Mark 8:27-38 - Lent 02-B - “Follow Me”
Pr. Kurt A. Van Fossan – In Nomine Christi Iesu
Our Theme for this mornings sermon is Jesus’ words “Follow Me,” which were spoken in the context of our Gospel reading from Mark 8:27-38. Listen again to these words:
And 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 told him, "John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets." [29] And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Christ." [30] And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.
[31] And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. [32] And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. [33] But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."
[34] And he called to him the crowd with his disciples and said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. [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. [36] For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? [37] For what can a man give in return for his life? [38] For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."
Since Jesus is speaking these words also to you and me this morning, I would like us to consider what it means to follow Christ.
The key to understanding anything in the Bible is Jesus Christ, especially His death and resurrection. Jesus said “the Scriptures testify about me” (John 5:39)—He is the key. If you want to understand what God is saying in the Bible you need to filter every thing through the cross. Let’s try doing that with Jesus’ words “Follow Me”.
In fact, Jesus had just been talking to His disciples about the cross—about His plan of salvation through His death and resurrection—saying, “the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And He said this plainly”. But Peter didn’t yet understand what Jesus would be doing through His death and resurrection. Instead he was still thinking according to his sinful human wisdom. “And Peter took [Jesus] aside and began to rebuke Him.” Matthew, in his gospel, tells us some of what Peter said to Jesus. “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to You!” (Matthew 16:22).
Peter’s human wisdom, like ours, always seeks to avoid suffering and death, but no matter how hard we try, we cannot of ourselves do that. Instead, in our wisdom we would get rid of the only way of salvation, Jesus’ death and resurrection. Which was exactly what Peter was trying to do, without even realizing it.
Instead of following Jesus—trusting that Jesus was God and therefore knew what He was doing—Peter was trying to be the leader. And whenever you do that, whenever you put your “wisdom” or thinking over and above God’s, you can bet that instead of following Jesus and reflecting His wisdom you’re following Satan and reflecting him. Jesus pointed this out when He said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!”
By these words Jesus was not telling Peter to go away and never come back. He’s saying “Get behind me” because that’s where a disciple of Jesus Christ belongs, following the Leader, not trying to be the leader.
Then Jesus called the crowd and His disciples together and continued to teach them about their need for a Saviour. “If anyone would come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” I think a lot of people, when they hear Jesus’ words, “Follow Me,” are thinking along the lines of the children’s game, “Follow the Leader”. In the children’s game those following the leader try to do what He does. And when the leader does something that those following him can’t do, the leader wins and the followers loose!
Unfortunately some Christians spend their whole lives asking themselves “What Would Jesus Do?” thinking that if they can do what Jesus would do, He will accept them and show them His acceptance by making them prosperous. Such thinking focuses on ourselves as saviour, not Jesus Christ. It’s another form of works righteousness. Looking at Jesus as merely an example to follow and trying to do what He would do will always result in failure—in loosing. Jesus was perfect in all that He did, and we are far from perfect in all that we do!
The main purpose of the Law is to show us that we are sinners and in need of a Saviour (“For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin” Romans 3:20). What Jesus was teaching Peter and the rest who were gathered that day was similar to what He would say to the rich young man in Mark 10, who thought he was keeping God’s Law, and therefore saving himself. Jesus told that young man that he lacked on thing, then He said: “go sell all that you have and give to the poor and you will have treasures in heaven; and come, follow me.” Jesus response to such thinking (like the rich young man and Peter, who thought they had a part to play in working out their salvation) is all law, which always condemns us. If you want to save yourself, you have to follow Jesus in His perfect life—in His death and resurrection. Hopefully, this will help you to see how hopeless it is to try to work out your salvation by following Jesus as an example.
So let’s now look at Jesus’ words, “Follow Me” through the light of the cross—through His death and resurrection. Instead of asking “What Would Jesus Do,” lets consider What Jesus Did! Not only was Jesus willing to leave His heavenly home and enter this fallen world in the form of a man, but he humbled himself further by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8). All for us sinners, to do what we couldn’t do—to overcome sin, death and the devil! “He was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5 ).
And then, to assure us of His successful payment for our sins, Jesus rose to life again on the third day, just as He promised, proclaiming His victory over our sins and death. But there’s more. He lives to give us all His work of salvation. Our Lord comes to us by His Holy Spirit and through His Word and Sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion to create and sustain faith in our hearts, which receives His work of salvation—His eternal life. “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Romans 6:3-5).
So you see, it’s all gift! Jesus fulfils every part of His Law, including His command, “Follow Me”, including His command to “repent and believe in the gospel”(Mark 1:15)! His perfect submission and obedience is our perfect submission and obedience, His death in payment for our sins is our death in payment for our sins, and His resurrection to eternal life is our resurrection to eternal life.
Through our God given life of repentance and faith in Christ as our Saviour, our Lord has a way of working through us to save others—to lead others to Christ through the joy He gives us of being sure of our salvation not because of what we do, but because of what Christ has done.
All glory to God!
Amen.
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