesus’ expectations of those that follow him have never changed, and never will. How we wish that Jesus’ expectations were different, but they are not. His words mean the same today as they did then, for he is still telling those who wand to be his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow me, let them deny themselves, take up a cross, and follow me.”
If we are to do what he demands of us, we need to know what it means to deny ourselves, to take up a cross and follow him. Denying oneself does not mean that you live in rags and eat as little as possible. It does not mean that you have to leave home and family, friends and occupation, in order to be a disciple, although many Christians do that when they become missionaries.
Denying yourself does mean that you have to leave behind your pride, your thinking that your way is the only way, that others in the church are there to serve you instead of you serving them. In God’s Church, there is no room for that type of thinking.
In God’s Church, there is a need for conformity, and service, something that those, who still have the minds of the world do not understand. In God’s Church, there is a need to leave your personal wants and wishes at the door, and to work with others to do what is best for the congregation as it takes care of its members and reaches out to others. That is what “denying oneself” means, and that pretty much goes against your grain does it not?
That is why we need Christ, for we are part of the body of Christ. And we all know that it is only when all the parts of a physical body are working together that the body can truly function as it should. It is no different for the spiritual body of Christ, the church, for it to effectively function all parts need to work together.
Jesus also told his disciples that day that they must take up a cross. In the first century, crosses were only used to kill someone slowly and painfully. It said that it took Saint James 3 days to die on the cross he was hung on. During that 3 days he told all he could about the love of Christ.
The implication of Jesus is clear: there will be hardships for the Christian. If someone has told you, like, so many do on Television, that following Jesus leads to prosperity, health, and being well liked, they were lying to you. My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, don’t listen to that garbage. It is all a lie, for they are taking passages of God’s Holy Word out of context. They are twisting God’s Words, for their own gain and glory. If you don’t believe me just look up the passages they love to quote. Study them, and you will see that they are either taken out of context, or they are being applied wrongly. As I think about, according to their interpretation, Jesus, the Son of God would have been a complete failure. He did not have a home or money. He depended on others for his care, he suffered abuse from others, and he died a terrible death on a cross. So much for God wanting all that follow him to be successful, wealthy, and healthy.
Do not get caught up in their lies. Success theology might be the way of the world, but if we take seriously our Christian faith, we will be called to make difficult choices, choices that will cause others to give us grief.
If we take seriously our Christian faith, some people will reject us. If we are serious about being Christians, we should expect to be persecuted. The chances are good that we will never have to die for our faith, but I guarantee we may be made to feel mighty uncomfortable in certain circumstances.
When Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say I am?” He was not just being curious. He wanted to show them that they could not rely on what others believed him to be. He wanted to show them, how wrong those who proclaimed they knew Jesus were. He wanted them to know that the only thing that they could count on were his words.
He knew they were influenced by the teachings of those around them. That is why he asked them, “Who do you say I am?” He wanted to point out to them that because they were being influenced by others that they truly did not know who he is. So, even though Peter and the others did not really know who he was, he did not throw him out of the inner group, he began to teach them.
He still commands us today to obey his commandments, but knowing that it is impossible for us to do so, he came down to this earth as the God man Jesus. This God man Jesus lived a perfectly obedient life. He, out of obedience, kept all of God’s commandments, not because he was forced to, or had no choice, but because he perfectly trusted God the Father to do what was right by him.
So He willingly went to his death, not for himself, but for us. That is how much he loves us. It is essential that you truly know Jesus, not with just head knowledge, but in faith, for only when you truly know him through faith is it possible to follow him. It is only then that you can try to be like him. Now I am not talking about trying to walk on water, or healing people. I am talking about loving people, forgiving people, working together in unity, being fair in business dealings, and being courageous when it comes to defending the weak.
You might be thinking that I have gotten the following of Jesus down pat. Otherwise, why would I be standing up here this morning speaking so boldly about the subject? The fact is, I do not have it all figured out. I sometimes struggle just like you do, to understand God and his will for me. There are even times when I even feel like I am blindly stumbling along in my faith journey.
It is in those times that I realize that my life totally depends on the life of Jesus. Without his perfect obedience, without his death, and his resurrection, I would be lost, condemned to everlasting hell, but with him I am everything. I have everything that really counts, for in him I have the power of Jesus as he leads me through my life and that is a wonderful thing.
If you are having a tough time right now. If you are working really hard at trying to get your life and relationships in order, but just cannot seem to make it work. If you are finding yourself being attracted to those who are preaching success theology, remember that when you were baptized Jesus chose you to be his. You did not do the choosing. God did, and when he did, he became the leader in your life.
Now you have a choice. You can either continue to try to mold Jesus into the God that you want him to be. You know, the God that will do something nice for you, if you do something nice for him, or you can turn your life over to Jesus and let him mold and shape you into the person he wants you to be as he leads you right into heaven. Amen.
10/01/06
Text: Mark 8:27-33
Title: “Who do you say I am?”
In our Gospel reading for this morning we find Jesus asking his disciples, “Who do you say I am?” Peter, never the shy one, jumps right in with, “You are the Christ.” And we go right on Peter. You know who Jesus is, he is the Christ; which is the Greek translation for the Hebrew word Messiah.
Peter thinks he knows who Jesus is. We think Peter knows who Jesus is. After all, he called him Christ and we all know that means he knows who Jesus is. But as we see just a couple of verses further in our Gospel reading, he really does not know who he is. Peter, and the rest of the disciples, for that matter, have a false understanding of Jesus for they think that he came to earth to restore Israel to her former glory.
So when Jesus, told Peter and the disciples that he was going to have to suffer, be rejected by the religious authorities, be killed, and then in three days be raised again. It was more than Peter could stand.
No sir, that just is not going to work, not if Jesus is going to do what Peter is thinking he is going to do. The Messiah, cannot die. He has to be alive so that Israel will be restored back to its glory days, so that Peter and his disciples can have honored places in Jesus’ new government. No, that just will not work.
So we see Peter pull Jesus aside as he begins to rebuke him, to straighten him out. But Jesus stops him, as he tells Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
Well that did the trick. Peter stopped rebuking Jesus. He and the others are now intently listening to hi as he begins to teach them about what is going to happen to him. That is how powerful Jesus’ words are.
I must tell you though, that Peter and the other disciples still did not really know who Jesus is until the Day of Pentecost, when God the Father sent the Holy Spirit, to stand in for Jesus, as their teacher and defender.
On that day it all made sense. Jesus had risen from the dead, not only proving that he is God, but also showing, them and us, that our earthly bodies will also be raised from the dead on that day when Jesus comes back and makes the new heaven and earth. Self-denial, taking up the cross, and following Jesus, even to death, became the way his disciples lived, suffered and died.
But what about us? We who are 2000 years further away from Jesus’ words that day. What would Jesus say to us about what he expects from those who follow him? We ask that question, hoping for a more modern answer, one that is not so committed, or painful, all the while knowing, that even as we ask the question that Jesus’ expectations of those that follow him have never changed, and never will. How we wish that Jesus’ expectations were different, but they are not. His words mean the same today as they did then, for he is still telling those who wand to be his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow me, let them deny themselves, take up a cross, and follow me.”
If we are to do what he demands of us, we need to know what it means to deny ourselves, to take up a cross and follow him. Denying oneself does not mean that you live in rags and eat as little as possible. It does not mean that you have to leave home and family, friends and occupation, in order to be a disciple, although many Christians do that when they become missionaries.
Denying yourself does mean that you have to leave behind your pride, your thinking that your way is the only way, that others in the church are there to serve you instead of you serving them. In God’s Church, there is no room for that type of thinking.
In God’s Church, there is a need for conformity, and service, something that those, who still have the minds of the world do not understand. In God’s Church, there is a need to leave your personal wants and wishes at the door, and to work with others to do what is best for the congregation as it takes care of its members and reaches out to others. That is what “denying oneself” means, and that pretty much goes against your grain does it not?
That is why we need Christ, for we are part of the body of Christ. And we all know that it is only when all the parts of a physical body are working together that the body can truly function as it should. It is no different for the spiritual body of Christ, the church, for it to effectively function all parts need to work together.
Jesus also told his disciples that day that they must take up a cross. In the first century, crosses were only used to kill someone slowly and painfully. It said that it took Saint James 3 days to die on the cross he was hung on. During that 3 days he told all he could about the love of Christ.
The implication of Jesus is clear: there will be hardships for the Christian. If someone has told you, like, so many do on Television, that following Jesus leads to prosperity, health, and being well liked, they were lying to you. My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, don’t listen to that garbage. It is all a lie, for they are taking passages of God’s Holy Word out of context. They are twisting God’s Words, for their own gain and glory. If you don’t believe me just look up the passages they love to quote. Study them, and you will see that they are either taken out of context, or they are being applied wrongly. As I think about, according to their interpretation, Jesus, the Son of God would have been a complete failure. He did not have a home or money. He depended on others for his care, he suffered abuse from others, and he died a terrible death on a cross. So much for God wanting all that follow him to be successful, wealthy, and healthy.
Do not get caught up in their lies. Success theology might be the way of the world, but if we take seriously our Christian faith, we will be called to make difficult choices, choices that will cause others to give us grief.
If we take seriously our Christian faith, some people will reject us. If we are serious about being Christians, we should expect to be persecuted. The chances are good that we will never have to die for our faith, but I guarantee we may be made to feel mighty uncomfortable in certain circumstances.
When Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say I am?” He was not just being curious. He wanted to show them that they could not rely on what others believed him to be. He wanted to show them, how wrong those who proclaimed they knew Jesus were. He wanted them to know that the only thing that they could count on were his words.
He knew they were influenced by the teachings of those around them. That is why he asked them, “Who do you say I am?” He wanted to point out to them that because they were being influenced by others that they truly did not know who he is. So, even though Peter and the others did not really know who he was, he did not throw him out of the inner group, he began to teach them.
He still commands us today to obey his commandments, but knowing that it is impossible for us to do so, he came down to this earth as the God man Jesus. This God man Jesus lived a perfectly obedient life. He, out of obedience, kept all of God’s commandments, not because he was forced to, or had no choice, but because he perfectly trusted God the Father to do what was right by him.
So He willingly went to his death, not for himself, but for us. That is how much he loves us. It is essential that you truly know Jesus, not with just head knowledge, but in faith, for only when you truly know him through faith is it possible to follow him. It is only then that you can try to be like him. Now I am not talking about trying to walk on water, or healing people. I am talking about loving people, forgiving people, working together in unity, being fair in business dealings, and being courageous when it comes to defending the weak.
You might be thinking that I have gotten the following of Jesus down pat. Otherwise, why would I be standing up here this morning speaking so boldly about the subject? The fact is, I do not have it all figured out. I sometimes struggle just like you do, to understand God and his will for me. There are even times when I even feel like I am blindly stumbling along in my faith journey.
It is in those times that I realize that my life totally depends on the life of Jesus. Without his perfect obedience, without his death, and his resurrection, I would be lost, condemned to everlasting hell, but with him I am everything. I have everything that really counts, for in him I have the power of Jesus as he leads me through my life and that is a wonderful thing.
If you are having a tough time right now. If you are working really hard at trying to get your life and relationships in order, but just cannot seem to make it work. If you are finding yourself being attracted to those who are preaching success theology, remember that when you were baptized Jesus chose you to be his. You did not do the choosing. God did, and when he did, he became the leader in your life.
Now you have a choice. You can either continue to try to mold Jesus into the God that you want him to be. You know, the God that will do something nice for you, if you do something nice for him, or you can turn your life over to Jesus and let him mold and shape you into the person he wants you to be as he leads you right into heaven. Amen.
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 2:02 PM
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