Asking Anew the Ancient Question
Mark 8:27-38
Rev. Dr. Mary Alice Mulligan
Here is Mark rushing once again. In twelve verses we hear three significant parts of the Gospel story. The most important moment however is when Jesus stops everything to ask, “Who do you say I am?” Everything is zooming along in typical Marcan fashion, when Jesus freezes the action to ask whether the disciples have him figured out yet. His question is the eye of the proverbial hurricane in Mark; the still point of the whole Gospel, before all hell breaks loose.
If we write out the entire Gospel of Mark on one large piece of paper, then fold it in half, the first half describes Jesus’ teaching and healing ministry. The second half shows Jesus’ heading towards the cross, then the crucifixion and resurrection. The event right at the half-way point is today’s passage: Jesus asks, “Who do you say I am?" When Peter answers: “You are the Messiah,” the word is mentioned for the first time to identify Jesus since the very first verse Mark wrote in Chapter 1. A long time coming to tell us once again who he is. Mark contains 16 chapters; now in Chapter 8, the pivotal point of the whole Gospel asks: Who is Jesus? The ancient, yet eternally new question, for all of us. Who is Jesus? Mark has not accidentally placed this declaration as the center point of his book. He is eager to show it is the heart of the gospel message helping us understand who Jesus is. To drive home the point of what it means to be Messiah, Mark shows Jesus’ rebuking Peter’s misunderstanding of what it means to be Messiah and then calling the crowd to commit everything to following him, even though it will be an arduous and painful journey. The heart of Mark’s Gospel is not an easy passage, especially since it contains predictions of suffering, death, and resurrection, which doesn’t really sound like a Messiah at all. From the 8th chapter of the Gospel of Mark, listen for the word of God.
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 answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.
Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “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. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
We understand Peter. He is our kind of guy. One of the earliest disciples, who realizes there is something spectacular about this traveling rabbi. Although a successful fisher, Peter is quick to drop his nets to answer Jesus’ invitation to come along with him. And along the way, he watches Jesus heal incurable illnesses in people all over the countryside and teach life changing lessons to massive crowds. No wonder Peter casts his lot with this Teacher. Apparently, nothing can stop Jesus. He must be the one the Jews have been waiting for during all these many years of occupation. Rome has had its foot on the neck of the Jews for long enough; the Jews have just been waiting for someone powerful enough to help them rise up and throw off the yoke of Roman oppression. And Peter is certain he has found him, so he eagerly confesses Jesus is the one – the Messiah, chosen of God, to carry out God’s political agenda to free the people. Their day has finally come! So, it’s also no wonder Peter responds violently when Jesus predicts defeat instead, a defeat which even entails Jesus’ death? Impossible!
When Peter blurts out his prohibition against Jesus’ defeat, doesn’t he sound a bit like us? We have our own ideas of who Jesus is and how he should bring God’s plans to victory. Most of us have confessed Jesus as Christ sometime in our life. We think we know what Jesus wants – peace and justice for everyone, no one dying of hunger. Haven’t we wanted Jesus as our dearest friend, the one who best knows us and whom we know well, too? Our faith in the God-human Jesus has us contentedly toggling between celebrating his divine power to overcome every adversity and treasuring his quiet presence in our hearts. Most of us have a mental picture of who Jesus is both in 1st century Palestine and 21st century North America. So, no surprise we identify with Peter.
But Jesus has other ideas. He is quick to silence Peter’s protest; and we might as well face that he could just as quickly rebuke our ideas about following him. If it can happen to Peter, the Rock, it can happen to anyone. Mark reports one of the most surprising moments in all of Christian scripture. There’s Peter supportively denying anything really bad could ever happen to Jesus, and Jesus shuts him down with words sharper than a slap across the mouth. “Get behind me, Satan!” Satan?! Jesus claims Peter is putting forth an evil idea. What could be worse than Jesus saying that what we believe about him is absolutely contrary to God’s reality, saying our words are instead evil? “You are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” In other words, Jesus is saying, “You don’t get God at all.” You are more evil than good. Ouch! We pray and study and listen in order to know Jesus. So, what a terrible possibility, that we have it so wrong that he would demand us to shut our mouths. But notice, Jesus’ quick rebuke is against Peter’s refusal to hear what Jesus says about himself and about discipleship. Like Peter, we start listening to what Jesus says, but sometimes we can’t believe what he says.
Consider a congregation with a failing membership, that calls a new minister with a reputation as a captivating speaker. He’s young, energetic, talks boldly about drawing in young families, promising a turn-around within a year. But it doesn’t happen. Three years later the congregation is meeting with the Conference to talk about dissolving and selling the building. How is such an apparent failure possible? Where is Jesus in all this? Sometimes congregations don’t bother to ask. They go with such fervor into whatever plans they dream up, that they forget to take proper time for discernment, to listen for God’s leading, to imagine other possibilities. Perhaps for some congregations, closing is where God is calling them. They might prefer being slapped across the mouth rather than consider it, but their first responsibility is to listen to Jesus’ guidance. And the truth is, sometimes Jesus doesn’t agree with our ideas. Sometimes Jesus needs to silence us.
Which has to be okay because Jesus is the Christ. He is the chosen One of God, the Messiah. Jesus knows who he is, better than any human possibly could. Which means, he has a divine perspective on what is going on in the world. He is the chosen presence of God, who reveals as much divinity as humans can perceive. Here, at the half way point of Mark, we know the story. Jesus already senses the gathering storm, the mounting animosity towards him by the most powerful religious and political leaders of the day. Jesus sees the handwriting on the wall, and the words spell “death.”
Why? How can that happen? It’s because God’s love for us is enough to suffer even at our hands and to extend mercy, no matter what we do. Jesus’ power does not come from battleships and nuclear missiles but from the strength of divine love which allows humanity to do our worst. Then Jesus responds with absolute self-giving love of God. In the 21st century as well as the first century, Jesus teaches that God doesn’t win by sending legions of angels to rescue Jesus. God “wins” by showing there is nothing humans can do which separate us from God’s unconditional acceptance of each of us. So, to follow Jesus means we must be ready to follow him, to Jerusalem, or wherever he calls us next.
In these weeks as we fill out our congregational surveys and move forward with our strategic planning, we need to listen bravely to God’s guidance for our future. There are reports of some new churches deciding not to put a cross in their sanctuary because it’s too depressing. Too depressing? The truth of our faith is too depressing? The truth is the cross displays how embarrassingly, shamefully, brutal humans can be and how divinely generous God can be in forgiving us. In confessing Jesus as Christ, we are called to accept his entire message. He wants to draw us fully to himself, to strengthen us to love, and forgive, and serve. Wherever he leads. In following Jesus, his self-giving love empowers us to be the church. Jesus knows who he is and empowers us to follow him. Because he is the Christ.
The center point of the entire Gospel of Mark asks the ancient question: Who is Jesus? Here at the center, Peter declares Jesus is the Christ and Jesus predicts his crucifixion and resurrection. We wish it were different. We like our ideas of Jesus the Christ, controlling nature, healing everyone, rising from the dead; but they are only parts of the story. Jesus knew and allowed the brutal murderous actions of humanity, so we must see those crucial parts of the story, too. Because the crucifixion reveals the breathtaking love of God which forgives anything, any-thing we do. And it shows our hateful actions do not win. The power of divine love wins. So we boldly confess the crucified and risen Christ.