Gordon McPhee

                                                Mark 8: 27-38

WHO ARE YOU LISTENING TO?

“If any of you are embarrassed over me and the way I’m leading you when you get around your fickle and unfocused friends, know that you’ll be an even greater embarrassment to the Son of Man when he arrives in all the splendor of God, his Father, with an army of the holy angels.

Introduction:

Rumours are wonderful conversation starters, aren’t they? They sell magazines to the tune of trillions of dollars and break the ice at the water cooler, to say nothing of how they’re used in politics and social media. A good rumour has a life of its own, a monster that devours the mind and opinion of even the most circumspect of listeners. And they are not a new 21st-century phenomenon. In the Gospel of Mark we’ll read this morning, Jesus asks his disciples about the rumours circulating in Galilee and Judea concerning himself.

The disciples' answers show they’ve been listening to the opinions floating around as they traveled with Jesus. They don’t hesitate, they know exactly what the people who have gathered to hear Jesus speak and to be healed are saying about Him. However, Jesus makes the question more personal. He asks who they say He is, and as we know, since this is a rather well-known bit of scripture in church communities, Peter gets it right declaring, “You are the Christ, the Messiah.” But as we’ll see by reading on, he, much like us I’m afraid, says the right words, but like a good rumour, what we understand is far from the actual truth.

Knowing truly who Jesus is, is about our understanding of his person and purpose. It’s about who we’ve been listening to.

Sermon:

The Gospel reading this morning is right smack in the middle, chapter 8 of 16, from the Gospel of Mark. And this, I would suggest, is no accident by Mark, it marks, excuse the pun, a turning point in the story he is telling. Jesus has been teaching, performing miraculous signs, and healing all around Galilee and Judea and now he begins His final, fateful journey to Jerusalem.

It is as if Mark wants to make it clear that from here on out, the kid gloves are off. The Galileans, Judeans, Jesus’ followers, and in particular the twelve disciples had seen enough of Jesus’ miracles and heard enough of His teaching that you’d suppose that what was to come could be grasped. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. We’re told elsewhere in the Gospels that as Jesus began to reveal the deeper truth of His sacrifice as the Messiah, most of the followers, except the twelve, abandoned Him.

When Jesus poses the question, “Who do the people say I am?” He’s seeding rhetoric for a teaching and I’m sure the disciples recognized this. Most certainly Jesus was already aware of the rumours floating around about Him and the disciples knew this, but like well-heeled students, they dutifully answered the question, expectant of what was to follow. And they were not disappointed.

Jesus asks, “And you—what are you saying about me?” to which Peter replies, “You are the Christ, the Messiah.” Knowing the rest of the story, Peter’s abandonment and denial of Jesus, we may justly ask, “How did he come up with that?”, most surprisingly because it is the right answer. Matthew’s Gospel picks up on this where Mark just glosses over the incredulity completely. He has Jesus replying, “You didn’t get that answer out of books or from teachers, (Matt 16:17)” which is not surprising as Peter is an uneducated fisherman. Jesus continues that it was revealed to him by God the Father. However, something else comes to light as Jesus “began explaining things to them.”

“‘It is necessary that the Son of Man proceed to an ordeal of suffering, be tried and found guilty by the elders, high priests, and religion scholars, be killed, and after three days rise up alive.’ He said this simply and clearly so they couldn’t miss it.” And this time they didn’t miss it. Mark tells us Peter grabbed Jesus in protest while Matthew has him protesting, “Impossible, Master! That can never be!” but in both Gospels, Jesus confronts Peter in unequivocal terms identifying that Peter’s protest is a temptation of Christ prompted by Satan, “Peter, get out of my way! Satan, get lost! You have no idea how God works.”

So, although Peter’s words, “You are the Christ” are correct and a revelation from God, it is clear, that he still doesn’t grasp what he is testifying to or really, who Jesus is. Jesus, always the compassionate teacher, calls the crowd of followers together and instructs them again. Jesus, like any good preacher, is going to make three points. But rather than going to scripture to explain what Messiah is, He makes this personal. He wants them, and by extension, us, to know what to expect from following and from that understand who He is. By getting to know Jesus, they will learn what being the Messiah means.

First, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am.” Simply put, Jesus is Lord, or as The Message translates it, Master. It hits right home to Peter’s reaction to Jesus stating that he would proceed to an ordeal of suffering, be tried and found guilty and be killed. A servant would never question their master even on such a matter. Peter was so distressed he completely missed the part about rising up alive after three days. He had forgotten who was Lord. Somehow when Peter thought of Jesus as Messiah, in his heart, he imagined Jesus was his Messiah. Peter had appropriated Jesus as his own, a possession, not a Master.

Peter’s Messiah was going to Jerusalem to somehow restore the kingdom to Israel, to fulfil the prophecy of the Jews being a blessing to the rest of the world, crushing the Roman scourge and releasing the world from its oppressive power. Jesus’ agenda didn’t fit the bill. But that’s because even if he got the words right, “You are the Christ,” he wasn’t listening to Jesus. Jesus was in the driver’s seat, not Peter.

And what about you? Who's in your driver’s seat? Who are you listening to when you call Jesus your Saviour, your Messiah? Does that mean He is your Master? Or like Peter have you too been listening to others who would portray a different agenda for following Jesus than the one Jesus himself prescribes, “It is necessary…” What Jesus humbly did is what was necessary to fulfil the will of the Father who sent Him. He willingly put himself under His Father’s Lordship, as we must live with Jesus as our Master. Not for ourselves or our own agenda, imposing our perspectives, ideas and desires on God, but for Jesus, all for Jesus.

Second, “Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how.” Ok, that hurts. Everything in our society today says exactly the opposite. Don’t suffer, get a divorce, take a Tylenol, get the latest laptop, cell phone or life-easing gadget. There’s a diet that will make you feel better or a vacation on a cruise full of food and fun. and if you get indigestion there’s Tums. Why suffer with an unwanted child, have an abortion? Why suffer at all, you can ask to be euthanized. But Jesus sets another agenda, another example.

He embraces the ordeal of suffering he knows is coming not because he wants it or because it somehow is not as horrible as it appears. Jesus embraces it because it is necessary. In the face of everything coming his way in Jerusalem Jesus remains resolute because, unlike Peter, He does know how God works. Jesus shows us how when he leads his disciples to Gethsemane to pray. Jesus chose to listen to the His Father. And although He is clear that He would gladly take any other path, He is resolved that God’s will must be fulfilled, His Father and Lord must be obeyed.

He shows us how, on His knees, humbly accepting the suffering before Him, if that is what must be. None of us accepts the prospect of suffering with ease or desire. But like Jesus, we must recognize when Satan tempts us to avoid God’s providence even when it involves suffering. Through the best of people and the best of intentions, as he did to Jesus through Peter, Satan will try to show us a way out. But this is work that only God can do. And like Jesus, we must turn to Him for help, assured that only what is necessary will be required.

And point three, “Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?” Amazing, isn’t it? Even back then self-help was the way to go, the big agenda. Self-help, in one form or another, is the largest chunk of book, magazine and media real estate in a major chain like Indigo. I don’t think you’ll find even one entry, let alone a shelf reserved for self-sacrifice.

So much of Jesus’ teaching, particularly Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount, encompasses humility and self-sacrifice. Certainly, this was what Peter should have understood from Jesus’ life, even if he wasn’t listening to the teaching. Jesus led by example. He didn’t navigate to help himself and he even refused to be navigated by others in their attempts to help Him by declaring Him their King. I can easily suggest that this point is the centerpiece of the Gospel, it is that important.

Life, contrary to everything you hear, is not about getting something for yourself. That’s the surest way to be destitute, to lose everything. God’s creation is about sacrificing yourself for others, but not just charity for its own sake. Jesus says, “My way.” He is Master, in the driver’s seat. Even here, you don’t decide what sacrifice is right. You don’t turn to God saying proudly, “See! See what I have done!” No, like Jesus who sets our example, we turn to God the Father. It is His will we obey and any sacrifice will be what He deems necessary, exactly as Jesus Himself did.

This is important. The stakes are high. If the prospect of suffering and self-sacrifice leads you to slide over this lightly Jesus warns that even though you gain all your desires, you will lose your true self. What earthly treasure, even the life of a loved one, could you possibly trade, in exchange for your soul?

Jesus concludes, “If any of you are embarrassed over me and the way I’m leading you when you get around your fickle and unfocused friends, know that you’ll be an even greater embarrassment to the Son of Man when he arrives in all the splendour of God, his Father, with an army of the holy angels.” In other words, won’t you look the fool, not if, but when, Jesus comes again, and all the people you’ve known in your life realize you were holding out on them so you could seem like one of them? They didn’t know Jesus was your Master who led you in paths contrary to the rest of the world. They saw you prospering and getting all the good things of this life, going after the brass ring, just like them, rather than sacrificing these things, facing the shame and suffering and following your Master Jesus, as coming here on Sunday mornings attests you do.

We are not ascetics suffering for suffering’s sake nor turning away from the good things God showers down upon His people. Jesus and his disciples had some very good meals in some very nice houses during their travels. But we know in whom we have placed our trust and are fully persuaded that He is able to keep our souls secure in Jesus Christ until that day when an army of holy angels in all the splendour of God does most assuredly arrive with Jesus to lead captive the harvest of faithful people.

May you and I be one of those who have been listening to the Messiah. Enjoying His love and presence but always ready to suffer and sacrifice as our Master deems necessary, that we save our true self.

Amen