Sunday September 12, 2009 Mark 8:27-38

Welcome, it seems that our summer is coming to an end. Once Labor Day, the state fair and school starting are past the summer is gone for me. Now I look forward to the cool crisp days of fall. Our text continues on in the gospel of Mark. The text for Sunday contains the first passion (death) prediction that Jesus makes. In the verses previous to our text Jesus heals a blind man. Does he do it just to be a great guy? No, he is foreshadowing what will happen with the disciples in the following verses. Jesus touches the blind man two times, not because his power is waning but because just as the blind man needed two touches to see clearly so will the disciple’s need two “touches” to “see” clearly who Jesus is. Just as the blind man is told not to tell anyone so will the disciples be warned not to tell anyone.

V27 Jesus travels north to the village of Caesarea Philippi which is way north of the Sea of Galilee. This is in Herod Philips territory, one of the rulers of the land. The city had once held the name of Balinas as it was the center for the worship on Baal, the Canaanite god of fertility. Later the name had been changed to Panias because it was said to be the birth place of the Greek god Pan, god of nature. (Pan flutes anyone?) From the hillside water gushed out which was the start of the river Jordan and these underwater rivers were thought to be the gates of hell. In the city of Caesarea Philippi a temple had been built by Herod Philip to Caesar, the Roman emperor, because he was thought to be divine – a god. Into all of this pagan god worship Jesus brought his disciples. He asked them a question, who did others think he was. Had his actions and teaching paid off? This is parallel to the first touch of the blind man; he can see but not clearly as things don’t look right.

V28 The disciples respond with an answer indicating that the people thought Jesus was a great prophet. This response was in part true as Jesus was a great prophet but had anyone seen any farther than that? Are things still a little distorted in their “vision”.

V29 He asks the second question which is parallel with the second touch of the blind man, who do they think he is. Can they “see” clearer who Jesus is? Peter responds for the group and states “You are the Messiah”. In the first century there were thoughts and opinions on the idea of what the Messiah would be and do. They never ever thought the Messiah would be divine, the second part of the trinity. To understand where the disciple’s minds were we need to see what they thought a Messiah would be.

Messiah means anointed one. When a king was chosen he was anointed with olive oil. In the ancient near east it was thought that the god that ruled the land chose the king and the people anointed him to indicate he would be the king and the one to whom god would show favor. He was the gods chosen one. In the Jewish tradition their greatest king had been David. In the Old Testament they thought God had shown David favor and promised him a linage of kings. They believed a king would once again rise from the linage of David to rule over them expelling all the pagan overlords – Gentiles.
Before this king (messiah) arose some signs would appear. There would be a time of terrible tribulation – the birth pangs of the new age. Into this time of chaos would come Elijah as the forerunner, the announcer of the Messiah. The Messiah would then come and the nations (Gentiles) would ally themselves against the chosen one of God. This would result in the total destruction of the hostile powers. The Messiah would wage a destructive war and win; Jerusalem would be renewed and rebuilt. Jews from all over the world would unit in Jerusalem and Palestine would be the center of the world with the rest of the world subject to it. The Gentiles would be destroyed and a new age of peace and goodness would last forever.
When Peter exclaims that Jesus is the Messiah this is some of what he was thinking would begin happening.

V30 Jesus orders them to tell no one as this is a dangerous claim they have made about him. If this gets out all of the current rulers are going to be threatened as they are somewhat already. This is fuel for the fire.

V31 Jesus begins to teach them the kind of Messiah he is. He has to teach them that the coming events are not going to happen as they have been taught. Things are not going to look at all like they thought they would. He as the Son of man, the true people of Israel, with his followers will suffer, will be rejected by the leaders, will be killed and after three days rise again. This is his first passion prediction. To his disciples and the crowds this was the sign of a failed Messiah. A successful Messiah would wage war and win as the Son of Man did in the book of Daniel. The statement about rising in three days was beyond their comprehension. They only knew that all would rise on the final Day of Judgment, not in three days after death.

V32 In this confusion between thoughts of what a Messiah was, Peter rebukes Jesus. Peter knows what the Messiah will do and it won’t be to die on a cross, that’s for losers.

V33 Jesus looks at all of the disciples and scolds Peter saying “get behind me Satan”. Is Peter Satan? No, but Satan is using Peter to try to persuade Jesus not to got to the cross, just as he tried in the temptations to get Jesus off track. Peter is setting his mind on human things like war and eventual world domination by force with enemies exterminated. He is not following divine (Gods’) way, seeing the enemy as Satan (evil). The pagans are not the enemy, evil is.

V34 He calls the crowd with the disciples and begins again to teach. If they want to follow him they must say no to their wants and needs. They must take up their cross, bear the burdens of others and follow him. They must do as he does even if it means death on a Roman cross.

V35-37 If you want to save your life for yourself, your comfort, your profit and ease you will eventually lose it but if you spend life serving others and following Jesus you will win. What will it do for them if they live conforming to the world’s ideas about success and Messiahship and forfeit their life for the wrong ideals?

V38 Those who are ashamed of Jesus and his way of being the Messiah will experience the shame of rejection when Jesus comes in his glory; is vindicated by God resurrecting him on the third day as he had claimed earlier.

This presents a whole new way of thinking for us as it did for them. We tend to think of our government as mostly “right” but Jesus presents us with a dilemma, do we follow the ways of our world or do we follow him. Do we give up our ideal of the “right” way of ruling what other countries should do and start serving them instead? Do we give up comfort in our lives so people in other countries can live? Is our way of life really nonnegotiable or have the events of the financial collapse of the last year shown us that our way of life is in peril and we must change? HWJL – How would Jesus live?