Mark 8:27-35 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost Sunday, September 19, 2021 “Taking Up the Cross”
Sometimes Peter knew just what to say, and sometimes he did not. We have come to know Peter as the outspoken one of Jesus’ disciples. He is sort of the unofficial spokesperson for the whole group. That’s true on many occasions recorded in Scripture. Our lesson today from Mark chapter 8 is one of those occasions. Only one disciple in this account is named. Only one speaker among the disciples is identified, and that is Peter. He says one thing that we would praise as a great testimony to his faith, a correct pronouncement of who Jesus is. And then, he says something else, something for which Jesus harshly rebukes him. Peter’s words and Jesus’ words help us to see that Jesus has done all things well in taking up the cross. The first cross that we consider today is not specifically mentioned in our verses. Jesus doesn’t get that specific about the sort of death that he would die. But we know the details. He carried his own cross to the executioner’s hill called Golgotha, and there he was crucified on it and died. And all of it happened exactly as he said it would. Jesus took up his cross because he is the Christ, the Messiah. When Jesus asked his disciples who people thought he was, they had a number of answers. Maybe he was a prophet or John the Baptist or Elijah. But Peter knew the correct answer. Jesus was and is the Christ, the Messiah. He is much more than a prophet. He is much more than a teacher. He is much more than a positive role model and a good person. He is the one whom God had promised and the one whom God had sent. He was the one who would fulfill God’s promises to a sinful world and to all the sinners in that world. Jesus came to be the Savior. He came to do what God had promised the Savior would do. And so he had come to do the things of God. And he knew what they were. He would suffer. He would suffer a lot. His own people and their religious leaders would reject him. He would be killed, and he would rise again. That was God’s plan. That was God’s purpose. Jesus told his disciples so that they could prepare for what was going to happen. He told them so that they could know what it meant that Jesus was the Christ, the chosen one of God. It meant that he would be the sacrifice, the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. And Jesus was resolute. He would take up his cross to accomplish God’s good purpose. Then Peter spoke again. Apparently he didn’t like this idea of suffering. Apparently he did not like the idea that his teacher would be rejected and killed. Apparently he was not as shocked as he should have been by the prediction of a resurrection from the dead. So Peter said, “No.” Our text explains it this way: “[Jesus] was speaking plainly to them. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.” But it was Peter who needed the rebuke, and he got it. If Peter hadn’t been shocked before, he must have been when Jesus called him Satan. It was not that Peter had been actually possessed by Satan, but he was thinking of the things of men instead of the things of God, and that put him in league with Satan. If Jesus had listened to Peter, it would have made for the biggest disaster in history. The promise would have failed. Jesus’ purpose would have failed. The whole world would be trapped in sin with nothing but hell to come. Salvation would have been impossible. That could not be. Jesus loves us too much. Jesus loves Peter too much. Jesus loves a world of sinners too much. He would go to the cross for them, for us. He would put aside every temptation from Satan. He would die for the sins of the world and rise again, just as he said, just as he predicted. Jesus did take up his cross. He did all things well. He offered his perfect life as a sacrifice for all sins of all times. And he calls on his followers to take up their crosses. He asks us to have in mind the things of God rather than the things of men. He asks us to be in an alliance with him and not with Satan. And that means that he calls on us to take up our crosses.
No, it is not the same as the cross that Jesus took up. It is not a physical cross, not a device for execution. It is as Jesus describes, denying ourselves. It is denying the sinful nature within us, the selfish desires, in order to rely on God and to be satisfied with what he gives us. Peter needed to take up his cross. He needed to set aside his preferences and feelings. It didn’t matter that he didn’t want Jesus to suffer. He needed to see that God had a bigger and better plan. The suffering of Jesus and by extension Peter’s own challenges would serve for the greater purpose. Jesus wanted Peter to set aside his selfishness and to trust God. And there are lots of ways in which we are often like Peter. Crosses may come as we face pain and illness. They may be found in our relationships, our politics, our family lives. And for each and every one of us, the self, the sinful nature, has one question: “How does this affect me?” It wants what is easy and feels good and therefore seems right. It wants what will make us popular with others and happy with ourselves. It wants comfort and not conflict. But Jesus says, “Deny yourself.” He tells us, “Don’t think about what is in it for you. Think about what God says. Think about his purposes. Think about what he would want you to do and say.” And it doesn’t matter if that is painful, that is what he wants you to do or say. God still has a bigger purpose in mind. The small pleasures and earthly rewards are not worth our outsized cares and concerns for them. Jesus explains the importance of cross-bearing this way: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.” Think through what this means. We can be set on saving the life that we have now: the earthly pleasures, the politics and power, the success and money and fame. We can focus on that; it comes very naturally. And at some point it will all come to an end. None of it will matter anymore when Jesus returns. None of it will matter anymore when eternity opens up before us. And if our lives have been focused on all the things that didn’t really matter, we will have lost out on everything that does matter. Riches or fame or power can’t keep us out of the hell that our sins deserve. If we want to save the earthly lives, we will lose eternal life. But there’s also the other side of the equation Jesus taught. When things are in their proper perspective, we are willing to lose our earthly lives because of the amazing gift of eternal life that Jesus has given. That is worth holding on to. Jesus says, “But whoever loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.” That’s what led a Jeremiah to preach a message that resulted in suffering. He didn’t give up or give in. He remained committed to the message God had given him, even through suffering. That’s what made the fiery trials that Peter wrote about worth going through. The cross is painful. It is not easy or fun. But it is worth it! It is worth it because it keeps us closer to our Savior. It leads us to his Word and to his sacraments. It reminds us of our constant need for forgiveness. Jesus has done all things well, including instructing his followers about their carrying the cross. Carrying the cross means listening to God’s way, not anyone else’s. It means acting in love and kindness and compassion and not in selfishness or judgment or anger. It may mean being unpopular now because popularity has in mind the things of men and not the things of God. But it also means reaching heaven and the eternal joys that await us there. Sometimes Peter knew just what to say. He testified that Jesus was the Christ. And sometimes Peter did not. He tried to talk Jesus out of carrying his cross. That’s why Jesus, who did all things well, teaches us about who he is, what he has done for us in carrying his cross, and what he calls us to do in carrying our crosses. May he grant us joy and peace as we follow him.
The Text: Mark 8:27–35 (EHV) 27Jesus
went away with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28They 29“But
told him, “John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others say one of the prophets.” who do you say I am?” he asked them.
Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” 30Then
he warned them not to tell anyone about him.
31Jesus
began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things; be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the experts in the law; be killed; and after three days rise again. 32He was speaking plainly to them. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But after turning around and looking at his disciples, Jesus rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have your mind set on the things of God, but the things of men.” 34He
called the crowd and his disciples together and said to them, “If anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 35For whoever wants to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.